Friend of Nordhagen

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Dec 27, 2016 -> 01:35 PM) Given the seller's market that it seems to be at the moment, I'd be reluctant to package players unless one was a deal-breaker for a prospect we loved. Seems to me that maximum value will be extracted from trading players individually. Could be right. I just remember that one reason the Cubs were able to get Addison Russell (and McKinney, I guess) was that they gave up Hammel, along with Shark. Sometimes that 2nd veteran piece can round out a deal for those highly rated prospects.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 22, 2016 -> 11:33 AM) My assumption is this is tailored to being about the Cubs/Cardinals because the only thing Phil Rogers ever talks about is Cubs/Cardinals and Arnie Munoz curveball. Just FYI, I think Arnie Munoz curveball would be an interesting 4th piece in any Quintana deal.

I admire the courage of you, your wife, and your boy. I'm praying for you all.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 5, 2016 -> 09:36 AM) Bruce Levine ‏@MLBBruceLevine 43s44 seconds ago Chicago, IL Kris Bryant said his left knee is a little stiff but it's fine after collision with Almora in yesterday's game Did he say this while Bruce was rubbing him down?

QUOTE (Chet Kincaid @ Dec 11, 2015 -> 01:39 PM) Jesus Christ I gotta turn off 670 The Score. Look, if your team joined Babe Ruth to Ty Cobb, you'd be excited, too. Wait, you mean Schwarber isn't Babe Ruth? Heyward isn't Ty Cobb? Well, at least Joe Maddon is a World Series-winning manager. Wait -- that's not true, either? Okay, well at least Theo Epstein IS Branch Rickey. That much we know.

WCUB (the Score) is now in full TheoJedMaddonSchwarberBryantCubs jerk-off mode. Anyway, last year was the Cubs' free ride. All the pressure is on them now. Have fun.

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 05:58 PM) Lackey can play LF? Sure. He's like a faster, more svelte Schwarber who doesn't belly-flop singles into triples while being widely considered "not that bad out there."

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 05:53 PM) Lackey is 37 but he did put up a 3.6 fWAR last year. I think he'll end up being their #4 starter. That's solid. Especially with Greinke and Price as the 2 and 3. Wait. You're telling me that didn't happen? Someone tell Maddon that he's not quite the draw that his enormous ego no doubt thinks he is.

Wasn't one of Theo's huge mistakes in Boston, at least considered so at the time, signing Lackey to a huge contract and then having him completely suck? (Then Lackey was good after Theo left, if I remember correctly.)

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 4, 2015 -> 05:41 PM) David KaplanVerified account ‏@thekapman That lines up with what my source told me earlier this afternoon that Lackey wanted to be here with Lester, Ross and Theo. Amazing how the media kisses Theo's ass LOL at Ross. David Ross: The Free Agent Whisperer Oh, Kaplan, you amazin' ball-licker.

QUOTE (AustinIllini @ Aug 2, 2015 -> 02:23 PM) Sale is still amazing. Shark has had a rough season. Sure doesn't look like $100 million. Shark is Shark. GM's love the idea of this guy, just like Cubbie fans did: former football player, Notre Dame, competitor, good stuff, whatever. Hell, even a smart guy like Billy Beane got taken in. He's fine. But neither his peripherals nor his record measure up to the high expectations people have of the dude.

I'm not watching the game, but just checked the box score. Saw the Sox were down 1-0, and I thought: "I bet Shark gave up a home run to a left-handed batter." Yep. He's like Gavin Floyd in that regard.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 30, 2015 -> 09:47 PM) Rizzo with a 2 out, 3 run homer in the top of the 8th while trailing 2-0. This has been a tremendous day for the Cubs given that Price didn't go to the Dodgers. It's always a tremendous day for the Cubs when they play one of their "road games" in Milwaukee, particularly when the Brewers are selling off parts. Gosh, I hope the game wraps up soon, so I can gain massive amounts of wisdom from Dave "Theo Is Like a Smarter Branch Rickey" Kaplan and Todd "I Refer to the Cubs as We" Hollandsworth.

C'mon, Daniel Paniagua.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 27, 2015 -> 10:42 PM) Just brutal, seems like a possibly season-saving win for them. Cubs bandwagon back in full force, I'm sure. No Chicago sports radio for me tomorrow. All of America awaits the HILARIOUS Joe Maddon post-game comments. That guy and his kooky glasses . . . and did you know that he's great with young players, more brilliant than Einstein, creative like Mozart, and likes WINE? Woo boy.

Apropos of nothing, I think it's important to note that Todd Hollandsworth is a smarmy turd on Cubs post game. In terms of objectivity, he makes Bill Melton look like Walter Cronkite.

QUOTE (MnSoxFan @ Jul 14, 2015 -> 07:35 AM) But, but, but... KW went and saw him in person and praised his swing. So we have that!!! Did he play football? Because that would've been important, too.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jun 28, 2015 -> 03:12 PM) It took some real skill, some real determination to lose this ballgame. You have to be impressed by this one. They stared a win straight in the face and said "We will NOT." The commitment was total, the result inspiring. These are the 2015 White Sox. Bow before them.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 08:28 PM) If Schwarber dropped a lot of weight, you could imagine him playing LF (right is much tricker in Wrigley) as long as they had plus defenders in CF and RF...but it's a bit of a stretch. Then again, if you've watched guys like Lonnie Smith, Pete Incaviglia and Kevin Reimer play LF, anything is possible. Good points, Caulfield, but that's right: he'd have to lose some weight, or they'd have to carry him out there. Could happen, I guess, but it also becomes a bit of a liability then. Maybe if Almora figures it out for CF, they could partially compensate.

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 08:30 PM) Lol. so basically, one of (if not the best) hitting prospects in baseball can only be traded to the al or for pitching because he has nothing but DH in his future? #stopIT. #GoodTimesWithYou

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 08:16 PM) No, you're pigeonholing Kyle Schwarber because he's a Cub. If he were a Cardinal you wouldn't be doing that. I can't believe grown men can't leave emotion out of their sports fandom. What? Jeez, dude, you must have me confused with someone else. Maybe you should leave emotion out of YOUR sports fandom. I'm looking at the Cubs situation, just like everyone in baseball (including the Cubs) looks at the Cubs' situation. He's pretty much not an outfielder; they have Rizzo (you like HIM, right?) at first. So Schwarber's going to catch, displace Rizzo, or perhaps be trade bait. That's it. This is not a surprise. If you've followed the Cubs like you claim you have, then you know that Theo's whole plan is to gather as many hitters as possible (the most valuable commodity in baseball today) and then sort it out later. Some will make it, some won't, some will be traded for pitching. Or did you miss the part where they traded for Addison Russell even though they already had Starlin Castro and Javy Baez?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jun 18, 2015 -> 08:02 PM) So I guess he can't play MLB then? lol. Stop. a sustained run of excellence is approaching. Uh, I didn't say anything about the Cubs upcoming "sustained run of excellence." I said that Kyle Schwarber is a helluva hitting prospect who may not be able to play a position -- which is exactly the scouting report on him a year ago. That means he can be an absolutely devastating DH, which means, at the least, he has immense trade value for half the teams in baseball. He MAY be able to catch at some point, but even the Cubs know that he can't right now. Reading. A skill.

Kyle Schwarber . . . home run. Looks good up there, really good. Also, not a chance he can stick in the outfield, competently. So, if he can't play catcher (and he can't yet), he's strictly a DH. They don't have those in the National League. So this will be interesting.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jun 17, 2015 -> 10:18 PM) Schwarber, Bryant and Russell combined tonight: 16 AB, 6 runs scored, 8 hits, triple (Schwarber), two homers (Bryant, grand slam and Russell), 9 RBI's That's one entire week for the White Sox. And that's without getting much of anything from Soler in the last month or so (now on the DL). "Soler on the DL" has been a common occurrence at every stop. Those other fellas are pretty good, though.

QUOTE (Y2JImmy0 @ Jun 15, 2015 -> 08:57 PM) Cubs calling up Schwarber The "Pump Up Schwarber Trade Value" tour has begun. He's only here to DH, then going back down to Triple A -- because he has no position.