Bleed Cubbie Blue (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP Like it or not, one of the keys to the Cubs' success in 2010 is a resurgence by Alfonso Soriano. Here, he launches his game-winning grand slam vs. the Astros last July 27. View full size photo » Last year about this time, I made this post discussing what I thought should be the makeup of the 2009 Cubs. Brave, isn't it, of me to post that link when I'd just as soon...
Another Cubs Blog (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Here are the 2009 Cubs starting position players BABIP and xBABIP (I used this handy tool ): Player BABIP xBABIP Soto 0.251 0.314 Lee 0.333 0.308 Fontenot 0.281 0.317 Theriot 0.327 0.335 Ramirez 0.331 0.306 Soriano 0.280 0.305 Fukudome 0.314 0.332 Bradley 0.311 0.322 Lee and Ramirez got a little lucky and the rest were a bit unlucky. Geovany Soto got screwed.
THE METHODS REPORTER (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
They accused Geovany Soto of being too fat in 2009. So he's going to take the cure by working out in January with Ryan Dempster, whose four-mile runs through Wrigleyville before games are now... (Like this story? Click the headline to vote it up on WindyCitizen.com)
The Big Dead Sidebar (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
My inbox looks something like this. Bill, bill, with love from mom, bill, "Do you want to be LARGER?", bill, "Do you want to meet cute singles in you're area??????, "#&$% you %^&*@" ... then there's Carrie Muskat's correspondence with her fans. Her questions. My answers. Your look of disapproval as I mock the system. Happy Friday, gang! The Cubs expect Alfonso Soriano...
Bleed Cubbie Blue (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP Will Magglio Ordonez be a Cub in 2010? Browse more photos » With a day off before game six of the ALCS -- and this series has the chance to go down in history as one of the better league championship series, having already produced at least three "instant classics", let's spend today looking toward next year. As most of you probably already...
MLB (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
Batting Around with Geovany Soto
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...
Chicago Breaking News (Free subscription) | 10/21/2009
The Cubs will introduce new hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo at a Wrigley Field press conference this afternoon. As expected, Jaramillio agreed to a three-year deal on Tuesday for a reported $2.4 million. The former Texas hitting coach will be under pressure to ignite the Cubs young hitters, including Geovany Soto and Mike Fontenot, who flopped at the plate in 2009. -- Paul Sullivan
Another Cubs Blog (Free subscription) | 10/12/2009
I really hesitated to do this post, because I simply don’t know what I’m talking about. But I figure what the hell else are we gonna talk about until spring. According to THT’s Pwins, the Cubs were an 84 win club in 2009. Listed here are some Cub players WAR for 2009, (with 2008 in parenthesis) Geovany Soto 1.3 (4.6), Soriano -.8 (3.1), Aramis Ramirez 2.6 (4.7), Bradley- 1.1 (4.5),...
Wait 'til this Year (Free subscription) | 10/09/2009
Well, the season's over. Let's see, something positive to say ... Ah, I got it: It wasn't a June swoon that cost the Cubs! Unfortunately, it was a September one that did them in. While the Cardinals got as hot as the color of their jerseys, the Cubs struggled and stumbled and sank to second place on their way to a disappointing 83-78 season. Given the expectations, the injuries, the horrific fundamentals,...
Chicagoist (Free subscription) | 10/08/2009
AP Photos/ Julio Cortez & Jim Prisching Last season, when the regular season ended both our baseball teams got to keep on playing. This time around, both the Cubs and White Sox cleaned out their lockers while other teams continued on to the postseason. This was not unexpected for the Sox, but many truly thought this was going to be the Cubs' year. And yet fans on both sides of town are left to...
The Cub Reporter (Free subscription) | 10/08/2009
This is probably no more than a formality for 2009, but might as well go through the motions. Last year our wonderful readers voted Geovany Soto as the Cubs 2008 MVP, so let's see who we come up with this year (attempts to build suspense). You can vote in the post above , leave comment on this post though. Your offensive candidates: Derrek Lee and...(shuffles papers, clicks on Fangraphs and Baseball...
Zoner Sports (Free subscription) | 10/07/2009
Given the expectations, it was a pretty awful year of baseball in Chicago. And there are plenty of choices for this year’s All-Worst Chicago Baseball Team. Let us begin… Geovany Soto After a spectacular rookie season, Soto took Sophomore slump to a whole new level. His numbers went from 23 86 .285 .364 .504 to 11 [...]
ChicagoCubsOnline.com (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
Game One Hundred Sixty-One - Cubs 2 Diamondbacks 5 WP - Doug Davis (9-14) LP - Ryan Dempster (11-9) Save - Juan Gutierrez (9) Lou Piniella's crew finished the season with a loss to the Diamondbacks and completed the 2009 campaign with an 83-78 record in 161 games. Doug Davis dominated the Cubs' offense once again. The veteran southpaw's two best starts of the year came at the Cubs' expense. The Cubs...
ChicagoCubsOnline.com (Free subscription) | 10/04/2009
Game One Hundred Sixty - Cubs 5 Diamondbacks 0 WP - Randy Wells (12-10) LP - Daniel Cabrera (0-6) Save - None Randy Wells finished his rookie campaign with one of his better starts of the year on Saturday afternoon. Wells struck out a career-high 10 batters and allowed only three hits in seven shutout innings . Wells gave up a leadoff double to Stephen Drew in the first inning then sat down the next...
Videos