As the snow continues to fall in Chicagoland, here are some news and notes to ponder before you break out your shovels...
- Due to many requests, we are starting a Cubs Den Fantasy Baseball League! It should be a lot of fun. We're still sorting out the details, so if you have any suggestions, now is the time to let us know. Hint for those of you who have never played: Don't choose Alfonso Soriano with your first pick. Details on the league and where to sign up will follow in the next couple of days or so.
- We will continue to add things over the next few weeks. Next on the agenda is a weekly chat, which we plan to start on Monday when Spring Training officially gets underway. As always we are open to suggestions.
- Keith Law continues to do great stuff on ESPN regarding prospects. Yesterday we talked about his top 10, which included surprise entry Zach Cates at #5. Today he talks about Cubs Den favorite Reggie Golden as a sleeper prospect and Taiwan Easterling as a super sleeper. Sounds like Easterling is a guy we're going to have to get to know a little better.
- Jed Hoyer was on “The Carmen, Jurko & Harry Show” on ESPN 1000, where he discussed Alfonso Soriano's future with the Cubs, “I think that’s unlikely (that he’ll start the season with another team),” Hoyer said on “Our hope certainly … I know Sori’s been working really hard this offseason … our hope is obviously you want him to get on base a little more. The power was there last year, the RBIs were there. Obviously it really comes down to defense and we’re hoping with some better conditioning and some better health, that he can be a little better out there. We don’t want to do anything to hurt our pitchers, but we do believe there’s something left in Sori.”
- In case you were waiting for Larry Lucchino to talk about compensation on MLB Radio, he didn't mention it at all. We'll just have to wait for the next Nick Cafardo article to let us know what's on Lucchino's mind on that.
Filed under: News and Notes
I don't remember which of your list you put Easterly on?
I may have talked about him on draft lists or perhaps league lists, but I certainly didn't know people thought this highly of him. Will have to do more on him.
Thanks, can you also give info on Abreu
Abreu more of a fringe prospect. I wrote an earlier article when he was acquired and there were some optimistic reports from Cleveland blog, but that optimism has waned. He needs a big year to stay in their plans.
John any idea what time you are planning to kick-off the chats? Probably best to reference time zones as it seems like the Cubs Den readers are scattered all over the Estados Unidos.
Unfortunately I've had Soriano on my Fantasy Team more than once. It's no fun at all knowing I could have started a bag of baseballs in his place and gotten better results. It's safe to say Jim Hendry and I value the same type of talent.
Can we expect a write-up soon on Taiwan Easterling? I don't know a lick about him.
Thanks for the suggestion. The goal is for Monday, the 19th, sometime in the afternoon but it hasn't been decided yet.
You know that once you don't pick Soriano, he'll have his best year since 2008, right? That's the way things seem to work!
I'm going to have to try and find out more about him than I do now. I know he's a great athlete with some doubles potential. Played WR at Florida St. but doesn't have a lot of baseball experience. I'm sure I'll have something soon.
I was able to see Taiwan Easterling 1 time last year when Peoria played Beloit. I knew that he was a football player, but didn't know much about him. It wasn't long before I was searching on my phone for info on him, as he stood out to me (along with Rubi Silva and Richard Jones). He hit the ball hard and had productive AB's. He covered CF no problem, with a couple of nice plays. Never got to see his arm on a full effort throw. Silva was also impressive to watch that day.
They may never make it to Wrigley, but the effort I saw that day and the skills they showed, made me a fan of them, and will be hoping that they continue to develop and make it to play at Clark and Addison someday.
Silva shows flashes of being a very good player. He played very well at times last season. Good athlete and baseball skills. Could consider him a sleeper as well.
I haven't seen Easterling play yet, but i followed him pretty closely in the box scores and prospect reports last season and I think he could be an exciting player. Hopefully a late round pick that ends up challenging for a CF or 4th OF spot in a couple years!
Needs patience and a bit more power to start, but sounds like he's a natural when it comes to hitting the baseball. Athleticism should be a big asset on defense too.
I'm really, (desperately) hoping Sori has a great year so it attracts potential suitors. 8 more days! W00t!
You, me, and probably all of Cubs nation!
John, I might be interested in your fantasy baseball league. One suggestion, allow "managers" to set their lineups daily rather than weekly.
Thanks Raymond. Good idea. I think I'd like that better than having to check schedules every week.
Hey John great ideas! Is the fantasy going to be pay to play or freebie?
Thanks! Probably free, but will see what Tom and everyone else wants to do.
Lets not play 5X5. Do it as a points league, either cumulative or H2H. It doesn't matter, but rotisserie leagues I don't care for. They weight crappy statistics like BA and pitcher win far too much.
We're thinking about eliminating pitcher's wins and going with OBP over batting avg...what do you all think?
I wouldn't eliminate wins or batting average. I like OBP. The more categories the better. And head-to-head is the way to go.
Maybe a little for everyone? We can do both. Thanks again for the ideas guys.
I'm all for eliminating pitcher wins. Been trying to do that for years in the league I'm commish for. The league just isn't buying it yet, but we're close.
I'm in !! A fantasy league sound great . I know at times Keith Law can come across as a arrogant at times, but i think he ranks up with Jim Callis as the best analysis in terms of minor league talent.
Coo1. I agree. I think he's a good mix of his own opinions and those of scouts.
Keith Law's never afraid to disagree, I'll give him that. And count me in on the fantasy league. I don't think my corrupt league full of HS kids will be back this year.
He's his own man, and that's why I have a lot of respect for him. Very cool on joining the league.
There is a point where things go from conjecture to rumor, and that point is blurry, but we may be there with KC. The Royals are rumored to be interested in upgrading their rotation and at catcher, but there are mixed signals as to what they might be willing to give up. According to MLB Radio's Mike Ferrin, they may feel good enough about their outfield depth to part with a major league player to get it done. The conjecture is that player might be Alex Gordon.
ME WANT
That sounds interesting!
It is believed that the Royals wanted to buy out Gordon's arbitration years, and either he and his agent didn't think what the Royals were offering was enough, or they just weren't interested.
I think I'd rather have Gordon than Cespedes.
You might be able to have both.
Why not guys we've suffered long enough with Hendry's bandaid players...It would be nice to double dip and get some young quality for a change...If Garza even gets rumored to be going to KC, you watch how fast Detroit gets back into the picture..It would be awesome
I'd definitely be up for the cubs den fantasy baseball. I was actually wondering about that and meant to ask if you were planning on it. I would vote for obp as opposed to avg. but you could do both, i wouldn't be opposed to that. I also like to throw in total bases as well, or you could add slugging percentage as a way to reward those guys who also get doubles and triples. For pitchers you could do quality starts or other innovative stats but i wouldn't be opposed to wins. I know there's an element of luck in that and the team they're pitching for, but you have to factor all that in. I think you should have a limit on the number of moves you can make, in my opinion. I prefer rotisserie to head to head and would rather not have to check it every day, just my opinion.
I think maybe both so that there is a little something for everyone.
Thanks for the input. This is great. Tom and I will have to soak this all in.
BTW, I'm up for the fantasy league, and since I've run several leagues in the past, I'd be happy to offer suggestions or even be commissioner.
Cool! Should be up soon. Fire away with the suggestions!
Offensive stats: BA, OBP, SLG, R, RBI, Net SB.
Pitching stats: ERA, WHIP, K/9, AS AND IRS
Most major fantasy sites don't offer most of the more advanced statistics. I wish they did. Imagine what head to head matchups would be like solely based on WAR.
I've played in a few, but I don't know enough about them to know what the leagues offer.
sounds like you may have enough for several leagues. good problem to have i guess
Maybe...we'll see. We can always expand it if we need to, I think.
Count me in as well, if you have room available that is. Will this be more of a cumulative points vs thing kind of like a CBS sports. Or more like a 5v5 in categories kind of like a Yahoo sports thing.
We're still exploring the different leagues and we'll have more details soon. Maybe by this weekend.
I would be in for the fantasy league. Gordon would give the cubs a middle of the lineup guy which they desperately need if that rumor is true.
The more the merrier! I've always liked Alex Gordon. Good hitter, good athlete, his discipline continues to improve.
Sign me up for the fantasy league as well. Always wanted to try one. I might hit best to worst, 1-9, if the format allows. Check the repeatability of that Toronto study. Plus it'll set up a two-front war with Canada as I'm already guerilla spell checking its emails.
LOL...we'll count you in. Keep an eye out for it.