Another Cubs Blog (Free subscription) | 11/29/2009
Here’s what I think will go down this offseason: Milton Bradley + cash————-> Pat Burrell Cubs sign Marlon Byrd to a 3 year, $24mm contract Micah Hoffpauir and Andres Blanco will be released (I don’t think Hoffpauir has another option year). That’s pretty much it, though I think Hendry will be active on the trade market (more on this below). I don’t...
Baseball Analysts (Free subscription) | 11/29/2009
Bob Ryan took to the pages of the Boston Globe yesterday to list Alex Gonzalez's departure for Toronto as the latest in a series of shortstop mishandlings by Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein. The logic seems to go something like this: Gonzalez suits my eye when I watch him field a baseball. He even hits a little bit. Theo has no credibility on shortstops. Therefore Gonzalez should have been retained....
Viva El Birdos (Free subscription) | 11/28/2009
by Al Behrman - AP I am the greatest!!! Suck it, Ryan. View full size photo » as we enter the horse latitudes of the baseball posting seasons -- doldrums occuring somewhere between the first scent of pumpkin pie and the hangover from new year's -- it is time to give some attention to a factor sometimes overlooked. we toss around the term "replacement value" as a kind of an insult. in...
Another Cubs Blog (Free subscription) | 11/14/2009
Over the last week or so, one thing has become abundantly clear, namely that Paul Sullivan is a fucking petty, vindictive little jackass Jim Hendry really, really covets Curtis Granderson, and Sullivan is so busy taking banal cheap shots at Mark Prior that he’s getting scooped on the Granderson story by Phil Rogers. Getting scooped by Phil Rogers is like getting beat in a footrace by Ron Santo,...
The Cub Reporter (Free subscription) | 11/10/2009
Fangraphs is once again going to list the projections on their player pages from a variety of sources, Bill James , CHONE, Marcel....maybe more. Bill James projections are up first and here's how the Cubs ranked by wOBA and their 2009 wOBA ( explanation of wOBA here ). I'll try and expand when new projections are released. Age is their 2010 playing age. You can click on their names to get their full...
The Cub Reporter (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
With most all of the Cubs front office personnel, Scouting Department, and Player Development staff watching from the picnic area high above the third-base dugout, Michael Brenly singled twice and scored once, Starlin Castro singled twice (increasing his AFL-leading batting average to .433) and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and four Cubs pitchers combined to throw seven innings of one-run ball,...
The Hoop (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
Juan Dixon (1.91-SG) is close to signing a contract with Aris according to rumors from Greece . The Greek portal sport24.gr says that Aris are very close to signing NBA veteran Juan Dixon is very close to signing a new contract with Aris Thessaloniki . Head coach of Aris , Fotis Katsikaris admitted that he is interested in Juan Dixon saying : " It' s true that Juan Dixon is a player that interests...
The Cub Reporter (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
- Nick Steiner takes a look at Milton Bradley using Pitch F/X data and comes away impressed. The fact that Bradley has such a bad year - and it wasn't even that bad - can be placed solely on a huge drop in ISO from his previously established norms. His plate discipline and contact skills were just as good as they were in 08 and the year before that, and there is no evidence that the drop in ISO is...
Another Cubs Blog (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
I don’t know why I do this to myself. I generally try to avoid doing this, but I accidentally read a comment written by Chuck as I was reading through ccd’s site. Early in the comments it’s suggested that Hendry should trade Ryan Theriot this winter. Chuck responds by saying something as silly as he usually does: Theriot would have brought a lot in return in the winter of 2007. No...
Ivy Chat (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
All signs indicate that the Cubs will hire Rudy Jaramillo to be their new hitting coach: One report has it as three years and $2.42 million but the Cubs could not confirm that figure. ... The 59-year-old Jaramillo comes to the Cubs from the Texas Rangers, where he spent 15 years and earned a reputation as one of the top hitting coaches in the game. He became available after the Rangers offered him...
MLB Trade Rumors (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Cubs. Their likely 2010 commitments: C - Geovany Soto - $575K C - Koyie Hill - $475K+ 1B - Derrek Lee - $13MM 2B - Jeff Baker - $415K+ SS - Ryan Theriot - $500K+ 3B - Aramis Ramirez - $15.75MM IF - Aaron Miles - $2.7MM IF - Andres Blanco - $400K LF - Alfonso Soriano - $18MM CF - Kosuke Fukudome - $13MM RF - Milton Bradley - $9MM OF - Sam Fuld - $402K 3B/OF...
The Hoop (Free subscription) | 10/20/2009
One more addition is planned for Aris BC. According to sportnet.gr , Quinton Day (1.85-PG/SG) and Jeremy Richardon (2.01-SG/SF) will continue as players of Aris and they will not be changed by head coach Fotis Katsikaris . In Aris they have saved one more bosman slot in their roster which is very likely to be filled by J eremiah Massey (2.02-PF). Corey Belser 's(1.98-SG/SF) contract has already expired...
Bleed Cubbie Blue (Free subscription) | 10/19/2009
More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP Once again, ignore the guy on the left. The guy on the right is about to become the Cubs' hitting coach. Browse more photos » SI.com's Jon Heyman says that the Cubs are close to signing Rudy Jaramillo, and he'd become the highest-paid coach in Cubs history: Jaramillo turned down the Rangers ' offer to remain their hitting coach last week and is expected...
Bleed Cubbie Blue (Free subscription) | 10/18/2009
More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP Um, Maicer? Wrong decision. Browse more photos » Regardless of how this postseason ends up (please, not the Yankees winning, please), we have already had more than our share of exciting, close games, with controversial umpiring calls, clutch hitting by various players, and misplays at the worst possible time. There's absolutely no doubt that Maicer Izturis...
The Hoop (Free subscription) | 10/17/2009
As it was predicted , Aaron Miles (1.85-PG) was announced by Aris and their official website. Aaron Miles was practicing with the Atlanta Hawks during pre-season but he didn't manage to earn a spot in their roster. The University of Kansas graduate of 2005 is the 8th leader in assists in the history of the NCAA and led the Kansas Jayhawks to two consecutive Final Four appearances in 2002 and 2003 and...
Videos