Matt Garza Set to Return for Cubs
Elbow surgery, a lat strain, three rehab starts, and ten months later, Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Matt Garza will be activated off the disabled list on Tuesday, May 21 to face the Pittsburgh Pirates later that night.
Tuesday will be Garza’s first start since July 21, 2012, the longest period of time that Garza has been absent from professional baseball in his career.
Following...
I’d Roster That – May 15, 2013
Photo courtesy of Keith Allison.
This week on I’d Roster that we have a designated hitter, a corner outfielder, a first basemen, and a right handed pitcher. Lots to get to this week, so let us begin.
Travis Hafner (35, left handed hitting designated hitter, New York Yankees) was signed to a one-year $2 million dollar deal this winter. With a pile of injuries in New York,...
The Cubs and the Six Man Rotation
With Matt Garza about a week or two away from coming off the disabled list, and rejoining the Chicago Cubs starting rotation, the talk has been ongoing about who should be bumped when he returns. This is a tough decision because all five men who are currently in the rotation are pitching well. In fact they are exceeding any and all expectations even the most optimistic fan might...
Carlos Villanueva Has The Best Mustache In Baseball
Carlos Villanueva has a heck of a mustache. I mean, just look at that thing. Signed in the offseason to be a long reliever/plug ‘n play starter, Carlos Villanueva has stepped into the starting rotation for the Chicago Cubs and made an instant impact. Dubbed by Cubs color man, Jim Deshaies, as the “best mustache in baseball”, Villanueva is the owner of a 3.02 ERA and a...
Series mini-preview: St. Louis Cardinals (20-11) at Chicago Cubs (12-20)
It's a short series, so I'll make this a short post. The Cardinals are good. The Cubs are not.
Pitching Probables
I list ERA, FIP-, xFIP, and ZiPS FIP for each pitcher.
Tuesday: Lance Lynn, RHP (2.75, 80, 3.88, 3.71) vs Travis Wood, LHP (2.50, 91, 4.44, 4.35), 7:05 PM CT
Unsurprisingly for the Cardinals pitching staff, Lynn is a ground ball pitcher. His curveball is his...
Reds hope that Wrigley Field changes recent road woes
Struggling to win away from home, the Cincinnati Reds are hoping to change their fortunes by adding to their recent dominance at Wrigley Field.
The Reds, though, will face the pitcher who started them on their current hitting slump, Carlos Villanueva, when they try to match their longest road win streak against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
With three wins away from home, Cincinnati...
Reds-Cubs Preview
Struggling to win away from home, the Cincinnati Reds are hoping to change their fortunes by adding to their recent dominance at Wrigley Field.
The Reds, though, will face the pitcher who started them on their current hitting slump, Carlos Villanueva, when they try to match their longest road win streak against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
With three wins away from home, Cincinnati...
Cubs Groundball Rate: Snorting Bosio’s Magic Sinker Dust
Prior to the season, I was set to write about how the Cubs were gradually amassing a bunch of fly-ball heavy pitchers. I never ended up getting around to it, but I'm not one to let a mediocre (or wrong) idea die, so I'll give you the condensed version:
From 2010 to 2012, among pitchers with at least 280 innings pitched, Travis Wood had the lowest groundball percentage ...
Ivy’s Cubs recap (@Reds & Marlins)
The Cubs finished this road trip with a 4-6 record. After being swept out of Milwaukee they traveled to Cincinnati and then Miami. There are some things the Cubs need to keep working on but this road trip did show some positives.
4/22- @Reds L 4-5
4/23- @Reds W 4-2
4/24- @Reds L 0-1
Going into the Reds series, the Cubs starting pitchers had been the most consistent aspect of...
Marlins 6, Cubs 4
Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in four runs Sunday, and the Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 to avert a four-game series sweep.
Ricky Nolasco (2-2) gave up three runs in seven innings and retired the final 15 batters he faced. The Marlins improved to 6-19, still worst in the majors, and 3-10 at home.
They benefited from a rare offensive outburst, scoring more...
Giancarlo Stanton homers twice, lifts Marlins past Cubs
MIAMI (AP) -- Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in four runs Sunday, and the Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 to avert a four-game series sweep.
Ricky Nolasco (2-2) gave up three runs in seven innings and retired the final 15 batters he faced. The Marlins improved to 6-19, still worst in the majors, and 3-10 at home.
They benefited from a rare offensive outburst...
2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: April 28th 2013
Draft Kings Team of the Day
Today I will be playing the Daily Dollar (great for beginners!): Don’t forget to claim your Deposit Bonus!
Here is my @DraftKings team! Yesterday’s news and notes are inside the pick descriptions.
Pitcher: Carlos Villanueva | $5,000: Villanueva has been on an absolute tear this season. He’s sporting a 1.53 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP over his first four...
Series Preview: Cubs (6-14) at Marlins (5-16)
The Cubs get a double-breather in this matchup with the Marlins. Not only do they get to face one of the rosters in the majors that's in even worse shape than theirs, but they escape the frigid midwest and head to balmy Miami. The Cubs dropped two of three to the vastly superior Reds, but could easily have won all three of them with an extra bounce or two their way. After a snow...
The Marmol and Gregg Show
In tonight’s game, Carlos Villanueva was tasked to go the distance because of the taxed bullpen from last night’s marathon, but was pulled in favor of Carlos Marmol once a bunt moved Shin-Soo Choo to second base and Joey Votto was up. The ensuing plate appearance produced a seeing-eye ground ball. If you look at the video, while the grounder was hit very sharply, it was within...
Dear Mr. Fantasy Baseball Podcast: April 22, 2013
This week Chris and the Doctor are joined by Crackerjack’s very own Eric Pleiss. Besides being a must follow on Twitter, Eric writes about the Minnesota Twins at Knuckleballs Blog and BaseballTwins.com. Give the podcast a listen while you are reading Eric’s stuff on Crackerjacks. Multi-task!
Click HERE to listen.
As always, they play a game of “Who’d You Rather?...
MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 23, 2013
Thank goodness Monday was much better than Sunday. After a disastrous start to the week, Monday provided some recovery as only three picks were incorrect. One of those was picking against Boston. I never expected A.J. Griffin to pitch that badly. And I did not expect Jonathan Pettibone to pitch as well as he did for the Phillies. Or perhaps the Pirates' bats are that bad. The...
2013 Fantasy Baseball Daily Fix: April 23, 2013
DraftKings.com Team of the Day
Today I’m playing the $3 Double Up contest. There are 80 entrants and you (almost) double your entry fee if you finish in the top 40. And don’t forget to get your deposit bonus here.
Starting Pitchers
If you like to spend big on pitchers and get the safest options possible, Clayton Kershaw ($12,700) and Cole Hamels ($11,700) probably have the best...
Dixon’s Picks: Waiver Wire Additions for the Week of April 22
Photo courtesy of Keith Allison.
In 2012, Dixon’s Picks was not only something I did every week, but I really enjoyed it. So, here we are again.
You don’t win a fantasy baseball league without taking chances. Some of those are season-long chances, other are short-term ones, like, should I pick this waiver wire pitcher up for a few starts, or not?
The simple word for all of that...
Umpire Ron Kulpa and the pump fake strike three call, Carlos Villanueva confused
Umpire Ron Kulpa apparently couldn’t make up his mind.
Also, Carlos Villanueva has no idea what just happened.
MLB umpire Bill Miller "balks" on strike out call during Cubs/Rangers (Video)
Yesterday, MLB umpire Bill Miller was calling balls and strikes at Wrigley Field during the Texas Rangers/Chicago Cubs game.
In the fourth inning of play, Cubs pitcher Carlos Villanueva was at the plate with the count at 0-2 and it appeared that Rangers pitcher Derek Lowe had struck him out on the third pitch of the at-bat.
However, Miller hesitates on the strike out call and...
FOOLED YA!
Umpire busts out the ‘Pump Fake, Punch-Out’
Bill Miller was calling the Cubs and Rangers game yesterday and had a very ‘human’ moment which is hard to not appreciate. Derek Lowe of the Rangers was ahead in the count at 0-2 and tossed a pitch which was very close to being a strike, or a ball for that matter. Miller turned to the side like he was going to punch out the Cubs’ Carlos Villanueva, and all of a sudden paused...
The Rubber, Week Three: What To Do With Surprising ERA Leaders
Source: Brian Kersey/Getty Images North America
Here are the owners of the four lowest ERAs in the major leagues: Paul Maholm, Jake Westbrook, Clay Buchholz, and Carlos Villanueva. Obviously, they are going to give up runs at rate higher than that in which they have done so to this point. But which ones are going to do so at a rate acceptable enough to continue to roster them? And...
Rangers and Cubs rained out at Wrigley Field
The Chicago Cubs are off to a 4-9 start and have lost three straight games. Alfonso Soriano is still looking for his first RBI of the season.
But the seven-time All-Star figures there is plenty of time for both him and the Cubs to come around.
''I hope it's like the weather,'' Soriano said. ''We've had a bad 13 games but we change it around because...
Moreland homers for Rangers in win over Cubs
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Robbie Ross excelled out of the bullpen last year for the Texas Rangers. He hopes to do the same as a starter in 2013.
Mitch Moreland hit a two-run homer off Carlos Villanueva, Ross pitched three scoreless innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 in a matchup of split squads.
Ross didn't make things easy on himself, though, stranding six runners...
Rangers 8, Cubs 5
Mitch Moreland hit a two-run homer off Carlos Villanueva, Robbie Ross pitched three scoreless innings and the Texas Rangers beat the Chicago Cubs 8-5 in a matchup of split squads.
Villanueva pitched four innings, allowing four hits and three runs. He walked two and struck out two.
Jose Felix also hit a two-run homer in seventh for Texas.
Ross gave up four hits and three walks...
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