You’re the Iowa Cubs. You’re in Albuquerque in game eight of a nine-game road trip, trying to make it home still clinging to a slight edge over the fast-closing Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals), who will meet you in Des Moines this weekend for a season-ending, division-clinching four-game set. Two of your starting pitchers, Coleman and Diamond, [...]
Like many fans, I have enjoyed the work of some (not all) Cub rookies this year, and look forward to September, when the Cubs will have nothing to lose by filling the dugout and also the daily lineup card with fresh faces. The top prospects may be otherwise engaged, however. Double-A Tennessee is a sure [...]
Last night in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Marmol interrupted his meltdown by throwing three straight fastballs past Juan Uribe for the second out. The strikeout halted the Giants’ momentum, and a few additional pitches secured the Cub victory. Jon Miller, the Giants’ play-by-play announcer, reflected on how Marmol, protecting a four-run-lead, had gotten [...]
The Cubs went into 2010 with quite a few shortstop prospects vying for four minor-league spots. Hak-Ju Lee was the frontrunner at Peoria, ahead of Logan Watkins. At Daytona, Junior Lake held a slight edge over LeMahieu. Castro started the season at Tennessee, with Flaherty forced over to second or third. Barney was the incumbent [...]
I grew up watching the Cubs play ball in the afternoon, when I could have been watching soap operas. I feel pretty much the same way today.
What I find interesting and relevant about Zambrano is that he doesn’t have very good aim with any of his pitches. His minimal pitching motion is also a concern.
When [...]
With the late-July trading season approaching, the usual rule applies that you trade older, more expensive players at positions where you have a surplus. While I hope they make a few deals, this team does not need to be “blown up,” as some fans are saying. The Cubs won’t make the postseason, and the [...]
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Posted 01 July 2010
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Hendry § Piniella § prospect § soriano § trade
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Tagged: alfonso soriano, andrew cashner, brett jackson, carlos silva, d.j. lemahieu, derrek lee, geovany soto, jim hendry, jody davis, joe carter, joe girardi, lou piniella, marlon byrd, micah hoffpauir, rafael palmeiro, rebel ridling, robinson chirinos, sean marshall, shawon dunston, starlin castro, ted lilly, tyler colvin, welington castillo
This is a new prospect-rating system, adapted from my recent player-value ratings that yielded dollar values for major leaguers. In that system, an offensive player earned points for total bases, walks and stolen bases. Why those particular numbers? Because, as I explained at the time,
They are the means by which a player gets around [...]
Welcome to another season of ranking pitching prospects according to the Marmol Index, where we subtract hits per nine innings from strikeouts per nine innings. Here is what I wrote recently in justification of this unusual metric:
It’s easy to defend the Marmol index. These are the strikeout pitchers. The best scouting report, after all, is [...]
Tony Campana is center fielder and leadoff hitter for the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League. As we approach the end of April, Campana sports the highest batting average (.403) on the winningest team (15-3) in the minor leagues. That he is starting his second full professional season in double A means that the organization [...]
The Cubs would score runs in more innings, and thus do better in low-scoring games, if they had hitters who were better adapted to the top of the order. Obviously, Byrd is not a leadoff hitter, nor does Baker belong anywhere other than six through eight. Can either of them bunt, or hit [...]
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Posted 20 April 2010
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Running § prospect
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Tagged: bobby scales, brad snyder, brandon guyer, brett jackson, hak-ju lee, james adduci, jose valdez, josh vitters, kyler burke, logan watkins, matt camp, starlin castro, tony campana