No game to talk about yesterday, so this will be a quick little hit on how the top FA of 2014 have performed so far. 1. Robinson Cano – .326/.396/.370 (109 wRC+) Cano hasn’t exactly done the heavy lifting for the Mariners, but Smoak, Zunino, and Ackley have been more than sufficient so far. 2. Jacoby Ellsbury – .362/.423/.447 (152 …
Cubs sign George Kotarras and other notes
The Cubs have signed backup catcher George Kottaras. George Kottaras settles with #cubs. $1.075M plus incentives. — Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 3, 2013 The Cubs acquired Kottaras the other day and Myles wrote about him shortly thereafter. When you combine a poor batting average with an a noodle at backstop, you can make the case that Kottaras should linger in …
Want or Don’t Want: Jacoby Ellsbury
Jacoby Ellsbury's season isn't finished yet as the Red Sox continue on in the ALCS. He's probably not begun to think a whole lot about his upcoming free agency, but it will be the talk of the offseason. The centerfielder turned 30 on September 11th and will be entering his age 30 season at the tail-end of his prime. I …
Cano – Barney = 78 Runs
I was reading the solidly-above-replacement-level Yankees blog rlyw.net this morning, and I came across a very interesting table. It listed the Runs Created at 2B for each team this year. I won't reproduce the whole list (seriously, check out that blog, it's interesting), but I share one thing: NYY: 123 RC CHC: 45 RC That's a difference of 78 RUNS. It's …
2014 Cubs: A Bat Away From Normal
Any baseball fan likely realizes that the game is fundamentally different in 2013 than it was in, say, 1999 (the height of the "We Care About Steroids" era). In 1999, the league wOBA was .341; in 2013, it's .313. That's a titanic difference. Walks are at a 20-year low, and strikeouts this year are only lower than last year (and …
ALDS series preview: Orioles vs. Yankees
Did anyone think the Orioles would be in the playoffs? Did anyone think the O's might actually pull off the AL East division win? Well, they're in the playoffs and they very nearly won the AL East. The O's essentially replaced the Red Sox so the AL East still had 3 very good teams as it has for the last …
Series Preview: New York Yankees (39-28) vs Hapless Victims (28-40)
Before I get to previewing this bloodbath, I just want to mention that it was fun to watch the Cubs take three of four from their little brothers to the north. Team Overviews Teams stats with respective league rankings in parens. Yankees Cubs wOBA .353 (1st) .318 (6th) UBR -1.9 (9th) -7.1 (16th) UZR 11.6 (3rd) -15.5 (15th) SP FIP …