When will the first female step onto a major league diamond? Thoughts from a new contributor follow. Since the passage of Title IX, the number of females participating in intercollegiate sports is now over 207,000. How many of them have ever received a scholarship in baseball? Zero. Until now. At the beginning of this month, a college in Houston, Texas has broken things wide open. Sarah Hudek, a freshman pitcher at Bossier Parish Community College, is currently the only female college … [Read more...]
An Ode to Starlin Castro
Upon hearing the news of the trade of Starlin Castro, I decided to take a break from writing my usual profile features and write a eulogy of sorts for him. To me, Castro is the final link to an era of Cubs baseball that most of us hope we never see again, a time where losing was the status quo instead of developing young talent to build a consistent winner. In 2010, when Castro debuted with the team, the Cubs finished last in their division with a 75-87 record. Owner Tom Ricketts had just … [Read more...]
Cubs and ABC-7 Announce TV Broadcast Partnership to Air 25 Games Per Year Through 2019 Season
The Chicago Cubs and ABC-7/WLS-TV made it official and announced a television partnership Friday morning that runs through the 2019 season. ABC-7 will televise 25 games per year beginning with the 2015 season. The Cubs will make an official announcement soon of the media partner for the remaining games not under contract to Comcast SportsNet or ABC-7. The team has ensured the Cubs entire 162-game schedule will be televised in 2015. ABC-7 becomes the first network-owned television station … [Read more...]
Cubs Year in Review – 2014
It took the Kansas City Royals 29 years to return to the playoffs this season and with a sweep of the Detroit Tigers, the baseball world is abuzz of the Royals. If anything, Cubs fans are jealous, but also hopeful that the current rebuild will do much of the same for their favorite team. Usually 73-89 is not something to celebrate, but when the season before your team almost lost 100 games, it’s somewhat of an accomplishment. Of course, every GM in baseball will tell you that the goal every … [Read more...]
Cubs Month In Review – September
In the final month of the season, Cubs fans learned a lot about their team and got a glimpse of what they might see next season. The Cubs played a lot of teams in the thick of the playoff race and held their own, finishing with a 12-13 record without much help from Starlin Castro who was out with an ankle injury and Anthony Rizzo who returned for the final few games of the season from a back injury. Because of this, the month was all about young Cubs players and how they fit in with a struggling … [Read more...]
Cubs Month In Review – August
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, with much of the roster gutted from the trade deadline, the team had to rely on the few minor leaguers they had, plus some veteran journeyman to finish out the season. The team struggled to a terrible 17 wins for the final two months of the season and flirted with 100 losses. Thanks to quality minor league talent arriving in the majors this month and the maturation of other young players already on the roster, the team has seemingly turned … [Read more...]
Cubs Month In Review – July
The month of July as a Chicago Cubs fan has had more ups and downs than the rides at Great America. They've made a few major trades, brought up the first of their highly touted prospects, sent down one of their others, and had their worst monthly pitching performance and their best hitting p performance. Let's take a look at this tumultuous July and what it means for August moving forward. … [Read more...]
Trade Value of Five Cubs: Jackson, Coghlan, Bonifacio, Schierholtz, Sweeney
With just three days remaining until the trade deadline and over a month remaining until the waiver deadline, the Cubs still have a few players who we haven't profiled who could be of some interest to other teams. Let's take a look and see what the Cubs might expect to receive in return. … [Read more...]
Trade Value of Luis Valbuena
With just over a week remaining until the trade deadline, we turn our attention to a front office favorite in Luis Valbuena who has started to gain interest in teams like the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays who are in need of some starting infield depth. Valbuena's appeal lies in a few things, first being his ability to get on base. Valbuena was picked up off of waivers from the Blue Jays in 2012 and has been a mainstay at third as Mike Olt hasn’t been able to supplant him. Another positive to … [Read more...]
Trade Value of Justin Ruggiano
With the deadline, just a couple of weeks away and the big fish of Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel sent off to Oakland, the Cubs will turn to deal some of their spare parts in hopes of continuing to build depth for their farm system. One player that has really started to open some teams' eyes is Justin Ruggiano. His ability to play all three outfield positions and his recent hitting surge has lifted his line to .292/.360/.455 with four home runs and 20 RBI make him a player with versatility and … [Read more...]