Tim

I've got ARod on the shelf, Lackey's elbow is fubar, Gio Gonzalez is demoted. How is everyone else doing to start the year?

I'm going to be working on the board tonight, so there may be periodic downtime or screwed up formatting. I apologize for the inconvenience, but progress must be made! :)

Just wanted to be sure people know today's game is covered on WGN. :D

Kyle has posted a couple of articles to the front page on position battles for the Cubs this spring. Be sure to check it out and comment!

Judging by the number or articles on this on the front page, it's apparently big news. :)

I know we've discussed putting together a stats primer before, but I couldn't find it after a decent amount of searching. I was thinking it would be good to get together a pretty good glossary of terms, some descriptions of some of the fundamentals of stat thought (why w/l for starters is bad, meaningless for relievers; that kind of thing). hmm...perhaps this would best be done as a wiki effort. That would be pretty easy to integrate into the main site at this point. Let me know what you think, everyone. Thanks!

Please take a look at the new front page for north side baseball and let me know your feedback! What else can I add there to make it a page you visit on a regular basis?

Seriously, he looked great in the WBC today. If he continues to look that good and stays healthy through a couple more games, I'd like for the Cubs to inquire what it would take to sign him. Obviously, I wouldn't want them to go more than one year to get it done. But I'd opt for Pedro over Schilling at this point.

Sorry, Raisin, but somehow I was hoping that manny would sit out all year. :)

1-9 to start the spring - a robust .111. But that isn't the best part! His BABIP is 1.000 due to the fact that all 8 outs so far have been strikeouts. Yes, he's whiffed 8 of the 9 times he's been to the plate. Way to go, Andruw!

Official Press Release:

:good:

There has been some debate why the Cubs haven't produced more quality position players - has it been development, scouting or both that have, well, sucked. One thought I just had as a way to look into this would be to look at the hs players the Cubs scouts identified and drafted, but did not sign. How did they develop relative to the players the Cubs did sign? How did they develop relative to the unsigned players of other teams? Is there a different explanation other than the quality of the development efforts, such as a selection bias that the Cubs were drafting players EVERYONE knew were good but had no chance of signing? What are everyone's thoughts? Does this make sense as a way to look into this? Thoughts on the unsigned players themselves?

With Aramis Ramirez taking month long vacations at times in his career, he would be a good guy to have on the bench. I'm not sure if it's worth a roster spot to keep him around, since he can only play the corners and maybe corner outfield, though its a stretch, but he's better to have than Gathright and probably better to have around than Hoffpauir. He's got LOADS of potential and just turned 25. The Indians could release, outright or trade him.

everything is gone!

He really seems to be the odd man out this winter. He seems to be completely out of the Cubs plans given all their efforts to acquire a "left handed hitting OF". I find myself pondering the following allocation of resources: Pie at $0.4M + Wood at $9M vs. Abreu at $9M + Hart at $0.4M With Pie and Wood, our OF defense is very, very strong and we have the same incredibly strong pen to finish games, but the offense takes a hit. Not as much as it might seem at first, though, because the difference between Abreu at this stage of his career and the options we already have in house. We'd have Pie, Fukudome, Reed Johnson, Hoffpauir & DeRosa (with Fontenot playing at 2B) as options in the OF. Also, we might be able to find a bat during the summer if Pie struggles too much on offense. With Abreu, our OF defense takes a hit at two positions when we shift Fukudome to CF. We also don't have money to sign Wood so the pen gets significantly weaker. However, it gives us another high OBP bat in the middle of the lineup. Abreu hasn't shown a heck of a lot of power the past few years, but would certainly provide more than the likes of Pie or Fontenot. However, he might require a 3-4 year contract at significantly more than the $9M I have listed. In which case we're on to other, lesser options (I just don't think the Cubs view Dunn or Soriano as viable in RF). All in all, I think I might prefer going with our internal options in the OF and using the savings to guilt Kerry into taking that one year deal he said he'd take.

Live from the press wire... ---------------------------------------- CUBS TV BROADCASTER LEN KASPER EXTENDED THROUGH 2011 SEASON Thursday, December 4, 2008 CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today announced television play-by-play broadcaster Len Kasper has received a contract extension through the 2011 season. “I am thrilled to extend what has been, for me, an incredible relationship with the Cubs, WGN, Comcast SportsNet and my partner Bob Brenly,” said Kasper. “It is an honor to announce games with Bob for the greatest fans in sports and I look forward to calling many exciting Cubs' seasons to come. My family and I are very proud to call Chicago our home and there's no better place to broadcast big league baseball than Wrigley Field.” Kasper, 37, in 2009 enters his fifth season doing play-by-play for Cubs television broadcasts. He joined the Cubs in 2005 after three seasons of television play-by-play for the Florida Marlins from 2002-04. “Len has emerged as an industry star and we’re excited about having him and Bob Brenly in the Cubs broadcast booth for years to come,” said Mike Lufrano, Cubs senior vice president. “Our thanks also to WGN for helping keep together one of the best broadcast teams in baseball. Len and Bob have done a tremendous job broadcasting Cubs games and have become major participants in the Chicago community as well. We're eager to see their partnership continue to grow in the years ahead.” "Len has established himself as one of the premiere play-by-play voices in baseball and we hope to keep him in the WGN/Cubs family for years to come," said WGN-TV Vice-President and General Manager Marty Wilke. Overall, 2009 will mark Kasper’s 11th season doing play-by-play in the major leagues. He began his big league career broadcasting select games for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1999-2001 before joining the Marlins.

Again, from the press release wire direct from the Cubs... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CUBS NAME LOUIE ELJAUA SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER Wednesday, December 3, 2008 CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today named Louie Eljaua as a special assistant to general manager Jim Hendry. Eljaua will assist the Cubs in all areas of international, pro and amateur scouting. “Louie is a difference-maker who will help us tremendously in all of our baseball operations efforts,” said Hendry. “He has done a terrific job scouting the Latin American and Far East markets, building player academies along the way, and he will also be a strong asset in our professional and additional amateur scouting efforts.” Eljaua (pronounced el-HOW-ah) joins the Cubs organization with 17 years of major league scouting experience, both domestically and internationally. He spent the last five seasons as a special assistant to the general manager in Pittsburgh, where he helped oversee the construction of the Pirates new Latin American headquarters and baseball training academy in the municipality of La Jina in the Dominican Republic. Before joining the Pirates, Eljaua worked for two seasons (2002-03) with the Boston Red Sox as their Director of International Scouting, where, much like he would do in Pittsburgh, he oversaw the construction of the Red Sox Academy in the Dominican Republic, a three million dollar complex that serves as a year-round training facility in El Toro. Eljaua also led the organization’s international scouting efforts while with the Red Sox. Eljaua, 39, began his career in professional baseball with the Marlins in 1992 as a part-time scout. He was promoted to area scout and assistant director of Latin American operations in 1994. After one year with the Tigers as a special assignment scout in 1998, Eljaua returned to the Marlins as their Director of Latin American Scouting in 1999 before joining the Red Sox in a similar capacity in 2002.

hot off the press release wire... CUBS, RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER CHAD FOX AGREE TO TERMS ON MINOR LEAGUE CONTRACT DEAL INCLUDES INVITE TO 2009 MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING TRAINING Wednesday, December 3, 2008 CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Chad Fox on a 2009 minor league contract with a non-roster invitation to major league Spring Training. Fox, 38, was a non-roster invitee to Cubs Spring Training in 2008, his second stint with the club, and was added to the major league roster May 2. He made three relief appearances, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA (2 ER/3.1 IP) before his season ended May 19 after landing on the disabled list with ulnar neuritis in his right elbow. It was his first major league action since 2005, when he made 11 relief appearances for the Cubs before landing on the disabled list April 26 with a right elbow strain, an injury that ended his campaign. The righthander is 10-12 with six saves and a 3.60 ERA (91 ER/227.2 IP) in 217 major league relief appearances in all or part of nine big league seasons with Atlanta (1997), Milwaukee (1998-99, 2001-02), Boston (2003), Florida (2003-04) and the Cubs (2005, 2008). He has 262 strikeouts in 227.2 innings pitched, an average of 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings, and has limited opponents to a .230 batting average. The six-foot-three, 190-pound Fox enjoyed his best major league campaign with the Brewers in 2001, going 5-2 with two saves and a 1.89 ERA (14 ER/66.2 IP) in a career-high 65 appearances. Fox was also a member of the 2003 World Champion Florida Marlins, going 2-1 with a 2.13 (6 ER/25.1 IP) in 21 outings after signing with the club that August.

If I'm not mistaken, the following players have run out of options and have to remain with the 25 man roster next year or be lost: Rich Hill Sean Marshall Neal Cotts Mike Wuertz Felix Pie Also, I believe Angel Guzman was granted another injury exception and would be allowed to return to Iowa next year. Am I missing anyone?

Man, I really need Lackey and Felix to suck bad their last few starts. Currently, Pujols + ARod + Felix + Lackey = 1970 points. If I could keep those four this offseason, I'd be thrilled. BTW - The following players are first-round worthy and are available to those who have room under the limit: Bay Roberts Santana Felix Lackey These guys aren't first round worthy, but they're all points exempt: Hermida Verlander Parra Anibal Sanchez

Figured some might not open up the other thread. Here's the official release:

I'm looking to trade one of these bats before the deadline. I won't have room on my major league roster (unless I get a 2-1), so please respond with draft picks or minor leaguers. Offered: * Hermida, Jeremy RF FLA * Roberts, Brian 2B BAL * Swisher, Nick RF CHW * Thome, Jim DH CHW * Upton, B.J. CF TB * Upton, Justin RF ARI

Head to the front page to take a look. He's starting off with a draft review. Post your thoughts here!

I'd like to welcome the latest additions to the moderating crew here at NSBB - E.J. and Outshined_One. Both have been outstanding members of the community for a long time. Both have shown the ability to keep an even temperment and show respect to all members of the community even in heated debates. But most importantly, they were stupid enough to accept the invitation! Seriously, though, thanks guys for the assistance in keeping NSBB the best place on the net to talk about the Cubs!