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Tag: Chicago Cubs

  • Masahiro Tanaka Dominating MLB Hitters

    In the 2013-14 Major League Baseball offseason, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, a Japanese major league baseball team, listed pitcher Masahiro Tanaka as an available player to the MLB postings at a fee of $20 million. Shortly following the listing, MLB teams came clamoring to Tanaka, longing to sign the Japanese ace to their team. The early frontrunners were the Yankees and the Cubs, with the Bronx Bombers eventually signing Tanaka to a 7-year, $155 million deal.

    On Wednesday, Tanaka made his third major league start by squaring-off against his former suitors, the Chicago Cubs. By the end of the first game of Wednesday’s double-header, the entire Cubs line-up vehemently wished their club would have put up more money to acquire Tanaka, especially considering his stat-line Wednesday placed Tanaka in the MLB record books.

    8.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, BB, 10 Ks.

    While one may dismiss Tanaka’s performance due to the ability of the competing team, these numbers are not a fluke. Over his first three games, Tanaka has struck out 28 batters while walking only two. His efficiency is devastating, and it is led by his sickeningly-good split-fingered fastball.

    In his three games thus far, Tanaka has thrown the splitter 24 percent of the time. The average speed of his splitter is 87 mph, coming in only 4.6 mph slower than his average fastball speed – this margin being the closest of any MLB who uses the splitter with any frequency.

    What makes his splitter even more devastating, however, is how far it drops while coming through the strike zone. As Tanaka’s splitter travels toward the plate, it drops vertically at a rate of 17 feet per second. In comparison, Tanaka’s fastball drops at 11.6 feet per second as it travels from the mound to the hitting box. This 5.4 feet per second differential in vertical drop places Tanaka second in the league, only behind Tim Hudson.

    Tanaka’s fellow Yankee Carlos Beltran, who is on pace for early MVP honors, describes what batters are facing as they stand in the box across from Tanaka: “It’s at your knees and a lot of guys think it’s a fastball, and all of a sudden the ball drops because it’s a splitter and it’s 87-88 [mph]. It’s not like it’s 82 or 83, where you have time to recognize it. In your mind, you’re thinking fastball, so you swing.’’

    The data supports Beltran’s assessment. Batters swing at Tanaka’s splitter 65 percent of the time, with more than half of those swings being whiffs. Even if the batters make contact, 72 percent of the balls put in play against the splitter wind-up as ground-ball outs.

    Perhaps Cubs manager Rick Renteria said it best when he tried to downplay Tanaka’s dominant performance against his struggling Cubbies: “His split-finger fastball, when it’s down, is pretty good. He can elevate his fastball a little bit. He’s pretty good.”

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  • Ozzie Guillen would like to Manage the Chicago Cubs

    The former White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen, is intent on staying in Chicago and said, during a recent interview, that he would definitely want the opportunity to be the new manager of the Chicago Cubs.

    The President of the Chicago Cubs, Theo Epstein, has not yet contacted Guillen for the position, but Guillen knows he has what it takes to take the Cubs to the World Series, like he did with the White Sox in 2005.

    Epstein says that the team is in search of “a proven leader”. “We know what we’re looking for and I think we’re going to find it,” said Epstein.

    ‘‘If they call, I will appreciate it; if they don’t, I keep waiting,’’ Guillen told the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘I want to go back to managing. We’ll see what happens.’

    When asked why he would want to coach the Cubs, he had a very logical reason: he did not want to leave Chicago. ‘‘First of all, I live in Chicago,’’ Guillen said. ‘‘Second of all, I know what direction they’re going from watching their games and reading the papers. Winning on both sides of the city, not too many people would have that opportunity. To get it done on both sides of the city, wow, that would be special. Especially for me because I live there all year long and want to live in Chicago the rest of my life.”

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  • Cubs Fire Manager Dale Sveum After Two Awful Seasons

    In not-surprising news at all, the Chicago Cubs fired manager Dale Sveum today. Sveum, who had little coaching experience (Sveum had previously served as the Red Sox third base coach in 2004-05 and as an interim manager of the Brewers in 2008), managed to lead the Cubs to an outstandingly dismal 127-197 record over the past two years – the worst 2 years in Cubs history.

    This year, Sveum led the Cubs to a 66-96 record, with the Cubs losing 41 of their final 59 games. Sveum took over as manager for the Cubs following Mike Quade, who had previously taken over following the sudden retirement of Lou Piniella in 2010.

    Theo Epstein, president of the Chicago Cubs, stated that Sveum was not simply evaluated on his overall record, but more for his development of young talent, in-game decision-making, appropriate use of his roster, and his ability to “create a culture of accountability, hard work and preparation, and the ability to develop a strong trust with his players.”

    Perhaps the most important area, of those listed, where Sveum failed was the development of his younger players. Starlin Castro and Anthony Rizzo have been pegged as the Cubs building blocks for some time now. However, both players saw a huge offensive slump in 2013. Castro, who hit .307 in 2011, with 66 RBI’s and 22 stolen bases, finished 2013 with a career-low batting average of .237, with a paltry 44 RBI’s and only 9 stolen bases. Rizzo’s numbers are essentially equal to his performance in 2012, but the disappointing fact is that he played double the amount of games in 2013 as he did in 2012.

    However, not all of the Cubs woes can be attributed to Sveum. This year, the Cubs used a team-record 56 total players on their roster, with only 12 players from the original roster at the beginning of the season remaining with the team until the end of the season. Over the course of the 2013 season, the Cubs got rid of notable players such as Alfonso Soriano (who went on a tear right after his trade), Carlos Marmol, David DeJesus, Scott Feldman, Matt Garza, and Tony Campana. During this time, the Cubs acquired….well, no one worth mentioning.

    How the Cubs expected success with these roster moves, no one knows. Theo Epstein, though, believes that the Cubs are making the right moves to become a major league contender for the first time since 2003:

    ”Soon, our organization will transition from a phase in which we have been primarily acquiring young talent to a phase in which we will promote many of our best prospects and actually field a very young, very talented club at the major league level,” he said. ”The losing has been hard on all of us, but we now have one of the top farm systems in baseball, some of the very best prospects in the game, and a clear path forward. In order for us to win with this group – and win consistently – we must have the best possible environment for young players to learn, develop and thrive at the major league level.”

    The next manager the Cubs look for will need to provide “…that spark of a winning culture,” and will need to be “a proven leader. …. We know what we’re looking for and I think we’re going to find it.”

    This has led many to believe that the Cubs will seek to hire New York Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi as their next manager. Girardi, whose contract with the Yankees expires October 31, has close ties to Chicago – he attended Northwestern University and played catcher for the Cubs during his MLB career. However, Girardi has stated that his ties to Chicago are not as close now as they used to be, considering both his parents, who lived in Chicago, have died and he hasn’t been in the city since 2006.

    Whatever the Cubs decide, quick progress will not be made unless the new manager is a genuine miracle worker. The Cubs are currently relying on the talent created in their expansive farm system, talent that has yet to pay off. Perhaps the Cubs should consider Tim Tebow? Maybe Tebow’s fantastic motivational speaking skills can finally convince the fans in Chicago that the Cubs really don’t suck, and everyone will be happy regardless the performance of the Cubbies for many years to come.

    (As a real-life Cubs fan, please, please, please, please do not take that last statement seriously. Thanks.)

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  • Chicago Cubs Plan To Install Jumbotron

    Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs, is considered one of the most iconic sporting venues in the country, and in the near future it may be getting a major modern upgrade.

    As reported by ESPN Chicago, the team is looking to install jumbotron screens above the outfield walls and join enter the twenty-first century with all of the other Major League teams. A proposal was approved by Chicago’s landmarks commission, which had to be included in the decision given Wrigley’s status as a city landmark.

    Known for its historic feel, created by old-school touches such as the hand-operated outfield scoreboard and ivy covered walls, the ballpark did not even possess lights for night games until 1988 when Major League Baseball forced their hand. Given that resistance to change, it is surprising that the Cubs would seek to make such a radical addition.

    The shock of the news was met with more than a little disapproval. Owners of the buildings around the ballpark, which are profitable for their famous rooftop seats, fear that the screens will block the view of the field. Other fans just want to maintain the classic vibe of the park:

    While the decision may not be popular, Cubs management claims that the revenue that would come from advertising on the screens is needed to pay for a planned renovation of the park.

    Adding a jumbotron to one of baseball’s most hallowed halls may turn out to be another example of trying to fix what is, in the eyes of the fans, not broken. Situations like this has arisen in the not-so-distant past; both New York teams drew heat when they moved into new ballparks, abandoning their much loved former homes.