Well, actually, I do.I trust 100 percent that what Peter Gammons says is true.Gammons reported via twitter that the Cubs said "they do not have cash to sign (Prince) Fielder." Those tricky Cubs aren't telling the truth to poor Peter.Unless the Cubs magically turned into a mid-market team, the Cubs can certainly afford to sign the free agent first baseman.According to Cot's Contracts and MLB Trade Rumors' arbitration projections, the Cubs' payroll stands at $87.1 million at the start of free agency. Throw the David DeJesus signing in, and that brings the number up to $92.1 million. ...
Troy Renck of the Denver Post tweeted yesterday that the Cubs acquired Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers for Tyler Colvin and D.J. Lemehieu. Colvin and Lemehieu may do well, but Stewart (a non-tender candidate) fills an opening in the Cubs' roster.The Cubs have been rumored to be talking to the Rockies about Stewart since the Winter Meetings began, with Lemehieu and Colvin being mentioned in separate offerings.The player that came out of nowhere is Casey Weathers, a relief pitcher with electric stuff. Weathers, a former first-round draft choice, is a type of pitcher that ...
As of right now, the only certainties are that Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano and Matt Garza are guaranteed their place in the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation, with Dempster being the Opening Day starter (one of the most overrated things in baseball).
With two starting spots being up for grabs, spring training will bring a lot of excitement for how things will shake out come April.
Of the competitors, veterans Carlos Silva and Randy Wells have a supposed leg-up, while youngsters Casey Coleman, James Russell, Andrew Cashner and Jeff Samardzija, along with prospect Chris Carpenter, all have a bid in those two spots.
Also, ...
Seven seasons ago, the Cubs traded Hee-Seop Choi and Mike Nannini for Derek Lee to fill the glaring hole left at first base since the departure of fan favorite Mark Grace in 2000.
The two players that Lee was acquired for hardly made a splash in the Major Leagues, while Lee has been a two-time All Star, a two-time Gold Glove winner, and placed third in MVP voting in those seven seasons. Needless to say, the Cubs were the big winners in the trade.
This past August however, the Cubs themselves traded Lee for a few minor leaguers (Jeffrey Lorick, Robinson Lopez, ...
There’s Always Next Year: Intro
With catcher arguably the most important position on the diamond, the Cubs seem to have found a solid foundation for the future—hopefully.
Geovany Soto proved that he certainly had the talent to repeat and even build upon his rookie campaign after that came into question in the 2009 season.
There is no doubt Soto can hit. The question for the upcoming season—and seasons beyond—is whether or not Soto can stay healthy. Catcher is no doubt the most physically taxing position to field, and the ability to stay healthy is always a crapshoot.
That said, Soto has run into injury ...
There has been a lot of traffic over the question of what exactly the Cubs are going to do at the first base position since Derrek Lee left the team. There has been a lot of fanfare regarding Tyler Colvin’s move to first, but Mike Quade seems to have squelched that idea. So what are the Cubs to do? Well there are many options, some more possible than others.
Sign a Free Agent
This appears to be, by far, the laziest of any possible solutions. I mean it’s easy, right? Let’s just throw some money at the problem, and bring in a ...
In light of my recent obsession with Cubs rookie pitchers, I’ve taken notice to yet another intriguing young arm. Marcos Mateo made his big league debut Aug. 8, and has enjoyed little to no success since then.
Mateo joined the Cubs’ system as a player to be named later in the trade that sent outfielder Buck Coats (remember him?) to Cincinnati in 2007. While the Cubs tried their hand at making Mateo a starter, it is clear his control issues limit him to a relief role.
The 26-year-old right-hander has shared time in the Cubs’ Rookie, Double-A, and Triple-A leagues this season ...
Yesterday’s transaction line for the Cubs showed a bit of an eye-opening move.
Cubs' GM Jim Hendry exchanged one youthful left-handed specialist reliever for a righty with so-so stuff in a move that sent Justin Berg down to Triple-A Iowa for Scott Maine.
Berg has been a very big disappointment in his first try in the majors, sporting a 5.77 ERA to go along with his 2.88 strikeout per nine innings ratio.
To make matters worse than that terrible K/9 figure, he is walking a ton of batters, leading to a unthinkable 0.61 K/BB rate (2.15 average).
It looks as though even though Berg ...
Cubs rookie pitcher Casey Coleman has enjoyed varying game-to-game success, inducing a plethora of ground balls and keeping the ball out of the air in general.
The 15th-round draft pick in 2008 doesn’t have blue-chip prospect "stuff," but he can certainly provide some value out of the Cubs’ fifth spot in the rotation.
Coleman works with a solid two-seam fastball that hovers around 90 m.p.h., as does his four-seam fastball. His two-seamer has good run, which is where he gets his majority of ground balls, while his four-seamer has a bit more of a cutting action.
Cubs fans, if you are expecting ...
Geovany Soto made a solid statement his 2008 rookie season, slugging his way to a .371 wOBA, third among Major League catchers (Brian McCann and Joe Mauer).
He also tied for the Major League lead among catchers with 23 home runs.
Soto followed his impressive rookie campaign with a pretty severe sophomore slump, much to the chagrin of Cubs fans and potential fantasy owners predicting him to repeat or build upon his first season.
Soto hit for a mere .310 wOBA in his second season in the bigs and was hit with the recoil of working 141 games behind the plate his rookie ...
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