Snobs vs. Slobs

Last year, Ross and I did a post on every division in baseball, doing relatively in-depth analysis on every single team. This year we decided to bag that in favor of a more informal model, because, frankly, trying to predict standings over the course of a 162 game Major League Baseball season is a nearly impossible task, best left to smart people with spreadsheets like our friends over at Baseball Prospectus. So in the spirit of making this a fun, informal thing, we invite everyone to post their own predictions in the comments section. Whoever posts the most accurate predictions will get a neat prize!*

*-Neat prize may include a cookie and/or bragging rights. Or maybe something cooler. But probably not.

So kick back, relax, and enjoy, as R.J. delivers his Fun Facts™ and Taft delivers his One Paragraph Analysis™. (more…)

As expected, the Cubs optioned Mark Prior to AAA, because he’s still throwing in the 80’s. Prior’s unhappy about it, but major league clubs don’t tend to weigh the opinions of guys with blown-out shoulders very heavily. With Prior demoted and the final roster spot battle finally decided, the Cubs have set their opening day roster. Much like Ross did, I’m posting the opening day 25-man roster. (more…)

And since I can’t find a real, easy-to-read list of the roster, I’ll sort it out here for our wonderful readers. I’ll have my projected lineup in the list, though that is mostly widely speculative. (more…)

With the announcement last week that the Sox will likely start the worst position player in the majors in center, Brian Anderson’s job has been in jeopardy. As with Knuckles, Brian Anderson is a guy who is at a crossroads in his career. He’s old enough (25) where he isn’t a prospect anymore and he has to play in the bigs to continue his development. (more…)

Despite throwing four scoreless innings last week, the Sox have announced most of the 2007 opening day pitching staff and our hero is not going to be part of it. (more…)

With just 11 days left until opening day, the 25-man roster is shaping up:

• In what is becoming a spring ritual as common as watching a kid wearing number 87 botch a fly ball, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood are behind schedule due to injuries, and will not open the season with the big league club. Wood has been held back by a strained right triceps muscle, while Prior is still throwing in the mid-80’s. Wood’s velocity has been okay, so it’s probably only a matter of time until he returns to the big league club. But with Prior’s velocity so low, I wonder if we’ve seen the last of him pitching in the major leagues. It’s a good thing that the management team who ruined what was supposed to be the cornerstone of a successful Cubs franchise was held accountable for letting Prior’s and Wood’s shoulders turn into sawdust. Oh, wait. (more…)

Our polls are malfunctioning. I can’t figure out the fix on them just yet. Please bear with us.

Everything should be working correctly. Let us know if something isn’t working.

We’re going through a software upgrade, so our polls are currently down and you may have some connectivity issues. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The Trib’s sports site has a poll on its Sox page for who the fifth stater should be. Knuckles is currently in second with 29ish percent. Go vote.