SB Nation User Blog: DTJchris

Baseball snubbed by IOC; Golf and Rugby added

DTJchris — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:58:47 -0000

Baseball snubbed by IOC; Golf and Rugby added

The Olympic Committee voted on new sports for the 2016 Olympics in Rio and Golf and Rugby have both made the cut.

However, baseball and softball, along with Karate and Squash, are not going to be added to the games.

I would really like to see baseball be re-admitted into the Olympic sports. Throughout much of Latin America and Asia, and obviously here in the U.S., baseball is huge. I think it is deserving of a spot personally. But I guess that's what the World Baseball Classic is for maybe?

Mark Buehrle pitches perfect game

DTJchris — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:15:55 -0000

Mark Buehrle pitches perfect game

No story, just the box score. Only the 16th perfect game in modern baseball history. I know he is a member of the dreaded White Sox, but congratulations to him and his achievement. It was great to see it for the last inning on ESPN.

Why, God, Why?! EA hit in the face with foul ball.

DTJchris — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:08:56 -0000

Why, God, Why?! EA hit in the face with foul ball.

Erin Andrews took one off the chin at the Mets-Dodgers game last night, and no it wasn't from David Wright. Heyoo!

Just thought I'd share this devastating news with everyone. She should be fine, just a bruise.

Fox should be in the majors

DTJchris — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:10:41 -0000

Fox should be in the majors

At least according to FanGraphs.

Rosenthal tidbits

DTJchris — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:26:45 -0000

Rosenthal tidbits

Down at the bottom of the article, in his "Around the Horn" section, Rosenthal has some interesting points. Here are a couple that might be of interest to Cubs fans:

1. "The Cubs expect their bullpen will solidify once right-hander Carlos Zambrano comes off the disabled list, enabling them to move left-hander Sean Marshall or righty Randy Wells to the bullpen.

Bumping Marshall would make sense for two reasons: Neal Cotts currently is the Cubs' only left-handed reliever and Marshall might need an occasional break from starting, having never pitched more than 147 1/3 innings in a season."

2. "The Nationals might be years away from a full recovery. One scout describes their Harrisburg affiliate as the 'worst Double A team maybe in the history of baseball.'

Harrisburg, 8-27, is playing Freddy Bynum, 29, at shortstop. Joel Guzman, 24, is the corner-utility man. The team includes only three members of the Nationals' 40-man roster."

Is anyone really surprised that Freddy "Boom-Boom" Bynum is the starting shortstop for the worst Double-A team in history? No, not really.

Ridiculous: Elijah Dukes Fined, Benched For Doing Charity Work

DTJchris — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:42:52 -0000

Ridiculous: Elijah Dukes Fined, Benched For Doing Charity Work

Came across this article. Though I don't particularly care one way or the other about the Nationals franchise, this article really irritates me. A ball player doing something for the community should be seen as a positive, especially a ball player with a troubled past like Dukes.

To be honest, I hope Acta does get fired after this.

Matt Clement Retires

DTJchris — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:33:36 -0000

Matt Clement Retires

Good bye Clement, you had a good run with the Cubs and I'll always remember that goatee of yours. Happy trails.

(would have linked to the original article, but it was through Twitter and I hate Twitter)

BCB FANTASY BASEBALL REMINDER!!!

DTJchris — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:37:57 -0000

Couple things. First, we are in need of one more owner for the league drafting tomorrow at Noon ET, 11 a.m. Central. Please email me at chrisgreising(at)gmail(dot)com if you want in. Again, its only one spot so first person to email me gets it

Second just wanted to remind everyone that this weekend is the big BCB Fantasy Draft weekend. Here's the leagues and times:

~~BCB Fantasy Baseball II - Sunday, March 29, Noon ET~~

BCB Fantasy Baseball III - Sunday, March 29, 10 p.m. ET

BCB Fantasy Baseball IV - Monday, March 30, 10 p.m. ET

If you signed up, please, show up. Thanks! Again, one more owner is needed!

Cubs really bad at 1st round picks

DTJchris — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:51:09 -0000

There's this article by Jim Callis of Baseball America that I read today (thanks to MLBtraderumors) about the success rate of first round picks, or more accurately, drafting players which go on to significant careers. In his estimation, 42 percent of all first round draft picks since 1965 have gone on to "significant" careers. Callis categorizes significant careers as this:

In terms of significant careers (1,000 at-bats, 300 innings or 100 pitching appearances), 42.1 percent of the first-rounders from 1965-2004 have achieved that distinction. Another 15-30 players from those drafts, such as Josh Hamilton, should reach those milestones, which will move the percentage closer to 44 percent.

Which got me thinking about 1st round draft picks by the Cubs and their success rate. What I found is that the Cubs completely fail when drafting in the first round. Of the 44 first round picks the Cubs have had since 1965, only 10 players (22 percent) have gone on to "significant" careers. Here's the list:

Roger Metzger (1969)

Scott Thompson (1974)

Joe Carter (1981)

Shawon Dunston (1982)

Rafael Palmeiro (1985)

Doug Glanville (1991)

Kerry Wood (1995)

Jon Garland (1997)

Corey Patterson (1998)

Mark Prior (2001)

As you can see, this isn't the most distiguished list of players to ever take the field. And I would say half those players, Joe Carter, Shawon Dunston, Rafael Palmeiro, Doug Glanville, and Kerry Wood, went on to what would be considered "good" careers. I am not sure in Callis' estimation what percentage of players go on to good careers.

Another thing I found funny in this article, in a sad sort of way, was this:

The best draft for producing first-round big leaguers was 1990, which went 22-for-26... The 1993 first round did the best job of producing significant big leaguers, going 17-for-28.

In 1990, the Cubs drafted Lance Dickson. In 1993, the Cubs had two first round draft picks, they drafted Brooks Kieschnick and Jon Ratliff.

Anyway, just wanted to share this tale of woe with my fellow BCB'ers.

EDIT: I didn't include Derrick May on the list, which I should have, so it is closer to 27 or 28 percent probably.

A nice article on Heilman

DTJchris — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:35:01 -0000