Moving Day

Welp, it's been real.

But it will stay real at my new blog.  I'm incredibly excited to join the Chicago Now blog network, and the blog there will be called the Chicago Sideline Report.

I'll keep doing the same things there that I do here, just at a new place, and hopefully a little more accessible.

Thanks for reading!

Bryan LaHair an All Star?

He’s an April All-Star, according to David Schoenfield of ESPN.com.  LaHair has been one of the very few offensive bright spots for the Cubs in the early going.  Here’s his slash line (Batting Average/On-Base/Slugging): .390/.470/.780.  He’s hit five home runs for a team that has nine overall, and he’s driven in 14 runs.  He’s got 13 extra base hits, and his BABIP (Sabermetrics for batting average on balls in play) is a pretty damn good .600.   

Bryan LaHair has hit some big homers for the Cubs

The only problem with LaHair is that he struggles with any pitch that’s not straight.  He’s hitting .344 when he gets fastballs but just .167 and .111 against curveballs and sliders, respectively. 

Can he keep this torrid pace up?  Most likely not, but he’s been a lot of fun to watch.  He’s 29, and tonight will be just his 86^th Major League game.  Once pitchers figure out what to throw to him, he’ll come back to earth.  But maybe, just maybe, he can be that left-handed corner infield power bat the Cubs have been looking for.

I also found it interesting that Schoenfield intimated that LaHair might be a trade candidate come July 31^st (or before then).  I guess I hadn’t thought about LaHair being traded, mainly because we weren’t sure what we would get from him.  But if he keeps hitting well, and proves that he can make adjustments the second time around the league, he will carry some good value. 

And we thought he’d just be a bridge to the Anthony Rizzo era.