By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes
The only fans sadder than the ones in Baltimore today are the ones on the South Side, because Cubs. Plus: Blackhawks Deal Tops Cubs Deal; Follow The Bouncing Bulls; Mocking The Bears; and Up The Toffees!
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SHOW NOTES
* Brad Richards.
(He’s a Red Wing now.)
:59: Cubundant™.
* Pour one out for Chris Coghlan.
* Theo in a gorilla suit.
* FanGraphs: “Fowler’s defensive numbers have been pretty bad over the last few seasons, but his UZR figure was close to average in his only year with the Chicago Cubs. Determining change in skill from small sample size can be difficult, but it does not seem likely Fowler greatly improved his defense last season.”
* Fox Sports: Dexter Fowler’s Fiasco With The Orioles Raises A Lot Of Questions.
* Wrigley McDonald’s Closing March 1, Getting Razed To Make Way For Hotel.
* The Robin Ventura Heart Monitor Meter.
* Texts from Marty “Cub Factor” Gangler: “Radio and Twitter kind of way too excited about the Fowler deal. He was a 2.2 WAR guy last season (and most of his career) and Coghlan was a 1.9 WAR guy last season. Not much of a change overall from this morning . . . Cogs had more versatility. But I like th emoe for depth. The have a legit starting OF if any of the other three goes down. And help in center, which was the issue . . . Heyward was a fill-in CF; these guys are smart.”
* Aaron Brooks.
* John Hickey, Bay Area News Group:
The A’s already had what seemed to be a full outfield before adding Coghlan, who played 99 games in left field and 21 in right for the Cubs last year, contributing 25 doubles, 16 homers and 41 RBIs in 440 at-bats with a slash line of .250/.341/.443.
The A’s have returning starters Billy Burns in center and Josh Reddick in right and a new left fielder in Khris Davis. In addition, Mark Canha, who was a candidate to play left before the Davis trade, is coming off a strong rookie season, and Coco Crisp is healthy after elbow, wrist and neck injuries a year ago. He’ll be attempting to claim a starting job in left or center.
Coghlan is versatile. He made 15 appearances at second base and three at third last season. But the A’s infield appears set – third baseman Danny Valencia, shortstop Marcus Semien, second baseman Jed Lowrie, first baseman Yonder Alonso – and backups Eric Sogard and Tyler Ladendorf.
There’s always the designated hitter spot. Davis, who doesn’t have a strong throwing arm, could move there, opening up playing time for Crisp or Coghlan. But the A’s have a DH, too, in Billy Butler, intent on coming back from an unproductive first season in Oakland.
Thursday’s deal could suggest another trade in the offing.
* Cubs also sign Shane Victorino.
* Matt “Mittens” Murton.
* To Jim’s point:
Writing up Soler. He basically said he was more focused in the playoffs hence more success but def implied he wasnt so much in reg season
— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) February 26, 2016
* The Jason Hammel Makeover.
* Bernstein: 2 Missed Chances For The White Sox On Dexter Fowler?
41:14: Blackhawks Deal Tops Cubs Deal.
* Jets Ship Andrew Ladd Back To Blackhawks.
* Stan Bowman vs. Theo Epstein!
* Winnipeg Free Press Pre-Trade: The Pros And Cons Of Trading Andrew Ladd.
* Where’s Winnipeg?
* Post-Podcast Move: Scuderi Dealt To Kings For Ehrhoff.
Stan Bowman right now #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/D4H5np7sG2
— Puckin Hostile (@PuckinHostile) February 26, 2016
No salary cap can withstand this much Stan Bowman. #Blackhawks
— Dan Cohen (@DanCohenWREX) February 26, 2016
50:36: Follow The Bouncing Bulls.
* Dougie McBuckets; Derrick McFuckits.
56:10: Mocking The Bears.
* They feel the need for need.
58:51: Up The Toffees!
* Russian Set For Everton Takeover.
* BBC: FIFA Presidential Election: Gianni Infantino Succeeds Sepp Blatter.
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For archives and other Beachwood shows, see The Beachwood Radio Network.
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Comments welcome.
Posted on February 26, 2016