Remember the days when all of Chicago Cubs nation was counting down the days that Alfonso Soriano had left on his contract? And then when he was finally traded there was an undeniable letdown? The departing of Soriano wasn't as "fun" as it was supposed to be. Instead, it felt like a sucker punch to the kidneys. Soriano's departure wasn't just an overpaid, aging veteran being shown the door, but with him wen ...

Ah, the mega-deal. Is there anything in professional sports more statistically probable to backfire? Yet every year, there they are in all their over-hyped, over-paid glory. Sure, we all argue them away when the big ticket player shows up on our team's doorstep because this time, it's going to be different. Chicago Cubs fans should be particularly adept at spotting this, as it has an eerie similarity to the ...

The Cubs (20-30) edged out the White Sox (24-25) 7-0 with solid pitching and a team batting effort. The two Chicago teams met on the south side for the first game in a four game Crosstown Classic series. Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija (3-6, 2.85 ERA) simply dominated in the win. The White Sox only put together two hits against the Cubs' hard-throwing right-hander, and he only allowed one scoring chance for th ...

Ed calls fellow CCS contributor Ty Kane to discuss the awful start to the 2013 season for both the Cubs and the Sox. The guys wonder if there is a reason to keep the faith, and do their best to find some silver linings. Ultimately, they decide that Alex Rios and Jorge Soler (and his anger issues) give them a reason to believe.  In The Loop with Ed Edens: Chicago Baseball Review with Ty Kane 4-25-13   I ...

I'm going to overview the Outfield as a whole, because there will be a lot of switching positions throughout the season. Right now, the Cubs starting outfield features the overpaid Alfonso Soriano in Left Field, expected lead-off hitter David DeJesus in Center Field, and light hitting Nate Schierholtz in Right Field. Soriano has been constantly mentioned in trade rumors for a good couple of years now, but w ...

Here are some story lines and happenings at Sox Camp in Glendale, Arizona: Matt Thornton was diagnosed with elbow inflammation on Tuesday, this is the first arm issue he has dealt with since his trip to the DL in 2010 for the very same ailment Brent Morel has been fielding multiple positions at camp thus far. This is most likely in anticipation of him not having a starting role to play on the major league t ...

Unfortunately for Cubs faithful, 2013 doesn’t have the most promising of outlooks. As the rebuilding project continues, us Northsiders need distractions to make the 162-game season seem, well, not as soul-crushingly long. Is ‘soul-crushingly’ even a word? It is now. The good news is that fantasy baseball exists, and is there to help all fans, from the fair-weather to the die-hard, get through another potent ...

  Last Thursday, I wrote about the moves the Cubs have made over the last 12 months and took a look at some moves going forward with their rebuilding process. I really went to an extreme, formulating a deal for Giancarlo Stanton (which was, in retrospect, a complete joke) and envisioning a free agency signing of Hanley Ramirez. One of the more believable potential trades I mentioned was for Tampa Bay’s ...

After the Cubs rode Alfonso Soriano's bat to another win over the San Diego Padres, a couple of players decided to speak up for Mike Quade. Ryan Dempster and Marlon Byrd were both quoted as saying they want Quade to come back and be the full time manager in 2011. From The USA Today "He's been very upfront, very honest with all of us," pitcherRyan Dempster said after notching his 15th win. "He's been tremend ...

The Cubs lost again today, this time falling 8-7 to the Giants, and dropped three of four in the series. That is the bad news, or the good news, if you are like me and find the failure comical at this point. The good news is, the team made this past series of failure fun to watch. The typical low scoring game, usually driven by terrible offense, didn't make an appearance. Instead, the Cubs are competing, an ...