"The Cubs’ stealth pursuit of top-tier free agent starters netted Edwin Jackson" - 2013 same as it ever was Cubs

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-cubs-20130116,0,235594.story

president Theo Epstein said the 2013 season can be considered a "failure" if the Cubs don’t make the playoffs.

“Otherwise, there’s no reason to show up or build a team,” Epstein said. “It’s postseason or bust every year. That’s what our goal is. That said, we’re obviously building for something greater, which is a time when we can expect to get into the postseason every year.

haha what the fuc

shoot for the stars theo!

carlos marmol

wacky Samardzija line

5.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 BB, 13 K

+ badly timed wild pitches and a hit batsman

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/04/09/marmol-im-going-to-put-us-in-the-world-series/

loooooooool

Well I guess it is better than throwing a temper tantrum and going bonkers like Zambrano did a couple of years ago.

http://pinterest.com/sammysosamr609/sammy-sosa-sammy-sosa-official-pinterest/

def Cubs gonna blow this vibe w/ error, HBP, seeing-eye hits

i like Sammy's Eddie Munster hair!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YZ-WyN8h2a4/Tz6Ib-e0h0I/AAAAAAAAT1o/iu4oT-BZnDw/s1600/eddie-munster.jpg

http://pauls.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/rizzocatch.gif

giving vince coleman flashbacks

should have let rizzo get this one too http://www.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=26803409&partnerId=as_mlb_20130503_7693704

Ryan Sweeney sighting

http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2013/5/12/4325452/anthony-rizzo-contract-cubs

smart but knowing the cubs he'll turn into bryan lahair overnight.

good move imo, pretty much the only bright spot of the current lineup

Sweeney could probably homer more often than once every 2 years if he worked on his hitting as much as his hair.

The Cubs are not very good, but they have already had two things in the past week that seem to be totally odds defying with Travis Wood hitting the grand slam and Dioneer Navarro hitting THREE HRs a couple days ago.

Got to say with their starting staff, Rizzo and Castro; the Cubs seem to have a nice nucleus coming together.

they surprisingly demolished the white sox during the crosstown series, even the rained-out game was heading that way

agree they could be pretty good within a couple of years if everything goes right

kevin gregg is good now?

Wow, this fog is wild!

i can't see the game but on the train coming home after work today i could see the crazy fog all through downtown/river north. it didn't look like fog, more like a cloud but at ground level.

I thought it was clearing up there for a minute, but it's back full of cloud now.

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvxhzrMX421r4d22do1_400.jpg

http://gs1.wac.edgecastcdn.net/8019B6/data.tumblr.com/666da8352fcfb398dd2b46173b3111fb/tumblr_mo7dabVcRo1qzniimo1_500.jpg

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago Cubs suspended Triple-A infielder Ian Stewart on Tuesday without pay for an indefinite period following his critical comments about the organization.

Stewart took to Twitter early Tuesday morning to vent his frustrations. He has played the entire season for Iowa, the Cubs' top minor league affiliate. He is due to make $2 million this year.

He tweeted: ''there (sic) going to let me Rott (sic) in AAA all season then non tender me after.''

Stewart also put the blame on Cubs manager Dale Sveum, writing: ''I think dale Doesn't like me and He's running the show.''

Stewart later apologized for his remarks.

''There's a loyalty clause in his contract that requires a certain standard of personal conduct and he didn't adhere to that. He'll be suspended,'' Cubs President Theo Epstein said.

''There was a personal attack on our manager which can't really be tolerated,'' he said.

Stewart has spent parts of the last seven years in the majors and is a career .232 hitter. He is hitting .164 with four home runs in 39 games with Iowa, and has committed six errors at third base.

Stewart injured his quadricpes in an intrasquad game in February and was later sent to Iowa for a minor league rehab assignment. The Cubs hadn't called him up this year.

Epstein said he was not suprised by Stewart's outburst on Twitter.

''Not really. I don't follow him but I know he's pretty active late at night and I know he's frustrated. It didn't fully surprise me,'' he said.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r177/Laughinglarry/Smileys/Drunk_Emoticon.gif

^reminiscent of classic Bobby Valentine "Todd Hundley doesn't get enough sleep"

geez that Barney is a pretty good 2B

carlos marmol designated for assignment! per deadspin, Marmol's strikeout rate, 11.67 per nine innings, is the fourth-best in baseball history (again, min. 400 innings)—but it also meant that they would walk. And did they ever. Marmol's walk rate, 6.07 per nine, is the seventh-highest in baseball history.
http://deadspin.com/fare-thee-well-carlos-marmol-and-your-extreme-aversion-573598628

'ian stewart has been granted his unconditional release'

Cubs having a decent streak, 10-6 in last couple weeks or so. They have a few arms. Cubs got to get Starlin Castro going again. They just need him getting contact and work on the power later. Nate Schierholtz has done well for the Cubs getting more playing time than he did with SF.

trade soriano NOW

what the fuck

I'm so glad I decided not to watch this game

i'm so glad i picked up rick porcello so my team's ERA today would be less than 17.36

PHOENIX -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza was traded Monday to the Texas Rangers for four prospects, the team confirmed.

Tthe Cubs and Rangers finally worked out the details of a trade that will send third baseman Mike Olt and right-handed pitchers C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm, plus a player to be named, to the Cubs in exchange for the veteran right-hander.

it's only low-a, but c.j. edwards has put up some ~numbers~ this year. he has 11.8 k/9, which is best in the minors (he's fourth in strikeouts overall), and he has not allowed a home run in his 160-inning career

also he's 6'2" and 155 lol

who is donnie murphy

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU

sveum fired?

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/22886948-573/report-cubs-fire-dale-sveum.html

well it's not like the cubs would have been good with a different manager, but castro seems to be regressing, junior lake looked like he was barely trying when i saw them play last week, etc.

yankees beat writer said over the weekend he thought girardi would manage the yankees or not at all next year, but who knows. i doubt he had much fun this season.

Sveum only being there two years makes me wonder if he was being used as a placeholder for Girardi and that Girardi and the Cubs already have an agreement, but I don't really know about baseball business.

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/assets/images/6/2/4/66538624/cuts/649x350_clark_3w54ckug_xzttxqsc.jpg

http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/chc/fan_forum/clark.jsp

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bd4-PPRCYAEoPEe.jpg

It sounds like the Cubs are ending up a similar deal to the Dodgers under McCourt (minus divorce) in that the new owner is so leveraged the club with debt to buy the club, they are not going to spend any money on the field.

http://i.imgur.com/UlHuXrm.jpg

lol - http://deadspin.com/comcast-sportsnet-airs-our-version-of-cubs-mascot-with-1501633812/@bubbaprog