Category Archives: Chicago Cubs

Mariano Rivera Blows Out Knee During Practice…

Wow…  Not sure where to begin.  The news, of course, is that during batting practice, while shagging fly balls, Mariano Rivera – perhaps the greatest reliever ever – got a cleat stuck in the turf at Kaufmann (Royals) Stadium, twisting … Continue reading

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Filed under Alexi Amarista, Aubrey Huff, Chicago Cubs, Conor Gillaspie, Derek Jeter, Donn Roach, Ernesto Frieri, Evan Longoria, Jim Thome, Kansas City Royals, Kerry Wood, Kevin Slowey, Kevin Youkilis, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mariano Rivera, Miguel Olivo, New York Yankees, Pablo Sandoval, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Dempster, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays

2012 Season Forecast: Chicago Cubs

2011 Record:  71 – 91 (5th, NL Central) Runs Scored:  654 (8th, NL) Runs Allowed:  756 (14th, NL) Only Colorado and Houston allowed more runs… 2011 in Review: The Cubs started losing early, and pretty much were consistent about it … Continue reading

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Filed under Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Bryan LeHair, Carlos Marmol, Carlos Pena, Carlos Zambrano, Casey Coleman, Chicago Cubs, Chris Carpenter, Chris Volstad, D.J. LeMahieu, Darwin Barney, Doug Davis, Eric Jokisch, Geovany Soto, Hayden Simpson, Ian Stewart, James Russell, Jeff Beliveau, Jeff Samardzija, Jeff Stevens, John Grabow, Josh Vitters, Junior Lake, Justin Bour, Kerry Wood, Kevin Rhoderick, Kosuke Fukudome, Koyie Hill, Marlon Byrd, Matt Garza, Rafael Dolis, Randy Wells, Rebel Ridling, Reed Johnson, Richard Jones, Rodrigo Lopez, Ryan Dempster, Sean Marshall, Season Forecast, Starlin Castro, Tony Campana, Tyler Colvin, Wellington Castillo

Sox Win ‘The Humber Game’, and Plenty of Pitchers Head to the DL

There have only been 21 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball, but the Chicago White Sox have three of them.  Yesterday afternoon, Philip Humber defied his humble resume and blanked the Seattle Mariners, 4 – 0, without … Continue reading

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Filed under A. J. Burnett, A.J. Pierzynski, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brendan Ryan, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cliff Lee, Dallas Braden, Daniel Hudson, Daniel Schlereth, Dewayne Wise, Evan Crawford, Francisco Cordero, Graham Godfrey, Greg Holland, Jeremy Jeffress, Jesus Montero, Joe Savery, Jonathan Albaladejo, Josh Bell, Kansas City Royals, Kyle Kendrick, Mark Buehrle, Marlon Byrd, Michael Bowden, Michael Pineda, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Pedro Figueroa, Philadelphia Phillies, Philip Humber, Pittsburgh Pirates, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster, Seattle Mariners, Sergio Santos, Thad Weber, Toronto Blue Jays

Boston Celebrates 100th Fenway Birthday in Style. Then loses… And other news…

That was some birthday party!  Prior to the game, the Red Sox brought out more than 200 former players and coaches, finishing with Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr – both in their 90s – to celebrate the 100th birthday of … Continue reading

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Filed under Angel Guzman, B.J. Upton, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Allen, Chicago Cubs, Chris Narveson, Cincinnati Reds, Jon Jay, Kameron Loe, Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman, Los Angeles Dodgers, Marco Estrada, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A's, Reid Brignac, Scott Maine, Skip Schumaker, St. Louis Cardinals, Starlin Castro, Tampa Bay Rays, Wily Peralta

A Tale of Two Mouths…

I am writing as the Cubs and Marlins prepare to open a three-game series here in Miami…  Ozzie Guillen, he of the multiple footspace mouth, aims to start earning the respect of Little Havana and the thousands of Cubans who … Continue reading

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Filed under Alex Cobb, Alex Gonzalez, Asdrubel Cabrera, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Daniel Bard, Dustin Pedroia, Edgmer Escalona, Florida Marlins, Josh Bell, Kerry Wood, Kevin Youkilis, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Luis Exposito, Madison Bumgarner, Miguel Cairo, Nick Hagadone, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Todd Frazier, Tyler Chatwood

Historic Anniversaries and Who was Dorsey Riddlemoser?

This week, we’ve seen the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium, the 50th Anniversary of the arrival of the Houston Astros and New York Mets (Roger Craig, the first Mets opening day starter, was around to throw out the first pitch), … Continue reading

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Filed under Baltimore Orioles, Baseball History, Buster Posey, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Drew Storen, Grady Sizemore, Johnny Damon, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Michael Kohn, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals

2011 NL Best and Worst Pitchers

Finally getting caught up on my statistical analysis as I head into the 2012 Spring Training season…  First of all, God Bless Sean Lahman, whose baseball database makes it possible to write queries and look at statistics using a Microsoft … Continue reading

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Filed under Aneury Rodriguez, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Barry Zito, Bronson Arroyo, Casey Coleman, Chicago Cubs, Chris Volstad, Cincinnati Reds, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Colorado Rockies, Craig Kimbrel, Dan Runzler, Derek Lowe, Edinson Volquez, Eric O'Flaherty, Fernando Salas, Florida Marlins, Hong-Chi Kuo, Houston Astros, Ian Kennedy, J.A. Happ, Jair Jurrjens, Jhoulys Chacin, Joel Hanrahan, John Axford, Johnny Cueto, Jonathan Sanchez, Jonny Venters, Livan Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Maloney, Mike Adams, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, R.A. Dickey, Ricky Nolasco, Roy Halliday, Roy Oswalt, Ryan Franklin, Ryan Madson, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Sean Marshall, St. Louis Cardinals, Tyler Clippard, Vance Worley, Washington Nationals

Manny Ramirez Ends Career Rather Than Face Suspension

Short morning – so we’ll try to do this quickly… Manny Ramirez is Done… Rather than face a 100 game suspension for what the NY Times reported as having been found using performance enhancing drugs (again), Manny Ramirez told MLB … Continue reading

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Filed under Alex Burnett, Andrew Cashner, Baltimore Orioles, Bill Hall, Boston Red Sox, Brad Bergesen, Carlos Silva, Casey Janssen, Chicago Cubs, Chris Jakubauskas, Edward Mujica, Erick Aybar, Felix Doubrant, Florida Marlins, Hanley Ramirez, Houston Astros, Jason Isringhausen, Jeff Stevens, Kevin Slowey, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Manny Ramirez, Matt Alberts, Matt Holliday, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Octavio Dotel, Pedro Martinez, Philadelphia Phillies, Ramon Ortiz, Ross Ohlendorf, Scott Downs, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays

Of Appendectomies and Aces: Dunn, Jimenez Out

Adam Dunn became the second slugger to go under the knife to remove an appendix – Dunn’s was an emergency operation on Tuesday night.  He told manager Ozzie Guillen he’d be ready to play on Thursday, but realistically he (like … Continue reading

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Filed under Adam Dunn, Andrew Cashner, Boston Red Sox, Brian Wilson, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Greg Reynolds, Houston Astros, Michael Wuertz, Oakland A's, Randy Wells, San Francisco Giants, Santiago Casilla, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Ubaldo Jimenez

Winning and Losing Streaks

With the new season off and running, the first thing we look at in the standings is the last “0″ on the board.  Texas edged Seattle last night to become the first team to five wins (5 – 0), while … Continue reading

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Filed under Andrew Cashner, Aubrey Huff, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Belt, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cody Ross, Dan Meyer, Florida Marlins, Matt Holliday, Michael Stanton, Miguel Tejada, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers