Carl Crawford and a prospect to the Marlins for Hanley Ramirez and Heath Bell is something that Bob NIghtengale is suggesting is in the works that doesn't make the least bit of sense. Carl Crawford, a truckload of money and all the Red Sox prospects for Hanley Ramirez makes sense, but other than that this is just ridiculous. I've read …
Red Sox aggressively pursuing Ryan Dempster
Source: The Red Sox are aggressive in the pursuit of Ryan Dempster. Cubs going through their process on the right-hander. — Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 16, 2012 I was thinking that Ryan Dempster would probably not be traded, but with as many as 10 teams interested I'm thinking the odds of him being dealt are increasing. I'm also thinking the …
Why Matt Garza’s trade value is lower than I think
Earlier today I wrote why Matt Garza's trade value may be higher than I think, or rather higher than the trade value numbers show. Since I wrote about why they may be higher it only makes sense to also spell out why they may be lower. I'm going to do the same thing for Ryan Dempster tomorrow, but some of …
Brewers and Phillies prepare offers to keep Greinke and Hamels
The Brewers are willing to offer Zack Greinke around $100 million over 5 years while the Phillies are prepared to offer Cole Hamels an equally large contract extension. Greinke and Hamels were likely going to be the two best starters available at the deadline if their respective teams made them available. My first thought was that this was potentially good …
Rumor: Dodgers interested in Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza
According to Jon Heyman the Dodgers are the most likely destination for Ryan Dempster and the Dodgers might also be interested in Matt Garza. The Dodgers are talking to the Cubs about acquiring either one of their two coveted starting pitchers, Ryan Dempster or Matt Garza, sources say. The Dodgers have long been known to be targeting Dempster and are seen as a favorite for him. …
Let the Piling On Starlin Commence in Three… Two… One…
Shit is about to come down on Starlin Castro, and it shouldn't be shocking to anyone that the source of the impending storm is located in a Paul Sullivan piece in the Tribune. Whether he is trying to stir the pot purposefully is a matter of opinion, but whether he is doing it intentionally or not, this pot is getting …
Dale Sveum’s First Half MVPs: Shawn Camp and James Russell
NEW YORK — Who's your first half Most Valuable Player for the Cubs? Manager Dale Sveum picked relievers Shawn Camp and James Russell. Camp was 2-4 with a 2.86 ERA and one save, while Russell was 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA entering Sunday. Russell had a 2.30 ERA in 101 games since the start of 2011, the second-lowest mark by …
Series Preview: Chicago Cubs (29-49) @ Atlanta Braves (41-37)
The red hot Chicago Cubs travel to Atlanta fresh off sweeping the super-talented Houston Astros. The Braves lost 2 of 3 to the Nationals over the weekend. Teams at a glance Stat Cubs Braves wOBA .297 .317 wRC+ 80 (16) 98 (5) UZR 2.5 (6) 35.7 (1) BsR 1.2 (7) 6.0 (2) SP ERA 4.32 (15) 4.22 (12) SP FIP …
Series Preview: Boston Red Sox (31-32) at Chicago Cubs (21-42)
Wait, the Red Sox have a losing record? That was a surprise to me. Pythagoras disagrees with their record, as they have a +26 run differential, second in the AL east and 4th in the whole AL. If their non-winning trend continues they might have to watch out for some sleeper cell cultists. Luckily the Red Sox are playing the …
How much is Ryan Dempster's Trade Value?
Ryan Dempster entered the 2012 season in the final year of his contract. He was coming off season in which his ERA had ballooned to 4.80, but his FIP and xFIP were in line with what he'd done as a starter since 2008. His FIP was 3.91 and he had an xFIP of 3.70. The projections had him at a …