After four years with our wireless router, I decided it was time to upgrade to a beefier, newer one. I didn’t really have a particular reason, other than maybe a small dead spot or two in our house. So I went with the Apple Airport Extreme – slightly discounted price on Amazon (use Amazon! support BN! use this link when you use Amazon! hooray!) – and I set it up yesterday afternoon. It worked fine for about an hour before everything on our network slowed to a crawl. Then it died completely.
Around that time, my phone dinged with an email, and I thought, “Well, yeah, it just clicked back over to cell data after failing on the wifi for the last half an hour, so of course there have been emails arriving.” I almost didn’t even check the email right then because I was so frustrated about the wifi … but it was the email telling me the Cubs had just traded for Tommy La Stella, and it was from 10 minutes earlier. Crap. So I scrambled to get my cell hotspot up so I could post something. I started typing the post and … my computer died. In my frustration and haste about the wifi issue, I’d forgotten to plug in my laptop. By the time I got everything back up and posted about the trade, it had been nearly 20 minutes since it was announced. I guess it’s a little insane to feel like I was super late at that point – 20 minutes on a Sunday afternoon – but that’s the era we’re in.
The good news is that, after some tinkering that I should have done in the first place, I believe I’ve sorted out the wifi issue. It wasn’t a router problem – it appears that it was a “human error” problem. Whoops.
With Russell Martin rumors ticking up every day, it’s a good time to check back in on one of the primary reasons – presumably – that you’d be interested in Martin, even at a healthy price tag, and even as he turns 32: pitch-framing. Our understanding of, and general acceptance of, the value of pitch-framing – even if we can’t quite say for sure we buy the final figures 100% – has exploded in the last year, alone. We always knew it was an issue, but it wasn’t until a wholesale buy-in at the third party sabermetric level in the last two years that we started to see just how extreme the issue could be. Not all pitch-framing calculations are the same, though the players at the top and bottom of the lists tend to be the same, so it’s worth checking out as many framing calculations are out there, as long as you don’t take each individual source as gospel. Today, I’m looking at StatCorner’s pitch-framing totals for 2014 (h/t to this Hardball Times article for pushing me there), and you can see that Welington Castillo is at the very bottom with 183 lost calls over the course of the year. According to StatCorner’s calculations, that translates to 24.3 lost runs over the course of the year. To put that in context for you, it takes about 9 to 10 “runs” worth of player value to account for a “win” of WAR. So, even if we’re generous to Castillo, that’s more than 2.4 in negative WAR from framing, alone.
At the top of StatCorner’s list? No, it’s not Russell Martin (he’s 10th at 11.7 runs above average). It’s Miguel Montero, at 24 runs above average in framing. That means the difference, in terms of wins, between Castillo and Montero could be nearly five wins from framing. I know, I know. These numbers start to seem crazy when they’re so huge – a five-game swing in the standings last year would have made the Cubs 78-84 – but remember that we’re talking about the very best compared to the very worst. A five-game swing, then, doesn’t seem all that implausible. Castillo provides value with his defense (outside of framing) and his bat, but the framing is probably sapping that value completely. I’m all on board for keeping Castillo as an inexpensive back-up with offensive upside (and we do know that framing can improve), but, as long as umpires allow catchers to “steal” and “lose” strikes, the Cubs probably have to make a change at starter. And, from there, if they opt to move Castillo in trade, I’d understand that, too.
(I will say I’m still waiting for the definitive study that rules out or rules in the explicit impact of the pitching staff on framing, because you do seem to see some clustering of catchers on the same team (well, my eyes do, anyway). It’s a little hard to control for, because maybe it’s not the pitching staff, maybe it’s the coaching staff. Or maybe it’s specific pitcher-catcher combinations. Or maybe it’s specific pitcher-catcher-umpire combinations. Many of these things are controlled for in the catching data (for example, BP controls for pitchers and umpires), but I just want to feel like we’ve really plumbed these depths from a data perspective. As I have said many times recently: I am to the point where I totally accept that some catchers are better than others at framing, and it does have a significant impact on balls/strikes, because the same guys tend to appear at the tops and bottoms of these lists over the years, even as the pitching staff changes and even after the team changes. But, beyond that, I’m still not 100% on ruling out externalities.)
Anthony Rizzo’s annual Walk-Off for Cancer was a big success (Cubs.com).
Sam Miller takes a deep look at the expected 13-year, $325 million contract extension for Giancarlo Stanton, noting that the Marlins pretty much had to do it, and, at least in terms of valuation, it’s really not a bad deal for the team.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
Not every game is a referendum on a team. Actually, come to think of it, a single game is NEVER a referendum on a team. Anyway, point is, a whole lot of teams are going to get stomped by these...
Pablo Aliendo gave the Tennessee Smokies an early lead on Tuesday night. Matching up with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Aliendo sent a ball deep into left field during the 2nd inning. The homer gave the Smokies an early 1-0...
You know that expression, when it rains, it pours? This is like that, except instead of raining, it is pouring deluxe turds. Just an absolute monsoon of shit. Another Cubs injury issue to another key Cubs player: https://twitter.com/maddie_m_lee/status/1790522697002455532 So, Nico...
CUBS LINEUP — The Cubs were shutout in the opener against the Braves last night. And it doesn't figure to get any easier against a resurgent Chris Sale tonight. Here's how Craig Counsell will line 'em up against the 35-year-old...
I had the weirdest reaction to what is objectively bad injury news on Adbert Alzolay just now. According to Meghan Montemurro, medical imaging confirmed that Adbert Alzolay has a right flexor strain. While I should have been upset to learn...
The Chicago Cubs' President of Baseball Operations just hopped on 670 The Score On the Bernstein & Holmes Show, discussing a number of Cubs-related items. He led things off with a discussion of newly-acquired reliever, Tyson Miller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hes1lI-8ZCI So, then,...
There is nothing Shota Imanaga can't do. Going up against one of the best teams in baseball — and best overall offenses versus LHP — on the road, without his best stuff, Shota Imanaga tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in Atlanta, with...
Baseball's top two pitchers in the ERA department squared off last night and did not disappoint—that and more in today's MLB Notes. Shōta Imanaga Was Awesome (Again), But So Was Reynaldo Lopez I've watched a lot of Reynaldo López, given...
The Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates were off on Monday, so it's time to take stock of some recent hot (and not-so-hot) performers inside the Cubs Top 25 prospects down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm...
I've gotten back into baseball cards, which, among other things, sends me down a lot of Memory Lanes. You pull a particular card, you think about that player, and you have various memories. It's part of the fun. The other...
Not every game is a referendum on a team. Actually, come to think of it, a single game is NEVER a referendum on a team. Anyway, point is, a whole lot of teams are going to get stomped by these...
Pablo Aliendo gave the Tennessee Smokies an early lead on Tuesday night. Matching up with the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Aliendo sent a ball deep into left field during the 2nd inning. The homer gave the Smokies an early 1-0...
You know that expression, when it rains, it pours? This is like that, except instead of raining, it is pouring deluxe turds. Just an absolute monsoon of shit. Another Cubs injury issue to another key Cubs player: https://twitter.com/maddie_m_lee/status/1790522697002455532 So, Nico...
Caleb Williams clips, however brief, will always grab my attention. Because while I can tell myself over and over again that I will not get googly eyes over spring practice videos, the reality is that I can't wait to see...
If you are a Philadelphia Phillies fan and looking to catch their games, you can watch most of them on TV with a cable subscription or via streaming with one of the many different apps. Let’s break down the cable...
Oh hey! Blackhawks' star Connor Bedard scored his fifth goal of the World Championships for Canada on Tuesday afternoon. https://twitter.com/BN_Blackhawks/status/1790468565675483262 Bedard helped Canada sprint to a 6-1 lead... which evaporated as Austria scored five unanswered goals in the third period...
The Bronx is booming! Yankee Stadium crackles with energy as the New York Yankees chase another World Series title. Whether you're a die-hard Yankees fan bleeding pinstripes or a baseball enthusiast captivated by the American League East race, their remaining...
I had the weirdest reaction to what is objectively bad injury news on Adbert Alzolay just now. According to Meghan Montemurro, medical imaging confirmed that Adbert Alzolay has a right flexor strain. While I should have been upset to learn...
Chicago Bears offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie is reportedly signing his rookie deal. NFL reporter Aaron Wilson has details on the contract, which includes: A $1.121 million signing bonus Annual workout bonus of $50,000 per year from 2025-27 Total deal worth...
The countdown has begun for the highly anticipated PGA Championship. As the second major of the 2024 calendar, this prestigious event will grace the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, from May 16-19. This year marks the 106th edition of the championship,...
NEWSLETTER
After four years with our wireless router, I decided it was time to upgrade to a beefier, newer one. I didn’t really have a particular reason, other than maybe a small dead spot or two in our house. So I went with the Apple Airport Extreme – slightly discounted price on Amazon (use Amazon! support BN! use this link when you use Amazon! hooray!) – and I set it up yesterday afternoon. It worked fine for about an hour before everything on our network slowed to a crawl. Then it died completely.
