Aaron_Kennelly

Damn, Hendricks looks good.

Paniagua's start went south in a hurry.

FIX THE MIDDLE RELIEF!

So I fell into a rabbit hole after looking up just how bad Ryan Howard's extension was. Short answer to that: Bad, obviously. Since the extension kicked in during the 2012 season, he has been worth -1.2 WAR. Assuming he either gets released this off-season, or continues to play at a replacement level, that's hard to take for $125 million. Then, I saw he has 72 RBIs this year, despite his .675 OPS. And that made me intrigued, as I am intrigued by stupid things like that -- like being fond of Ruben Sierra's, Joe Carter's, Tony Armas' and Tony Batista's fluky 100-RBI seasons. And Howard's .298 wOBA this year would rank him 6th on the list of worst wOBA in a 100-RBI season. And holy [expletive], Dante Bichette had 133 RBIs in 1999 and -2.1 WAR that year. Now Bichette's RBI total wasn't really fluky like the aforementioned guys, as he had a .379 wOBA that year. He was also playing in Coors and hit in the middle of a pretty good Rockies line-up, during the steroid era. So, it is easy to understand how he piled up RBIs. His WAR can be attributed nearly entirely to his terrible defense. His WRC+ was 100; so he was still a league-average hitter, when adjusting for league and park. But, he was worth -34 Total Zone runs, which is the fourth-worst mark by any player, at any position, ever. Now, he was always bad defensively, but this seems like a bit of an anomaly. And LF in Coors is notoriously difficult to patrol. Still, .895 OPS and -2.1 WAR is crazy awesome. One of my favorite single seasons for any player ever. It is the perfect convergence of crazy offensive era; crazy park for hitting environment, at its craziest; crazy bad defense, at its most extreme; and bad base running because of declining speed, at an advanced age.

Charcer Burks with 6 BB in the last two nights. He had 7 in his first 35 games. I kinda like him. Kevonte Mitchell, too -- if he can fill out some and add a little pop. Sorry, back to our regularly scheduled Soler, Russell, and Bryant discussion.

What's going on with Eloy Jimenez? Injury, or just giving him some time off to work out some issues?

Cabrera's extension kicks in for the 2016 season. $248 million over eight years, with two vesting options at $30 million per year. Yikes.

Yeah, Cabrera's could be the worst. That body is going to break down fast -- well, it already is. He is bound for DH'ing soon. And isn't it like a ten-year extension?

Didn't he go like 50-some innings without giving up an extra-base hit? I remember Rany Jazayerli tweeting about it, but I'm not sure the total amount of innings.

I could see Szczur sticking around as a possible 5th OF/defensive replacement, though he has little value, regardless. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him gone; but I think it's more pertinent in getting Jackson and Vitters off of the 40-man.

Isn't it something like 5 or 6 for 140ish? Yeah, I think it's $28 million per, through 2019 and a $22 million vesting option in 2020. Not sure what he has to do for it to vest, but I'm guessing he doesn't meet whatever threshold it is.

Verlander's extension hasn't even kicked in yet. That contract could be in the Ryan Howard level of bad.

And very nice to see the no-K night from Soler and Bryant, again. I can't contain my excitement for Soler.

Is Rivero a September call-up? Surely they can find someone to shed off the 40-man, right? I really want to see him with the big boys.

Come on, Javy... Got to be better than that. Be patient!

Yeah, that could have been very dangerous for Yovani.

I know it's going to be a really long process, but it's just disappointing seeing that AB. His O-Swing% has been dropping. So, I was hoping: Ok, Javy, start working counts and force them to throw strikes. You see this. Time to start adjusting. And, then... that AB.

Not one pitch in the zone. And I've felt like he's been doing better at being selective... disappointing. Can't be lacking in both contact and discipline. He's been pretty decent at contact in the zone. Nothing like an Olt or a Jackson. He just swings at terrible pitches and he's never, ever going to see a good one ever again. Yeah, he just has to take walks and make pitchers adjust to him taking walks. Then, when they throw some strikes, he can be a guy that takes walks and gets pitches to hit out of the park. Sounds easy enough.

Yeah, I'm about done with the idea of waiting until September. Just bring him up.

Not one pitch in the zone. And I've felt like he's been doing better at being selective... disappointing. Can't be lacking in both contact and discipline.

Man, do I love Soler.

Javy's going to hit a walk-off homer. All will be right in Cubbie Land.

That was a fantastic AB. Really nice to see.

Wow.

It's the one topic about baseball that I have seen argued repeatedly on the internet by smart baseball minds, in which no consensus or near-consensus has ever been reached. It's so divisive because it's all a matter of personal preference... but mine is definitely right.