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The Beachwood Radio Sport Hour #98: Disco Cubs Embrace The Target

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Ready to party on the Lido Deck. Plus: Same Old Sox!; Shhh! The Blackhawks Are In The Playoffs!; Chicago BullsShit; Big Trade In Draft Town: Chicago Racing Loses A Gem; and The Everton Minute.


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SHOW NOTES
* Bryan Robinson.
:48: Same Old Sox!
* Opening Day.
* Chance The White Sox Rapper.
4:23: Disco Cubs Embrace The Target.


* Kris Bryant ranked 8th in fielding percentage among qualified NL third basemen last season. (Todd Frazier ranked 7th.)
* Anthony Rizzo ranked 7th in fielding percentage among qualified NL first basemen last season.
* Dexter Fowler ranked 8th in fielding percentage among qualified NL centerfielders last season.
* Editor’s Note: With Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario, the Twins really didn’t have room for Fowler – especially on a multi-year deal in a corner outfield spot, which is where he’d have to play because Buxton is said to already have a golder glove than Kirby Puckett and Torii Hunter. Also, the only team that seemed to seriously approach Fowler was the Orioles; teams didn’t think Fowler – especially at the multi-year contract he was demanding at age 30, having just had a terrific second half of a season but a terrible first – was worth the compensatory draft pick they would have had to give up.
* From Wikipedia:
“Szczur played wide receiver, running back, wildcat QB and was a return specialist on special teams for the Villanova Wildcats football team. He gained 270 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns in a winning effort in the 2009 Division I FCS National Championship Game helping Villanova capture their first NCAA Football Championship. He was named MVP of that Championship Game. Also was a consensus All-American and 2009 CAA Offensive Player of the Year.”
Oh, and:
“Matt also played centerfield for the Villanova Baseball Program.”
* Batting the pitcher 8th:
“Maddon got ‘some really good feedback’ from the team’s nerds,” Chicago Cubs Online reported during spring training, “and he will likely start Addison Russell out hitting towards the bottom of the lineup in the seventh or eighth spot.

“He’s probably towards the bottom of course. I’m probably leaning at this point towards having the pitcher hit ninth.I thought last year, Addison a big part of his development would be that he would be protected and that’s where I wanted him nine and afforded the pitcher to the eighth slot,” Maddon said. “I think he made a lot of progress from last year to this year. I think he’s better able to stand on his own feet right now. So, more than likely a seven or an eight spot would be the slots I’m looking at right now.”

Reports Inside The ‘Zona: “[T]he distinctions are very, very small – frequently found to be a matter of a few runs per year.”
* Addison Russell, Pimp.
* Coffman, July 2014: Wrong on Russell, wrong on Schwarber.
* The Hammel Beard.
* Fangraphs: This Cubs Lineup Might Be The Most Disciplined Ever.
* Kyle Farnsworth’s pants.
* Why The Average Fan My Never Hear About The Next Wave Of Baseball Stats. (Editor’s Note: While this article says the gap between public data and propietary data remains small, a former public sabermetrician who went on to work for a major league team has written that the proprietary data is humbling and caused him to regret the certainty of his previous analyses; I can’t find it right now, though.)
* The Rise of the Cut Fastball.
29:50: Shhhh! The Blackhawks Are In The Playoffs!
* The Glow Puck.
In action:

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44:23: Chicago BullsShit.


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55:52: How Will The Big NFL Trade Affect Draft Town?
* The Johnny Manziel Death Watch.
1:04:35: TrackNotes: Chicago Racing Loses A Gem.
* Press release/obit.
1:09:59: The Everton Minute: Good managers will get Everton out of current league apathy, so it’s for Martinez to prove that.
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STOPPAGE: 10:08
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For archives and other shows, see The Beachwood Radio Network.
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Comments welcome.

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Posted on April 15, 2016