« previous next »
Pages: 1 ... 725 726 [727] 728   Go Down

Author Topic: Cubs in '12  (Read 167437 times)

davep

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15895
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10890 on: January 11, 2013, 12:00:22 pm »
Sounds a little like Juan Cruz
Logged

brjones

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 25893
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10891 on: January 12, 2013, 12:07:47 pm »
The Rodrigo Lopez era is over.  He has signed with the Phillies.
Logged

craig

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13186
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10892 on: January 12, 2013, 12:23:25 pm »
Dave, thanks for the Diaz scouting report.  Sounds pretty interesting.  Rare to be able to have a guy with that type of arm available who's still only 23.  Obviously a dinky guy with delivery/control problems who'll be 24 and has only one relief year in full season can't be a real hot prospect.  But I'd think an action mid-90's fastball that touches 97 is intriguing, and while he hasn't proven it higher, his results at his low level were plenty good.  Over last two seasons, 1 home run in 108 innings.  I think I like anti-HR pitchers!  134K/67hits/108IP/1HR are some good numbers, although the 60 walks are not.  Someday we're going to get lucky with one of these types of pickups. 

Speaking of another guy, I'm kind of interested in Zach Rosscup.  he's another guy who's pitched very little, in his case injury being a factor, but he may have some interesting stuff.  45K/17H/31 inning/1 HR this year.  I wondered what he's got or if management is a little interested, because I heard he was one of the minor leaguers coming to the convention.  Usually they don't bring in total roster-fillers who haven't produced much and aren't very interesting.  So perhaps that reflects some interest? 
Logged

Jes Beard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17183
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10893 on: January 12, 2013, 12:31:02 pm »
How much of those attending the Cubs convention is a result of management picking and requiring attendance, and how much is it a result of players wanting to be there and essentially putting themselves on the list?  Does anyone such as a Rosscup put himself on the list?  If so, does management ever tell a player or prospect, "No.  We don't want your sorry a$$ here?"

Take a Milton Bradley type, for instance.  Could you imagine management wanting a loose cannon nutjob like that at the Cubs Convention?  Or take Zambrano last year.  If that deal had taken a bit longer, but Carlos had really wanted to attend, and he had not yet been traded, would management have told him to stay home?
Logged

Cubsin

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1647
  • Location: O'Fallon, IL
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10894 on: January 12, 2013, 01:24:29 pm »
Quote from: craig on January 12, 2013, 12:23:25 pm
Speaking of another guy, I'm kind of interested in Zach Rosscup.  he's another guy who's pitched very little, in his case injury being a factor, but he may have some interesting stuff.  45K/17H/31 inning/1 HR this year.  I wondered what he's got or if management is a little interested, because I heard he was one of the minor leaguers coming to the convention.  Usually they don't bring in total roster-fillers who haven't produced much and aren't very interesting.  So perhaps that reflects some interest? 

Craig, they thought enough of Rosscup to put him on the AFL roster this winter, but he was replaced because he wasn't healthy at the end of his minor-league season.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2013, 01:28:26 pm by Cubsin »
Logged

craig

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13186
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10895 on: January 12, 2013, 01:46:56 pm »
Good question, jes.  In past I don't recall roster fillers.  Usually guys were either top-20 prospects, or had been at one time, or had been fairly high draft picks.  So I've guessed by invitation.  I also recall Lemahieu seeming very uncomfortable and inarticulate; like it was the last thing in the world that he'd have volunteered for.


Thanks for Rosscup note, Cubsin.  It was a rehab summer, so hopefully the not-healthy-enough-for-AFL doesn't mean any setbacks, just that they maybe figured rest was the best thing given his particular rehab status?  And maybe the Convention spot was more recently, and combined with the original AFL spot does reflect some level of management interest? 
« Last Edit: January 12, 2013, 01:50:34 pm by craig »
Logged

JR

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13681
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10896 on: January 14, 2013, 10:02:42 am »
49er QB Kaepernick: Cubs pitcher?

Quote
The Cubs were prepared to offer Kaepernick a signing bonus near $50,000 for what amounted to a summer job: He would have reported to the team’s complex in Mesa, Ariz., and thrown off mounds in the heat in June and July before returning to Nevada for two-a-days in August. (NCAA rules permit athletes to turn pro in one sport while preserving their amateur status in another.)   

Kaepernick wasn’t interested. At all. He told Hughes that he planned to spend the summer in Reno, working with his wide receivers. And the decision was final.
 

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/49ers-qb-colin-kaepernick-drafted-by-chicago-cubs-in-2009-011313
« Last Edit: January 14, 2013, 10:04:44 am by JR »
Logged

JR

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13681
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10897 on: January 14, 2013, 04:00:34 pm »
Maybe a sleeper NRI to watch this spring . . .

Quote from: Jim Callis
I asked Matt if he had any particular favorites among the remaining free-agent crop. He didn't, though he did admit to being intrigued by righthander Dayan Diaz. He's just 5-foot-10 and has a ton of effort in his delivery, but he does have a 93-98 mph fastball.
« Last Edit: January 14, 2013, 04:03:19 pm by JR »
Logged

davep

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 15895
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10898 on: January 14, 2013, 05:23:18 pm »
Never heard of him.
Logged

craig

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13186
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10899 on: January 14, 2013, 05:34:14 pm »
Quote
He's just 5-foot-10 and has a ton of effort in his delivery, but he does have a 93-98 mph fastball.


This is kind of a dumb or embarrassing question, but I'll ask it anyway.  Scouts often comment on the amount of effort in a delivery.  I know having a ton of effort is viewed as undesirable. 


But what why is that a problem, actually?  Is it:
1.  Injury?  A high effort guy is more likely to blow out his arm?
2.  Tiring?  A high-effort starter is going to be exhausted by the 5th inning, and won't be throwing as hard?
3.  Fastball deception?  With easy heat, a hitter can't time the fastball velocity as well?
4.  Offspeed deception?  If a guy needs a max-effort delivery to hit 95, he has a harder time throwing his curve or change with the same delivery? 

Logged

CurtOne

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 27369
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10900 on: January 14, 2013, 06:12:05 pm »
All of those plus

5. Ceiling.  It ain't gonna get much faster and harder.
Logged

Dave23

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12749
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10901 on: January 14, 2013, 06:39:57 pm »
Mechanics...too much extraneous movement/motion in one's delivery (or swing, for that matter) leaves more room for a breakdown in mechanics, which can of course lead to slumps and/or injuries...
Logged

Jes Beard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17183
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10902 on: January 14, 2013, 09:49:47 pm »
Quote from: CurtOne on January 14, 2013, 06:12:05 pm
It ain't gonna get much faster and harder.

I was telling my wife the exact same thing last night....
Logged

JR

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13681
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10903 on: January 14, 2013, 09:59:30 pm »
Quote from: davep on January 14, 2013, 05:23:18 pm
Never heard of him.

I hadn't either until today.  He's a minor league free agent we signed this offseason.  Most recently pitched in Houston's organization.
Logged

Jes Beard

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 17183
Re: Cubs in '12
« Reply #10904 on: January 14, 2013, 10:49:51 pm »
Diaz actually has a pretty impressive record.  http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=diaz--001day except for what appears to have been an injury in 2009 causing him to be somewhat less than young for his league.

2008 at 18 in Venezuela, and a WHIP of .966 in 48 innings; out entirely in 2009; 1 inning in 2010; then 2011 an ERA of 1.98 in 50 innings in low A at age 22; in 2012 an ERA of 1.85 in 58 innings in A ball.

Logged
Pages: 1 ... 725 726 [727] 728   Go Up
« previous next »