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The Chicago Cubs player to pay most attention to this spring is Aramis Ramirez. He has come into camp claiming to have worked harder than ever this offseason and has even taken twice as many at bats this spring to fight the chance of a slow start.
While Cubs manager Mike Quade may not have mentioned Ramirez as one of the veteran leaders on the 2011 version of the Cubs, he is the most important player if they have any chance at taking back the Central Division title. Why? When Ramirez is healthy and productive, the Cubs are winning. When he is ...
Now, when I use the term "flexibility," I am not referring to pitchers who can pitch both long and short relief, or can either start or relieve. Yes, that is a type of flexibility, but not the definition the Cubs are using to make decisions on the final roster. Specifically, it is more about contract options here. For example, as bad as Jeff Samardzija is at baseball, he will find a roster spot mainly because he is out of options. Likewise, Carlos Silva is a lock for the fifth spot in the rotation, because what else are the Cubs going to do with the fat man? ...
2011 looks to be a year of many questions for the Chicago Cubs. Gone are Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly, and in are Darwin Barney, Carlos Pena, and Matt Garza. Mike Quade looks to prove Jim Hendry and Tom Ricketts right in choosing him over fan favorite Ryne Sandberg as manager; and Mark Riggins is the new pitching coach in place of Larry Rothschild - poached from the Cubs by the Yankees. All these changes could prove for a very interesting season - be it good or bad.Begin Slideshow
The Cubs have allowed double digit runs in 25 percent of their games so far this season (1-5 in those games), are 9-15 overall, currently on a four game skid and have already had a in-team brawl. Is there a silver lining? Of course!Carlos Zambrano has a sub 1.5 ERA and Marlon Byrd is batting .600, despite critics about his relations with Victor Conte, the man convicted as PED pusher. Two players don't make a team, though, especially when one only plays once every five days. The Cubs need to find a way to improve their pitching, especially with ...
According to ESPNDeportes.com, the Cubs are interested in recently released former Mets second baseman Luis Castillo. But while the potential acquisition of Castillo may not solve all of the Cubs' woes, it may be worth a flier. On the surface, it's easy to see why the Cubs would show interest in Castillo. He will come cheaply, with the Mets paying the majority of his remaining contract. Any team that signs him would be required to pay just the league minimum. Meanwhile, both of the Cubs' current options at second base do not thrill anyone. Jeff Baker and Blake DeWitt may make nice utility players, but even ...
Our 2011 fantasy baseball projections will be released one by one until the top 100 players have been revealed. These rankings consider past achievements, current performance and expected future results based on standard 5×5 H2H settings. Carlos Marmol had one of the most mind-boggling seasons in 2010 at any position. His strikeout total of 138 was higher than that of 10 starters who logged at least 200 innings. His strikeout rate (15.99) was the highest among both starters and relievers in at least 40 years (I called off the search after 1970). Having said that, Marmol’s contact rate (61.3 percent) was by far ...
Chicago Cubs (2010 record: 75-87)
Notable additions: RHP Matt Garza, 1B Carlos Peña, RHP Kerry Wood
Notable subtractions: 1B Xavier Nady
The Cubs suffered through a disappointing 75-87 campaign and a fourth-place finish in the NL Central last season. They looked on as the other clubs in the division improved this winter… then finally, after the Brewers obtained Zack Greinke from the Royals, the Cubs decided they needed to make a strong move before being relegated to also-ran status before the 2011 season got underway. So, they followed the lead of their division rival and acquired RHP Matt Garza (from Tampa Bay) in ...
Replacing a legend is no easy task. Just ask Chris "Izzy" Cole, Mark Wahlberg's character in Rock Star, who failed to live up to the hype Bobby Beers set forth as the front man of Steel Dragon.
If that comparison doesn't do much for you, how about Tony Batista? Never heard of him? That's probably because he hasn't done a damn thing since taking over for Cal Ripken at third base in Baltimore in 2001. Quite frankly, neither have the Orioles.
It's usually the same story: the Dolphins after Marino, the Celtics after Bird (the Dana Barros era), the Bills after...well, the ...
Same story, different day. I swear, this sounds like a familiar plotline. A corpulent starting pitcher takes the mound for the Cubs, gives up multiple moonshots in his first inning of work, calls out a corner infielder for making some negligible error, and a "scuffle" breaks out in the Cubs dugout.
Now I remember. That was the exact same situation that unfolded on June 25, 2010 (my 22nd birthday, mind you) with Carlos Zambrano and ex-Cub Derek Lee. This time, however, it was the Cubs' other volatile, right-handed butterball, Carlos Silva, that tried to go fist to cuffs down the dugout ...
"These are the saddest of possible words: Tinker to Evers to Chance..."
These are the saddest of possible terms: My lifetime of anguish is done. From the iconic double play trio who last brought a championship to the north side of Chicago, to a triad more familiar to today's lexicon, the Chicago Cubs will torture me no longer.
Nothing in the world of sports has weighed on me more heavily over the past several years than the perennial punching bag of the National League Central. But, like the majority of fans of the most languid franchise in professional athletics, I embraced the ...
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