Archive for the ‘playoffs’ Category

Ricketts should keep eye on the ball

Tom Ricketts is a smart, likeable guy. He talks a good game for the most part, but most of what I hear lately has very little to do with winning baseball in 2010. 
I heard a Lou soundbite from the Cubs Convention: ‘We have a good team up here in Chicago’ he said. And Lou is [...]

January 20, 2010  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, Lou Piniella, Ricketts family, Team Ownership, lineup, observations, players, playoffs  No Comments

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

Which players have performed the best in the postseason?
Performing well during the regular season is one thing, but producing in October wins championships. As we await the Twins-Tigers playoff and the Division Series, let’s take a look at the best playoff performers among active players.

Most Productive Hitters by On-Base Plus Slugging
(minimum 50 Plate [...]

October 6, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: John Dewan, Stat of the Week, playoffs, stats  No Comments

With Cubs Season Fading, Bears Looking Good

The St. Louis Cardinals are playing like the ‘27 Yankees. The Wild Card leading Colorado Rockies have won 9 of their last 10 games, now threatening the Dodgers for the NL West division. So now it appears the Cubs would have to basically win out to challenge the Wild Card, whether that be the Dodgers [...]

September 11, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Chicago, game day, observations, playoffs, standings  No Comments

Now is the time for the Cubs

With Geovany Soto due back in the lineup tomorrow after his oblique injury, this Cubs team needs to make their move. Finally after an odd season of ups and downs, injuries and Cubs “occurances”, the 2009 Cubs need to put their head down and play baseball to the level they should. I’m a believer in numbers [...]

August 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: observations, players, playoffs, rivalries, schedule, standings, stats  No Comments

Selig got All Star Game idea from Santo

This morning on the Mike & Mike show on ESPN radio, MLB commissioner Bud Selig told a story I had never heard before.  They were discussing the merits of making the All Star Game “count” by awarding the winning league home field advantage in the World Series.
Mike Golic challenged the commissioner on the wisdom of [...]

July 13, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: All Star Game, biz of baseball, controversy, game day, playoffs  One Comment

First Half Cubs Team Not Successful or Likeable

What can be said of a team that began the season with such high expectations, only to find themselves around .500 going into the All Star Break. They show little glimpses of what we all expected, and just when you think they are going on a roll… the bats fall asleep again. They looked flat [...]

July 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: All Star Game, observations, players, playoffs, standings, stats  No Comments

Guest Post: May the Best Team Win

Here is a Guest Post sent in by AJ:
The Atlanta Braves have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the MLB playoff format is exactly what Hank Steinbrenner, Chairman of the New York Yankees, claims it to be - a new found life for the weaker teams. The Braves reeled off 14 straight division titles [...]

April 17, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: fan comments, guest post, observations, playoffs  No Comments

Cubs Off-Season Review

If you don’t already monitor Tim Dierkes’ MLBtradeRumors.com, you should. He does a great job running down the leads, suggestions, rumors, and wishful thinking on roster moves for all 30 major league teams.
Just posted is their Cubs Off-Season Review, which takes a fair look at the changes made from last year to this and offers [...]

April 7, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Hot Stove, Jim Hendry, Team Ownership, biz of baseball, players, playoffs, roster, stats  No Comments

Cubs Choke is Hard to Swallow

I have been reluctant to write about the astonishing collapse of the 2008 Cubs team during this post-mortem interval. The fan in me died another death watching this Cubs team, like so many Cubs teams before it, collapse under the weight of major league playoff baseball. Not every team can win it all, to be [...]

October 20, 2008   Posted in: Lou Piniella, game day, game strategy, observations, players, playoffs  No Comments

It’s Harden or Go Home

Tonight Rich Harden will throw the most critical game of the Cubs season so far. ESPN’s Bruce Levine came up with this stat: Harden is 34-0 in his career when his team scores at least 4 runs. So the offense will need to show up, Harden will have to throw his usual game, and Lou [...]

October 4, 2008   Posted in: game day, game strategy, observations, playoffs  No Comments