Bob Brenly Tells Starlin Castro To Get Off His Lawn
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 12:03 AM CDT
in Minor Leagues
Email
PrintBecause the Iowa Cubs and the Peoria Chiefs were both rained out tonight and because I'm not in any better mood than any of you are, I'm going to take this time to say something that gives me no pleasure to say.
Bob Brenly is full of it.
Now I like Bob, but he is prone to "Old Ballplayers" disease from time to time. Tonight he was (justifiably) complaining about the fundamental mistakes made by Starlin Castro and Hanley Ramirez, but then he said something stupid. He said "It used to be that you were expected to play at least 500 games in the minors [before getting called up to the majors] to learn the fundamentals" or words very close to that. I was eating dinner at the time so I didn't write down the exact words, but that's what he said.
What he said was complete nonsense.
Besides the fact that Hanley Ramirez actually played 400 games in the minors, it's complete nonsense. That has never been the case.
Bob didn't give a time frame for this "old baseball rule," but I think from context it's pretty clear the era that Brenly was speaking of. It was the 1970s and 1980s, when ballplayers were men who played the game right and waited their turn to take the field. It also just happened to be the era that Bob himself toiled in the minor leagues. Frankly, it couldn't have been much earlier than that because the draft doesn't start until 1965 and before that any player who signed for a bonus was expected to go straight to the majors because of the "Bonus Baby" rule. Besides, I don't think Bob knows much about the minor leagues of the 1950s and 1960s. If you go back before that, you enter the era of the "Free Minors" when major league clubs didn't get to decide when a player went to the majors. They had to purchase the player from a minor league team willing to sell to them. (OK, there were rules in place that said minor league teams had to sell a player for a certain price, but let's not get too technical here)
So let's get back to the era when Bob Brenly was in the minors. The 1970s.
Sure enough, Mr. Brenly played almost 600 games in the minor leagues before he got the call. He spent one season in rookie ball, three years in A ball, one in AA and two in AAA. But as Bob likes to point out constantly, he wasn't much of a prospect. He was an undrafted free agent who was just signed to fill out a roster. Every once an a while, a guy like that turns himself into an All-Star. That was Bob. But those guys aren't just handed the keys to a major league locker room. They have to prove themselves at every level, often more than once, just to prove that the scouts who wrote them off as no prospect in the first place were wrong.
So good for Bob as he got called up to the majors when the players returned from the Great Strike of 1981. If you look at the roster of any team in the 1980s when Bob was playing, you'll see lots of players who played more than 500 games in the minors. His teammate on the Giants, "Hackman" Jeffrey Leonard, played over 500 games in the minors before getting the call and over 700 before he finally stuck. Of course, Leonard was also an undrafted free agent, and he was also still 17 when he started in the minors. His fellow rookie on the '82 Giants, Chili Davis, played 450 games in the minors. So not quite 500, but still a lot.
But while Brenly, Leonard and Davis all turned themselves into good players, Bob isn't talking about ordinary players. One of the players he's talking about is Hanley Ramirez, who's probably the second-best player in the National League. The other is Starlin Castro, whom we have no idea how he's going to turn out, but is certainly considered a much better player in the minors than Brenly, Leonard or Davis were. (Leonard was so highly regarded, he was traded twice.)
But Robby Thompson, who Bob also played with, played 287 games in the minors--two and a half years. Will "The Thrill" Clark was a huge star at Mississippi State and played a grand total of 74 games in the minors.
But we've only looked at one organization: the Giants. I think it's safe to say that the three biggest stars for the Cubs in the 1980s were Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson and Mark Grace. They're good examples because Sandberg came up with the Phillies, Dawson with the Expos and Grace with the Cubs. Sandberg played 450 games, but Dawson only played 186 minor league games and Gracie checks in at 270.
Look at any of the big stars of the 1980s, and you'll see that most of them played far fewer than 500 games in the minors. Dale Murphy played 434. Darryl Strawberry played 312. Mike Schmidt played 205. Fred Lynn played 174. Ricky Henderson played 252. Robin Yount played 64 games. So did Paul Molitor. Ozzie Smith played 68 games.
Even a guy like Ted Simmons played only 333 games in the minors. Andy Van Slyke played 395.
Dave WInfield and Bob Horner played zero games in the minor leagues. Remember that, Bob?
Now again, you can argue that all those guys (well, with maybe the exception of Horner) were exceptional players, at least Ray Lankford Hall of Famers if not actual guys in Cooperstown. (Lankford himself played 476 minor league games.) But we don't know how good Starlin Castro is going to get and the other guy he was complaining about was Hanley Ramirez. You want to compare Hanley to Johnnie LeMaster?
It's clear that Starlin Castro was nervous tonight. It's also clear that even in the minors, he made more errors than you'd like. It's also clear that Starlin Castro is very young and probably wouldn't be in the majors if the Cubs weren't in full panic mode right now.
But even so, Castro has played 264 games in the minors. Two-hundred and four if you don't count the Dominican Summer League. That's more than a lot of the stars on that list.
That's no reason for Bob Brenly to go off on him and Ramirez for not knowing the fundamentals like he did back in the day. We're all frustrated. Bob's frustrated. But in case Bob forgot, he spent over 600 games in the minors and that didn't stop him from making four errors in one inning which is a major league record. (OK, he was playing out of position.)
It's absolutely false that players in the past spent more time in the minors, just as the idea that players "back in my day" knew the fundamentals better than the players of today. That statement is also hilarious to those of us who can remember the 1980s and remember the players from the 1950's and 1960's go off on them and say how lacking they were in the fundamentals. Just like the guys in The Glory of their Times complained about the players of the fifties and sixties.
So Bob, next time you're frustrated with the Cubs, stop yelling at Castro to get off your lawn. The guy is a kid and he's going to make mistakes. I would have liked to see him play in the minors longer to work on things like his defensive consistency. But the players and organizations back in your era weren't any different. In fact, they were probably more likely to call up a big shot prospect early than we are today.
43 comments
|
9 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
And how do you really feel about Bob?
Just kidding Josh – very well written and a great read. You’re probably right that Bob was venting his frustrations and possibly was trying to make good TV by being dramatic but at the end of the day the best way to learn from our mistakes is to call them out and analyze them.
I realize you’re discussing Bob’s specific statement that “back in the day we were men and played 500 games before coming up”(quote unquote) but the main point was that fundamentals were stressed more back then than they are now. I’m only 28 so I can’t speak from experience but that’s how I interpreted his rant.
What I’m surprised about is how everyone rated Starlin highly defensively. I’ve seen flashes of range but no real webgems just yet. I’m looking for a couple of those before too long.
Again, nice job Josh.
by cubsonWGN4ever on May 11, 2010 12:21 AM CDT reply actions
Of course,
that’s just not true about the “fundamentals” either. Ballplayers of every era think that the player who followed them are not as good at the “fundamentals.” But one thing you can see throughout baseball history is the number of errors going down. Now there are more reasons to that than fundamentals (better fields, better equipment), but I wouldn’t say that the old players were better “fundamentally.”
I’ll also point out that players of Bob’s day thought that working out would make you muscle-bound and slow. Any ballplayer of today that followed an average off-season training regimen of the 1970s would be out of baseball tout de suite.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 12:31 AM CDT up reply actions
Good job Josh
I was reading somewhere that nostalga plays tricks on people. Everyone knows about the Beatles, but nobody (well, not a lot of people) know about some of the truly bad bands from teh 1960s.
It is why I shake my head whenever anyone says “Guys back in the day could throw 300 innings! Look at Nolan Ryan!” For every Nolan Ryan, there’s 30 guys nobody remembers who blew their elbow out and never made it past A ball. We remember greatness and forget badness.
"Your eyes can decieve you. Don't trust them." Obi-Wan Kenobi, the first sabermetrician...
by Curtain Jerker on May 11, 2010 12:37 AM CDT reply actions
Well said, Josh!
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe. - Albert Einstein
by Shawn Domagal-Goldman on May 11, 2010 12:43 AM CDT reply actions
I just thought of something
I find it hilarious that a guy who was a teammate of Kevin Mitchell thinks players of that era know the fundamentals better than the players of today.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
I'll probably ask this again in the game recrap tomorrow
but for anyone who watched the game…
Were the Castro errors on balls that our previous SS would never have gotten to anyway? I’m guessing that Castro has more range than Riot, so I’m not going to get too worked up if his error total is on the high side, assuming these errors are from going deep in the hole or diving up the middle after balls that Riot would have never gotten to.
Any small sample size observations on that?
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
I only saw the first two
And Riot would have probably gotten his glove on both of them. Both of those were errors where he air-mailed Lee on the throw. Looked like he was putting a bit too much pepper on ‘em. A more seasoned SS would have probably made the first throw, but I don’t think anyone could have gotten the second ball in there on time.
My comment during the game was that he’s adjusting to major-league speed. That’ll make you rush a throw or two, until your internal rhythm catches up with what the rest of the league is doing.
From Muskat 5:11
Castro is not the first Cubs shortstop to make three errors in a game. Shawon Dunston did so on April 15, 1985, which was his sixth game in his first professional season. Longtime Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger made three errors on May 30, 1966, in a game in Pittsburgh. That was his second full season.
Source
"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root
MAKE IT GREEN!
I skipped out on the game; but it sounds like Castro wasn’t too welcomed tonight, which is just utter bullshit. By fans at the ballpark and Bob Brenly, the kid is damn young. This isn’t an Alex Gonzalez-level error, game 6 of the NLCS. Chill the hell out.
Thanks for the common sense, Josh.
"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks
Wow. Here in Spain I don't (thank god?) have regular Internet access
It sound like the Cubs have gotten into a real mess, and awaiting perfection from a 20 year old would be pure idiocy.
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
by eths on May 11, 2010 3:07 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Part of the issue
and maybe I should have said this in the main post, was that after Castro made his third error, he let his guard down and Hanley Ramirez raced into second base on what probably should have been a one base error. That’s a mental mistake on Castro’s part, but I don’t see how staying in the minors longer would have solved it. Not many minor league hitters can do that, and I don’t think Bill Dancy talking to him about the dangers of letting your guard down against Hanley Ramirez would have sunk in at Tennessee.
Then on the next play, Hanley ran through a stop sign at third on a single to left and Soriano gunned him down at the plate. In both cases, it’s Hanley being more aggressive than he should—getting away with it on the rookie and it costing the Marlins against Fonzie. But that’s the kind of risk-taking you get with a player as talented as Hanley Ramirez. Either way, I don’t see how staying in the minors longer solves that. I don’t think the rookie Hanley Ramirez runs the stop sign in any case.
Anyway, that’s what sent Brenly on his rant.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 3:40 AM CDT up reply actions
Sounds like you are making imminent sense
Thank you for the info and well thought out post.
"A waist is a terrible thing to mind." - Terry 'Fat Tub of Goo' Forster
by eths on May 11, 2010 5:15 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Starlin didn't call himself up to the majors, the Cubs front office did.
Brenly should be venting against Jim Hendry for constructing this team. increasing the frustration level of watching this team play baseball (“What kind of baseball do you play?”), and calling up Starlin so early in his development. Just sayin’…..
"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.
You must've not been around for the Chip and Steve era
Where excessive booth managing cost them their jobs, rightly so or not.
Criticizing rookies as a whole == Calling Cubs games next year
Criticizing the specific GM of the team that more or less employs you == Looking for a new job.
I remember that well.
And I still like Stoney.
Brenly has commented on the lack of Cubs fundamentals throughout the years, and his criticisms of Soriano the past few years (not this year, though) have been duly noted….
"I'm not much of a chemistry guy, you know. Chemistry to me is a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded"--Jim Frey, Chicago Tribune, 1985.
He's become a little more relaxed at times
But I don’t see him ever calling out Hendry on TV, ever.
Thanks Josh
wonderful right up. I guess if Bob was in the stands he would of booed Castro like the rest of the idiots. 20 year old kid who admitted he was nervous afterwards to reporters through maybe Soriano.
This kid has enormous talent, who had a bad game. And the fans boo him, just a disgraceful act. Sick of this crap with these so called fans. I don’t want to hear the lame excuse " I paid for my ticket, I will boo if I want" Bullshit. Grow up. Talking about a teenager for the most part. This whole team is a mess.
by Grockcubs on May 11, 2010 6:16 AM CDT reply actions 2 recs
Yeah, that kid is gonna be ruined by this experience
If booing is going to destroy him, then he was going to be a bust anyway.
And the eighth and final rule: if this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight.
where
did he ever say it was going to destroy Castro? The booing is a bunch of crap…especially someone who is new to the major leagues and is so young – try to remember what it was like to be 20 years old, if you can, I think it would have made you pretty hard on yourself and/or get discouraged to be booed by tens of thousands of people. Booing is about the dumbest thing ever.
Official El-Presidente of the Unofficial Little Castro Blocker Fan Club
Currently 34,839 on the Season Ticket Wait List - Expected age of being #0: 119
Well you know
what, it sure in the hell won’t help. Nice first game at home experience for the kid. The fans go home and have a nice drink and some wings, boast about booing a 20 year old who can’t speak a lick of English, REAL proud Cub Fans.
I don't think Brenly would have been booing
I think he would have said “In my day, we would have made that play” forgetting about the four errors he made in one inning one day.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
To be fair to Brenly...
… he made those four errors in one inning playing third base, not his regular position, and one he wasn’t very good at in general (why the Giants had him do it so often is beyond me).
FWIW, on September 14, 1986, the day Brenly made those four errors in one inning, he also had two homers and won the game with a walkoff in the last of the 9th.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Sure
And I said that in the main story.
But my general point is that errors happened in the 1980s and errors happen today. Mental lapses happened in the 1980s and they happen today.
But it’s a little disingenuous for Bob to say he was playing out of position. If you look at his Minor League career, he actually played third base more in the minors than he caught. Now admittedly, we don’t have all the data for the low minors when Bob just started out. But it’s clear that the Giants tried to make a third baseman out of Brenly in the low minors and then moved him back to catching part-time as he moved up.
I don’t want to pick on Brenly as a player, because it’s not really the point here. But the secret of Bob’s playing career was that he was a bad defensive player. They moved him to third base because he was bad behind the plate and they wanted to get his bat in the lineup. They moved him back to catcher because they realized he was even worse at third base than he was behind the plate. As a player, Brenly was pretty similar to Michael Barrett. He was probably a little better defensively behind the plate than Barrett, but not a lot.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Bob's just frustrated like the rest of us...
But, you can add this to the conversation Josh… from Jon Greenberg on ESPN
The Cubs did their research to make sure they weren’t rushing him by historical standards. Castro had 1,098 plate appearances going back to 2007, when he played in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old, according to Baseball-Reference.com. But only 243 have come in Double-A, where he hit .332 in parts of two seasons.
The Cubs compiled comparable minor league numbers for All-Star caliber shortstops, from Rafael Furcal (1,118 plate appearances), Edgar Renteria (1,778) to guys like Ozzie Smith (333 in one season) and Alan Trammell (720), to see if there was historical precedent to bringing a guy up so quickly.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
There you go.
Didn’t even think to look up Alan Trammell’s minor league numbers, but he played less in the minors than Castro did.
Trammell’s AB numbers are wrong. They don’t have the ABs for his 41 games in rookie ball in 1976 included. But he played in 196 games, none of which were above AA. Trammell was drafted out of high school in 1976, played half a season in rookie ball and then got a late promotion to AA in 1976. He played all of the 1977 season in AA and then got a September call-up to the Tigers and never went back to the minors. He was six months younger than Castro is today.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 11:37 AM CDT up reply actions
Also... in terms of errors made
Trammel made 14 (.979%) in 139 games, his rookie season in 1978. Trammel was a career .977%
Furcal made 23 (.950%) in 100 games, his rookie season in 2000. His highest total was 31 in 2003.
Renteria made 11 (.979%) in 106 games, his rookie season in 1996. he was 19 years old! And batted .309! His highest total was 30 errors in 2005 with Boston.
Hanley Ramirez made 26 errors his rookie season in 2006, and those numbers have gone down each season since. He was 21.
Jose Reyes, who somehow has yet to come into comparison here, had 18 errors his first full season in 2005. He first joined the Mets for 69 games in 2003, when he was 20 years old.
Omar Vizquel made 18 errors as a 22 year old rookie in 1989.
Ozzie Smith made 25 errors as a 23 year old rookie in 1978.
We don’t know how good of a fielder Castro will turn out to be. But, please… be patient and let him develop. And consider the error total comparison to these guys, as the year progresses.
"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)
Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.
by SackMan on May 11, 2010 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
That's quite the post...
about one sentence. He’s a commentator. An analyst. He analyzed and commented.
I think you should stick to writing recaps about the minor league games.
Disagree.
This post raises an important and interesting issue that goes beyond Brenly’s comment and includes some great historical perspective. Try reading it again, kanderman.
-1
Are you familiar with the old robot saying, "Does not compute"?
by dr stabbingworth on May 11, 2010 8:14 AM CDT up reply actions
I will say
that last night after I heard Comrade’s 2nd error I was immediately thinking about this site and all of the jubilation that there was last week when he had his homer and triple and I thought to myself – “Ha, this will prove these people wrong, I WAS RIGHT! It was too early.” Then I took a nice deep breath, the kid is playing in Wrigley for the first time ever, hell my first time visiting Wrigley and I was in awe and nervous, couldnt imagine playing there (although, Jim, if you need a cheap utility player to throw into blowout games without caring if I ever get a hit or if I make 10 errors in one game and get thrown out running to first on a deep shot to the gap that should have been an inside the park home run, I am your man, I will play for $50,000, screw the CBA).
To Mr. Brenly and everyone else out there who thinks that XYZ decade or the past was soo much better and the youth respected their elders, politicians were honest and that baseball players never cheated – you only respected your elders until 12, politicians are dirty rotten liars, always have been, and baseball players have always cheated, tried to do without the fundamentals and get off your damn high horse about your stupid traditions – the one team in the world who shouldnt have torn down their historic stadium to rebuild a similar looking modern one – DID – so get off you freekin high horse that Wrigley is some sort of a museum and holy cow when we have 0 (ZERO, NULL, CERO, NULA, SIFURI) WORLD SERIES RINGS THERE and only 6 pennants – so is it so beloved because its old?
So Bob, get off your high donkey and realize that baseball isnt that much different than from your day…you had showboats and guys who didnt care about the fundamentals just the same as we do today.
Official El-Presidente of the Unofficial Little Castro Blocker Fan Club
Currently 34,839 on the Season Ticket Wait List - Expected age of being #0: 119
I watched the game and missed what Brenly said
But come on, really?
That just lacks class the way he stated it. He better be careful, ask Steve Stone.
Personally I am sick of him calling players out (as I do, forgive me frustration) the difference between us and him is that he is paid to provide analysis, not call a player that is struggling out. We all know Alf is not the best left fielder defensively, there is no need for Mr. Brenly to reiterate something as we have eyes. But a rookie? Classless. I lost a lot of respect for Bob after hearing about this.
"I don't know what the big deal about Crackerjack is"
by theGraceyslumpbuster on May 11, 2010 8:51 AM CDT reply actions
Brenly hit it dead on
and the Cubs are one organization I know of that hasn’t exactly produced a whole lot of great position players through their system.
The 500-game number is debatable, the clear lack of fundamental play by some guys isn’t.
Just win the next game...!
Guess which player was first to the ballpark to take infield?
Castro was on the field working with Trammell before most players were even at the park. Brenly was painting with way too broad of a brush and Josh’s post points it out. Brenly was wrong about today’s players being inferior and he was wrong to unload on Castro playing in his home debut and 4th big league game. It’s way too soon to make any proclamations about Castro’s fundamentals just yet. Brenly and the fans booing Castro ought to realize this kid is a work in progress and there will be rough patches. No point in attacking the kid and destroying his confidence. He certainly knew he screwed up he doesn’t need a city jumping on his back about it. Give him a chance to play and develop without expecting him to be perfect. Attacking the guy won’t help him any and I would assume fans of the team would want him to play in an environment that is condusive to his development not one that thwarts it.
by Acapulco Taco Pie on May 11, 2010 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions
I saw Trammell working with Castro in the infield last night...
… when the gates opened, and sent out a tweet about it. There’s no doubt Castro wants to work hard and that the coaching staff is doing what they can to help him succeed.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Hope Castro Doesn't Press
You worry that a 20-year old might be trying too hard to do well.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
Let's be clear on Brenly
He wasn’t attacking Castro as much as he was pointing to Castro and Ramirez and saying “In my day, we were taught not to play the game like that.”
We’re concentrating on Castro here, but Brenly’s criticisms were aimed at both Starlin Castro and Hanley Ramirez.
I never travel far without a little Big Star. R.I.P Alex
by Josh Timmers on May 11, 2010 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions
That's what all old people say
when they are mad about something…“In my day I had to walk uphill both ways to school just so I could play ball in the snow on a 120 degree day barefooted and without a bat – we used our arms – and I paid PK Wrigley to play the game.”
Official El-Presidente of the Unofficial Little Castro Blocker Fan Club
Currently 34,839 on the Season Ticket Wait List - Expected age of being #0: 119
by hansman1982 on May 11, 2010 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions
In My Day (Ode to Dana Carvey)
We had to walk all the way up to the TV to change the channel because we didn’t have a remote control. We didn’t have the Internet, e-mail, or cell phones, and we liked it.
Seriously, though, I can’t imagine life without those things now.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
Great post.
It’s great to poke holes in all of the up-hill-both-ways myths of the Baby Boomers—-who heard the same myths from their parents—-and also poked holes in them. – TL
"Sir,--It has been wittily remarked that there are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third and most aggravated is statistics." *The National Observer* (June 13, 1891): p. 93-94.
To be honest
the criticism on Castro was about his lackadaisical effort getting after the ball after his error. That’s a mental mistake not a physical one. Many of us recall that Cox pulled Jones out of a game after only one such effort.
Shake it off rookie. You’re playing with the big boys now and fans expect effort. Cub fans want to see you succeed and will overlook the physical errors as long as you hustle. In truth, that mistake made no difference in the game. But does anyone think he’ll ever do that again? This team is going nowhere partly because the urgency of winning every game isn’t in the hearts of too many players. I, for one, am tired of hearing that there’s a long ways to go in the season. Fact is, we’re getting close to dropping out of sight and it’s not even mid May.
If a quality pitching start is 3 runs and 6 innings, then a quality hitting day is 1 for 4.
Bad To Have Number of MiLB Games Minimum
You’ve got to take into account if the player was at a major division 1 college baseball conference such as the SEC or Pac-10. Players drafted highly from major D-1 programs often start at AA. That right there cuts into the number of minor league games necessary to prepare a player for the big leagues. Some players simply blossom sooner than others. Jason Heyward didn’t need as many games as Geovany Soto to be in the big leagues. Greg Maddux didn’t need as many minor league starts as Randy Wells.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bleed Cubbie Blue
Related FanShots on Bleed Cubbie Blue
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
Cubs By The Numbers
Cubs By The Numbers is a history of the ballclub by uniform number, but the biographies help trace the history of our beloved team in a new way. For everyone who's a Cubs fan, anyone who ever wore the uniform is like family. Cubs By The Numbers reintroduces readers to some of their long-lost ancestors, even ones they think they already know.
Click here to order your copy, available now!
Recent Stories in Ticket Exchanges
Baseball Nation Recent Stories
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- Marlins agree to unretire No. 5 for Logan Morrison, who will honor his father’s favorite player
- Weatherman Derek Holland does Dallas TV
- Ask Alex: Will Julio Teheran or Matt Moore win rookie of the year?
- Ku Klux Klan, umpires and bowling: Why the minor leagues tossed out Jim Evans academy
- The Cardinals Hall of Fame can now be found at Bill Clinton’s library in Arkansas (Huh?)
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
