The prospects we hear the most about these days have little relevance to a season-ticket holder at Wrigley this season, unless that fan also plans to take in games at Fifth Third Stadium in Geneva, IL, where the Kane County Cougars, the Cubs’ new Midwest League affiliate, will play their home games. Almora and Vogelbach [...]
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Posted 18 February 2013
† Phil
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Also tagged: austin kirk, brett jackson, brooks raley, chris rusin, dae-eun rhee, dave sappelt, frank batista, garrett jones, jae-hoon ha, jay jackson, jeffrey antigua, josh vitters, junior lake, logan watkins, nick struck, rob whitenack, trey mcnutt, ty'relle harris
After consulting, apparently, the Mayan calendar, baseball’s cognoscenti determined that Sunday, July 31st, would be the end of the world for the Chicago Cubs, coinciding with the major-league trading deadline; or, less metaphorically, that the Cubs’ GM would dispose of every remotely tradeable player on the team just before being disposed of himself. Management would [...]
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Posted 07 August 2011
† Phil
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Hendry § prospect § Quade § soriano § trade
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Also tagged: alfonso soriano, aramis ramirez, brandon guyer, brett jackson, carlos pena, darwin barney, jeff beliveau, jim hendry, marlon byrd, mike quade, ryan flaherty, starlin castro, tim wilken, tyler colvin
No one ever said Koyie Hill could hit. What they did say, especially following the 2009 season when Hill gunned down 20 of 50 would-be base stealers (40%), was that he could throw. Unfortunately for Hill and his supporters, that caught-stealing percentage plummeted to 18% in 2010. Full disclosure: I consider myself a long-time Hill [...]
I like prospects, and I have made a fuss on this blog about Guyer and Chirinos in particular. Chirinos got my attention in ’09 when he hit two grand slams in a game in late May, and then kept hitting. Disappointed when the Cubs failed to protect Chirinos from the Rule 5 draft in ’09, [...]
My recent post about Brandon Guyer and his fellow Tennessee speedsters included, as it turned out, a rash prediction at the very end. Here is that last paragraph: The real story to emerge from the minor-league campaign is that the Cubs needed a leadoff hitter and they now have Guyer, Campana and Jackson to choose [...]
The Cubs have any number of prospects having fine seasons, and so their choice of minor-league player of the year, Brandon Guyer, is noteworthy. If you glance at this list of former recipients of this award, you will see names that are familiar to Cub fans–Burke, Hoffpauir, Soto, Patterson (Eric), Dopirak, Choi, Jackson (Nic), Patterson [...]
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Posted 14 September 2010
† Phil
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Also tagged: blake lalli, brandon guyer, brett jackson, brian dopirak, eric patterson, kyler burke, matt spencer, micah hoffpauir, robinson chirinos, russ canzler, steve clevenger, tony campana, tony thomas
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 team [...]
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Posted 01 July 2010
† Phil
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Hendry § Piniella § prospect § soriano § trade
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Also tagged: alfonso soriano, andrew cashner, brett jackson, carlos silva, d.j. lemahieu, derrek lee, 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
I fancy myself a bit of a scout–a scout of the armchair, box-score persuasion, one who never set eyes on any of the players mentioned in this post unless they happened to be on WGN on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in March. The results of my scouting are tabulated, weekly during the season, in [...]
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Posted 12 March 2010
† Phil
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Also tagged: alex maestri, alfonso soriano, andrew cashner, aramis ramirez, blake parker, brad snyder, brandon guyer, brett jackson, carlos marmol, chris archer, chris carpenter, chris huseby, david cales, derrek lee, dexter fowler, dustin sasser, greg reinhard, hak-ju lee, james adduci, jay jackson, jeff beliveau, jeff stevens, jeffry antigua, john gaub, jose valdez, josh vitters, juan pierre, koyie hill, kyler burke, logan watkins, manolin de leon, marlon byrd, matt camp, micah hoffpauir, michael bourn, nyger morgan, ryan buchter, sam fuld, starlin castro, tony campana, tyler colvin, willie taveras, xavier nady
When it develops its own players, a solid baseball organization also produces tradeable veterans. Tradeability is something of a foreign concept to Cub fans. It does not apply to high-profile flops, players you wish had never come in the door. Cub fans are quite familiar with players of that sort. Recent examples are Soriano, Fukudome, [...]
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Posted 21 February 2010
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Hendry § prospect § Ricketts § trade
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Also tagged: d.j. lemahieu, hak-ju lee, jim hendry, john mcdonough, jose serra, marlon byrd, oneri fleita, rebel ridling, ryan flaherty, ryan theriot, starlin castro, tim wilken, tom ricketts
Word was out last week that nineteen Cubs not currently on the 40-man roster have been invited to spring training with the major-league team. Infielders: Barney, Camp, Castro, LaHair, Lalli, Scales, Vitters Outfielders: Jackson, Snyder Catchers: Chirinos, Clevenger, Robinson Pitchers: Cashner, Coleman, Diamond, Kennard, Mathes, Perkins, Russell Say hello to your 2010 Iowa Cubs!–with the [...]