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We all know that picking a top ten list of players in any sport must contain some subjectivity. Sure, one could simply use statistics to support their choices, but how do you compare the relative worth of a pitcher versus a hitter, for example?
Players we remember from our childhoods often have special meaning for us, and it can be difficult to block out those emotions when rating players on your favorite team. We may have looked up to these players as heroes at the time.
Well, we are older now and smart enough to understand that you shouldn't use athletes as ...
This has been a big week for surgeries around baseball.
On Monday it was the New York Mets’ Jeff Francoeur going under the knife , on Tuesday it was the Detroit Tigers’ Brandon Inge and the mother of The Ghost of Moonlight Graham having surgery, and yesterday it was the Chicago Cubs’ Ted Lilly getting repaired.
According to the Chicago Tribune , the left-handed Lilly had shoulder surgery yesterday on his throwing shoulder. The surgery was performed by renowned surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum (I almost wrote Dwight there).
Lilly won’t begin throwing until four months from now, and the Cubs don’t expect Lilly ...
In some ways, it's the same old story. The Yankees win, the Yankees win, say it 27 times for emphasis.
But for those of us who cast a critical eye on the Yankees' championship romp through a 105-win regular season and a dominant playoff run, there are lessons from which a hopeful contender in 2010 can learn a great deal.
The Cubs are just such a would-be winner, and since I make it my business to always look for new ways the Cubs can exploit potential advantages, it seems prudent to spend some time in meditation on what made the Yankees winners, ...
Congratulations to the New York Yankees on their 27th World Series Championship. The 2009 season ended exactly one month after the Cubs campaign came to an end.
Warm up the oven, it's time for the Hot Stove Season.
The 15-day free-agent filing period begins on Thursday. Teams have exclusive negotiating rights for the next 15 days in order to try and re-sign their would-be free agents.
The Cubs are expected to re-sign John Grabow to a contract at some point over the next two weeks and a day, but Rich Harden, Kevin Gregg, Reed Johnson, and Chad Fox are expected ...
The Cubs' starting rotation got a worse fate than they deserved in 2009.
Even though some guys (cough...Zambrano...cough) didn't have the season that everyone expected them to, they pitched solidly and kept the Cubs in a lot more games than the offense did.
According to Chicago Tribune writer Paul Sullivan's Twitter page, Ted Lilly has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder, and should be ready by April.
Should be ready? Does that mean he'll be ready to start throwing? Or does it mean that he'll be ready to throw 200 innings by April?
I'm sure that clarification is coming from multiple sources, but ...
A whisper leaked out of Arizona on Wednesday that Chicago Cubs' left-hander Ted Lilly underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery on Tuesday and isn't expected to return until April.
Great. [Collective sigh from Chicago's North Side.]
Here we go again.
So how does the knowledge that Lilly's now expected to likely miss the first month of the season impact the Cubs as they approach this important winter?
Let's examine a few scenarios.
The first issue that arises is, obviously, Lilly missing starts. You can now assume Lilly's only going to be good for around 25 starts in 2010, which eliminates a lot of imagination from the Cubs ...
Reports are flying out of Arizona, where the Chicago Cubs are having their first winter management meetings with new owner Tom Ricketts, that apparently 2009 hasn't bottomed out just yet.
Apparently, the team's only All Star might be a question mark to begin the 2010 season.
That's right folks, it appears that Ted Lilly had arthroscopic surgery on his left (pitching) shoulder yesterday. The Cubs aren't releasing a lot of details, obviously, but they did say they hope Lilly's ready "within the month of April."
Hold up...the last time I checked, the season starts at the beginning of April.
Lilly is entering the final ...
Filed: Nov. 3, 2009
Bruce Levine of ESPN 1000 is reporting that the Cubs and reliever John Grabow are in the midst of heavy talks for a multi-year deal. Levine reports that the offer is reportedly to be a $6.5 to $7.5 million pact, with a third year being a possibility.
Some people never learn. I expected the Cubs to make a meaningful offer to retain John Grabow, especially given that he was effective down the stretch for the Cubs. If, at the end of the day, the Cubs can lock him up at under $6.5 million, preferably with the second year ...
The rumors are out there. The free agent lists are nearly complete; only uncertainty over player and club option years remains. The trade market is beginning to rediscover itself, for the first time in six weeks or so.
And now, armed with all of that knowledge, we have an opportunity to begin the task of concretely formulating the best plan of action for the Chicago Cubs over the course of the upcoming off-season. It will be an imprecise science; it will also likely not come to fruition, whatever we may propose, because Jim Hendry's mind does not work in the same ...
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