This was just a matter of time since no team would clear them, but both Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol have cleared waivers. This means the Cubs are free to trade them to any team interested. Soriano could help a number of teams. He is hitting .264 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI, with all of the homers coming …
Fangraphs on Samardzija’s splitter this year
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/how-good-is-jeff-samardzijas-splitter/ He has battled struggles with tiredness at times, which is understandable given the increased workload, but if he is able to sustain a mid-90′s fastball as a starter over the next few seasons and utilize his splitter with this type of consistency, he could elevate himself to become a top tier starter….With what is likely the top split-fingered fastball …
2012 Astros Draft: Behind The Scenes
There's a fantastic article about the Astros draft on Crawfish Boxes. Here's a snippet: 1.1: Heck and Luhnow both talked of the 1.1 like it was a frightening blessing, like triplets. They kept saying that they needed to get their guy but there were no guarantees. They talked about 1.1 pressures, responsibilities, etc. We know they took Correa and pretty …
Anthony Rizzo interview on Fangraphs
Anthony Rizzo and Ben Revere gave an interview to David Laurila of Fangraphs. “What I learned [last year] is that it’s the same game. Pitchers aren’t throwing any pitches I haven’t seen before, so I have to just keep it simple. “I don’t think I necessarily tried to hit any differently [in Petco Park]. Maybe subconsciously I started to, but …
Matt Garza hopes to return this season
Garza said his goal is to get back on the mound this season, despite there being no official timetable on his return. "I'm hoping," Garza said. "That's why I'm working my tail off. Doing everything I can." Garza hasn't pitched since he left his July 21 outing after three innings because of cramping in his right triceps. He threw a …
Trey McNutt makes best of it
Saw this on my rss feed today about Trey McNutt. As in the abstract, McNutt is saying, this process is not exact. Unfortunately, Chicago's seventh-ranked prospect has been far from spot-on himself. Southern League batters are batting .266 against him, and he's posted a 55-to-39 strikeout-to-walk ratio unbefitting his powerful repertoire. After 17 starts, his last eight appearances have come out of …
Arodys Vizcaino plans to be ready by spring
Arodys Vizcaino is planning to be ready by spring training. On Tuesday, Vizcaino was at Petco Park to work out for pitching coach Chris Bosio and meet the staff. He won't make his Cubs debut this season, having undergone Tommy John surgery in March. Vizcaino will continue his rehab in Mesa, Ariz., at the Cubs complex. "I'm going to be …
Cubs trade Jeff Baker to Tigers for 2 PTBNL
The Cubs dealt away another veteran player on Sunday, sending utility man Jeff Baker to the Tigers for two players to be named. Baker has played mostly first base, second base and right field this year, batting .269 with a .753 OPS, four home runs and 20 RBIs in 54 games. The 31-year-old is a career .304 hitter against left-handed …
Theo on Dempster
Theo talked about Ryan Dempster a bit today. "Ryan never got the opportunity for more than an hour to fully contemplate Atlanta with a deal actually in place," Epstein said. "I feel for him. Instead of having time to contemplate it privately, he had everyone telling him what to do and asking questions about it. I think it's hard to …
Cubs acquired 2 of top 10 prospects moved at the deadline
According to Baseball America, the Cubs acquired 2 of the top 10 prospects moved at or near the trade deadline. 3. Arodys Vizcaino, rhp, Cubs. Chicago has very little advanced young pitching, so it was willing to take the sidelined Vizcaino and throw-in Jaye Chapman from the Braves in exchange for Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson. Considered untouchable a year ago, …