Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-25-2006

[Jon]

Let it be known that in 26 ABs this season against lefties, Restovich has a 1.203 OPS.

[abuck1220]

sliding catch by coats ends the inning. two ground ball singles plate another run against hill. at least he's getting some grounders for a change. he does have 5 k's thru 3.

[Outshined_One]

Scott McClain is playing 3B for Sacramento.

[E.J.]

Let it be known that in 26 ABs this season against lefties, Restovich has a 1.203 OPS.

 

And what's Jacque's OPS against lefties again? Also, why is Theriot on the big club? Gotta love how this team is run.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Let it be known that in 26 ABs this season against lefties, Restovich has a 1.203 OPS.

 

And what's Jacque's OPS against lefties again? Also, why is Theriot on the big club? Gotta love how this team is run.

 

Womack is apparently en route to relieve Theriot of his splintering.

[Laura]

Let it be known that in 26 ABs this season against lefties, Restovich has a 1.203 OPS.

 

And what's Jacque's OPS against lefties again? Also, why is Theriot on the big club? Gotta love how this team is run.

 

Womack is apparently en route to relieve Theriot of his splintering.

 

If he's so speedy, one would think he would have shown up by now.

[Jon]

Hill: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 SB, HBP, 110 pitches - 70 strikes

 

Pie is 0-2 with a K but scored twice after reaching on two walks. McGehee hit his 3rd HR of the year.

[Jon]

Pie with his 3rd walk of the night. He only saw 1 strike in those 3 PAs.

[Outshined_One]

Pie with his 3rd walk of the night. He only saw 1 strike in those 3 PAs.

 

Some one's trying to get traded! ;)

[soccer10k]

Just got back from the Iowa Cubs game tonight and here are a few thoughts:

 

-Rich Hill was horrendous. He pitched just as bad as his stat line looked. Sacramento could have scored more in the first three innings. He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

-It was nice to see Pie be patient at the plate with 3 walks although like somebody said, he only saw 1 strike on those three PA.

 

-Restovich had two hits in his first two at bats but was 0-3 in his final three including grounding out with the bases loaded in the eighth.

 

-Casey McGehee's home run was an absolute bullet to left.

 

-Iowa definately seemed to have a better hitting philosophy than Chicago does because the River Cats starter threw 113 pitches through 5 innings.

 

A couple non game related thoughts

 

-Sacramento had a trivia question of "Who was the last switch hitter to win the MVP award? One of the answers was "Mickey Mantel." They fixed it when they showed the answer.

 

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

[TXCubsFan]

Just got back from the Iowa Cubs game tonight and here are a few thoughts:

 

-Rich Hill was horrendous. He pitched just as bad as his stat line looked. Sacramento could have scored more in the first three innings. He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

-It was nice to see Pie be patient at the plate with 3 walks although like somebody said, he only saw 1 strike on those three PA.

 

-Restovich had two hits in his first two at bats but was 0-3 in his final three including grounding out with the bases loaded in the eighth.

 

-Casey McGehee's home run was an absolute bullet to left.

 

-Iowa definately seemed to have a better hitting philosophy than Chicago does because the River Cats starter threw 113 pitches through 5 innings.

 

A couple non game related thoughts

 

-Sacramento had a trivia question of "Who was the last switch hitter to win the MVP award? One of the answers was "Mickey Mantel." They fixed it when they showed the answer.

 

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

 

Soccer, thanks for the update. At least Hill wasn't walking people. Seems to be a confidence thing with him.

 

The Cubs have a number of minor leaguers with decent plate discipline. The Cubs' management do adjust to reality - they just don't want to hear "I told you so."

 

Do you think Pie merits a call up in July?

[E.J.]

Pie's average is down to .278, but you gotta love that his OBP is more than 60 points higher at .343. Still striking out too much, but he's taking more walks. His OPS is .799 at the moment.

[soccer10k]

Soccer, thanks for the update. At least Hill wasn't walking people. Seems to be a confidence thing with him.

 

The Cubs have a number of minor leaguers with decent plate discipline. The Cubs' management do adjust to reality - they just don't want to hear "I told you so."

 

Do you think Pie merits a call up in July?

 

I'm not sure if Pie merits a call up. His AAA numbers are decent but not spectacular. I think he still has some learning to do. While last night's 3 walks are a good sign, like I said, he only saw one strike total in those three at bats so he didn't really have to work the count so to speak. He also had a horrendous swing on his strikeout. I would still like to see him get the SO/BB ratio down. He didn't really show me anything that made me go "Wow" last night. I went to a couple Sacramento River Cats games at the beginning of last year when Dan Johnson was still at AAA and he looked awesome. I know they are two different types of players but Johnson hit a couple home runs and hit everything solid. It's hard to judge on Pie because really only had 2 at bats to do something so I think the jury is still out on whether he should get called up this year.

[goonys evil twin]

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

 

He's an idiot because he assumed a Cubs fan came from the midwest?

[soccer10k]

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

 

He's an idiot because he assumed a Cubs fan came from the midwest?

 

Yes. Why do I have to be from the midwest to be a Cubs fan? That's just stupidity.

[goonys evil twin]

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

 

He's an idiot because he assumed a Cubs fan came from the midwest?

 

Yes. Why do I have to be from the midwest to be a Cubs fan? That's just stupidity.

 

You don't have to be, but what is wrong with assuming you are? Whenever somebody sees me at a Cubs game or with Cubs gear they ask me if I'm from Chicago and/or if I just came out for the game.

 

If you had a conversation with him about not being from the midwest and he just refused to believe you and insisted you had to be in order to be a Cubs fan, then that's stupid. But just asking if you're from the midwest because you're a Cubs fan is not stupid.

[soccer10k]

-There was an idiot fan in front of us. There was a guy with a Cubs sweatshirt on a few rows down and the fan in front of us said to him "you must like the warm weather out here." Then later in the game the guy asks my girlfriend and me (I was wearing a Wrigley Field sweatshirt) "did you really come all the way out here from the midwest?" He was completely serious. He actually thinks all Cubs fans are from the midwest. I just laughed at him.

 

He's an idiot because he assumed a Cubs fan came from the midwest?

 

Yes. Why do I have to be from the midwest to be a Cubs fan? That's just stupidity.

 

You don't have to be, but what is wrong with assuming you are? Whenever somebody sees me at a Cubs game or with Cubs gear they ask me if I'm from Chicago and/or if I just came out for the game.

 

If you had a conversation with him about not being from the midwest and he just refused to believe you and insisted you had to be in order to be a Cubs fan, then that's stupid. But just asking if you're from the midwest because you're a Cubs fan is not stupid.

 

He assumed that I traveled out to Sacramento just for the Iowa Cubs game against Sacramento and for no other reason. I don't remember his exact words but he definately implied that. Sorry if I didn't make that part clear, I realize the quote I gave was quite vague. Asking if I'm from the midwest because I'm a Cubs fan isn't stupid, it's an honest question and I get that all the time.

[karenmac]

I think its time to put Mitch Atkins officially on the prospect radar. The guy has been dominant so far this season. He just pitched 7 scoreless, only allowing 3 hits while inducing 15 ground ball outs to just one fly ball out. He is only 20 years old and won't turn 21 until after the season is long over. He has good size at 6'3", 230 lbs. That is NFL linebacker size right there. What I don't know is, what's his stuff like?

 

He's got an ERA of 2.01, a WHIP of 1.03, and he is striking out a batter per inning with a ratio to walks of 3:1. Not that it matters much, but in 9 starts, he is also undefeated at 3-0.

 

When you put Atkins in with Donnie Veal (21), Scott Taylor (19), Mark Reed (just turned 20) and Jonathan Mota (about to turn 19), that is a good young nucleus of talent that happens to be performing quite well at the moment.

 

We're in Clinton for the Chiefs series this weekend, and it was a total heartbreaker to see them lose last night. Mitch has consistently been pitching well, and toward the end of his night last night, was able to pitch out of things without giving up a run. He deserved a win to be sure. I'm no pitching expert to be sure, but it's been great to watch him pitch.

[abuck1220]

 

He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

 

?

[soccer10k]

 

He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

 

?

 

Hill had 70 pitches through 3 innings and 87 through 5 innings.

[abuck1220]

 

He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

 

?

 

Hill had 70 pitches through 3 innings and 87 through 5 innings.

 

right. and that's bad how...?

 

you sound so disappointed that hill was getting guys out early in the count for an inning or two.

[cubweiser03]

I see Hill still sucks even though its AAA.

Buh-Bye.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I see Hill still sucks even though its AAA.

Buh-Bye.

 

Ignoring his previous 25 AAA innings for one poor start?

[soccer10k]

 

He wouldn't have lasted 5 2/3 but Sacramento started swinging at first and second pitches and Hill only threw 17 pitches combined in the 4th and 5th innings.

 

 

?

 

Hill had 70 pitches through 3 innings and 87 through 5 innings.

 

right. and that's bad how...?

 

you sound so disappointed that hill was getting guys out early in the count for an inning or two.

 

My point was that when the River Cats were working the count they got to Rich Hill, hence the 70 pitches in the first 3 innings and 4 runs. When they swung at pitches early in the count, they didn't do anything, 17 pitches combined in innings 4 and 5 and 0 innings. Then in the sixth he threw 23 pitches in 2/3 of an inning and gave up 2 runs. Working the count led to scoring runs. I'm saying that Rich Hill was lucky to have lasted 5 2/3 innings and the Rivercats should have touched him up for more than the six runs.

[soccer10k]

Also, for those of you that read Moneyball, Jeremy Brown is now on the Sacramento RiverCats. Here's his line:

 

92 AB, .304/.383/.543, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 21 K