Well, one thing is becoming crystal clear in this murky Cubs season: Jake Fox can hit a baseball.

Now, I realize I haven’t been his biggest supporter but that is largely due to erroneous reports that his defense was so bad that packing a glove was arbitrary.

The truth is, however, that while Fox will never be more than an average (at best) fielder at any position, his defensive shortcomings have been greatly exaggerated by the organization. His bat may actually more than make up for his glove. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’m talking about hatred, period. I’m talking about when I go to eat at a restaurant. I’ve got to listen to the waiters badmouthing me at another table, sitting in a restaurant. That’s what I’m talking about. Everything.”

You are a tool, Milton Bradley. Fans aren’t booing you because you are black; they are booing you because you are BAD. And not bad as in “baaaaad,” but bad as in you suck.

Sure, you’re starting to hit now, but it’s too little, too late. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m finally ready to get back to my Cubs coverage, I’m sorry that it took so long, but I finally have everything set up in my dorm but first, it’s been a while, how about a little update on how the writer is doing (shameless promotion time, if you don’t care, skip down a few paragraphs).

I was asked by Bleacher Report to do an article on Michael Jordan, and I got the first six bottles of Jordan Gatorade produced, check it out if you can here.

I am also going to be part of the new and exciting Fan Huddle. It is launching September 10th of this season. Everything looks outstanding and there are a ton of dedicated writers who can fill you in on any team you want. If you want to check out my writing I will be doing fantasy basketball analysis for the NBA Central Division. To read any of my work there, go to FanHuddle.com any date after September 10th.

Now on to Cubs analysis. I will start by giving my thoughts on the team in two words. Read the rest of this entry »

Again, I am extremely sorry for the lack of posting these past few weeks. I have had a lot of problems with my internet in my dorm room but those are starting to be fixed now.

However, I will be going through my first full week of school before I start posting regularly again. I am very sorry but I need to make sure that I do everything I can to get the most out of my college experience.

I apologize for the lack of posts, it has been three days and I try not to let more than two go by before getting something up on the site, however, the last few days have been very hectic for me.

I would like to say that the slow down will stop soon and there will be plenty of Cubs updates coming your way soon, but the truth is that I don’t know when I will be able to get back to my usual amount of posts.

The reason, Wednesday is my move-in day for college, and I have been very busy seeing people for possibly the last time and getting all of my stuff ready to move.

It may take a few days to get used to living at Illinois State University, where I will be living for the next four years, but once I get acclimated to the area and get my schedule down, I will be able to get right back to posting.

Luckily for all of you, this will likely mean an increase in quality work from me, as I will be studying journalism at ISU. So be ready for a short hiatus, followed by a return to your Cubs coverage.

-Joe Willett

If you are familiar with the excellent work done by The Hardball Times’ Chris Dutton and Peter Bendix, you are likely familiar with their creation of an expected Batting Average on Balls in Play metric (xBABIP).

BABIP—Batting average on balls in play: the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits has been mainly used to judge pitchers. That is, until the metric was improved by the creation of xBABIP, which has turned out to be a very strong predictor of future performance. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people thought of Tom Gorzelanny as a “throw-in” in the recent trade between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is trying to prove otherwise.

Most of the focus was on John Grabow when he and Gorzelanny were traded to Chicago. Grabow went straight to the major league team while Gorzelanny was sent to the triple-Aclub. It wasn’t long until Gorzelanny was added to the Major League squad. Read the rest of this entry »

Another day, another blown save.

That’s the life of one Kevin Gregg, who led major league baseball in blown saves last year.

After a nice stretch of uncharacteristic reliability from Gregg, he has returned to Florida, where he pitched in 2007 and 2008, and has blown the lead in two consecutive games. Read the rest of this entry »