Bleed Cubbie Blue: FanPosts

OT: Blackhawks vs Red Wings

2013-05-20T23:22:18Z

I hope this is ok with you Al....I dont have access to a television right now, and I hope that is a temporary thing, but I would love to have updates from any one who is interested in doing this for me. I just thought we can have a game thread for a hockey play off game. blah blah blah blah blah....I did not know how to post this in the fan shot section....

Off Day OT: Most Amazing Thing You've Seen In A Game

2013-05-20T17:26:00Z

Carlton Fisk tagging out 2 runners at home on the same play? Rennie Stennett going 7 for 7? (That one hurts) Fernando Tatis hitting 2 grand slams in the same inning?

My favorite is this one: In his remarkable MVP season on the South Side, Dick Allen hit ***TWO*** inside the park homeruns in the same game. I was watching this one (was it on WFLD back then?) and it was at the old Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis. Allen hit the balls so hard that I swear both of them knuckled past the centerfielder.

Even better-both were hit off of Hall Of Famer Bert Blyleven.

Have fun and share your memories.

Carlton Fisk tagging out 2 runners at home on the same play? Rennie Stennett going 7 for 7? (That one hurts) Fernando Tatis hitting 2 grand slams in the same inning?

Even better-both were hit off of Hall Of Famer Bert Blyleven.

Have fun and share your memories.

Community Fantasy Baseball Update

2013-05-15T17:02:48Z

I know some here could care less about fantasy baseball, but I find discussing it with the BCBers a lot of fun. We're about a quarter of the way through, and I thought an update on everyone's season would be a good discussion starter. I used to do this weekly with the Falcons blog for football, and getting/giving advice on the season is a good barometer for whether or not to actually make that trade or drop that underperformer.

My first suggestion is to always give as much context as possible, whether that's including the size of the league or other guys on the team that may affect your overall roster.

That said, I'll start it off will a question of my own. Standard 10 team Head to Head categories league, and I was able to stock up pretty well in a league that features some unexperienced fantasy players.

That said, when I have the opportunity to trade a closer for one of Carlos Beltran/Nelson Cruz, I figure I have to pretty much do it, right? I have R. Soriano, Wilhelmson, Mujica, Jim Johnson, H. Bell and Madson coming off the DL soon (albeit to a setup role, hopefully closing later). Clearly I have the depth to trade one, especially for a good hitter like Beltran/Cruz.

My issues are two-fold:

He wants one of Wilhelmson/Mujica, and I'm not sure which to ship off.

I have RF covered pretty well with Stanton (DL), McCutchen in CF, A. Gordon in LF and Harper in RF. Utility is covered with my first basemen Goldschmidt and Rizzo. Zobrist's RF eligibility helps too, considering Kipnis and Desmond can handle 2B and SS.

So, is it even worth my time? If you couldn't tell, the team is pretty stacked and I'm in 1st. Just feel compelled to upgrade if possible. Thoughts? And post your own questions too, I'd love to weigh in.

My first suggestion is to always give as much context as possible, whether that's including the size of the league or other guys on the team that may affect your overall roster.

My issues are two-fold:

He wants one of Wilhelmson/Mujica, and I'm not sure which to ship off.

I have RF covered pretty well with Stanton (DL), McCutchen in CF, A. Gordon in LF and Harper in RF. Utility is covered with my first basemen Goldschmidt and Rizzo. Zobrist's RF eligibility helps too, considering Kipnis and Desmond can handle 2B and SS.

Poll

How's your fantasy season going?

A Conversation On the Rooftop

2013-05-14T15:22:24Z

Last night, I sat on a Rooftop on Sheffield watching the Cubs win. And while standing at the bar, ordering the 4th of my unlimited beers, I struck up a conversation with a fellow standing next to me. The Cubs were winning 5-0 at the time, and the guy said "looks like we got this one wrapped up". I said what I always say, "Don't be so certain, if we can score 5, they can score 5." And he remarked "Well, it's not like we are gonna win this year anyway. Cubs' management says it's going to be at least until 2015, because we are rebuilding." I said, "Well, I think we as fans shouldn't accept that. We should never lose 100 games a season." (Which the Cubs are currently on pace to do). I told him I felt as if all of Chicago had "drank the Kool Aid", and accepted losing for the next few years as inevitable. I told him, "Look, we know what our problems are, where the holes are on the team. If we had a decent bullpen, we could at least be a .500 team, and in the pennant race til at least August." We've made the games close against really good teams like the Reds, Cardinals, and Giants. The guy kind of shrugged and walked away.

I have a feeling guys like DeJesus, and Schierholz, possibly Soriano, and constant trade baiter Garza, could be gone by the trade deadline this year. Yet these guys (save Garza) have been some of our most productive players. These trades could devastate the rest of the season, ensuring our current pace to basically stink. Management has successfully bought themselves time in the minds of the fans to make us wait longer. The payroll has been cut in half since the "Hay Days" of 2008-9. The stadium is empty, even though we've been winning recently, and it seems to me, that if a few holes are plugged, the Cubs could have a decent season this year. At least not lose 100 games!

Here's to hoping the Cubs don't get blown up this year. They seem to be clicking right now as a team, playing .500 baseball so far in May. Should this team get blown up for the sake of the future? Or should fans demand a decent ball club for the whole year? I'm on the fence, but lean towards the latter. I at least don't want to lose 100 games!

Poll

Should the Cubs blow up the team at the trade deadline?

OT: Researching a Family Member Who Supposedly Played MiLB

2013-05-09T05:14:55Z

Hey Guys,

There's a family legend/story that my great grandpa James Bert Johnson played in something called the "Cotton Belt League" or "Cotton States League" (I think it was the former) probably in the late 20s-early 30s (as he was born in 1910) and supposedly faced off against Dizzy Dean. What's the best way to go about trying to prove the veracity of this? BBRef has nothing.

Some posters on Baseball Fever suggested that the Cotton Belt League might be totally outside the minor league system, so I would have a harder time nailing down whether or not my ancestor actually played organized ball (seeing if he played against Dizzy Dean is secondary in my quest)

Thanks,

JOVE

Hey Guys,

Thanks,

JOVE

Carlos Zambrano Is Back In The Game

2013-05-08T14:58:58Z

Carlos Zambrano has reportedly signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. This team is full of ex-big league players like Dontrelle Willis, Vladimir Guerrero, Ben Broussard, Josh Barfield, and Ramon Castro.

Zambrano became a free agent in 2012 but nobody picked him up. In an attempt to get back in the good graces of MLB teams, he is joining the Long Island Ducks because the team is still heavily scouted.

I've always liked the guy. If he could have just harnessed all of that emotion, he may have been in the league a lot longer. I will say that he really knew how to throw a tantrum. Maybe the Atlantic League will get to enjoy some of Big Z's antics.

Enjoy this little clip of what MLB is missing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUN6mQ_NVFg

Enjoy this little clip of what MLB is missing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUN6mQ_NVFg

Why the Cubs owners aren't evil (and even less harmless than the harmless Dolphins owners)

2013-05-06T15:19:09Z

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9246386/miami-dolphins-pay-stadium-fixes-ceo-mike-dee

The Miami Dolphins were looking for public funding help to finance $400M in renovations to Whatever They're Calling It This Year Stadium. They didn't get it, so now they've said moving may be an option for the franchise. This is nothing new or unusual in sports these days. Yeah, I'd like to see the team privately finance the renovations, but you're just not going to see that anymore ...

... Oh, wait ...

I don't like the Rickettron, or the additional electronic signs inside the park, but I understand them, and I really do think that they will be done in a way to keep the ballpark looking as Wrigley as possible. Perfect? Far from it. But I think most other owners, given the option for more signage, would make them significantly more in your face that what is being proposed.

The Ricketts know we love our ballpark. They also know that over the past decade, we've actually gotten a taste of what winning can be like. We no longer accept a beautiful setting as a reason to take the afternoon off work. Now we are starting to demand a winning team to go along with it. While paid attendance isn't doing too poorly, it's not what it was when we were winning, and the lost revenue of concessions and souvenirs is surely being noticed with the announced crowds of 35K and 5K actually in seats. The Ricketts are business people, and they know that in order to continue making money with this team, they will have to start putting a lot more W flags over the scoreboard each afternoon.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9246386/miami-dolphins-pay-stadium-fixes-ceo-mike-dee

... Oh, wait ...

Prospect watch: Javier Baez.

2013-05-05T21:45:57Z

Living in Palm Coast Florida, I'm really not located near any MLB teams. The closest team to me is the Tampa Bay Rays who are a good 4 hour drive away. However, I am lucky enough to live near a few minor league affiliates of some Major League teams. On those teams are the Major League stars of tomorow. Some of the games top prospects, preparing themselves and improving their skills in the hopes of one day getting called to the big leagues.

The closest team near me is the Daytona Cubs. A team that's seen the likes of Starlin Castro, Kerry Wood, Kyle Lohse, and Jeff Samardzija graze it's field over the recent years.

So last Sunday, I decide to take the trip down to see the Daytona Cubs as they played host to the Palm Beach Cardinals in a Florida State League matchup on a beautiful night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. But of course I was mostly in attendance in hopes to catch a glimps at a couple of the Chicago Cubs top prospects in Javier Baez and Jorge Soler.

Unforunately for me Soler, who is the Cubs 5th ranked prospect, was not in the lineup on Sunday for what many assumed to be just an average off day. I recently learned that Soler was benched by the Daytona manager due to his lack of hustle in the game he had played the previous day.

But trust me, I can assure that Soler is a talented outfielder with a power bat that the Cubs are lucky to have singned and I do believe that Soler will one day be a force to be reckond with in the Cubs lineup in the coming years.

That left me with Javier Baez. The 9th overll pick in the 2011 draft is the number 1 ranked player in the Chicago Cubs oranization. Baez is a 6' 0", 195lb shortstop with a predicted Major League readiness of 2014. The 20-year old Baez is a player known more for bis bat than his glove.

As more of an average and power hitter than a solid defender, many suggest that Baez will be moved to 3rd base some time soon. Which with Starlin Castro as the Cubs current shortstop, that move doesn't sound bad if Baez wants to play in the Majors anytime soon.

Sunday night in Daytona, he led me to believe everything that I've heard about him. First, the offense. Keep in mind that I don't really have a scouts eye.

Baez flew out to center field in his 1st at-bat, then followed up in the 3rd inning with a 2-run homerun. A blast over the batting cages in left field of Jackie Robinson Ballpark. A ball that I was lucky enough to find sitting near the sidewalk, untouched, and unseen by anyone before me. The homeun was Baez's 5th of the season to go along with RBI's numbers 14 and 15.

In his 3rd at-bat, Baez was able to work the count before he struck out looking. In his 4th and final plate apperance of the game, Baez lined a single back up the middle for his 2nd hit of the game. He finished the game 2-for-4 and should I say that both hits were nothing cheap. Both were solid contact, hard hit balls.

The other piece of his game is something that again looked very relative to watch the scouting reports said. As I mentioned, Baez isn't exactly a player known for great defense and it showed on Sunday.

His 1st error of the game came in the 2nd. Baez retreated into deep into the hole at short, backhanded the ball, then fired across the diamond. The runner may have been out should the thrown have been on a line to 1st base.

Error number 2 was commited in the 7th inning when Baez charged for towards a groundball that slipped right under his glove and rolled into center field. It was a ball that any average shortstop could have handled an made the out with ease.

I can't say that I've seen enough of Javier Baez to say that his game was good or bad. But I can say that if you take away his 3rd inning blast and mention the fact that he was tagged out while caught in a rundown, then you might say that his game wasn't all that great.

Again, I need to watch him more. I was only there to report what I saw in that one particular game. And what I saw was that he does infact have a bat to talk about and a glove that still needs some work if he wants to one day be a star on what I've predicted to be a future winning Cubs lineup.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.

Dearest Soup Club,

2013-05-05T04:46:16Z

I want to sincerely thank you for the pink Chicago Cubs infant bib I received today. Your support is overwhelming.

I am sure our daughter, Neville Longbottom Carlita Zambrana Danielle Francoeur Royale Cubbie Chad Sucks Daytona Moore Olivia Gardenia Joe Ricketts Lil Dan Luca Brazzi Tony's Nice Ttillop Nan Daniella Oprah of Bertha Pollyanna Socrates Poole Addison Clark Bozo Bozo Cookie Wizzo Zsa Zsa Farnsworth Mister Bozo Brenda Lilly Bridge Louise Piniella Dusty Bartman HWSNBN Sammy Bellehawk Brianna Lind Patricia Veronica Michelle Quade Miltonia Bradley Allie Yellon Royalia Royal Yellon Jamie Hendry Ronica "Woo-Woo" Andrea Dawson Rihanna Danielle Theriot Samantha Sosa Lilly Baez Beatrica Louiza Thomasina Tunney Goo Goo Ga Ga A LotNefita Perez Dayton Moore Dee Reque Coolio XLVII High Heel Mile Natalie Bruce Erin Bee Candy Asia Cinnamon Middle Names Must Be Toast Crunch Lexxie Sindy Porsha Diamond Jasmine Hade Jazmyn Cubic Zirconium Ford Escorta Antarctica Hermione Granger Kate Everland Schierholtza Ke$sha Samantha Sosa Brenda Lillibridge Neville Longbottom Erin Miles Rhiannon Braun LaTrina Hawkins Barbara Howry Marta Clements Goatee Alan Selig Carla Marmol SB Nation Wilma Ohman Jaclyn Jones Dustina Baker Marsha Grace Stephie Ire Norma Garciaparra Starla Cassie Lori Grimes Sophia Peletier Ivy Walls Dee Rec Button Marsha Henderson Santo's Wooden Cheryl in South Bend Arynne Rodgers Kimberly Kate Koyie Hill Will Myers Josephy Morgan Timothy McCarver Joseph Buck Richard Stockton Martin Brennaman Kenneth Harrelson Stephen Stone Jim Hendry Michael Valentino Seven Soda Ponyboy! Cunna Ursula Bilhildis Sisgards Pollitt will appreciate it as soon as she is born in October. Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,

dtpollitt

I want to sincerely thank you for the pink Chicago Cubs infant bib I received today. Your support is overwhelming.

Sincerely,

dtpollitt

A Theoretical: Cubs in the Suburbs. WHERE Should They Go?

2013-05-03T23:12:42Z

I got this idea in a recent thread. There are quite a few proponents of the Cubs getting a ballpark in the suburbs, but beyond the generic "suburbs", real locations haven't been mentioned besides Rosemont (which the mayor put the town's name out there himself). So, this is an open thread for all armchair stadium scouts: Where should a new stadium for the Cubs be located?

The rules are you can name an actual suburb (e.g. Rosemont, Evanston, Schaumburg) or a section of a county (e.g. southern Lake, central DuPage, northern Cook County) but not "anywhere in the suburbs". You can even have a few possible locations in mind (no need to be limited to just one). The goal is to get beyond the blanket "suburbs" and start discussing the positives & negatives of actual locations.

Cubs Attendance Predictions – Upcoming 10 game homestand

2013-04-29T04:36:31Z

If time permits, I think I will do this for each of the remaining homestands in 2013. When predicting the attendance, I am giving myself a range of 1,908 fans (If Gonzalez can field a Sunday hop, it could have been 2003) for each game. I will factor opponent, matchup, weather, promotion and day of week, and ticket behavior on Stubhub to finalize the prediction. Without further ado, here are my predictions.

4/29 – Padres (29,000 – 30,908) – Nice weather, weak opponent, value game

4/30 – Padres (29,500 – 31,408) – Nicest forecast for the week may drive some walk up sales to this value game.

5/1 – Padres (28,800 – 30,708)

5/2 – Padres (24,800 – 26,708) – Can’t the Padres go away! Potential to have the lowest attendance in years, the Cubs should have offered some of the nicer promotions to lure some fans for the Padre series.

5/3 – Reds (31,500 – 33,408) – The first of four promotions for the Topps cards. I think if they were giving away 20,000 of these cards, they would have sold more tickets. Be on the lookout for people that will be offering $10-15 for your pack as you enter the door but I do not think it is driving ticket sales as there are hundreds of seats for under $15 on Stubhub. Chance of rain.

5/4 – Reds (33,900 – 35,808) – 10,000 Derby Hat, Saturday.

5/5 – Reds (32,700 – 34,608) – 5,000 kids color their own shirts and 1,000 kids run the bases. I love the kids runs the bases, I hate that it states it is only for the first 1,000 kids. If the Cubs actually enforce this it would be very poor form.

5/6 – Rangers makeup (28,900 – 30,808) – 10,000 Winter hats. There will be a lot less people in the stands than the attendance that is ultimately announced

5/7 – Cardinals – (34,000 – 35,908) – This will be interesting to see what the attendance is to the Cardinals game as this is an opportunity to see them at a reasonable face value price, but it is still has a chance to be quite cold.

5/8 – Cardinals (32,700 – 34,608) – Pink out in the bleachers won’t drive many ticket sales.

And there you have it. I am Confident that I will get at least 7 of these right. We’ll see how good I am as the season progresses.

Run-scoring efficiency: Cubs unsurprisingly bottom

2013-04-27T19:18:36Z

I'm sure we've all noticed that the Cubs are having a ridiculous amount of trouble scoring baserunners, but how bad is it really? It's often the case that fans overstate their own team's problems: they're more familiar with them than they are with other teams', for a start. In this case, though, the Cub Nation is entirely justified in its despondency.

This list shows the percentage of baserunners who end up scoring. Everything else is factored out: how runners get on base, which base they get to when they do, how many outs there are when they do it. All that's counted are these two things:

Baserunners: hits - HR + walks + HBP + reached on error + catcher interference. Home runs are discounted because they don't result in a baserunner. Weird fact: 3 players have reached base on catcher's interference so far this season, and all of them are Diamondbacks

Runners scored: Runs - HR. Again, Home runs are discounted because the hitter was never a baserunner. Any other runners scored on a home run are counted, though.

Run-scoring efficiency is simply Runners scored / Baserunners, expressed as a percentage

Team	Baserunners                 Scored         Efficiency
STL		244			92		37.7%
NYM		244			86		35.2%
COL		286			92		32.2%
SFG		263			82		31.2%
MIL		228			68		29.8%
CIN		3O3			9O		29.7%
ARI		273			8O		29.3%
PIT		245			68		27.8%
PHI		247			67		27.1%
WSN		222			59		26.6%
ATL		241			61		25.3%
SDP		237			59		24.9%
LAD		268			6O		22.4%
MIA		233			52		22.3%
CHC		2O9			45		21.5%

Given the closeness of the Cubs' games so far, it seems clear that anything even remotely like a league-average performance would have resulted in several more wins. In fact, if 28.3% of Cub baserunners had scored - that's the average - they'd have 14 more runs, which would probably make their record so far look a lot rosier than it does now.

Runners scored: Runs - HR. Again, Home runs are discounted because the hitter was never a baserunner. Any other runners scored on a home run are counted, though.

Run-scoring efficiency is simply Runners scored / Baserunners, expressed as a percentage

Team	Baserunners                 Scored         Efficiency
STL		244			92		37.7%
NYM		244			86		35.2%
COL		286			92		32.2%
SFG		263			82		31.2%
MIL		228			68		29.8%
CIN		3O3			9O		29.7%
ARI		273			8O		29.3%
PIT		245			68		27.8%
PHI		247			67		27.1%
WSN		222			59		26.6%
ATL		241			61		25.3%
SDP		237			59		24.9%
LAD		268			6O		22.4%
MIA		233			52		22.3%
CHC		2O9			45		21.5%

When will Dale Sveum's job be in jeopardy?

2013-04-23T05:21:52Z

I have been known to stir the pot a bit, watching this Cubs team gives me the impression that there is not the universal response and respect towards your manager you would want out of an MLB ballclub. It is not to say the Cubs are quitting, but are they giving the 110% you would want?

I know last year there was a lot of tactical praise for positioning of players and other things Dale did given the cards in his hand, but this year there is a lot more negativity in the first 3 weeks than I remember in any stretch of time last year.

I think for some, the honeymoon period is quickly approaching its end and though it is early, what is the tipping point to say this team needs a new manager? (i.e. 30 - 51 at the break, free pass until end of year and then evaluated, or Dale has very little risk of losing his job before his contract is up).

It is always been my opinion that Joe Girardi will be the manager at the helm when the Cubs break the World Series drought.

As always, curious to hear everyone's thoughts.

Renovation in three years?

2013-04-21T05:18:28Z

For the most part, I'm excited about the likely Wrigley renovation, but while I do not have a problem with the five-year timetable, I'm trying to think of a way it might be done in three or four that could be beneficial to all parties involved (although it should be noted that the Cubs may not want to shorten it).

The decision appears to have been made not to vacate Wrigley, but what if the team played at Miller Park in April, May and September for the next three years and at Wrigley in June, July and August? This could have many benefits to most parties involved:

It would enable the project to be done in three or four seasons since it would extend prime construction time by three months each year (for these workers, the toughest time is the heat of the summer) - leaving only June, July and August where they could not work (and even then, some things could be accomplished while the team was on road trips or no game was taking place). It would also allow for better weather throughout the season, since Miller Park has a retractable roof.
For the Cubs, it would allow for some of the revenue-producing enhancements to kick in sooner; would increase demand for tickets in June, July and August at Wrigley; perhaps bring in some new fans; and draw wider attention to the renovation.
For the Brewers, it would be an added revenue source and could alert more people to the appeal of Miller Park.
For the city of Milwaukee, it would also be a revenue boost.

I'm sure there are more benefits, as well as several negatives. After all, you'd think if this idea had merit, the Cubs would have already pitched it. But what do my fellow Cubs fans think?

It would enable the project to be done in three or four seasons since it would extend prime construction time by three months each year (for these workers, the toughest time is the heat of the summer) - leaving only June, July and August where they could not work (and even then, some things could be accomplished while the team was on road trips or no game was taking place). It would also allow for better weather throughout the season, since Miller Park has a retractable roof.
For the Cubs, it would allow for some of the revenue-producing enhancements to kick in sooner; would increase demand for tickets in June, July and August at Wrigley; perhaps bring in some new fans; and draw wider attention to the renovation.
For the Brewers, it would be an added revenue source and could alert more people to the appeal of Miller Park.
For the city of Milwaukee, it would also be a revenue boost.

I'm sure there are more benefits, as well as several negatives. After all, you'd think if this idea had merit, the Cubs would have already pitched it. But what do my fellow Cubs fans think?

Poll

What are your thoughts about the Cubs playing in the cold-weather months over the next three years at Miller Park and playing at home during the summer as a way to speed up the Wrigley renovation?

This could work.

10 votes

Maybe some variation of this could work.

9 votes

Meh.

14 votes

Too complicated, with not enough gain.

50 votes

83 votes | Poll has closed

Thoughts on the Draft

2013-04-20T23:00:58Z

Jed Hoyer has said that the best position players tend to come from the top of the draft but I think the Cubs should go for a pitcher with the second pick. Why? Because the Cubs will probably trade at least two starters (Villanueva and Garza) by the deadline. And who knows if Baker and Feldman will ever be effective if they are still with the Cubs.

Essentially, the Cubs will be starting pitching-poor again in the second half. Maybe Rusin can give them a lift but that is by no means more of a sure thing than one of the top two college pitchers would be.

Based on what we are seeing from the Cubs so far, early in this season, it appears they will have a top ten draft pick again next year. So, unless the high school boys, Meadows and/or Frazier, are once-in-a generation players, I think the Cubs should take one of the top college starters. They can look for a top position player again next year.

Most people doing mock drafts right now generally have Appel and Gray has 1-2, you pick the order. Taking either one of them could improve the rotation later in the second half of the year because both of these guys look like they could come up and pitch in the big leagues. Remember, they are not currently playing against high school kids - they are facing quality competition that has been trained by people like the pitching coach the Cubs hired for the minor leagues this year. In any event, both of them should be even more big league ready by next spring.

Of the two, I prefer Gray because of the top end on his fastball and the hook he throws.

What are your thoughts?

Of the two, I prefer Gray because of the top end on his fastball and the hook he throws.

What are your thoughts?