North Side Baseball

On Almora's 2nd half, Bleacher Nation had an article detailing that Almora leg kick right around the time he got hot. It's inconclusive as to whether there's a correlation, but he did make a demonstrable adjustment. Video included http://www.bleachernation.com/2015/12/18/chicago-cubs-prospects-progr...

Evidently Alfredo Rodriguez, a SS, was cleared today too and Jesse Sanchez says he's got 6 mill from the Reds. I had read they wanted to push him to next signing period, so it may or may not take a LONG time for them to announce this. "He is a player of interest, but we do not have a deal,&quo...

I'm sure in 71 pages of comments, this has been posted already, but if it has, it's worth another look.
https://youtu.be/TXQ2AzTAfe8

It really just seems backwards to me.....The success rates of high ranked hitting prospects is close to double that of what it is for pitching. In my mind, that means in order to trade ONE hitter like that, you ought to receive TWO pitchers, in order to balance out the risk involved. However, it ki...

As an aside, I kind of suspect our approach to drafting from here on out will change dramatically, as we can start to afford taking chances on pitching later(this year doesn't count, as we'll have so small of a draft budget). But if top end guys with arm issues, like a Giolito or an Aiken fall to u...

CaliforniaRaisin wrote:

Wow, that's high praise. Callis is a bit Cub-centric, though. Seems an endorsement of the quality and quantity of the Cubs depth.

Javy played CF last night in Puerto Rico. No word on how he did. His slash line certainly indicates he's working on his defense. (.160/.323/.280) But he has walked more than he's struck out, so there's that.

I'm kidding about the importance of the stats, of course...

Thanks for posting this, Tim. Interesting to note the Cubs folded their Venezulan team and went back to 2 teams in the Dominican League. Might as well take full advantage of their academy there.

When Christian Villanueva tears up winter league after being a wet fart for two years in AAA, my thought isn't "Wow, Christian Villanueva just became valuable!" It's "wow, that winter league must be really easy to hit in." Nah, we're taking whatever we want from the Cards, a lit...

This seemed as good a place for a random thought: I had some spare time this morning and was looking around at prospect lists. Part of it was I wanted to see how systems looked after the rash of big trades that have happened. The 2nd was curiosity on where the Cubs system, not that it really matter...

The big question marks, for me, are centered around where Heyward fits after this season. His ideal fit is in RF, currently occupied by Soler. Why is this such a certainty? I'm not so sure that's true. Atlanta kept him out of CF to keep him healthier and maybe because of some preconceived notions a...

The big question marks, for me, are centered around where Heyward fits after this season. His ideal fit is in RF, currently occupied by Soler. The Cubs options for 2017 are dependent upon developing a major league ready CFer. Almora will be in AAA this season, but is still a big question mark. If he...

I want Heyward as much as the next person, but my gut tells me the Cubs are in on him in the same sense they were "in" on Price. I kinda agree. I'm certainly not expecting a Heyward signing, but with the trade of Castro, I'm surprised at how possible it seems financially. According to B-R...

At this point, if it's me Javy is only going for a SP with good current/proven production, potential for more, lots of team control, and some baseline for durability. That list is basically Gray, Odorizzi, Gausman, and maybe Teheran. Otherwise I'm happy to use prospects to try and get another SP if...

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi 33s34 seconds ago #Padres prefer to exhaust shortstop trade possibilities before delving into free-agent market at the position, sources say. I'm over trading Javy or Soler personally. I love our depth. If SD cam calling and offered Ross for Javy straight up....Is it a no or ...

Perfectly fine with this. I'm not that fond of John Lackey, but on a 2 year deal, vs. what the rest of the market might cost? That's great. Yes. The deal by itself is kinda meh. When looking at it from 2014's off season perspective, giving a 37-year-old pitcher 16 million is a little ridiculous. Ge...

His character aside, getting a strong viable #3 with this short of a commitment is much less risky than throwing 5 years at Shark or someone comparable. With a rotation of Arrieta Lester Lackey Hammel Henderson Our rotation is already one of the better ones in the league. If we can find a #4 via tr...

https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftorosdetijuana.com%2Fcolumnasid.php%3Fid%3D151%26fb_comment_id%3D978180912234799_995867257132831%23f5087cbc244752&edit-text= Here's a bit on Jose Albertos, the RHP we signed f...

Could Villanueva be a super-sub/utility type guy for us? Can he Play 3B/2B/1B/COF as a bench/platoon type guy? Villanueva has been tried at 2B when he was with the Texans and reports at the time of his trade said it didn't end well. He's played a total of 20 innings at that position in his time wit...

Man, he'd fit us great. It'd probably be a mess trying to fit him in at 2B with the timing unknown as to when he'd be available and us likely out of money by then. But I guess it could happen. The BA article mentioned that he was only adequate defensively at 2B and has played some 3B. His OBP skill...

Thanks, Raisin!

I really want Samardzija at that price plus Heyward. If that's too rich, what about Zimmerman and Samardzija, trade Hendricks + for Ender Inciarte? CF Inciarte LF Schwarber 3B Bryant 1B Rizzo RF Soler C Montero 2B Castro SS Russell Arrieta Lester Zimmerman Samardzija Hammel And you still have Baez ...

You hear interest in Price, Greinke and Zimmerman a lot. What's the argument against Johnny Cueto?

Another young Cuban defector: http://m.mlb.com/news/article/157498524/miguel-vargas-lazaro-vargas-defect-from-cuba 16-year old IF Lazaro Vargas. Hopefully he'll be eligible before June 15th. When the teenager will become eligible to sign is to be determined. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Vargas is in the...

Craig, Contreras has done the EXACT same thing as Pena has. He re-signed(a few days earlier) and now they(and others) wait until Nov.20th to see if they get added(obviously Contreras is a lock)..... So yes, Contreras, Pena, whoever.....Could very well have jumped ship if they wanted to do so. Craig...