The Ivy Covered Burial Ground: Thumps Up for Chatwood Signing

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Thumps Up for Chatwood Signing

Earlier this autumn, I noted that Tyler Chatwood might be the sleeper in the free agent starters market. I think signing him was a smart move. People have already noted the strong numbers he has achieved away from Coors Field, something like a three run ERA differential. Chatwood is 27 which means he is on the cusp of his prime years. He is, by all reports, the hardest thrower among the free agent starters, gets a lot of ground balls, and has crisp breaking stuff. I really like this acquisition. Dare I suggest he has a high upside comparable to Arrieta's when he was acquired from Baltimore.

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A Manifesto of Sorts

Somehow I have been conditioned to be a Cubs fan. I grew up with the profound conviction that it was nearly impossible or at least a feat of some exceptional athletic prowess to throw a baseball accurately from third base or the hole at shortstop to first base. This odd belief was fostered no doubt by the great fuss Jack Brickhouse made when a Cub infielder actually succeeded in doing so and from the observation of Handsome Ransom Jackson and Roy Smalley, Cubs stalwarts of the era, who rarely succeeded in that endeavor. It was only when I began playing the game in earnest in sandlots and little league that I came to realize it was really not all that hard to do.

Another legacy of my youth was the observation fostered by my father, a lifelong fan, that every Cubs executive who followed William Veeck, Sr., Bill Veeck's father, was an utter nitwit, as were most of the managers they hired. In this opinion, he was not far from the truth, and I cherish it as one of the few useful bits of knowledge he passed on to me.

Anyway, like all fans, I can dream. And, I suppose, rant.

By the way, I owe the title of this blog a line in the Steve Goodman song, "Dying Cubs Fan's Last Request."