How has not ONE bloody reporter asked Hendry about OBP?

[badger1679666666]

Read my stuff over the past few weeks. I constantly mention it and ask about it. How do you know nobody has asked about it? I ask about it every day and write about it more than anybody. This is an organization that clearly values other stats.

 

I gave you kudos in my 2nd post in this thread Bruce :wink: And in pretty much every thread you are discussed. (This thread was more directed at the Trib/Sun-Times) I always viewed those articles(your articles) as your opinion on the state of the team and did not realize that you have asked them about it. I had never seen a "Q and A" by you, but I guess they only give that to Trib stooges.

 

Now I hope that EVERY sports writer asks about it, until they can't take it anymore.

 

The fact that you ask about OBP, and they just blatantly ignore it, needs to get out, at almost a grassroots level and gain momentum so that the clammoring for a new philosophy can't be ignored.

[cubbyvirus00]

Bruce Miles for president! j/k, we love the articles Bruce!

[Clogged Basepaths]

To me, it's more of a situation of facades than anything.

 

Hendry wants to keep his job, why wouldn't anybody? He puts together some teams that don't work. He's seemingly incapable of appreciating 'correct' stats or players, so he follows the Sox lead and puts out some bogus PR buzz about "defense + speed = smart ball!" He pacifies a large portion of (dumb) fans by overpaying for Pierre, and gets his extension.

 

I mean, it worked for the Sox right? I don't know how many arguments I've gotten into with underinformed Sox fans who STILL think that they won because of small ball, not because of superb pitching. People hate nerds, it's science. Angry old dudes have been able to associate OBP with nerds.

 

"NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERDS"

- Homer Simpson

[gflore34]

To me, their blatent ignorance of the importance of OBP in generating runs speaks volumes about their Baseball knowledge. Simply put, Hendry and company do not know or understand Baseball, runs scored is directly proportional to the number of baserunners, high OBP means more baserunners thereby, increasing the chances of scoring runs - why is this so hard for Hendry to grasp? Hendry' quote after the Jones signing says it all -

 

He's a very versatile guy. We were very intent on trying to get a left-handed hitter. He's very athletic, has some pop in his bat, an outstanding throwing arm. He's a versatile player and had a lot of upside in him.

 

Great but, can he play Baseball?

[goonys evil twin]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-0605260233may26,1,1367054.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed

 

Q: What are some of your overall observations of this Cubs team?

 

A: I think the element that needs to improve as soon as possible is runners in scoring position. We are 30th among 30 teams in our batting average with runners in scoring position.......

 

You're also 30th in just about every other stat.

 

Andy said the biggest need for improvement is in hitting with RISP. If he was smart he'd realize you can't go out and find guys who have an innate ability to hit with RISP. What you can find is guys who can hit, and more importantly, get on base. The more guys you have that can hit and get on base, the more opportunities your team will have with RISP. And the more opportunities you have with RISP, the more runs you will score.

 

The Cubs are hitting .244./300/.366 overall. That's last place in AVG/OBP/SLG.

With nobody on base they are hitting .242/.291/.359, with men on base they are hitting .246/.313/.375 and with RISP they are .225/.302/.363. Every single one of those stats is absolutely pathetic. There is nothing a few clutch hits can do to change the results with numbers like that. It's not clutch hitting that they need. It's not timely hitting. It's not hitting better with RISP. They need hitting in general.

 

They're slavish devotion to toolsy athletes with speed and ball catching ability, and their continued mantra of be aggressive has left with nothing but a bunch of impatient, incompetent and impotent slappers who can't hit a lick. D Lee can't make up the difference. What is needed is complete and total regime change. Because as long as the President is foolish enough to think that a few more hits with RISP is enough to fix the problem, this team is destined for the utter failure that has defined the Cubs.

[VicCub]

Even if Hendry went out and acquired guys who get on base regularly, Baker would ruin them with his 'swing at the first pitch' philosophy.

[abuck1220]

this 9 walks to 1 game today couldn't have come at a better time. give 'em hell, bruce.

[Warpticon]

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. This team has Derrek Lee. The man was a monster last year, hitting .335/.418/.662 last season, yet was still 21 RBI behind Andruw Jones. Was Jones more "clutch"?

 

Runners on

Lee:.309/.428/.568

Jones: .236/.345/.478

 

RISP

Lee: .331/.480/.653

Jones: .207/.335/.386

 

So Lee was still awesome in "clutch" situations, and Jones was nothing special with runners on and downright horrible with them in scoring position. So how did he get 21 more RBI? 5 homers doesn't explain that at all.

 

No, it was the SIXTY extra at-bats with runners in scoring position and SIXTY-ONE extra at-bats with runners on. Even a guy hitting .207 is going to get another 12-13 more hits in RBI situations when he has sixty more chances to do so. Having a .356, .354, and .383 OBP batting in front of you is what gets you those extra chances.

 

THE ANSWER IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU. YOU WATCHED IT HAPPEN ALL LAST SEASON, JIM. YOU CAN'T SAY THE MAN WASN'T CLUTCH OR TIMELY ENOUGH. THERE IS ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ALONE FOR IT.

 

I know what it is. We all know what it is. Why are the Cubs so afraid of the answer?

[RegulusBlue]

Why are the Cubs so afraid of the answer?

 

They are afraid that their pride will be hurt if they admit doing any wrong, but the tide is coming in finally. The Cubs used to be able to mess everything up, but they would still rake in the cash even so. Now the sucking sound is so violent that there is no sating the fans (us). While admitting failure would be the first step to creating a better philosophy and future, they will stick to their guns, and be the first males (clearly not men) to solve the riddle:

 

How do you ruin fan support even when its not contingent upon success?

 

The answer is having less success than imaginable while lashing out at the media, the fans, and opposing catchers. Have the manager only give excuses and ruin good players and bad, but play only the bad ones. Oh yeah, lose constantly and at all costs.

 

Go Cubs.