After signing a four-year, $52 million contract with the Cubs last offseason Edwin Jackson struggled last season and has now been a mess this year, giving him a combined 14-32 record and 5.47 ERA in 57 starts for Chicago.

That includes leading the league in losses both seasons and leading the league in runs allowed this year. And since getting his ERA under 5.00 in early July he’s gone 1-6 with an 8.52 ERA in nine starts, which is why the Cubs may be thinking about demoting Jackson to the bullpen.

And for his part Jackson handled questions about that possibility pretty well, telling Patrick Mooney of CSNChicago.com:

If it happens, it happens. I haven’t really gone out and made an easy decision for the organization or for the team. It’s one of those things where you just have to kind of take it in stride. Not going deep into games as a starter isn’t beneficial for the team, especially when you get paid to go deep into games. You have to deal with it as it comes. If it happens, it’s not the end of the world. You just have to continue to bust your butt and gain back what you feel you can do.
Jackson failed to make it out of the third inning Wednesday, coughing up seven runs as his ERA ballooned above 6.00, and afterward manager Rick Renteria said of his status: “We’re going to assess and evaluate and see where we go.”


He now follows Ubaldo Jimenez as pitchers who turned a short time of good pitching into a big time contract, and in becoming the most expensive bullpen arm their respective teams have ever had.

No bueno in the bang for the buck dept.

Thank goodness for day baseball. 3 early games just underway now.

Giants cubs finish their game today..LOL

i dont think ive ever seen a successful appeal before that one

Yes I am.  That said, the worry is not great with either long term.  I just hope they both can get over their current ails, with Greinke already slated to pitch on 8/23.  As long as he comes out with no new or worse pain, then great.  With Ryu, it is the same thing, with his next start still being aprox a week away.

If these had come up a month from now, then I would have been REALLY worried.

Baseball barnstoming in Japan again in the offseason.

For several years the MLB and the MLBPA has promoted an All-Star Series in which MLB players tour Japan in November. It has taken on various forms and is a modern day version of old barnstorming series in Japan that have gone on for over a century. Today they announced this year’s version, along with some of the big names taking part:

Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association jointly announced today that MLB All-Stars Robinson Cano of the Seattle Mariners, Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles, Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will be among the group of accomplished Major Leaguers who will travel to Japan this November to play a five-game series against “Samurai Japan” (Japan’s National Team) in “All-Star Series 2014.” The MLB All-Stars will be led by Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington, who led the Rangers to back-to-back American League pennants in 2010 and 2011.
There will be three official games, played in Osaka’s Kyocera Dome, Tokyo’s Tokyo Dome and Sapporo’s Sapporo Dome. There will also be two exhibition games, with one in Osaka’s Koshien Stadium and the other in Okinawa’s Okinawa Cellular Stadium.

WAR!!!!!

What is it good for?

WAR is dumb because it says Alex Gordon is the best player in baseball.

Head on over to FanGraphs and click on the hitter leaderboard, and you'll see that Royals outfielder Alex Gordon leads all position players with 5.7 WAR right now. Mike Trout is right behind him at 5.6 WAR and Giancarlo Stanton is a bit further back at 5.2 WAR. Robinson Cano and Ben Zobrist are the only other players at 5+ WAR.

There was quite the kerfuffle earlier this week over the validity of WAR given Gordon's place atop the leaderboard. He just doesn't feel like the best player in baseball, as WAR claims. After all, he is hitting .284/.360/.450 while Trout is hitting .288/.374/.556, and those two batting lines aren't close at all. Trout has been far better at the plate. The difference lies in the defensive stats, which absolutely love Gordon but rate Trout as below-average.

This is the biggest problem with WAR, the lack of reliable defensive stats. We have good metrics these days but none is perfect and in the end, they're all estimators. Gordon is an excellent defensive player, you can see that just watching him play, though the primary reason defensive stats love him so much -- his +17.0 runs saved are the third most in baseball behind Jason Heyward (+19.4) and Dustin Pedroia (+17.0) -- is that he is an excellent defensive player in left field.

Defensive stats measure how many runs a player saves (or costs) relative to the average defensive player at his position, and the average left fielder stinks. It is traditionally where teams stick a terrible defender player just to get his bat in the lineup. By virtue of being an excellent defender at a position filled by terrible defenders, Gordon's defensive numbers are inflated by WAR, hence his spot atop the leaderboard.

The idea of WAR, combining everything a player does on the field into one easy to use number, is excellent and will continue to be refined in the future. The lack of a reliable defensive component is its biggest flaw right now and it leads to things like Gordon being ranked as the best player in baseball. This one data point doesn't invalidate WAR. It just shows there is still work to be done and that it should not be taken as definitive, something no reasonable stathead would do anyway

Fewer fans are going to Cubs games. Here is one mans take on the why.

On a Wednesday night in late July, the Chicago Cubs played the San Diego Padres at Wrigley Field in front of an announced crowd of 30,718. Er, make that in front of 30,718 sold seats. The number of people in those seats was considerably smaller—about 19,000 by one published estimate.

The evening was unusually chilly for midsummer, and the Cubs and Padres were (and are) both well out of the playoff race, but the lagging attendance fits a pattern for the Cubs of late—one that stands in contrast to the surging crowds of the previous three decades, when the team was often equally bad and the weather similarly unpredictable. Since 2009, ticket sales are down almost 6,500 a game. Where have all the Cub fans gone?

The answer may be that they've in effect awakened from a beer-soaked party.

The Cubs' former owner, Tribune Company, recognized the game it was in—entertainment—and relentlessly promoted the pleasures of visiting Wrigley. The new owner, the Ricketts family, has returned focus to the quaint notion that you play baseball to win. That has created a counterintuitive dynamic for the Cubs, who last won the World Series 106 years ago, the longest futility streak in major American sports: Now that the franchise is getting serious about winning, the stadium is emptier.

"The Ricketts didn't buy the party—they bought the hangover," said Julian Green, a spokesman for the ball club.

Teams almost always draw in line with their success—attendance goes up in good years, down in bad. This was true of the Cubs too during the 1950s, '60s and '70s, when they rarely contended. A midweek game might draw only a few thousand fans. Management often closed off the upper deck entirely.

Then in 1981, Tribune bought the Cubs for $20.5 million. For the next 28 years, the team spurted and sputtered, yet attendance surged. It went from an average of 15,423 a game in 1982, the first full year of Trib ownership, to a high of 40,743 in 2008, the year before it sold the team

The success of Tribune (which owned Chicago magazine, where I was editor until 2011) reflected a series of smart marketing moves. Among them: The company turned Cubs games into programming fodder for superstation WGN, which introduced the team to a vast national audience. Tribune hired as announcer Harry Caray, a graceless blowhard who nonetheless aroused an enormous fan following. Under savvy marketing chief John McDonough, the club celebrated the glories of lovely but age-worn Wrigley and cycled through a variety of promotions designed to put people in the seats (Beanie Baby days!).

To declare yourself a Cubs fan was to place yourself in a vibrant community—people with the heart to embrace a loser. In the current language of marketing, the Chicago Cubs became a brand with soul, an entity that represented a portfolio of sympathetic qualities, including loyalty, perseverance, humility and tradition.

Businesses love brands with soul, and the lovable-loser Cubs showed why. Attendance climbed even as ticket prices skyrocketed. In 1984, a good box seat at Wrigley cost $8—about $18 in 2014 dollars. This year, the Cubs charge as much as $116 for the same seat at a game against a top team. Team Marketing Report, which tracks major-league ticket prices, says the Cubs this year average $44.16 per ticket, the third-highest rate in the majors, behind only the Red Sox and Yankees.

In 2008, Tribune fell into bankruptcy and in October 2009 sold 95% of the team to the Ricketts family for $845 million. Before completing the deal, Tom Ricketts told his father, Joe, the founder of TD Ameritrade, "They sell every ticket, every game, win or lose." Not anymore.

Over the first four years of Ricketts ownership, attendance sank 13.7%. It is flat so far this year versus 2013, but the figures don't include the legions of no-shows. "I have plenty of friends with tickets who can't get rid of them," said Jon Greenberg, executive editor of Team Marketing Report.

The Ricketts scored a coup by hiring as team president Theo Epstein, who in 2004 led the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series title in 86 years. The new Cubs management has continued to promote the glories of Wrigley, particularly this year, the stadium's 100th anniversary. But Epstein and the brainy cohort he has hired to help run the team have aggressively set out to build a winner by investing in the minor-league system and unabashedly letting the major-league team sink.

For three years running, the Cubs have traded several of their best players for prospects in midseason. The 2012 team was the fourth-worst (.377) in Cubs history, which is saying something. Tribune fielded some terrible teams but, with an eye toward attendance and TV ratings, rarely let the payroll fall below the middle of the pack. Though the Ricketts family has spent significantly on training facilities and in building the organization, the team's major-league payroll is dropping fast: At $89 million, the 2014 club came in 23rd out of 30 teams on opening day.

The Cubs talk regularly about patience—channeling funds toward some golden future, still years away. But every story about the future is a reminder that the current team woefully lacks talent. "By refocusing on winning, the Cubs are becoming just like every other team," said Al Yellon, who tracks the Cubs for the blog Bleed Cubbie Blue. "Draw when they win, not when they lose."

With the drop in attendance, it's fair to wonder whether even brands with soul have a lifespan—one that may be price-sensitive.

The people who run the Cubs recognize the risk. "The fans are certainly expecting more, but that's only because the Cubs organization is expecting more of itself," said the spokesman Green. "The requirement now is to win, not to hope."

The Cubs' new owners are placing their big bet on the team itself. On winning. It's a brave, honorable strategy. But they are betting on the Cubs.

Allen Craig is off the disabled list and back in the Red Sox’s lineup tonight as the starting designated hitter after missing three weeks with a foot injury.

Acquired from the Cardinals on July 31 as part of the John Lackey trade, Craig tweaked his troublesome foot in his first game for the Red Sox. He hasn’t been the same since suffering a Lisfranc fracture to his left foot late last season, but his recent injury is said to be unrelated.

Craig played two games at Triple-A on a minor-league rehab assignment, collecting a single in five at-bats. He hit a combined .312 with an .863 OPS in 328 games for the Cardinals from 2011 to 2013, but Craig’s production has plummeted to a .237 batting average and .639 OPS in 98 total games this season.

Angels right-hander Garrett Richards has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and will undergo surgery that will come with a recovery time of six to nine months, the Angels announced (Twitter links). Given the length of the recovery period, it’s possible that the Halos’ breakout star could miss the beginning of the 2015 season as well.

MERCY!!!!

the Angels have acquired second baseman/third baseman Gordon Beckham from the White Sox for a player to be named later.

Beckham had a very promising rookie season as a 22-year-old in 2009, but the former first-round draft pick has hit just .240 with a .658 OPS in 636 games since then while never topping a .700 OPS in a season.

He’ll presumably fill a part-time role with the Angels, who have Howie Kendrick at second base and David Freese at third base.

Chicago was likely to non-tender Beckham this offseason anyway, so they’ll say goodbye early and perhaps clear a lineup spot for prospect Marcus Semien.

Still no Giants / Cubs make up game yet, at least not that I can see. Which means it is either going to be a very long night in Chicago, or, a whole lot of nothing and wasted time.

FINALLY.  Still probably going to be a very long night.  And, that is with there being no more rain, which is far from certain.

It only took a moment, but I quickly found what this guys specialty is.  Giving up homers.  Today is his 2nd sport start I see.  In his last one, he lasted only 2 2/3 i.p, giving up 7 hits, 5 earned runs, and giving up 3 homers. 

2 innings pitched today, and only 1 hit allowed.

An Andrelton Simmons homer......

While many outside the Phillies organization have been quick to criticize general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., team president David Montgomery is still voicing public support for his GM. Via Todd Zolecki, Erin Bacharach and Greg Johns of MLB.com, Montgomery addressed a large group of fans in a Q&A session on Tuesday and plainly stated, “Ruben is not on the hot seat.”

The Phillies currently sit in last place with a 55-71 record and are on the verge of missing the playoffs for a third straight season. Since winning the NL East and posting a 102-win season in 2011, they’ve been on a sharp decline. Philadelphia finished 81-81 in 2012 (third place), 73-89 in 2013 (fourth place) and are now on pace for a last-place finish and just 70 wins this year.

Philadelphia’s decline, aging roster and thin farm system (at the upper levels) have all fueled criticism for Amaro. Moves such as Ryan Howard‘s extension (five years, $125MM); the re-signing of aging veterans Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz; the free-agent signing of Jonathan Papelbon to a four-year deal with a vesting option; and the decision not to trade veterans in order to start a rebuild have not sat well with many Phillies fans.

In an appearance on ESPN Radio 97.5 with Mike Missanelli, ESPN’s Jayson Stark stated that he’s not so sure there won’t be changes to the Phillies’ front office following the season (via Philly.com’s Peter Mucha). “They are certainly going to make changes in the organization,” Stark said. “There’s a lot of rumors swirling about all sorts of stuff below Ruben.”

Stark also notes that ownership outside of Montgomery may not be as confident in Amaro. Additionally, Stark points to Montgomery’s firing of former GM Ed Wade back in 2005 — a move that was heavily influenced by the public opinion.