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In Nov. 2006, Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry signed star outfielder Alfonso Soriano to an eight-year deal worth $136 million.
To that point in his career, Soriano had a career batting line of .280/.325/.510. He had just finished a season in which he made the All-Star team for the fifth consecutive year. Over his first six full seasons of Major League experience, Soriano averaged 155 games played, 34 home runs, and 35 stolen bases. He seemed destined for greatness.
Three years into the deal, it hangs around Hendry's neck like the hopelessly tangled chain of an anchor, pulling the executive under ...
January 6, 2010. If you're a baseball fan, chances are you know what that date means.
It is a great day for anyone who loves baseball. On January 6, 2010, the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce who, if anyone, they will bestow the greatest honor any baseball player can receive, induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
As with every year, there are sure to be debates over who gets in and who doesn't, and this year is sure to be no different.
In recent years, debates have raged over players who have fallen short of the required ...
It’s truly happy “Holliday” in St. Louis, though us Cubs fans may not enjoy our New Year's quite as much now.
For the Cubs division challenger and long-time bitter rival St. Louis Cardinals put a dagger into the rest of the division by announcing the team has re-signed free agent outfielder Matt Holliday to a seven-year, $120 million contract.
It's a lot to pay for a player who seemingly had no other suitors, and the Cardinals may regret this deal in the long run. But for the next few seasons, it will really help St. Louis.
Holliday had experienced a slow start in ...
With the Marlon Byrd signing shoring up the center field situation, the biggest weakness in the Cubs lineup, provided Geovanny Soto turns things around, is now at second base.
It seems as though the Cubs are content to open the season with the trio of Jeff Baker, Mike Fontenot, and Andres Blanco set to man second base, with Baker in position to get the bulk of the playing time. While there are worse options than Baker, there is a better option currently sitting in free agency, and that is Felipe Lopez.
I have long been an advocate of the Cubs acquiring the ...
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports has a new article in which he tries to match up the remaining 10 free agents with the clubs most likely to sign them. Rosenthal has the Cubs nabbing free agent Ben Sheets.
Sheets would be an interesting name if his contract demands aren't too pricey. A one year contract for a low base with incentives would not only make sense, it just might fit into Jim Hendry's budget.
Of Marlon Byrd's $15 million deal, $3 million will count toward this season. That should just about equal this year's return from the cash received as apart of the Milton ...
The 1920s was one of the worst decades in the history of Major League Baseball for starting pitcher stats. It is the worst, except for the 1890s, 1930s, and 2000s (now).
It’s especially interesting because it followed one of the best decades in history for starting pitcher numbers—the 1910s.
The 1910s is the best decade for starting pitcher numbers, other than the 1870s and the first decade of the 1900s.
The 1920s was the first decade of the live ball era.
Every starting pitcher on this list pitched at least part of their career in the 1910s, and this needs to be adjusted for, ...
The 1920s was one of the worst decades in the history of Major League Baseball for starting pitcher stats. It is the worst, except for the 1890s, 1930s, and 2000s (now).
It’s especially interesting because it followed one of the best decades in history for starting pitcher numbers—the 1910s.
The 1910s is the best decade for starting pitcher numbers, other than the 1870s and the first decade of the 1900s.
The 1920s was the first decade of the live ball era.
Every starting pitcher on this list pitched at least part of their career in the 1910s, and this needs to be adjusted for, ...
In the off-season between 2008 and 2009, Geovany Soto was riding high. The Chicago Cubs catcher had just won the National League Rookie of the Year award, having socked 23 home runs and posted an .868 OPS in his first full season of Major League work.
Perhaps in retrospect, the young backstop rode a little too high. He came to camp in poor shape, and admitted during the season to a positive test for marijuana during the World Baseball Classic.
Impeded by those distractions, Soto fell into a dizzying sophomore slump in 2009. He hit just .218/.321/.381, and his home-run tally collapsed ...
Stopping to read the Jim Hendry outfield foibles over the last few seasons reads like the tale of a man who just doesn't get it. Corey Patterson, Jacque Jones, Jeromy Burnitz, Matt Lawton, Cliff Floyd, Juan Pierre, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Milton Bradley, just to name a few. In pretty much every case, the Cubs have either failed to get the production that they hoped for, and/or wildly overpaid for it. I'll let you figure out which is which.
Couple that with the players that have passed by them; guys like Carlos Betran, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, and ...
Stopping to read the Jim Hendry outfield foibles over the last few seasons reads like the tale of a man who just doesn't get it. Corey Patterson, Jacque Jones, Jeromy Burnitz, Matt Lawton, Cliff Floyd, Juan Pierre, Alfonso Soriano, Kosuke Fukudome, and Milton Bradley, just to name a few. In pretty much every case, the Cubs have either failed to get the production that they hoped for, and/or wildly overpaid for it. I'll let you figure out which is which.
Couple that with the players that have passed by them; guys like Carlos Betran, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, and ...
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