The Cubs just wrapped up a 3-3 road trip, which looked a lot better than the previous trip that saw the team go 2-5. Entering a homestand against two great teams in the Nationals and Royals, so far it seems the Cubs are here to stay this year and should finally at least be in contention for the postseason again.
Since it looks like the Cubs may actually be buyers at the trade deadline this year, we can expect the Cole Hamels rumors to be in full swing within the next few weeks. I am fully in support of a move to acquire Hamels this year, knowing that the organization will have to give up prospects to do so.
Later this week, I'll discuss what I think would be a fair trade for Hamels. First, however, I thought I should note where I rank the prospects and which ones I'm most anticipating to arrive in Chicago.
This is not a prospect ranking list based on skill sets (you can find tons of those on other sites) or even value within the organization, as I know some prospects will bring back more trade value than others. This list is simply my favorite Cubs prospects as of May 2015.
One last note is that Javy Baez is technically no longer a prospect, so I'm leaving him off. However, since he's finally heating up, I think the Cubs will need to find a spot for him in Chicago or possibly even trade him this summer.
Below are my current five favorite Cubs prospects:
1. Kyle Schwarber - Schwarber has to top just about any Cubs prospect list at this point. His minor league numbers compared to Kris Bryant's through this point in their careers only gives weight to the expectation that Schwarber could very well be the "next" Bryant, going from draft to the middle of the Cubs lineup in no time. While next April would put him exactly a year behind Bryant, recent reports have alluded that the Cubs may entertain promoting Schwarber this season if that option could help the team. To me, Schwarber has to be the only prospect who is an untouchable. If he remains at catcher, he's only that much more valuable.
2. Billy McKinney - I've already talked about McKinney's great walk-to-strike out ratio, and I think he's clearly the best true outfield prospect in the organization right now. That being said, I think any team sending anything of value to the Cubs will have to be getting a package featuring McKinney in return.
3. Gleyber Torres - Just what we need, right? Another awesome shortstop. I don't know how it will all work out, getting all of these guys in the same lineup, and I assume that ultimately it won't. But I'm really excited about Torres, and if Starlin Castro remains with the Cubs (which I hope he does!), this will become an issue to monitor at some point.
4. Duane Underwood - You love to see pitchers improving each season in the minors, and that's exactly what Underwood is doing. In his first year at high-A, Underwood is 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA so far. He finished last season with a 2.50 ERA through 22 games at A-Kane County. I'm hoping to see him get to AA-Tennessee this year (and that I can see him pitch there).
5. Dan Vogelbach - Vogelbach may have the most trade value (after Schwarber), and he is having a great season at Tennessee. With 32 walks and 38 strike outs, he seems to be a perfect fit for the Cubs organization. Unfortunately, with Anthony Rizzo blocking him in Chicago, Vogelbach's days as a Cubs prospect may be numbered. I don't know if I'm convinced that his skills will translate into Major League success, but that's bound to be another team's problem anyway.
Honorable Mention:
- I think Carson Sands will be a top of the rotation starter.
- I am fully rooting for Albert Almora and Jacob Hanemann, but even if both come through as Major League players, it's plausible that only one plays in Chicago.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Cubs Look to Start a New Win Streak in San Diego
Well, a 6-1 Chicago Cubs homestand sure helped to take the sting out of a 2-5 road trip! The six-game win streak before Sunday's loss to the Pirates showed just how exciting this team can be. And as Joe Maddon would say, even with the last loss, the Cubs still Meatloafed the series. Of course, it'd be fine if the records for each of the last two weeks were more like 4-3, but hopefully the team will play better on the road this week. Below are five thoughts as the Cubs get set to face the San Diego Padres tonight.
1. This Jon Lester guy is pretty good, right? Seriously, though. He's allowed five earned runs in his last four starts, all wins, with three of them being won by only one run. Having a true ace at the top of this rotation only makes me want to see the Cubs go after Cole Hamels even more. (Later this week I'll highlight my favorite current Cubs prospects and then discuss what I'd be willing to give up for Hamels.)
2. Most of the offense is clicking right now, but Anthony Rizzo is standing out as an early MVP candidate. His .470 OBP is amazing, and it actually went up (from .469) on Sunday despite an 0-for-2 day, thanks to two walks. Kris Bryant continues to impress, and I believe it's only a matter of time before Jorge Soler gets consistent production at the plate.
3. I like Travis Wood in the bullpen. I don't know if he'll be available to pinch hit and pinch run as often as he was as a starter, but I guess you never really know with Maddon. He could enter each game with a different mindset about how he'll use Wood that day, reserving him as a reliever on some days, and keeping him in the dugout as an offensive reserve on others. Either way, I like giving Wada a shot at the rotation, and I assume this gets us one step closer to seeing Edwin Jackson leave town. (Also, can we be done with Schlitter for good yet, or what?)
4. The roster should have more flexibility now that Welington Castillo has been traded. Although it took months longer than any of us thought it would, Castillo is finally gone, and the Cubs roster now features the more typical total of two catchers. It'll be good to see Junior Lake on the bench instead of a third catcher.
5. Please don't let James Shields become a "Cubs Killer." When the Cubs made a late push to sign Shields this offseason and failed to do so, it automatically became an easy "story" for everyone to talk about whenever the team faces him. Shields is 5-0, and I'm already tired of hearing about how the Cubs let him "get away" when the team was never expected to sign a second big name after Lester anyway. Let's get Shields his first loss tonight and move toward Meatloafing another set.
1. This Jon Lester guy is pretty good, right? Seriously, though. He's allowed five earned runs in his last four starts, all wins, with three of them being won by only one run. Having a true ace at the top of this rotation only makes me want to see the Cubs go after Cole Hamels even more. (Later this week I'll highlight my favorite current Cubs prospects and then discuss what I'd be willing to give up for Hamels.)
2. Most of the offense is clicking right now, but Anthony Rizzo is standing out as an early MVP candidate. His .470 OBP is amazing, and it actually went up (from .469) on Sunday despite an 0-for-2 day, thanks to two walks. Kris Bryant continues to impress, and I believe it's only a matter of time before Jorge Soler gets consistent production at the plate.
3. I like Travis Wood in the bullpen. I don't know if he'll be available to pinch hit and pinch run as often as he was as a starter, but I guess you never really know with Maddon. He could enter each game with a different mindset about how he'll use Wood that day, reserving him as a reliever on some days, and keeping him in the dugout as an offensive reserve on others. Either way, I like giving Wada a shot at the rotation, and I assume this gets us one step closer to seeing Edwin Jackson leave town. (Also, can we be done with Schlitter for good yet, or what?)
4. The roster should have more flexibility now that Welington Castillo has been traded. Although it took months longer than any of us thought it would, Castillo is finally gone, and the Cubs roster now features the more typical total of two catchers. It'll be good to see Junior Lake on the bench instead of a third catcher.
5. Please don't let James Shields become a "Cubs Killer." When the Cubs made a late push to sign Shields this offseason and failed to do so, it automatically became an easy "story" for everyone to talk about whenever the team faces him. Shields is 5-0, and I'm already tired of hearing about how the Cubs let him "get away" when the team was never expected to sign a second big name after Lester anyway. Let's get Shields his first loss tonight and move toward Meatloafing another set.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Cubs Go 2-5 on Road Trip
Writing these blogs is a lot more fun when the team is winning, and after a 2-5 road trip, wins seem very tough to come by these days. But there are still a lot of positives surrounding this team, and unlike the last few years, at least the Cubs are still in a position to compete here in early-May. Here are a few thoughts as the Cubs return home to face the Mets tonight.
1. The St. Louis Cardinals are just a very good organization. We all knew this already. In a way, the 1-3 outcome in St. Louis shouldn't be surprising at all. The Cardinals did just enough to come back and win the first two games, signs of a quality team facing a young team who hasn't learned to win yet. However, at least the goal is now right there in front of every Cubs player. They should collectively be thinking: "We're getting pretty good. But until we're THAT good, we aren't good enough." It's something that could take years to achieve, but at least we know where the bar is set.
2. I have no clue how to fix this bullpen. Luckily, I'm not one of the people being paid to do it. But really, where do they start? If it were as easy as sending Edwin Jackson packing, I'd say do it. However, when Edwin Jackson starts to look like a GOOD option, you're beyond just needing some help. If trading Welington Castillo could bring back a decent reliever, the front office needs to make that happen. I wasn't worried about the lack of pitching depth in the organization until now. We were told the hitters could always be traded for pitchers. It might be time to think about doing that.
3. At 15-15, the team is .500, which seems about right for this team. The Cubs have the talent to beat anyone. But this lineup will strike out a lot, and the bullpen has become an unavoidable wreck lately. For a team that started 13-27 last year, this is still a refreshing change. Fans are just hoping to see more victories starting soon.
1. The St. Louis Cardinals are just a very good organization. We all knew this already. In a way, the 1-3 outcome in St. Louis shouldn't be surprising at all. The Cardinals did just enough to come back and win the first two games, signs of a quality team facing a young team who hasn't learned to win yet. However, at least the goal is now right there in front of every Cubs player. They should collectively be thinking: "We're getting pretty good. But until we're THAT good, we aren't good enough." It's something that could take years to achieve, but at least we know where the bar is set.
2. I have no clue how to fix this bullpen. Luckily, I'm not one of the people being paid to do it. But really, where do they start? If it were as easy as sending Edwin Jackson packing, I'd say do it. However, when Edwin Jackson starts to look like a GOOD option, you're beyond just needing some help. If trading Welington Castillo could bring back a decent reliever, the front office needs to make that happen. I wasn't worried about the lack of pitching depth in the organization until now. We were told the hitters could always be traded for pitchers. It might be time to think about doing that.
3. At 15-15, the team is .500, which seems about right for this team. The Cubs have the talent to beat anyone. But this lineup will strike out a lot, and the bullpen has become an unavoidable wreck lately. For a team that started 13-27 last year, this is still a refreshing change. Fans are just hoping to see more victories starting soon.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Cubs Lose Series to Brewers
I know I've been doing five quick thoughts following each series, but this last one was depressing. Other than the first game, when Jon Lester finally looked like an ace, and Addison Russell hit his first home run, it was not a fun weekend. The Cubs just lost a series to a Milwaukee Brewers team that fired its coach after winning its first series of the year. So as we look forward to an important set in St. Louis and hope for better results, here's my one quick thought.
1. We hate the Brewers.
1. We hate the Brewers.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Cubs Win Pirates Series, Face Brewers Next
A busy work week leads to much shorter post, but here are my five quick thoughts following another series win against Pittsburgh.
1. Joe Maddon makes me hungry. After the Cubs lost to the Pirates 8-1 on Wednesday, Maddon said the team had "Meatloaf" in the series. You know. Cause they won two out of three. He said he wanted "Meatloaf" all season long. I don't know much about the singer or that song, but dang. Now I want meatloaf! All season long.
2. The bullpen struggled on Wednesday, but it didn't lose the game. It would've been different if the team lost 8-5. But the final was 8-1, and Kyle Hendricks gave up two of the runs himself. If the bullpen is going to have a bad game, it might as well be the one when the offense is shut down.
3. Junior Lake could be an important piece here. I've already discussed the left field position a bunch over the last two weeks, and this series shows why. Chris Coghlan was 0-for-7 in his two starts against Pittsburgh, while Lake went 2-for-5 in his start, his first game of the season. If Lake can produce, it will probably still remain a platoon for a while. But I like the potential of Lake earning the job eventually.
4. Miguel Montero needs to continue getting consistent work. I know the team is trying to maximize Welington Castillo's value, but it may be time to accept a loss there and move him for a low-level prospect or a potential bullpen piece.
5. We hate the Brewers. Grab Bag Sports has a history with this team and mainly its fans, so I'm obviously hoping for a sweep here. Again. We HATE the Brewers.
1. Joe Maddon makes me hungry. After the Cubs lost to the Pirates 8-1 on Wednesday, Maddon said the team had "Meatloaf" in the series. You know. Cause they won two out of three. He said he wanted "Meatloaf" all season long. I don't know much about the singer or that song, but dang. Now I want meatloaf! All season long.
2. The bullpen struggled on Wednesday, but it didn't lose the game. It would've been different if the team lost 8-5. But the final was 8-1, and Kyle Hendricks gave up two of the runs himself. If the bullpen is going to have a bad game, it might as well be the one when the offense is shut down.
3. Junior Lake could be an important piece here. I've already discussed the left field position a bunch over the last two weeks, and this series shows why. Chris Coghlan was 0-for-7 in his two starts against Pittsburgh, while Lake went 2-for-5 in his start, his first game of the season. If Lake can produce, it will probably still remain a platoon for a while. But I like the potential of Lake earning the job eventually.
4. Miguel Montero needs to continue getting consistent work. I know the team is trying to maximize Welington Castillo's value, but it may be time to accept a loss there and move him for a low-level prospect or a potential bullpen piece.
5. We hate the Brewers. Grab Bag Sports has a history with this team and mainly its fans, so I'm obviously hoping for a sweep here. Again. We HATE the Brewers.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Cubs Bounce Back to Sweep Reds on the Road
After splitting a four-game set in Pittsburgh last week, the Cubs swept both games in Cincinnati in a series shortened by a rain postponement on Saturday. The 11-inning 7-3 win on Friday night could end up being a huge turning point for the team, as a loss would've dropped the record to .500 at 8-8. Instead, the offense blew the game open while the bullpen shut the Reds down. With the Cubs heading back to Wrigley Field to kick off a three-game series against the Pirates, here are five quick thoughts:
1. This team has 10 wins already. Last year's 10th win came on May 2nd, bringing the team to 10-17. The Cubs haven't had 10 wins by April 26th since 2011, when the 10th win came in the 20th game on April 23rd to even the record at 10-10. It's nice to finally have an April that isn't a slow start that the team needs to overcome.
2. Addison Russell has 12 strikeouts and one huge hit. The kid is coming around, and even with six strikeouts in the two Cincinnati games, he came through with the bases-clearing double to make the difference in Sunday's 5-2 win. Eventually Russell and Jorge Soler will be hitting consistently, and this lineup will be even scarier.
3. Goodbye Brian Schlitter, hello Junior Lake! Contrary to what his awesome beard would lead you to believe, Schlitter is a miserable wreck on the mound in the Major Leagues. On the other hand, while Lake had a terrible season last year, he worked hard last fall, had a decent spring, and is hitting .289 at AAA Iowa. He'll be a great runner/hitter/fielder to bring in late in games. Great move all around.
4. Zac Rosscup and Gonzalez Germen have helped to stabilize the bullpen. The two combined to pitch 3.2 innings in Cincinnati, allowing two hits zero runs, while striking out six.
5. Can Dan Vogelbach play left field?? Forget everything I said in last week's post about the prospect race to LF. Vogelbach is crushing the ball at AA Tennessee, hitting .444 with three home runs, 13 RBIs, seven doubles, a .552 OBP, and an OPS of 1.293. If those Kris Bryant-like numbers aren't enough, he has 13 walks and only five strike outs. Unfortunately, Vogelbach has only played first base in the minors so far. Let's get him in the outfield!
1. This team has 10 wins already. Last year's 10th win came on May 2nd, bringing the team to 10-17. The Cubs haven't had 10 wins by April 26th since 2011, when the 10th win came in the 20th game on April 23rd to even the record at 10-10. It's nice to finally have an April that isn't a slow start that the team needs to overcome.
2. Addison Russell has 12 strikeouts and one huge hit. The kid is coming around, and even with six strikeouts in the two Cincinnati games, he came through with the bases-clearing double to make the difference in Sunday's 5-2 win. Eventually Russell and Jorge Soler will be hitting consistently, and this lineup will be even scarier.
3. Goodbye Brian Schlitter, hello Junior Lake! Contrary to what his awesome beard would lead you to believe, Schlitter is a miserable wreck on the mound in the Major Leagues. On the other hand, while Lake had a terrible season last year, he worked hard last fall, had a decent spring, and is hitting .289 at AAA Iowa. He'll be a great runner/hitter/fielder to bring in late in games. Great move all around.
4. Zac Rosscup and Gonzalez Germen have helped to stabilize the bullpen. The two combined to pitch 3.2 innings in Cincinnati, allowing two hits zero runs, while striking out six.
5. Can Dan Vogelbach play left field?? Forget everything I said in last week's post about the prospect race to LF. Vogelbach is crushing the ball at AA Tennessee, hitting .444 with three home runs, 13 RBIs, seven doubles, a .552 OBP, and an OPS of 1.293. If those Kris Bryant-like numbers aren't enough, he has 13 walks and only five strike outs. Unfortunately, Vogelbach has only played first base in the minors so far. Let's get him in the outfield!
Friday, April 24, 2015
Cubs Split Series in Pittsburgh
The Chicago Cubs won the first two games of a four-game set in Pittsburgh before losing the final two, each by a single run. The team now sits a game above .500 heading into a big series in Cincinnati. Below are five thoughts following the Pirates series.
1. Addison Russell is here. The NL's new youngest player wasn't spectacular (yet), but he did have his first hits and a great RBI double. I love the promotion and his opportunity to learn on the job while playing for a team with a chance to compete now. I do believe Starlin Castro should remain at shortstop, at least until the All-Star Break, and probably the whole year. After that, if they want to find a way to move Russell to shortstop without trading Castro, I'd support that as well.
2. Kris Bryant will let the team know if/when he is uncomfortable. I'm sure the Cubs appreciate everyone's concerns about "putting too much" on Bryant's shoulders by having him hit 4th and play wacky positions like center field. But the kid is so confident in his talent, and he knows what he can and can't do. Although my fantasy lineup would benefit greatly from some LF eligibility for Bryant, if he's more comfortable in CF, then we should just trust everyone involved.
3. What will the Cubs do about the catcher situation? Getting a player like Matt Szczur back up from Iowa would help avoid the whole "Bryant in the outfield" thing and would be a lot easier if the team didn't have three catchers on the current roster. But it's a tough situation. Welington Castillo is obviously the one who will be moved eventually (if any are moved), but the team will not just give him away. Meanwhile, Castillo is hitting the ball well, while manager Joe Maddon loses flexibility within his roster. (By the way, why is no one talking about Junior Lake? I know he underperformed last year, but his spring was decent, and he isn't playing badly at Iowa.)
4. The bullpen quickly went from a strength to a problem. Guess what? Edwin Jackson and Brian Schlitter haven't magically gotten any better, despite the year changing to 2015 and injuries giving them chances to redeem themselves. I know it's shocking, but it's true. The good news is that Zac Roscup and Gonzalez Germen have looked good so far, so maybe there is still hope that this will get sorted out quickly. In the meantime, this team has got to cut its losses with Jackson and possibly give Schlitter one last chance in Iowa. The fans have reached our limit on Jackson's outings, I believe.
5. At least the Cubs aren't brawling with other teams. For a team that looked so awful for the first six weeks of 2014 (13-27 record on May 16), an 8-7 start is wonderful. If Jon Lester is the stopper he's being paid to be, the losing streak will end at two. Impressively, the Cubs were the last team to have a two-game losing streak this season. Bryant and Russell are starters, Jorge Soler looks like a veteran, and Castro has quickly become a leader. The team is clearly headed in the right direction, especially when compared to the other Chicago team. The White Sox are struggling at 6-9, and (former Cubs) ace Jeff Samardzija is fighting more consistently than winning. It's great to finally see the focus for the Cubs remain on the field.
1. Addison Russell is here. The NL's new youngest player wasn't spectacular (yet), but he did have his first hits and a great RBI double. I love the promotion and his opportunity to learn on the job while playing for a team with a chance to compete now. I do believe Starlin Castro should remain at shortstop, at least until the All-Star Break, and probably the whole year. After that, if they want to find a way to move Russell to shortstop without trading Castro, I'd support that as well.
2. Kris Bryant will let the team know if/when he is uncomfortable. I'm sure the Cubs appreciate everyone's concerns about "putting too much" on Bryant's shoulders by having him hit 4th and play wacky positions like center field. But the kid is so confident in his talent, and he knows what he can and can't do. Although my fantasy lineup would benefit greatly from some LF eligibility for Bryant, if he's more comfortable in CF, then we should just trust everyone involved.
3. What will the Cubs do about the catcher situation? Getting a player like Matt Szczur back up from Iowa would help avoid the whole "Bryant in the outfield" thing and would be a lot easier if the team didn't have three catchers on the current roster. But it's a tough situation. Welington Castillo is obviously the one who will be moved eventually (if any are moved), but the team will not just give him away. Meanwhile, Castillo is hitting the ball well, while manager Joe Maddon loses flexibility within his roster. (By the way, why is no one talking about Junior Lake? I know he underperformed last year, but his spring was decent, and he isn't playing badly at Iowa.)
4. The bullpen quickly went from a strength to a problem. Guess what? Edwin Jackson and Brian Schlitter haven't magically gotten any better, despite the year changing to 2015 and injuries giving them chances to redeem themselves. I know it's shocking, but it's true. The good news is that Zac Roscup and Gonzalez Germen have looked good so far, so maybe there is still hope that this will get sorted out quickly. In the meantime, this team has got to cut its losses with Jackson and possibly give Schlitter one last chance in Iowa. The fans have reached our limit on Jackson's outings, I believe.
5. At least the Cubs aren't brawling with other teams. For a team that looked so awful for the first six weeks of 2014 (13-27 record on May 16), an 8-7 start is wonderful. If Jon Lester is the stopper he's being paid to be, the losing streak will end at two. Impressively, the Cubs were the last team to have a two-game losing streak this season. Bryant and Russell are starters, Jorge Soler looks like a veteran, and Castro has quickly become a leader. The team is clearly headed in the right direction, especially when compared to the other Chicago team. The White Sox are struggling at 6-9, and (former Cubs) ace Jeff Samardzija is fighting more consistently than winning. It's great to finally see the focus for the Cubs remain on the field.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
A Look at the Chicago Cubs Prospect Race to Left Field
The Chicago Cubs played a terrific game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night, winning the opening game of the series 5-2 and moving to 7-5 on the season. The team was led by rookie Kris Bryant (I guess we'll be saying this a lot this year), who had three hits and three RBIs, along with another walk.
Cubs fans got great news after the game, when it was reported that infield prospect Addison Russell would be called up from Iowa to join the team on Tuesday. With Tommy La Stella injured and Javier Baez suffering through a tough spring training (and now absent due to a death in the family), the team has a need at 2B. Therefore, Russell's future begins now.
Like all Cubs fans, I can't wait to see Russell in the lineup, playing in the infield with Bryant, Castro, and Rizzo. But now, we'll naturally look ahead to the NEXT prospect. Who will be up next?
If the current roster remains healthy, the next open spot for a prospect is likely left field. Chris Coghlan looked great early in the season, but he has definitely hit a rough stretch. As a result, Chris Denorfia, who recently returned from the DL, will get his chances to play in left field as well. But assuming none of the team's current options are able to bring some consistency, it's possible that another prospect could get his chance in 2015.
So just for fun, let's call this the "2015 Race to LF" and name the top five prospects who could have the opportunity to join the Cubs and help in the outfield.
1. Kyle Schwarber - He's first on this list because many of us believe he could be the "next" Kris Bryant. But even if he is, we know he's at least a year away. Bryant likely moved through the Cubs system as quickly as anyone will be allowed to under Epstein and Hoyer. By that logic, we shouldn't see Schwarber until at least 13 days into the 2016 season. Then again, maybe he'll have a great year, and the team will decide he could be the final piece for a playoff run now.
2. Javier Baez - Looking around Twitter and reading blogs, it seems many fans have written Baez off. I'm not even close to being ready to do that, considering he really hasn't had a full shot at the top level. Yes, he struggled in Chicago to close out last season, and his spring was pretty bad. And now he hasn't played a game for Iowa yet. But when he returns, what if he is moved to LF? What if he is inspired? What if he puts it all together? They say these shortstops should technically be able to play anywhere. I wouldn't count this out as a possibility and would love to see Baez playing well and hitting 6th or 7th for the Cubs this year.
3. Albert Almora - If Almora stays healthy and progresses as expected, he should at least be promoted to AAA Iowa at some point this season. He hasn't shown the power we'd like to see in LF, and he obviously is suited better to play CF, but he has made an appearance in LF already this year. If he begins to really play well at any point in 2015, he could land in Chicago.
4. Bijan Rademacher - Almora's teammate at AA Tennessee, Rademacher has only played RF this year. However, he did play 58 games in LF for Daytona last season, and he currently holds a .405 OBP with five RBIS in his first 10 games of 2015.
5. Billy McKinney - McKinney is at Myrtle Beach right now, and there is no way he will make the jump to Chicago this year. Also, like Almora, he's mainly a center fielder. But I think McKinney's future is bright, and he will either play a huge role in Chicago or will be moved for pitching or another need. His acquisition in the Samardzija/Russell trade was highly overshadowed by the other names involved, but his career OBP is .367, including an early .441 mark for this season. McKinney's career minor league walk-to-strikeout ratio of .639 is reminiscent of Jorge Soler's impressive .621 and far better than Bryant's .481, Russell's .454, and Almora's .322. A very long shot, but at this point, you never know who will be next.
Don't forget: Junior Lake and Matt Szczur. One or both of these would likely get a chance at LF before any of these listed prospects.
Cubs fans got great news after the game, when it was reported that infield prospect Addison Russell would be called up from Iowa to join the team on Tuesday. With Tommy La Stella injured and Javier Baez suffering through a tough spring training (and now absent due to a death in the family), the team has a need at 2B. Therefore, Russell's future begins now.
Like all Cubs fans, I can't wait to see Russell in the lineup, playing in the infield with Bryant, Castro, and Rizzo. But now, we'll naturally look ahead to the NEXT prospect. Who will be up next?
If the current roster remains healthy, the next open spot for a prospect is likely left field. Chris Coghlan looked great early in the season, but he has definitely hit a rough stretch. As a result, Chris Denorfia, who recently returned from the DL, will get his chances to play in left field as well. But assuming none of the team's current options are able to bring some consistency, it's possible that another prospect could get his chance in 2015.
So just for fun, let's call this the "2015 Race to LF" and name the top five prospects who could have the opportunity to join the Cubs and help in the outfield.
1. Kyle Schwarber - He's first on this list because many of us believe he could be the "next" Kris Bryant. But even if he is, we know he's at least a year away. Bryant likely moved through the Cubs system as quickly as anyone will be allowed to under Epstein and Hoyer. By that logic, we shouldn't see Schwarber until at least 13 days into the 2016 season. Then again, maybe he'll have a great year, and the team will decide he could be the final piece for a playoff run now.
2. Javier Baez - Looking around Twitter and reading blogs, it seems many fans have written Baez off. I'm not even close to being ready to do that, considering he really hasn't had a full shot at the top level. Yes, he struggled in Chicago to close out last season, and his spring was pretty bad. And now he hasn't played a game for Iowa yet. But when he returns, what if he is moved to LF? What if he is inspired? What if he puts it all together? They say these shortstops should technically be able to play anywhere. I wouldn't count this out as a possibility and would love to see Baez playing well and hitting 6th or 7th for the Cubs this year.
3. Albert Almora - If Almora stays healthy and progresses as expected, he should at least be promoted to AAA Iowa at some point this season. He hasn't shown the power we'd like to see in LF, and he obviously is suited better to play CF, but he has made an appearance in LF already this year. If he begins to really play well at any point in 2015, he could land in Chicago.
4. Bijan Rademacher - Almora's teammate at AA Tennessee, Rademacher has only played RF this year. However, he did play 58 games in LF for Daytona last season, and he currently holds a .405 OBP with five RBIS in his first 10 games of 2015.
5. Billy McKinney - McKinney is at Myrtle Beach right now, and there is no way he will make the jump to Chicago this year. Also, like Almora, he's mainly a center fielder. But I think McKinney's future is bright, and he will either play a huge role in Chicago or will be moved for pitching or another need. His acquisition in the Samardzija/Russell trade was highly overshadowed by the other names involved, but his career OBP is .367, including an early .441 mark for this season. McKinney's career minor league walk-to-strikeout ratio of .639 is reminiscent of Jorge Soler's impressive .621 and far better than Bryant's .481, Russell's .454, and Almora's .322. A very long shot, but at this point, you never know who will be next.
Don't forget: Junior Lake and Matt Szczur. One or both of these would likely get a chance at LF before any of these listed prospects.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Cubs Drop First Series of 2015, Kris Bryant Makes His Debut
While all of the buzz this weekend was focused on Kris Bryant's major league debut, the Chicago Cubs managed to drop two of three games to the San Diego Padres and lose their first series of the year. They'll quickly have a chance to bounce back against the Pirates though, with the next series kicking off tonight. Below are five thoughts from the Padres series.
1. Forget the expectations; Bryant was awesome. The Cubs offered James Shields a lot of money this offseason because he's good. Therefore, it should be no surprise that he easily handled Bryant in his major league debut. Still, despite going 0-for-4 with three strike outs, Bryant bounced back to finish the weekend with a .300 average (3-for-10) and a .500 on-base percentage. He'll be fine. The home runs will come.
2. The bullpen isn't perfect after all. After having a great start to the season as a whole, Cubs relievers combined to allow seven runs in 11.1 innings this weekend. The offense bailed out the bullpen for the extra innings win on Saturday, but I'm thinking the bullpen will right back to supporting the offense late in games very soon.
3. I like Starlin Castro hitting 5th. Let's be honest: Bryant will get better pitches to hit with Castro hitting behind him. Coghlan is a good player, but he won't exactly scare anyone into changing their approach against the hitter before him. Coghlan struggled this weekend and had just one hit, but more importantly, we need Castro to get to the plate more often.
4. Miguel Montero needs to start getting consistent playing time. Each of the team's three catchers got a start this weekend, but only Montero had an impact offensively. Of course, his two home runs on Saturday helped the team earn its only win in the series. He was brought to Chicago for a reason and is being paid like a top catcher in the game. I'd like to see him start getting the majority of the work, with Ross possibly catching Lester, and Castillo being used late off of the bench as needed.
5. Jon Lester looks better, and his "spring training" should be over now. He had a couple of bad pitches on Sunday, but if the Cubs had put together some offense, he could've easily earned a win in the game. We know he's been behind since early in the spring, but his adjustment period should be finished now. Let's hope we'll now see the Lester who deserved that huge contract.
1. Forget the expectations; Bryant was awesome. The Cubs offered James Shields a lot of money this offseason because he's good. Therefore, it should be no surprise that he easily handled Bryant in his major league debut. Still, despite going 0-for-4 with three strike outs, Bryant bounced back to finish the weekend with a .300 average (3-for-10) and a .500 on-base percentage. He'll be fine. The home runs will come.
2. The bullpen isn't perfect after all. After having a great start to the season as a whole, Cubs relievers combined to allow seven runs in 11.1 innings this weekend. The offense bailed out the bullpen for the extra innings win on Saturday, but I'm thinking the bullpen will right back to supporting the offense late in games very soon.
3. I like Starlin Castro hitting 5th. Let's be honest: Bryant will get better pitches to hit with Castro hitting behind him. Coghlan is a good player, but he won't exactly scare anyone into changing their approach against the hitter before him. Coghlan struggled this weekend and had just one hit, but more importantly, we need Castro to get to the plate more often.
4. Miguel Montero needs to start getting consistent playing time. Each of the team's three catchers got a start this weekend, but only Montero had an impact offensively. Of course, his two home runs on Saturday helped the team earn its only win in the series. He was brought to Chicago for a reason and is being paid like a top catcher in the game. I'd like to see him start getting the majority of the work, with Ross possibly catching Lester, and Castillo being used late off of the bench as needed.
5. Jon Lester looks better, and his "spring training" should be over now. He had a couple of bad pitches on Sunday, but if the Cubs had put together some offense, he could've easily earned a win in the game. We know he's been behind since early in the spring, but his adjustment period should be finished now. Let's hope we'll now see the Lester who deserved that huge contract.
Saturday, April 18, 2015
GBS Record Store Day Edition: Vista Blue - Baseball Rock
Help us celebrate Record Store Day by checking out our new band, Vista Blue. The debut album, Good Eye, features all songs about baseball, and it is free to stream or download right here at our bandcamp site.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Kris Bryant Officially Promoted, Putting Addison Russell on Deck
So now that it's settled and Kris Bryant will make his MLB debut on Friday, Cubs fans should begin watching and hoping for Addison Russell's arrival. With a chance to play second base at AAA Iowa during Javy Baez's absence over the last week, Russell is crushing the ball, hitting .355 with seven RBIs in seven games. This follows a spring training where we saw him hit .317 over 40 at-bats while looking like he belonged on the field as much as anyone else.
Before he was traded to the Cubs in the Jeff Samardzija deal last summer, Russell was on track to open this year as Oakland's starting shortstop. Although the middle infield in his new organization seemed fairly jammed up when he arrived, things are slowly working themselves out. Starlin Castro continues to lead Chicago in hitting and has a firm grasp on the shortstop spot for now, but second base seems open due to infield injuries (Tommy La Stella, Mike Olt) and slow starts (Baez, Arismendy Alcantara).
With Chris Coghlan off to a hot start in left field (.304 with two home runs), the lineup is really strong. But imagine it with Russell hitting .300 from the 2B spot.
I imagine the Cubs lineup would look something like this:
1. Fowler
2. Rizzo
3. Soler
4. Bryant
5. Coghlan
6. Castro
7. catcher
8. pitcher
9. Russell
We knew we wouldn't see this lineup coming out of spring training two weeks ago. Now, however, it's only a phone call away. Could we see it by May 1st? June 1st?
First, of course, we'll focus on Bryant and his adjustment to his new home. But if he takes off quickly, as many are expecting him to, "Russell Watch" will begin shortly.
Before he was traded to the Cubs in the Jeff Samardzija deal last summer, Russell was on track to open this year as Oakland's starting shortstop. Although the middle infield in his new organization seemed fairly jammed up when he arrived, things are slowly working themselves out. Starlin Castro continues to lead Chicago in hitting and has a firm grasp on the shortstop spot for now, but second base seems open due to infield injuries (Tommy La Stella, Mike Olt) and slow starts (Baez, Arismendy Alcantara).
With Chris Coghlan off to a hot start in left field (.304 with two home runs), the lineup is really strong. But imagine it with Russell hitting .300 from the 2B spot.
I imagine the Cubs lineup would look something like this:
1. Fowler
2. Rizzo
3. Soler
4. Bryant
5. Coghlan
6. Castro
7. catcher
8. pitcher
9. Russell
We knew we wouldn't see this lineup coming out of spring training two weeks ago. Now, however, it's only a phone call away. Could we see it by May 1st? June 1st?
First, of course, we'll focus on Bryant and his adjustment to his new home. But if he takes off quickly, as many are expecting him to, "Russell Watch" will begin shortly.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Cubs Win Another Series, Remain in First Place
The 2014 Cubs did not win a series throughout the month of April, finishing the first month of the season at 9-17. By comparison, the 2015 team has not lost a series yet, defeating the Reds 5-0 on Wednesday to earn a second series win after splitting the rain-shortened series with the Cardinals to begin the season. Below are five thoughts about the first place Cubs following the Reds series.
1. Travis Wood is off to a good start. Wood was the clear winner of the fifth rotation spot, and he has been a huge asset in the past. Unfortunately, he was pretty bad at times last year. In fact he allowed at least a run in every start until mid-June, making Wednesday's start (0 ER) very encouraging. Cubs fans would love to see Wood pitch consistently and stay in this rotation all year. With Lester, Arrieta, and Wood throwing, who could've imagined Wood would start the only shutout of the series?
2. Jorge Soler came through. In my last post, I predicted he'd have a big week, and he definitely had a great series, going 5-for-11 with two HRs, five RBI, three runs, and two walks. With other prospects getting all the attention, Soler feels like a veteran at this point. A veteran who may win the league's Rookie of the Year award.
3. The bullpen keeps going. Cubs relievers threw 8.1 innings against the Reds and did not allow a run. The Ramirez injury is scary, and we may lose a crucial piece there. Sure, Schlitter is shaky at times, but Rosscup looked amazing in his appearance on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Motte, Coke, Strop, and Rondon just keep shutting hitters down late.
4. Are we still trying to trade Starlin Castro? I'm personally done talking about it for now, because Castro needs to be seen as piece the team can build around. He has already said he'd move positions if he had to, and he is quickly reminding us how important his bat is. Fowler, Soler, and Rizzo have given the Cubs the big hits so far, but who is leading the team in hitting? Castro at .323. Like always.
5. Kris Bryant watch begins now. Our friends in New Orleans are hoping to catch Bryant in an Iowa uniform tonight, but I'm hoping he isn't even in the park. (Sorry, Brett and Rocky!) Whether he is activated on Friday or Saturday (to ensure a potential one-game play-in at the end of the season doesn't ruin everything), we should see Bryant in Chicago at some point this weekend. Regardless of anything else on the business side of this thing, there's an obvious need at third base at this point. Maybe I'm wrong? But I think it's Bryant time within the next 48 hours.
1. Travis Wood is off to a good start. Wood was the clear winner of the fifth rotation spot, and he has been a huge asset in the past. Unfortunately, he was pretty bad at times last year. In fact he allowed at least a run in every start until mid-June, making Wednesday's start (0 ER) very encouraging. Cubs fans would love to see Wood pitch consistently and stay in this rotation all year. With Lester, Arrieta, and Wood throwing, who could've imagined Wood would start the only shutout of the series?
2. Jorge Soler came through. In my last post, I predicted he'd have a big week, and he definitely had a great series, going 5-for-11 with two HRs, five RBI, three runs, and two walks. With other prospects getting all the attention, Soler feels like a veteran at this point. A veteran who may win the league's Rookie of the Year award.
3. The bullpen keeps going. Cubs relievers threw 8.1 innings against the Reds and did not allow a run. The Ramirez injury is scary, and we may lose a crucial piece there. Sure, Schlitter is shaky at times, but Rosscup looked amazing in his appearance on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Motte, Coke, Strop, and Rondon just keep shutting hitters down late.
4. Are we still trying to trade Starlin Castro? I'm personally done talking about it for now, because Castro needs to be seen as piece the team can build around. He has already said he'd move positions if he had to, and he is quickly reminding us how important his bat is. Fowler, Soler, and Rizzo have given the Cubs the big hits so far, but who is leading the team in hitting? Castro at .323. Like always.
5. Kris Bryant watch begins now. Our friends in New Orleans are hoping to catch Bryant in an Iowa uniform tonight, but I'm hoping he isn't even in the park. (Sorry, Brett and Rocky!) Whether he is activated on Friday or Saturday (to ensure a potential one-game play-in at the end of the season doesn't ruin everything), we should see Bryant in Chicago at some point this weekend. Regardless of anything else on the business side of this thing, there's an obvious need at third base at this point. Maybe I'm wrong? But I think it's Bryant time within the next 48 hours.
Monday, April 13, 2015
GP of Louisiana - Fan Experience - Race Day!
First of all, for anyone who has read Part 1 and Part 2 of this GP of NOLA Series, thank you for reading along, and thank you for bearing with my typos. For normal GBS coverage there’s plenty time to get this stuff out as a member of the media or in the solitary of the home office, but this trip is “as a fan” which means my wife, son, brother, mom, dad, cousins, in-laws, friends and more are with me at the track and hanging out in the city at night, and I’m putting these pieces and the pictures together as quick as I can in the late post-midnight hours. This trip started 11 days ago with me running in the Crescent City Classic (article on that later), a week of amazing food and music culminating with the GP of NOLA race weekend, so to say I’m out of energy is an understatement. And with that, Race Day!
So after the qualification rain out it proceeded to rain on/off the rest of Saturday night and well into Sunday morning with periods of overcast non-raining. It was still an upbeat morning, the local news on TV had reporters out doing coverage on TV, and the New Orleans Advocate had a full page spread in the sports section… even if the writer/editor swapped “mph” in for “horsepower.”
This led to a conversation with my dad and brother on if you could even perceive a 700 mph race with your eyes, hah. Now with the schedule moved up action was on the track at 7am, and if it were just me, I’d have made my way out to the track, but I knew weather was looming and I have a 2 year old son I do not want to test the limits of during a potential rain delay. So we headed to the track at 10am figuring we’d see the Porsche GT3s and Pro Mazda races.
Sadly on our drive the rain came down hard, and by the time we got to the track both races had to be cancelled. Let’s make no mistake right now, a LOT of people are being snarky on the internet about NOLA’s lack of drainage or amount of rain. I lived in NOLA for 25 years. The amount of rain we had in 3 days was more than the monthly average for the month of April, NO track or any amount of additional infrastructure would have been able to drain this much water out; it was a simple fluke of nature, the entire week leading up to this was sunny and 80 degrees.
But this left us with 2 hours to burn while the rain was pouring down, so we were huddled in the Trackside Club along with hundreds of others.
The only problem with the Trackside Club is that none of the PA speakers exist in the club…? Not sure why but you never could hear any updates about what was going on or when things were changing, thank god for phones/twitter. Thankfully teams let us hang in their tents/paddock areas during the rain and check out everything they were doing to prep. Enough can't be said for how friendly the teams were with the fans during all these conditions.
Finally the rain cleared up and the masterful Air Titan and a bulldozer (to push water) went to work taking care of the worst spots on track as fans filed in. If anyone should win awards for this weekend it’s the track workers who constantly kept getting the track ready for racing amidst the worst of conditions.
The second award goes to the fans. The rain was so bad Sunday morning, I was actually getting mentally prepared for them to scrap Sunday and move to Monday and we’d have to fly back Monday and miss the race. I completely don’t hold it against any fan for staying home in the conditions we dealt with; there was serious doubt we were getting a race in… but these stands were packed! Seriously, I think we still managed to be near 80% capacity, and probably 90-95% capacity on the front stretch. (open up that photo and you'll see the back stands filling up as well).
And for folks who have never been to NOLA, the crowd lived up to “Big Easy” everyone was wet but having a blast, we were all laughing about everything and anxious to see some racing. There was a serious roar from the crowd on the call to start engines. And was also happy to see the 2-seater go around in the conditions, though they maybe should have explained it over the loud-speaker, as I had to explain to many folks:
Now the beginning of the race was a masterpiece, all the drivers did a great job on the wet tires and Graham Rahal in particular was a treat to watch as he was picking off 1-2 cars every lap, he was simply in the “Takuma Sato in the rain” zone. Sato himself though, was having car/engine issues so he was never able to materialize his own mastery of the wet track.
Then some drivers got ballsy and started going to red/slicks while there was still water on the track, and this is where things got interesting, exciting and also eventually downhill. Order as getting all mixed up as we were seeing who was willing to blink first for reds. We got to see Tony Kanaan power boating to get out of the swamp in turn 13, and the loudest cheer of the day was when Gabby Chaves got pushed out by a (brave yet maybe stupid) track worker. Sadly Chaves stalled and thus began the downfall of this race. The restarts…
The yellows were unusually long even for IndyCar standards; that’s fine for the first yellow, to do some cleaning; but now with cars packed up plus some water still out there, it became silly. Rahal was making out on restarts like a bandit, Newgarden too. But sadly Coletti found some water trying to make a pass and slicks at speed vs water don’t mix. Then Huertas, then Dracone, suddenly after doing 15+ laps under green, drivers suddenly forgot how to drive again. When we got restarts and a lap here and there the action was great.
As a fan, I really can’t wait to see more races at NOLA, the track has really come out well, the front and back straights are downright amazing in person, and the passing at the end of them is top notch. The track itself in general is amazing, especially since they listened to IndyCar/Cotman and straightened the back stretch. It may be my #1 and #2 favorite parts of a track right with the Mid Ohio esses and Indy turn 1.
The only downside from a fan perspective is that the “stupid” race control tower blocks your view of turn 1. I say stupid in quotes because obviously that’s more important and was there first, but seriously would be nice to be able to see the cars go all the way to turn 1. See in this photo (and the videos) how you get blocked.
But that being said, I stated on Friday the amazing view you get of the pits, and yeah its awesome come pit-stop time, you look right into the team's stalls completely unobstructed:
SO I’ll have another post later to talk about IndyCar Race Control, the race and all that; this series is just for the fan experience. And I have to say NOLA delivered a race, a great venue, food, and the sightlines are amazing. To top things off, this is bar none THE BEST LOCATION FOR VICTORY LANE EVER. Every track I've been to (I've been to about 10+) Victory Lane is almost always in some VIP un-accessible area. At NOLA they leave the track, and park right next to the f’n grandstands, anyone can walk up and it super open as an area, you could fit thousands of people around the victory stage.
None of the fans or even my family complained about the timed race nonsense (again that piece coming later) they all understood you can’t change a rule once the race has started, everyone was happy and wanting to come back for more, but now it was time to leave. This is where NOLA has some serious work to do. They tried to use the satellite parking/shuttle bus system that the PGA uses for the Zurich Classic (which is right next door), but it simply does not work for the race because unlike golf, everyone leaves a race at exactly the same moment. The Segnette lot is Loyola’s baseball field and is easy to get to, the Lapalco parking is a terrible idea with rain because its parking on the median between the street, and you’d never want to normally park at the Avondale Shipyard. None of them are that close to the track.
It took us over an hour to leave the track and get bused to our car… with a 2 year old… Thankfully we were mostly able to keep him entertained but it was a complete mess, with no one directing the crowd, track staff standing around hanging out with each other, and mud to stand in… We literally stood in this giant crowd not moving for over 30 minutes, eventually it started moving, but all in all it took 70-80 minutes to get from the facility entrance mob to our car in Segnette.
This can totally be summed up as a first year jitters (IF they fix it). Kentucky and Richmond Speedways are bar none the worst post-race situations I've experienced and this was pretty close. A solution seems very simple. There was TONS of pavement at the facility that went unused, and also tons of unused grass lots that can be rocked over, and turn all of that into parking and ditch the buses. Or at least make that parking a premium price and then less people will be on the shuttles.
I’ll leave it at that, many people will put up with it once, but if they they don’t fix that parking/shuttle mess it’ll start affecting attendance. In fact the issue could be much worse if we had good weather and there were even more fans.
So post-event what are the overall observations. The track is amazing, the go-kart facility is amazing, the sight lines are amazing, the weather was crappy but NOLA Motorsports Park and IndyCar have no control of that.
The track has a few spots that seemed to be collecting more water than others and they should invest some money to upgrade the drainage in those areas. They also need to ditch whoever they used to hire all their workers, and instead they need to upgrade to college students or something. I already talked about the workers kicking us out of the stands after the rain had stopped on Friday, but we had many issues, like concession workers who couldn't do basic math. MY brother gave one a $20 bill, for $13 of food, and she gave him back three $5 bills and five $1 bills. My brother being nice explained to her it was wrong, so then she gave him $3… so then he nicely said “let me do this for you.” But this was one of several concession and track “yellow shirt” stories we had from the weekend, including them standing around and not helping as people tried to get to the shuttles.
For the event itself is was majorly a positive and a great start to being an annual staple. The only adjustments aside from the above notes is #1 they need to coordinate the date better. Not because of The Masters or anything like that, but it was the same weekend as French Quarter Fest in New Orleans and also the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival which are fairly big events to the area. That being said the race still packed in fans and we all had an amazing time.
The #2 thing they need to do is sort our some additional options for seating. I’d pay a HUGE premium if I were allowed to sit on the other end of the track, say by Turn 1/5. The RV lot on the back stretch looks amazing to try next time, but curious if that will stay there as its slated for housing…
All in all this was a great first event baring all the crazy ass rain that had to be dealt with, and if the drivers could keep their skills along with the red tires its sure to be even greater. Definitely recommend for race fans or anyone wanting an excise to visit New Orleans.
So after the qualification rain out it proceeded to rain on/off the rest of Saturday night and well into Sunday morning with periods of overcast non-raining. It was still an upbeat morning, the local news on TV had reporters out doing coverage on TV, and the New Orleans Advocate had a full page spread in the sports section… even if the writer/editor swapped “mph” in for “horsepower.”
This led to a conversation with my dad and brother on if you could even perceive a 700 mph race with your eyes, hah. Now with the schedule moved up action was on the track at 7am, and if it were just me, I’d have made my way out to the track, but I knew weather was looming and I have a 2 year old son I do not want to test the limits of during a potential rain delay. So we headed to the track at 10am figuring we’d see the Porsche GT3s and Pro Mazda races.
Sadly on our drive the rain came down hard, and by the time we got to the track both races had to be cancelled. Let’s make no mistake right now, a LOT of people are being snarky on the internet about NOLA’s lack of drainage or amount of rain. I lived in NOLA for 25 years. The amount of rain we had in 3 days was more than the monthly average for the month of April, NO track or any amount of additional infrastructure would have been able to drain this much water out; it was a simple fluke of nature, the entire week leading up to this was sunny and 80 degrees.
But this left us with 2 hours to burn while the rain was pouring down, so we were huddled in the Trackside Club along with hundreds of others.
The only problem with the Trackside Club is that none of the PA speakers exist in the club…? Not sure why but you never could hear any updates about what was going on or when things were changing, thank god for phones/twitter. Thankfully teams let us hang in their tents/paddock areas during the rain and check out everything they were doing to prep. Enough can't be said for how friendly the teams were with the fans during all these conditions.
Finally the rain cleared up and the masterful Air Titan and a bulldozer (to push water) went to work taking care of the worst spots on track as fans filed in. If anyone should win awards for this weekend it’s the track workers who constantly kept getting the track ready for racing amidst the worst of conditions.
The second award goes to the fans. The rain was so bad Sunday morning, I was actually getting mentally prepared for them to scrap Sunday and move to Monday and we’d have to fly back Monday and miss the race. I completely don’t hold it against any fan for staying home in the conditions we dealt with; there was serious doubt we were getting a race in… but these stands were packed! Seriously, I think we still managed to be near 80% capacity, and probably 90-95% capacity on the front stretch. (open up that photo and you'll see the back stands filling up as well).
And for folks who have never been to NOLA, the crowd lived up to “Big Easy” everyone was wet but having a blast, we were all laughing about everything and anxious to see some racing. There was a serious roar from the crowd on the call to start engines. And was also happy to see the 2-seater go around in the conditions, though they maybe should have explained it over the loud-speaker, as I had to explain to many folks:
Now the beginning of the race was a masterpiece, all the drivers did a great job on the wet tires and Graham Rahal in particular was a treat to watch as he was picking off 1-2 cars every lap, he was simply in the “Takuma Sato in the rain” zone. Sato himself though, was having car/engine issues so he was never able to materialize his own mastery of the wet track.
Then some drivers got ballsy and started going to red/slicks while there was still water on the track, and this is where things got interesting, exciting and also eventually downhill. Order as getting all mixed up as we were seeing who was willing to blink first for reds. We got to see Tony Kanaan power boating to get out of the swamp in turn 13, and the loudest cheer of the day was when Gabby Chaves got pushed out by a (brave yet maybe stupid) track worker. Sadly Chaves stalled and thus began the downfall of this race. The restarts…
The yellows were unusually long even for IndyCar standards; that’s fine for the first yellow, to do some cleaning; but now with cars packed up plus some water still out there, it became silly. Rahal was making out on restarts like a bandit, Newgarden too. But sadly Coletti found some water trying to make a pass and slicks at speed vs water don’t mix. Then Huertas, then Dracone, suddenly after doing 15+ laps under green, drivers suddenly forgot how to drive again. When we got restarts and a lap here and there the action was great.
As a fan, I really can’t wait to see more races at NOLA, the track has really come out well, the front and back straights are downright amazing in person, and the passing at the end of them is top notch. The track itself in general is amazing, especially since they listened to IndyCar/Cotman and straightened the back stretch. It may be my #1 and #2 favorite parts of a track right with the Mid Ohio esses and Indy turn 1.
The only downside from a fan perspective is that the “stupid” race control tower blocks your view of turn 1. I say stupid in quotes because obviously that’s more important and was there first, but seriously would be nice to be able to see the cars go all the way to turn 1. See in this photo (and the videos) how you get blocked.
But that being said, I stated on Friday the amazing view you get of the pits, and yeah its awesome come pit-stop time, you look right into the team's stalls completely unobstructed:
SO I’ll have another post later to talk about IndyCar Race Control, the race and all that; this series is just for the fan experience. And I have to say NOLA delivered a race, a great venue, food, and the sightlines are amazing. To top things off, this is bar none THE BEST LOCATION FOR VICTORY LANE EVER. Every track I've been to (I've been to about 10+) Victory Lane is almost always in some VIP un-accessible area. At NOLA they leave the track, and park right next to the f’n grandstands, anyone can walk up and it super open as an area, you could fit thousands of people around the victory stage.
None of the fans or even my family complained about the timed race nonsense (again that piece coming later) they all understood you can’t change a rule once the race has started, everyone was happy and wanting to come back for more, but now it was time to leave. This is where NOLA has some serious work to do. They tried to use the satellite parking/shuttle bus system that the PGA uses for the Zurich Classic (which is right next door), but it simply does not work for the race because unlike golf, everyone leaves a race at exactly the same moment. The Segnette lot is Loyola’s baseball field and is easy to get to, the Lapalco parking is a terrible idea with rain because its parking on the median between the street, and you’d never want to normally park at the Avondale Shipyard. None of them are that close to the track.
It took us over an hour to leave the track and get bused to our car… with a 2 year old… Thankfully we were mostly able to keep him entertained but it was a complete mess, with no one directing the crowd, track staff standing around hanging out with each other, and mud to stand in… We literally stood in this giant crowd not moving for over 30 minutes, eventually it started moving, but all in all it took 70-80 minutes to get from the facility entrance mob to our car in Segnette.
 |
| All the areas in red were un-used and should be made into parking. |
So post-event what are the overall observations. The track is amazing, the go-kart facility is amazing, the sight lines are amazing, the weather was crappy but NOLA Motorsports Park and IndyCar have no control of that.
The track has a few spots that seemed to be collecting more water than others and they should invest some money to upgrade the drainage in those areas. They also need to ditch whoever they used to hire all their workers, and instead they need to upgrade to college students or something. I already talked about the workers kicking us out of the stands after the rain had stopped on Friday, but we had many issues, like concession workers who couldn't do basic math. MY brother gave one a $20 bill, for $13 of food, and she gave him back three $5 bills and five $1 bills. My brother being nice explained to her it was wrong, so then she gave him $3… so then he nicely said “let me do this for you.” But this was one of several concession and track “yellow shirt” stories we had from the weekend, including them standing around and not helping as people tried to get to the shuttles.
For the event itself is was majorly a positive and a great start to being an annual staple. The only adjustments aside from the above notes is #1 they need to coordinate the date better. Not because of The Masters or anything like that, but it was the same weekend as French Quarter Fest in New Orleans and also the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival which are fairly big events to the area. That being said the race still packed in fans and we all had an amazing time.
The #2 thing they need to do is sort our some additional options for seating. I’d pay a HUGE premium if I were allowed to sit on the other end of the track, say by Turn 1/5. The RV lot on the back stretch looks amazing to try next time, but curious if that will stay there as its slated for housing…
All in all this was a great first event baring all the crazy ass rain that had to be dealt with, and if the drivers could keep their skills along with the red tires its sure to be even greater. Definitely recommend for race fans or anyone wanting an excise to visit New Orleans.
Cubs Win First Series of 2015: Five Thoughts
The Cubs pulled off a great comeback win behind Dexter Fowler's home run in the 9th inning yesterday, winning the series against the Colorado Rockies and posting a record of 3-2 after the first week. This is the best five-game start for the team under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, which is certainly encouraging for a team that played .500 ball from mid-May through the end of the season last year, addressed needs in the offseason, and has the game's best farm system almost ready to storm the majors.
Below are five thoughts following the series.
1. The Cubs wouldn't have won this game/series last year. Of course the first seven weeks of 2014 were pathetic, and it seemed to take forever to win a series. But that aside, these were the series the team just couldn't win. Getting to the rubber match and starting the 9th inning down by three runs, that would happen sometimes. Getting the tying run to the plate also wasn't completely uncommon. But coming through with a big home run to win the game and the series? That feels refreshing. Let's hope this is only the start.
2. The offense won this series. In recent years, great pitching has allowed the team to win series. But in a series where the Rockies scored five runs in each of the three games, the Cubs offense had to put up some numbers, and they did. While five runs per game at Coors Field isn't terrible at all, this pitching staff is going to have better series this year (see: St. Louis, earlier last week). It's good to know the offense can overcome deficits when the pitching isn't at its best.
3. Keep the sacrifice flies coming! The 2014 Cubs managed only 41 sac flies all season. This year's team already has four through five games! The ability to score runs without base hits has definitely made a difference and shows that this team is having better at-bats so far.
4. Jorge Soler could have a big second week. He had three hits in the Colorado series and went 0-for-4 on Sunday, but he is hitting the ball. His .222 average should not be a concern at all right now, as these things tend to balance themselves out. I'm expecting a big week from him starting tonight.
5. This roster is working. Carrying three catchers became less of a concern after Welington Castillo's big pinch hit on Sunday. And even with minor injuries to La Stella and Olt, the Cubs were still able to field a quality lineup, with Castillo ready to serve as an emergency third baseman and Travis Wood listed as a potential outfielder. When Kris Bryant is finally added to the roster and the team's minor injuries heal, things will really fall into place. I personally like what Coghlan is bringing to left field, and I love the flexibility of the bench. I guess eventually the team will go to two catchers, and players like Szczur and Herrera may lose roster spots to Bryant, Denorfia, etc. But it's all working right now.
Below are five thoughts following the series.
1. The Cubs wouldn't have won this game/series last year. Of course the first seven weeks of 2014 were pathetic, and it seemed to take forever to win a series. But that aside, these were the series the team just couldn't win. Getting to the rubber match and starting the 9th inning down by three runs, that would happen sometimes. Getting the tying run to the plate also wasn't completely uncommon. But coming through with a big home run to win the game and the series? That feels refreshing. Let's hope this is only the start.
2. The offense won this series. In recent years, great pitching has allowed the team to win series. But in a series where the Rockies scored five runs in each of the three games, the Cubs offense had to put up some numbers, and they did. While five runs per game at Coors Field isn't terrible at all, this pitching staff is going to have better series this year (see: St. Louis, earlier last week). It's good to know the offense can overcome deficits when the pitching isn't at its best.
3. Keep the sacrifice flies coming! The 2014 Cubs managed only 41 sac flies all season. This year's team already has four through five games! The ability to score runs without base hits has definitely made a difference and shows that this team is having better at-bats so far.
4. Jorge Soler could have a big second week. He had three hits in the Colorado series and went 0-for-4 on Sunday, but he is hitting the ball. His .222 average should not be a concern at all right now, as these things tend to balance themselves out. I'm expecting a big week from him starting tonight.
5. This roster is working. Carrying three catchers became less of a concern after Welington Castillo's big pinch hit on Sunday. And even with minor injuries to La Stella and Olt, the Cubs were still able to field a quality lineup, with Castillo ready to serve as an emergency third baseman and Travis Wood listed as a potential outfielder. When Kris Bryant is finally added to the roster and the team's minor injuries heal, things will really fall into place. I personally like what Coghlan is bringing to left field, and I love the flexibility of the bench. I guess eventually the team will go to two catchers, and players like Szczur and Herrera may lose roster spots to Bryant, Denorfia, etc. But it's all working right now.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
GP of Louisiana - Fan Experience - Day 2
Day 2 at NOLA Motorsports Park had a little of everything; from the good to the bad to the yummy to the downright confusing, but also lots of fun.
We started Day 2 off earlier so we could catch all the racing on the track, and when we got there it was overcast with the sun somehow still beaming through and making things hot. We started off good watching the Mazda MX-5 series put on some good racing, and then the Prototypes put on an interesting race as we started to sample the unique, only in NOLA, concessions.
My brother sampled some crawfish pasta, I meanwhile got a perfect Roast Beef Po-Boy. Normally you expect concessions to be some watered down version of the local food, chicken fingers in disguise or frozen/reheated versions of food, but not at NOLA. They had some good chefs at the helm making sure they served up genuine dishes, and as I stated yesterday, actual local restaurants on sight in the “Taste of LA” section. So that’s the good and yummy for fans, definitely no other track in the world will have food of this caliber.
But lets get back to those Mazda Prototypes, or lack thereof. They had a single car crash on one of the opening laps (maybe lap 3ish), a double wall tap and into the tires but just some back end damage needing a wrecker/hook, yet somehow it took 15 minutes to clean that up. Finally we’re going back to green, and someone screws up that restart and spins out 4 cars. Checkered Flag… whaaaa!? Yep I guess the slim IMSA crew doesn't share with IndyCar when they are in town and were incapable of cleaning up a wreck in time to let them do more than 4-5 laps of green.
Then we were treated to an awesome GT-3 Porsche series race. One guy spun on the opening lap and went back to 20th place, and we watched him go full rampage mode and work his way to a battle for 5th by the end of the race (without the aide of any more yellow flags). It was a sight to be seen.
Then the confusing came with the mashup of IndyCar Race Officials and ones I assume are first timers to the area. It’s a first year, I don’t expect everything to be perfect but during the USF2000 race fans were ordered to leave the stands because “weather may be on the way.” Those were the literal words on the screen, it was not raining, it was not looking like it would rain for some time, and it wasn't the same dark ominous clouds we had on Friday. AND remember, USF2000 was still out racing on the track, but no one was allowed to see it. Apparently there were several passes for the lead in the final laps but no one will ever know. So alas all fans got removed from the stands at this point, many just left.
Then the silly. For whatever reason, with nothing more than a drizzle, fans started leaving because no one announced anything we were standing around and not allowed back into the stands… IndyCar for some reason sat around for 30+ minutes to see if it would rain? Who knows. On Twiter the word as they were waiting on lightning in the area… only there wasn’t any. My brother runs the power plant 5 miles from the track, as a result his phone explodes with warnings if there is lightning within a 50 mile radius of his plant so they can do preventative measures to the pant. His phone had not gone off, so Race Control was apparently waiting out being afraid of rain or the possibility of lightning eventually getting to the track.
Make no mistake rain WAS on the way, but here we are sitting around and fans leaving. Eventually they finally decided to go out, no one announced anything, we just figured it out and went back into the stands and this is where the waiting came back as foolish. Drizzle turned to rain but nothing crazy. It produced maybe one of the most exciting racing sessions I have ever seen. Literally best session ever, and many drivers said they were loving it.
Qualifying in the rain, the true equalizer, and when you can see the whole track a sight that just has to be seen. Rooster tails going up in every direction, simply amazing stuff and fans were cheering and loving every bit of it! Sadly it got cut short when real lightning finally showed up near the end of Group 2.
Now if you do simple math, round 2 is 10-15 minutes and round 3 is 10 minutes. Almost the exact amount of time IndyCar sat around twiddling thumbs… Basicly had they started on time qualifying would have happened and we would have had a great lineup of cars with drivers who could handle rain at the front. I think in the end officials thought we were going to have a repeat flash storm like Friday but we never did, and it came back to bite them. The fans that stayed got to see some awesome stuff, but how many stayed when we were kicked out of the stands for a second day in a row, and whats happening on race day with drizzle set for on/off all day???
We started Day 2 off earlier so we could catch all the racing on the track, and when we got there it was overcast with the sun somehow still beaming through and making things hot. We started off good watching the Mazda MX-5 series put on some good racing, and then the Prototypes put on an interesting race as we started to sample the unique, only in NOLA, concessions.
My brother sampled some crawfish pasta, I meanwhile got a perfect Roast Beef Po-Boy. Normally you expect concessions to be some watered down version of the local food, chicken fingers in disguise or frozen/reheated versions of food, but not at NOLA. They had some good chefs at the helm making sure they served up genuine dishes, and as I stated yesterday, actual local restaurants on sight in the “Taste of LA” section. So that’s the good and yummy for fans, definitely no other track in the world will have food of this caliber.
But lets get back to those Mazda Prototypes, or lack thereof. They had a single car crash on one of the opening laps (maybe lap 3ish), a double wall tap and into the tires but just some back end damage needing a wrecker/hook, yet somehow it took 15 minutes to clean that up. Finally we’re going back to green, and someone screws up that restart and spins out 4 cars. Checkered Flag… whaaaa!? Yep I guess the slim IMSA crew doesn't share with IndyCar when they are in town and were incapable of cleaning up a wreck in time to let them do more than 4-5 laps of green.
Then we were treated to an awesome GT-3 Porsche series race. One guy spun on the opening lap and went back to 20th place, and we watched him go full rampage mode and work his way to a battle for 5th by the end of the race (without the aide of any more yellow flags). It was a sight to be seen.
Then the confusing came with the mashup of IndyCar Race Officials and ones I assume are first timers to the area. It’s a first year, I don’t expect everything to be perfect but during the USF2000 race fans were ordered to leave the stands because “weather may be on the way.” Those were the literal words on the screen, it was not raining, it was not looking like it would rain for some time, and it wasn't the same dark ominous clouds we had on Friday. AND remember, USF2000 was still out racing on the track, but no one was allowed to see it. Apparently there were several passes for the lead in the final laps but no one will ever know. So alas all fans got removed from the stands at this point, many just left.
Make no mistake rain WAS on the way, but here we are sitting around and fans leaving. Eventually they finally decided to go out, no one announced anything, we just figured it out and went back into the stands and this is where the waiting came back as foolish. Drizzle turned to rain but nothing crazy. It produced maybe one of the most exciting racing sessions I have ever seen. Literally best session ever, and many drivers said they were loving it.
Qualifying in the rain, the true equalizer, and when you can see the whole track a sight that just has to be seen. Rooster tails going up in every direction, simply amazing stuff and fans were cheering and loving every bit of it! Sadly it got cut short when real lightning finally showed up near the end of Group 2.
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Grand Prix of Louisiana - Fan Experience - Day 1
There are many great writers in the media covering the Grand Prix of Louisiana, just look at who we follow on twitter; they’ll have tons of good race coverage. But because Mike and I are both from New Orleans and we’re stoked for IndyCar to finally experience our city (believe me, that’s the direction this is really about), I thought it would be good for fans who aren't able to make it to know what the race is like for a fan, what do you have access to, what will you see here.
So here is a quick recap of the fan’s experience (note, I purposely did NOT get media credentials for this race). #1, parking isn't the most intuitive thing in the world as they've re-purposed some street medians, the parking lot of Loyola’s baseball team (Signette field) and a shipyard, and then they shuttle you to the track. It’s the same thing they do for the PGA golf event at the TPC of Louisiana, so it’s not like they just came up with this idea, it should be somewhat organized (and was for Friday).
The first thing that hits you is that NOLA Motorsports Park is gigantic (which is something to awe at because the facility is currently only half the size of the eventual master plan). The second thing that is astounding is that from the grandstands of the front straight, you can literally see the whole track. Now you can’t see the detail of a pass or a turn on the other end of the track, but you can see the cars go all the way around the track (this pic is of cars on the far end of the track from our seats):
Perhaps the only negative I've got so far is you can only sit around 1/3 of the track, which means you're missing out on a ton of passing zones that I'd pay good money to get a seat for. But as far as seeing the whole track… don’t believe me, here’s video I shot with my simple phone:
Then here’s some shots I took from the top of the grandstand with a simple 55-200 mm lens. Again note no press pass or sneaking up close to a fence, I shot all of these from in the stands.
So being able to see things is one aspect, but the second thing you've likely noticed is how close you are to the action. The grandstands are akin to Mid-Ohio’s old rickety pit houses, in that, where fans walk elevated above the teams, but directly on top of them with an unobstructed view. It’s the same for the pit stalls here at NOLA, there’s no fencing or anything obstructing your view, you can literally reach out and touch tires if you wanted to try.
We chatted with some team personnel at one point in the rain delay and it wasn't awkward, it was very nice. (again, no press/media access for me this race)
The paddock area is as open and friendly as I experienced at any track, but my favorite part is that its right behind the stands so no need to take a long walk. Plus there’s a great “Taste of LA” food station area complete with genuine jambalaya, gumbo, and Café du Monde beignets! So walking around this track is a treat, and I have yet to try out the Ferris Wheel, or to go check out the “largest go-kart track in North America.” (hopefully tomorrow). Yes they are doing kart racing on race weekend, which, bar none, has to be the greatest idea at any race I've attended: let the fans and kids try their hands at racing while its fresh in their minds.
The only negative at this point is that Louisiana has these crummy torrential downpour rains that last for 10-15 minutes and then the sun comes back out.
We had one of those today and it looks like event staff were clueless about the weather of their own state as they kicked us out of the grandstands... AFTER the storm had passed… Eventually sense prevailed and the track workers stopped trying to make spectators leave the area and went to work on the 2 inches of water collected in the pits and various areas of the track while we passed the time.
Eventually the track was dried and we got to see a few drivers see who could create the biggest rooster tail... just Juan:
Will be back with a day 2 report tomorrow, but so far so good for the inaugural run of a Grand Prix for NOLA...
So here is a quick recap of the fan’s experience (note, I purposely did NOT get media credentials for this race). #1, parking isn't the most intuitive thing in the world as they've re-purposed some street medians, the parking lot of Loyola’s baseball team (Signette field) and a shipyard, and then they shuttle you to the track. It’s the same thing they do for the PGA golf event at the TPC of Louisiana, so it’s not like they just came up with this idea, it should be somewhat organized (and was for Friday).
The first thing that hits you is that NOLA Motorsports Park is gigantic (which is something to awe at because the facility is currently only half the size of the eventual master plan). The second thing that is astounding is that from the grandstands of the front straight, you can literally see the whole track. Now you can’t see the detail of a pass or a turn on the other end of the track, but you can see the cars go all the way around the track (this pic is of cars on the far end of the track from our seats):
Then here’s some shots I took from the top of the grandstand with a simple 55-200 mm lens. Again note no press pass or sneaking up close to a fence, I shot all of these from in the stands.
So being able to see things is one aspect, but the second thing you've likely noticed is how close you are to the action. The grandstands are akin to Mid-Ohio’s old rickety pit houses, in that, where fans walk elevated above the teams, but directly on top of them with an unobstructed view. It’s the same for the pit stalls here at NOLA, there’s no fencing or anything obstructing your view, you can literally reach out and touch tires if you wanted to try.
This is how close you are to the pits at @NOLAMotorsports from the stands. Doing wing research pic.twitter.com/P50fSBsGdM
— Allen Wedge (@AllenWedge) April 10, 2015
We chatted with some team personnel at one point in the rain delay and it wasn't awkward, it was very nice. (again, no press/media access for me this race)The paddock area is as open and friendly as I experienced at any track, but my favorite part is that its right behind the stands so no need to take a long walk. Plus there’s a great “Taste of LA” food station area complete with genuine jambalaya, gumbo, and Café du Monde beignets! So walking around this track is a treat, and I have yet to try out the Ferris Wheel, or to go check out the “largest go-kart track in North America.” (hopefully tomorrow). Yes they are doing kart racing on race weekend, which, bar none, has to be the greatest idea at any race I've attended: let the fans and kids try their hands at racing while its fresh in their minds.
The only negative at this point is that Louisiana has these crummy torrential downpour rains that last for 10-15 minutes and then the sun comes back out.
Skies opening up #GPofNOLA pic.twitter.com/XQYCMuQqPz
— Allen Wedge (@AllenWedge) April 10, 2015
We had one of those today and it looks like event staff were clueless about the weather of their own state as they kicked us out of the grandstands... AFTER the storm had passed… Eventually sense prevailed and the track workers stopped trying to make spectators leave the area and went to work on the 2 inches of water collected in the pits and various areas of the track while we passed the time.
Practicing racing in our rain tires while they dry the track #GPofNOLA @NOLAMotorsports pic.twitter.com/Hm2wX7TXiQ
— Allen Wedge (@AllenWedge) April 10, 2015
Eventually the track was dried and we got to see a few drivers see who could create the biggest rooster tail... just Juan:
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Chicago Cubs Grab First Win of 2015
The Cubs didn't need long to claim their first win of the season, defeating the Cardinals 2-0 to even up the opening series at 1-1. Below are some thoughts:
Arrieta might be my favorite player. I've spent the last couple of years thinking Anthony Rizzo was probably my favorite Cubs player. It's been a tough question to answer since Kerry Wood left, because I like them all, yet no one has stood out. (I am a Starlin Castro fan, but more on that in a minute.) However, I think I am near the point where Jake Arrieta claims my top spot. I just love watching him pitch, and I think he does everything right. The front office got a steal when they acquired him and possibly worked a miracle by "fixing" him. Or maybe it was just his time. But if anyone is buying me a jersey anytime soon, make it an Arrieta! (Not that I don't love my Fukudome jersey!)
Castro often comes through when he's needed. I'm going to spend this season bracing myself (and my six-year-old) for a Castro trade, which I assume will happen between now and January 1st. Maybe after the season. Maybe when Addison Russell is clearly ready. Either way, this is a lot easier to consider when Castro is 0-for-2 with two strike outs. It's a lot harder when he smashes a ball up the middle to score the team's first run of the season. I'd love for something to change and for the team to keep him. All else aside, the guy can hit.
Hey, Miguel Montero. Thanks for actually hitting a sac fly. It seems basic enough, but the Cubs have had trouble doing things like that recently. And when Arrieta's pitching, that will win games. You can stay, kid.
The pen is legit. I know I won't be able to write about the bullpen after every game, since that would be boring, they'll have bad games, and they won't even pitch in all the no-hitters Arrieta's going to have this year. But how long until this is a national story? And now James Russell's back?!
Oh, and the Brewers are 0-3. Will they even win a game this year?? They might not, guys. They just MIGHT NOT.
Arrieta might be my favorite player. I've spent the last couple of years thinking Anthony Rizzo was probably my favorite Cubs player. It's been a tough question to answer since Kerry Wood left, because I like them all, yet no one has stood out. (I am a Starlin Castro fan, but more on that in a minute.) However, I think I am near the point where Jake Arrieta claims my top spot. I just love watching him pitch, and I think he does everything right. The front office got a steal when they acquired him and possibly worked a miracle by "fixing" him. Or maybe it was just his time. But if anyone is buying me a jersey anytime soon, make it an Arrieta! (Not that I don't love my Fukudome jersey!)
Castro often comes through when he's needed. I'm going to spend this season bracing myself (and my six-year-old) for a Castro trade, which I assume will happen between now and January 1st. Maybe after the season. Maybe when Addison Russell is clearly ready. Either way, this is a lot easier to consider when Castro is 0-for-2 with two strike outs. It's a lot harder when he smashes a ball up the middle to score the team's first run of the season. I'd love for something to change and for the team to keep him. All else aside, the guy can hit.
Hey, Miguel Montero. Thanks for actually hitting a sac fly. It seems basic enough, but the Cubs have had trouble doing things like that recently. And when Arrieta's pitching, that will win games. You can stay, kid.
The pen is legit. I know I won't be able to write about the bullpen after every game, since that would be boring, they'll have bad games, and they won't even pitch in all the no-hitters Arrieta's going to have this year. But how long until this is a national story? And now James Russell's back?!
Oh, and the Brewers are 0-3. Will they even win a game this year?? They might not, guys. They just MIGHT NOT.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Cubs Drop First Game of 2015
While an eye surgery prevented me from being online much for the past month or so, I guess it really just helped me to avoid wasting a bunch of time writing and talking about Kris Bryant and Scott Boras. But the season has now begun, and even with a 3-0 Chicago Cubs loss in the opening game, I'm so glad spring training is finally over.
Below are a few thoughts about the Opening Night disaster:
Adam Wainwright. First and foremost, he deserves all credit. The Cubs lineup is going to struggle against the league's top pitching, and he's as good as anyone else. This Cubs team is going to have games with double digit strikeout totals, so last night's 12 is not surprising at all. Clearly, Wainwright was ready. On the other hand...
Jon Lester wasn't ready. I know starting on Opening Day is an honor and is symbolic of much more than just the one start. But Lester clearly needed a little more time. Jake Arrieta easily could've filled in. I don't know if Lester should've just started on the DL or simply skipped a turn, but I guess his next start will give us a better idea. I hope he gets into season shape soon, but if that's a bad start for Lester, it's still exciting.
This Cubs bullpen is serious. It wasn't all bad last night, and we got a great look at how scary the pitching staff can be for opposing lineups. When you can bring in Coke, Motte, Ramirez, Strop, and Rondon, you have to feel pretty confident that you will be able to shut teams down on a fairly consistent basis. The bullpen gave the offense every chance to come back. Of course, the Cardinals bullpen was just as good.
So... How will Maddon adjust? The Cubs had chances, and one loss will not end the season. But what will the team do differently now? In four of the first five innings, the Cubs led off the inning with a hit. Only one hitter (Soler) managed to successfully move a runner over on the next plate appearance. One out of four is unacceptable, and it negates any edge you're trying to give yourself through strategies like hitting the pitcher in the 8th spot. In the NL particularly, moving those runners over is crucial. Obviously, if Maddon helps these players make adjustments, then the loss last night is a helpful learning tool.
Can the Opening Night lineup really work? Personally, I didn't love it, but I'm not paid millions to manage the team. I'm OK with hitting the pitcher 8th, but I still think Coghlan would be better hitting 2nd, pushing Soler, Rizzo, and Castro each back one spot. Of course, adding Kris Bryant and Addison Russell to the top six spots in the lineup would also help, although I'm sure I'll write a lot about that as the year goes on.
Below are a few thoughts about the Opening Night disaster:
Adam Wainwright. First and foremost, he deserves all credit. The Cubs lineup is going to struggle against the league's top pitching, and he's as good as anyone else. This Cubs team is going to have games with double digit strikeout totals, so last night's 12 is not surprising at all. Clearly, Wainwright was ready. On the other hand...
Jon Lester wasn't ready. I know starting on Opening Day is an honor and is symbolic of much more than just the one start. But Lester clearly needed a little more time. Jake Arrieta easily could've filled in. I don't know if Lester should've just started on the DL or simply skipped a turn, but I guess his next start will give us a better idea. I hope he gets into season shape soon, but if that's a bad start for Lester, it's still exciting.
This Cubs bullpen is serious. It wasn't all bad last night, and we got a great look at how scary the pitching staff can be for opposing lineups. When you can bring in Coke, Motte, Ramirez, Strop, and Rondon, you have to feel pretty confident that you will be able to shut teams down on a fairly consistent basis. The bullpen gave the offense every chance to come back. Of course, the Cardinals bullpen was just as good.
So... How will Maddon adjust? The Cubs had chances, and one loss will not end the season. But what will the team do differently now? In four of the first five innings, the Cubs led off the inning with a hit. Only one hitter (Soler) managed to successfully move a runner over on the next plate appearance. One out of four is unacceptable, and it negates any edge you're trying to give yourself through strategies like hitting the pitcher in the 8th spot. In the NL particularly, moving those runners over is crucial. Obviously, if Maddon helps these players make adjustments, then the loss last night is a helpful learning tool.
Can the Opening Night lineup really work? Personally, I didn't love it, but I'm not paid millions to manage the team. I'm OK with hitting the pitcher 8th, but I still think Coghlan would be better hitting 2nd, pushing Soler, Rizzo, and Castro each back one spot. Of course, adding Kris Bryant and Addison Russell to the top six spots in the lineup would also help, although I'm sure I'll write a lot about that as the year goes on.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Topic Rundown: Let's Talk... Olympics!?
You might be thinking to yourself: "But Allen, while you are an Olympic nut, how can you possibly be writing about the Olympics in a non-Olympic year?"
Alas readers, for I can segue with the best of them in some quick topic rundowns.
IndyCar team KV Racing announces the driver of their 2nd car for the 2015 season: Stefano Coletti?
For those who do not follow the European divisions of racing, Coletti is a 4-year veteran of GP2, and like many before him has likely given up on the dream of obtaining 3 trillion dollars that would allow him to get a test in Formula 1 car. He's won 5 races in the last two seasons including 12 podium finishes in that range.
So he's got some pedigree, but most fans will be saying its not a big enough name, but I say we can put a spin on that. You see, Stefano's sister Alexandra Coletti is a 2-time Olympian. an alpine skier competing for Monaco, she participated in the 2006 Turin and 2010 Vancouver Olympics. In fact she was Monaco's flag bearer in 2010.
I think the media should make it a point to bug him all season asking him if he thinks he could ever live up to his sister, "The Olympian." Just compare everything he does in IndyCar to his sister. 'You just finished in the Top 5, what about your sister, she once carried your country's flag on the world stage.' He's probably never heard it before honestly, so he might be happy for someone to bring it up.
Ronda Rousey: Great fighter, but can she fly with a pole?
With Ronda Rousey once again defending her UFC championship belt, this time in 14 seconds, against the #1 ranked contender who was otherwise undefeated, many talks have come up. Will anyone ever beat her, is she in the realm of Mike Tyson, is she pound-for-pound the best fighter, can she beat men in the same weight class. All this talk is pointless, as Rousey herself even pointed out, no sanctioning body would ever let her fight a guy, not to mention she wouldn;t do it for the implications it would carry. But that doesn't stop people from throwing more opinions, questions, and what-ifs in the mix. Not to mention people angrily defending who is better than who and all that. We now have UFC Heavyweight fighter Matt Mitrione to thank for this one, when he visited another UFC fighter, Matt Shaub's, radio show:
Mitrione: "Pole vaulters are better athletes than Ronda".
Schaub: "Pole vaulters?!"
Now I'm not exactly sure where Mitrione was trying to go with this because its so random, but I think he managed to insult everyone involved, the hosts, women fighters and pole vaulters. Is he saying pole vaulters aren't athletic? Or track and fielders in general? I mean if I was going to pick on an Olympic sport, theres plenty out there that are more skill than strength. Archery, skeet shooting and curling are more skill than strength sports; and lets not forget that for some silly reason multiple forms of Equestrian manage to be Olympic events.
I mean, to run with enough speed to plant a 10+ foot pole in a divot and using only your arm strength, lift your body over a 12+ foot bar seems quite athletic to me; shoot the Olympic record for women is over 13 feet tall. Ronda runs triathlons and stuff to train and then grinds out and fights opponents. I mean I get that he was trying to belittle Ronda's talent, but why pole vaulters? I mean he's missing the fact that Ronda is an Olympic medalist already, so is he saying Judo Olympians aren't as athletic as pole vaulters?
Or maybe I'm wrong and Mitrione literally has a ranking on every kind of athletic feat that there is in the world, and he's got pole vaulting at 47th on the list and women's bantamweight fighter is 48th on that list. I really hope he's got marathon ahead of the 100m dash because I'm very tired of how people say the 100m dash winner is the fastest man alive. This sounds like a fun pointless task for GBS to undertake, lets rank all sports on levels of athleticism.
Any reader got a clue, thoughts?
Lastly: The 2022 Winter Olympics host decision is being made this year.
We all know about the fiasco that has become of the hosting bids. 4+ cities actually dropped their bids after asking their citizens if they were interested in the bill that comes with it. The only 2 remaining are Beijing, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan (neither of which really give their citizens the option of saying no). We here at Grab Bag Sports have always made it known that we officially support the decision to give International sporting events to cities/countries that have not had them before. As a world we expand our knowledge of the known locales, cultures and help the world open up. This is why we were saddened by the selection of Tokyo over Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
2020 will actually be Tokyo's 2nd time hosting the Olympics and Japan's 4th overall (Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972, Nagano 1998). Turkey meanwhile is still sporting a big fat zero for # of times hosting the Olympics.
So with all this, plus the fact that Beijing gets no winter (much like Sochi), and all stupid Borat jokes people will make aside, GBS has its full support for Kazakhstan... but Beijing just makes it so hard...\
We all remember their mind-blowing opening ceremony; and now for their 2022 bid, they are recoding a new theme song “Awakening Winter,” which includes the talents of none other than, f'n Jackie Chan.
Alas readers, for I can segue with the best of them in some quick topic rundowns.
For those who do not follow the European divisions of racing, Coletti is a 4-year veteran of GP2, and like many before him has likely given up on the dream of obtaining 3 trillion dollars that would allow him to get a test in Formula 1 car. He's won 5 races in the last two seasons including 12 podium finishes in that range.
So he's got some pedigree, but most fans will be saying its not a big enough name, but I say we can put a spin on that. You see, Stefano's sister Alexandra Coletti is a 2-time Olympian. an alpine skier competing for Monaco, she participated in the 2006 Turin and 2010 Vancouver Olympics. In fact she was Monaco's flag bearer in 2010.
I think the media should make it a point to bug him all season asking him if he thinks he could ever live up to his sister, "The Olympian." Just compare everything he does in IndyCar to his sister. 'You just finished in the Top 5, what about your sister, she once carried your country's flag on the world stage.' He's probably never heard it before honestly, so he might be happy for someone to bring it up.
Ronda Rousey: Great fighter, but can she fly with a pole?
With Ronda Rousey once again defending her UFC championship belt, this time in 14 seconds, against the #1 ranked contender who was otherwise undefeated, many talks have come up. Will anyone ever beat her, is she in the realm of Mike Tyson, is she pound-for-pound the best fighter, can she beat men in the same weight class. All this talk is pointless, as Rousey herself even pointed out, no sanctioning body would ever let her fight a guy, not to mention she wouldn;t do it for the implications it would carry. But that doesn't stop people from throwing more opinions, questions, and what-ifs in the mix. Not to mention people angrily defending who is better than who and all that. We now have UFC Heavyweight fighter Matt Mitrione to thank for this one, when he visited another UFC fighter, Matt Shaub's, radio show:
Mitrione: "Pole vaulters are better athletes than Ronda".
Schaub: "Pole vaulters?!"
Now I'm not exactly sure where Mitrione was trying to go with this because its so random, but I think he managed to insult everyone involved, the hosts, women fighters and pole vaulters. Is he saying pole vaulters aren't athletic? Or track and fielders in general? I mean if I was going to pick on an Olympic sport, theres plenty out there that are more skill than strength. Archery, skeet shooting and curling are more skill than strength sports; and lets not forget that for some silly reason multiple forms of Equestrian manage to be Olympic events.
Or maybe I'm wrong and Mitrione literally has a ranking on every kind of athletic feat that there is in the world, and he's got pole vaulting at 47th on the list and women's bantamweight fighter is 48th on that list. I really hope he's got marathon ahead of the 100m dash because I'm very tired of how people say the 100m dash winner is the fastest man alive. This sounds like a fun pointless task for GBS to undertake, lets rank all sports on levels of athleticism.
Any reader got a clue, thoughts?
We all know about the fiasco that has become of the hosting bids. 4+ cities actually dropped their bids after asking their citizens if they were interested in the bill that comes with it. The only 2 remaining are Beijing, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan (neither of which really give their citizens the option of saying no). We here at Grab Bag Sports have always made it known that we officially support the decision to give International sporting events to cities/countries that have not had them before. As a world we expand our knowledge of the known locales, cultures and help the world open up. This is why we were saddened by the selection of Tokyo over Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
2020 will actually be Tokyo's 2nd time hosting the Olympics and Japan's 4th overall (Tokyo 1964, Sapporo 1972, Nagano 1998). Turkey meanwhile is still sporting a big fat zero for # of times hosting the Olympics.
We all remember their mind-blowing opening ceremony; and now for their 2022 bid, they are recoding a new theme song “Awakening Winter,” which includes the talents of none other than, f'n Jackie Chan.
#JackieChan in Beijing recording the #Beijing2022 song “Awakening Winter” in anticipation of the upcoming #IOC visit! pic.twitter.com/VbbWg2Ti0T
— Beijing 2022 (@Beijing_2022) March 9, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Scott Boras Cares About the Integrity of the Game
On Friday "super agent" Scott Boras appeared on Chicago's 670 The Score, discussing one of his clients, top prospect Kris Bryant. While Bryant may be the best third baseman in the Cubs' camp this spring, it is highly unlikely that he will be on Chicago's opening day roster. Boras was asked about his views concerning the way baseball treats its drafted prospects when it comes to service time and future free agency.
Obviously Boras has to say he is against any policy that delays Bryant from signing his first huge contract, and all of this discussion is more about the 2021 season than the next two months. Summarized simply, Bryant can reach free agency following the 2020 season if he were to open the season with the team. Sending him to AAA for as little as a couple of weeks could buy the team another full season.
Boras knows this is not only a good business move for the Cubs to leave him off of the roster, but it is also almost a necessity. Losing a full year later for a few games now would be a terrible move for the team's future.
Although Boras acknowledged this, along with confirming that the team is only following rules established in the collective bargaining agreement, he still made a clear attempt to paint the team as the bad guys here. Playing to the fans, Boras stated the goal of every team should be to win and to put the best players on the field at all times. He insinuated that the fans should accept nothing less from the team. As Boras put it, the integrity of the game is questioned whenever a prospect is left in the minor leagues in order to preserve service time.
So Boras is going to lecture all of us about the integrity of the game. Winning a championship should be the only thing that matters. (He even justified Greg Maddux's move to Atlanta, even though no one asked him to defend himself. I have never heard a Cubs fan question Maddux's decision to leave Chicago.)
But fine. Integrity of the game. I agree. A championship is all that matters, and the best players should be on the field beginning opening day.
Here's the problem though. For that to be a valid argument, it would have to go both ways. If Boras (and Bryant, honestly) believed this was all about the integrity of the game, and that business decisions and future salaries should have no influence on today's decisions, then why not approach the team about working out a deal right now that would end all of the arbitration stuff.
We all know why this won't happen though. Boras would NEVER do that. And he probably shouldn't. And why not? Because by doing so, Bryant would likely lose millions of dollars.
Just look at recent deals signed by Cubs stars Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo. Castro's eight-year/$60 million deal signed in 2012 was followed the next year by Rizzo's seven-year/$41 million contract. Is Bryant currently in line to blow those contracts away when he reaches free agency? Absolutely. Still, those dollar amounts are more than any of us could ever need to live comfortably, and this is a player who not yet played at the top level.
So go to the team. Say, "We want Bryant on the field to start the season." Let's say eight years for $80 million. Fair deal for both sides, makes Bryant a rich man, and most importantly, the fans get to see the best players on the field. Integrity of the game! And yes, I realize this is absurd, but so was Boras's attempt to make the fans feel like the team was somehow letting us down.
In reality, the way things will work out, Mike Olt will probably be looking at his last shot to force his way into the Cubs lineup. If he comes out of the gate hitting .240-.250 with the power he showed last year, it will be a fun problem for the team to have. Bryant or Olt would have to end up in the outfield, or Olt could be traded. But I do think it's important to let Olt have another shot, and should he immediately fail, I think the team has enough flexibility to cover third base until Bryant's arrival.
I want the Cubs to win now, just as much as anyone else does. But there is no good reason to lose a year of Bryant later for a few games right now. As a Boras client, we know he is a lot less likely to agree to any deal before his free agency is imminent. It's in the team's best interest to delay that process, and as a fan, I fully expect them to do so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)