ESPN pulls a depth chart from the nether regions and we’re all dumber for it. AKA, the curious case of Aaron Heilman.



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Join Cait Murphy & the CubbieDude on a journey back to the beginning of time with a look at “Crazy ‘08 – How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History”



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The performance of Randy Wells this year will go a long way toward telling us how successful the Cubs will be. He wasn’t even on the radar a year ago at this time, but wound up winning 12 games, finishing 10th in the NL in ERA (sixth in ERA+), and sixth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Many of you are worried that he’ll regress. Last year, I compared Wells several times to Kevin Tapani, a pitcher with a similar style who also took several years to make the major leagues, and like Wells, had his first full major league season at age 26.

In that 1990 season, Tapani wasn’t even quite as good as Wells last year, although he was 12-8. His 4.07 ERA was a run higher than Wells’, and even in the higher-offense American League, his ERA+ was only 103. Like Wells, Tapani had excellent control (only 29 walks in 159.1 innings), and he finished fifth in the 1990 AL ROY balloting.

What happened the following year? Tapani won 16 games, dropped his ERA more than a full run (2.99), and finished fifth in AL Cy Young voting.

Oh, and his team, the Twins, won the World Series. We’d take that.

Post your projections for Randy Wells’ 2010 season after the jump. (The form says Ryan Dempster, but the projections will go into the Randy Wells portion of the spreadsheet.)

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training camps this week, it’s time for one of our favorite things in all the world: Season Previews. Three years ago, they began as a semi-serious analysis and ended up as half-assed haiku. We’re just gonna go with what we know. Continuing on with our preview of the American League East, here’s Lizzy with the Bawston Red Sawx.

Pitching and defense
is wonderman Theo’s plan
for the Crimson Sox

Beckett and Lackey
Great Balls of arrogant fire
Varitek is old

Papelbon, shut up
Nothing good comes out of that
vile face pie hole

Youk is nightmare fuel
on high def television
Birds live in his beard

Adrian Beltre
likes to let his man parts free
Tuck your nuts in, please

Throwdown in the East
Yanks, Sox, Rays (YOU WISH TAMPA
GO SAWX IN ’10

-Lizzy

Finally. Johnny Damon is no longer hanging in the free agent balance.

The outfielder has agreed to a one-year, $8 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, complete with a shiny no-trade clause. Damon, who hit .286 with 24 homers last season for the New York Yankees, will likely bat in the leadoff spot this year.

Let’s shut the hell up about him now.

[MLB] | [NESN] | [Bless You Boys]

The trip around the system continues on this first day of spring training with a look at the most promising position in the system, Shortstop.



To read the rest of the post, be sure to visit us at www.viewfromthebleachers.com

The eighth and final player entered arbitration Friday and the panel of arbitrators wasted no time declaring their decision right away on Saturday.

With the Chicago Cubs beating Ryan Theriot, he’ll earn $2.6 million this season rather than the $3.4 million he requested. The shortstop, who made just $500,000 last season, batted .284 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs and 21 steals in 30 tries.

I like the way Theriot handled this. It reminds me of that old trick from high school: You need $10 for gas (okay, gas was a lot cheaper when I was in high school) so you ask Dad for $20. Instead of parting with a twenty, he tells you to get a god damn job and hands you a $10 bill instead. Dad thinks he’s taught you a lesson, and you have the $10 you needed.

At least, I think that’s what Theriot was trying to…

Continue reading and comment on this story at SportsUntapped.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum received the biggest pay increase in salary arbitration as raises for players dropped back to their usual level after a sharp spike in 2009.

Via tweet from Gordon Wittenmyer of the Sun-Times:

Cubs win arb case vs. Theriot. He’ll make 2.6 mil

Perhaps this will leave enough money for the Cubs to sign Chan Ho Park for the bullpen.

Link to Bruce Miles’ blog. He’ll probably update it later after Jim Hendry meets with reporters.