Piniella might be Cubs top choice

[RichHillIsABeast]

While I'm not sold on Lou, why does Brenly get some credit for supposedly "learning" during his 2 years as a broadcaster but Lou couldn't possibly have picked anything up in his time off working as an analyst/commentator? It seems to be a bit of a double standard. Granted, I'd rather have Brenly than Lou, but the talk like Lou is going to make this team worse than it has been the last 2 years is getting pretty absurd.

 

Brenly has actually acknowledged OBP and pitcher abuse during his tenure. Lou has bemoaned OBP and said that baseball needs more "thinkers".

 

If Piniella brings Chambliss and McLaren with him, this might be a good move for the offense.

 

Where are this supposed comments Lou made? He said completely the opposite during the playoffs, constantly stressing plate discipline and the ability to work deep into counts, complaining about poor on-base players in the 2 hole, etc.

 

If Lou thought that way awhile ago, he seems to have changed, which is a great thing! It means he's adaptable and open to new ideas.

[RammyFanny]

While I'm not sold on Lou, why does Brenly get some credit for supposedly "learning" during his 2 years as a broadcaster but Lou couldn't possibly have picked anything up in his time off working as an analyst/commentator? It seems to be a bit of a double standard. Granted, I'd rather have Brenly than Lou, but the talk like Lou is going to make this team worse than it has been the last 2 years is getting pretty absurd.

 

Brenly has actually acknowledged OBP and pitcher abuse during his tenure. Lou has bemoaned OBP and said that baseball needs more "thinkers".

 

If Piniella brings Chambliss and McLaren with him, this might be a good move for the offense.

 

From what i've heard out of Lou, he doesn't bemoan OBP at all. He's been mentioning it alot lately.

[Sammy Sofa]

While I'm not sold on Lou, why does Brenly get some credit for supposedly "learning" during his 2 years as a broadcaster but Lou couldn't possibly have picked anything up in his time off working as an analyst/commentator? It seems to be a bit of a double standard. Granted, I'd rather have Brenly than Lou, but the talk like Lou is going to make this team worse than it has been the last 2 years is getting pretty absurd.

 

Brenly has actually acknowledged OBP and pitcher abuse during his tenure. Lou has bemoaned OBP and said that baseball needs more "thinkers".

 

If Piniella brings Chambliss and McLaren with him, this might be a good move for the offense.

 

From what i've heard out of Lou, he doesn't bemoan OBP at all. He's been mentioning it alot lately.

 

Exactly. He hasn't come across as the master strategist I'd ideally want, but like Brenly, he's been saying things that indicate that perhaps he's adjusted his theories lately, or is at least paying attention more.

[Outshined_One]

See, it'd be one thing if Piniella were willing to actually TALK about OBP. The problem is, he's one of those guys who discuss things in terms of what he sees. Guys who work the count and don't bunt to give up outs don't necessarily lend themselves to being high OBP guys.

 

Lou would still bat a guy like Pierre leadoff because his average is so high, despite his .330 OBP. He has a reasonable average, he can foul off a bunch of pitches, and he doesn't strike out very often. If you're a traditional baseball guy, you like Juan because he is a prototypical leadoff hitter in terms of his tools. However, as we all saw, his success is heavily tied to his batting average, which can be an incredibly fickle thing. However, plate discipline is not something that fluctuates nearly as much.

 

Guys with low IsoD don't go into a slump and say, "Okay, now I'm going to work the count, draw walks, and get the pitch I want to hit." The ability to work counts and draw a good number of walks is not something that's like an on-off switch. It's rare for guys to break out of their mold in terms of K/BB or IsoD, depending on your preference.

 

That's basically the problem I'd have with Piniella. I think he'd advocate a less aggressive approach at the plate than Dusty's crew of nitwits, hence why I'd be fine with Chambliss and McLaren. However, he would still focus too heavily on BA when this team already has a number of guys whose BAs are fairly empty (Izturis, Cedeno, Jones).

 

I worry that his philosophy would not change that enough to make this roster offensively competent.

 

I haven't even gotten into the way he treats pitchers yet. That's the thing I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeally worried about.

[Omar]

I'm not too much into Lou... But he's an upgrade over Dusty.

[Sammy Sofa]

See, it'd be one thing if Piniella were willing to actually TALK about OBP. The problem is, he's one of those guys who discuss things in terms of what he sees. Guys who work the count and don't bunt to give up outs don't necessarily lend themselves to being high OBP guys.

 

Lou would still bat a guy like Pierre leadoff because his average is so high, despite his .330 OBP. He has a reasonable average, he can foul off a bunch of pitches, and he doesn't strike out very often. If you're a traditional baseball guy, you like Juan because he is a prototypical leadoff hitter in terms of his tools. However, as we all saw, his success is heavily tied to his batting average, which can be an incredibly fickle thing. However, plate discipline is not something that fluctuates nearly as much.

 

Guys with low IsoD don't go into a slump and say, "Okay, now I'm going to work the count, draw walks, and get the pitch I want to hit." The ability to work counts and draw a good number of walks is not something that's like an on-off switch. It's rare for guys to break out of their mold in terms of K/BB or IsoD, depending on your preference.

 

That's basically the problem I'd have with Piniella. I think he'd advocate a less aggressive approach at the plate than Dusty's crew of nitwits, hence why I'd be fine with Chambliss and McLaren. However, he would still focus too heavily on BA when this team already has a number of guys whose BAs are fairly empty (Izturis, Cedeno, Jones).

 

I worry that his philosophy would not change that enough to make this roster offensively competent.

 

I haven't even gotten into the way he treats pitchers yet. That's the thing I'm reeeeeeeeeeeeally worried about.

 

You don't have to convince of all the reasons Piniella shouldn't be here...I agree with all of them. My question is simply why does Brenly gets more credit at this point despite the fact he seemed just as clueless and outdated as Lou when he was managing? Is it only because he'll mention OBP every now and then?

[Outshined_One]

You don't have to convince of all the reasons Piniella shouldn't be here...I agree with all of them. My question is simply why does Brenly gets more credit at this point despite the fact he seemed just as clueless and outdated as Lou when he was managing? Is it only because he'll mention OBP every now and then?

 

Frankly, I didn't want Brenly for the most of the same reasons I didn't want Piniella (see: pitcher abuse). However, Brenly mentioning and giving credence to OBP at least shows he has something resembling an open mind about the matter.

 

Whether or not that actually is the case remains to be seen, but it's more than Piniella's ever shown.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

This never gets old. Pretty damn funny!

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b4cnE8Td-Co

 

That clip is EXACTLY why we need him here - he has the intensity we need

 

I'm...Hoping thats a joke.

 

A hothead manager is exactly what we dont need. We already have one ignorant hot head managing a baseball team in chicago, we dont need another.

 

I have to disagree here. Watching Lou lose his mind will best part about next season.

 

That may be true since the Cubs surely won't do much worth watching.

 

And let the doom and gloom scenarios begin. One minute a manager has hardly impact on the overall team, next minute the hiring of a World Series manager means that the entrie season is lost and the Cubs will be horrible.

 

Do any of you guys who actually listen to him on any of his recent broadcasts?

 

Yesterday's broadcast

 

Made the comment that Craig Monroe (and his .300 OBP) should not have been batting #2 in the batting order.

 

Made numerous comments about the importance of working the count. (throughout the whole series).

 

Made comments about not just giving up outs.(Regard to bunting to move a runner).

 

He sounds like he has a pretty good idea about how to win. Further, Piniella has proven that he can win with a good team. If Hendry signs Lou, I'm sure its with the understanding that Hendry isn't going to be hoping for a good team in 3 years. The best news we could have hoped for was that the Cubs were going to be serious about winning next year, and not continue to give us fans the same old hope and "wait 'til next year" garbage.

 

Pitcher abuse? That's what I'm most concerned about.

[Sammy Sofa]

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

[Vinestal]

LOL the Cubs have become a "meat grinder" for pitching prospects, we chew them up and spit them out. If Im a highschool or college pitcher drafted by the Cubs Im scared to death. *sigh*

[Outshined_One]

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

 

Out of curiosity, beyond Willis, who else does Girardi have a bad pitcher abuse track record with?

[Sammy Sofa]

Some of the opinion pieces I read about him seem to consistently state in general that he didn't really have a sense of when to take pitchers out and he tended to leave them in there too long.

 

Who did he send back in after the rain delay?

[RichHillIsABeast]

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

 

Out of curiosity, beyond Willis, who else does Girardi have a bad pitcher abuse track record with?

 

Some people (not me) claim that he likes to run pitchers out there after rain delays.

[Jazz]

Quick Question. Who have been pitching coaches under Piniella and how much effect could a great one have on his decisions?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

 

Bochy has a good track record, especially with the young kids.

 

Some of the opinion pieces I read about him seem to consistently state in general that he didn't really have a sense of when to take pitchers out and he tended to leave them in there too long.

 

Who did he send back in after the rain delay?

 

Josh Johnson.

 

Out of the serious reported candidates, Girardi, Brenly and Lou all have pretty awful track records when it comes to pitcher abuse...what about Bochy?

 

Out of curiosity, beyond Willis, who else does Girardi have a bad pitcher abuse track record with?

 

Some people (not me) claim that he likes to run pitchers out there after rain delays.

 

No, we say sending a rookie pitcher out after an 82-minute rain delay shows poor judgement and maybe a little ignorance for pitcher abuse (and he had seen it happen before to Jon Lieber). No one has said he will do it again or anything of that nature.