When it comes to analyzing and comparing pitchers, those conducting the comparisons will often find themselves in a tricky situation. Sure, certain pitchers are better than others, but what are they specifically better at? How can we conduct an honest analysis when there are so many variables to consider? And how can we truly determine which pitchers were better than others when some are on terrible teams with no run support and others are on tremendous teams with tons of run support? The first  read more »

It’s been a while, but we have some fantasy deals to take a look at, all courtesy of acewpk , who has apparently been very active trading in his fantasy league. And we love that!  read more »

Between Mark Teixeira, David Ortiz, C.C. Sabathia, Miguel Cabrera, Jose Reyes and other underperforming fantasy superstars, who is liable to continue to stink throughout the course of the season and why? Eric Stashin, rotoprofessor.com The player I'd think is most likely to struggle the entire season would be Roy Oswalt. While he may not be in the class of players listed above, he was probably drafted as a #1 fantasy pitcher in all formats. Players like Reyes & Cabrera have already started to turn their seasons around. Ortiz is still struggling, but he's just too good to struggle the entire way. Teixeira started slowly last season as well, so it's not a complete surprise that he hasn't really gotten going yet. It's just a matter of time. Sabathia has been pathetic and shown no signs of turning around, but I have to believe that he will. Coming off a Cy Young season, there's no way he lost it all at once like this. Oswalt, meanwhile, had thrown up three stinkers before finally looking good the other night. He went 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4 against the Phillies. It's promising, yes, but given his past few seasons, you wonder if it is just the exception instead of a return to the norm. Since 2004, his strikeouts have gone from 206 to 184 to 166 to 154, a trend that cannot make owners happy. After winning 20 games in both '04 & '05, he won just 15 in '06 and 14 in '07. His WHIP and BB/9 were both career worst at 1.33 and 2.55, respectively, in 2007. Could he turn things around and put up solid numbers the rest of the way?  read more »

BY ADAM RONIS So this is why Prince Fielder became a vegetarian? To steal bases. He stole third base, his first of the season. Oh yeah, he hit his ninth homer, too and went 3-for-4. Like I said, his power will come. Power hitters tend to hit them in bunches, so he could be set to take off after homering for the third time in four games. Anyone able to acquire him recently?  read more »

Due to a series of unforeseeable circumstances, we are going to break from our Two on Two format and simply go around the room with three of us. Al from Bleed Cubbie Blue has joined Marc Hulet and me. You can find the previous Two on Two's below: AL Central AL West NL West Sully: Well guys, what do we think about the NL Central in 2008. Just like the American League Central, which pits Cleveland and Detroit as the only two teams one can really see winning it, in the NL Central we have Chicago and Milwaukee. I don't see Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Houston or even the consistently competitive St. Louis Cardinals mustering much of a threat to the Cubbies or the Brew Crew. Al: This is the first time in a while that the Cubs go into the season as, legitimately, the favorite to win their division.  read more »

Wednesday, 9:45AM: According to Gordon Wittenmyer, the Cubs adamantly denied that Zambrano would be shopped if the Cubs acquired Peavy in a trade.

Tuesday, 3:19PM: According to John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus, there is a "crazy" rumor floating around that the Cubs would entertain offers for Carlos Zambrano is they acquire Jake Peavy in a trade.  read more »

The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers will kick off the NLDS on Wednesday evening at Wrigley Field. The Cubs won 5 of the 7 regular season games against the Dodgers, but the team that will take the field at Wrigley this week is a lot different from the one the Cubs faced in late May and early June....the additions of Manny Ramirez and Casey Blake helped turn around the Dodgers' season.

The wild card in the series could end up being Rich Harden. A majority of the Dodgers roster has not seen him before while the Cubs have faced all four possible starters twice this season with varying degrees of success. Gary Hughes has been scouting the Dodgers for the last two weeks and his reports should help the Cubs adjust to a very different Dodgers' team.  read more »

Derrek Lee already has as many homers in the first month of this season as he did in the entire first half a year ago. Lee's early surge continued Wednesday night as he and Carlos Zambrano carried the Cubs to a 12-3 victory over slumping Cincinnati -- the Reds' fifth straight loss under former Chicago manager Dusty Baker.  read more »

The Chicago Cubs activated pitcher Carlos Zambrano from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-handed pitcher left his start on June 18 against Tampa Bay because of pain in his right shoulder. Tests showed a minor strain. Zambrano took the loss in that game, allowing five runs — four earned — in 6 2-3 innings.

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The Chicago Cubs activated pitcher Carlos Zambrano from the 15-day disabled list in time to start Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-handed pitcher left his start on June 18 against Tampa Bay because of pain in his right shoulder. Tests showed a minor strain. Zambrano took the loss in that game, allowing five runs -- four earned -- in 6 2-3 innings.