**Speculation** Angels & Cubs

[Magnetic Curses]

Well guys all of your points are noted. I just don't competely agree that he is horrible he was good before 2004, since then he has been mediocre. Thats my personal opinion. sorry I havent gotten back to the board the last day or two, but were having a snow day at school today its pretty sweet.

 

I'd give him mediocre status with his .330 OBP if he had something of value to offer other than speed. He doesn't, therefore he's horrible. Poor routes to fly balls, weenie arm, no power and gets caught stealing way too much for my liking. All told, horrible is a pretty good definition.

 

He wasn't always horrible. He was serviceable in 2003 and 2004. Mediocre would be another good terminology.

 

LA can have him and he won't be missed. If he wore #43, it would be a thing of beauty.

 

I also don't mind not having him, but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

if soriano has a year like last, i wouldn't mind sending him up to the plate most often.

 

you like to maximize the PA of your better hitters. you'd also like to get them runners on in front of them, but i still like the idea of soriano getting a lot of PA's.

[nilodnayr]

Well guys all of your points are noted. I just don't competely agree that he is horrible he was good before 2004, since then he has been mediocre. Thats my personal opinion. sorry I havent gotten back to the board the last day or two, but were having a snow day at school today its pretty sweet.

 

I'd give him mediocre status with his .330 OBP if he had something of value to offer other than speed. He doesn't, therefore he's horrible. Poor routes to fly balls, weenie arm, no power and gets caught stealing way too much for my liking. All told, horrible is a pretty good definition.

 

He wasn't always horrible. He was serviceable in 2003 and 2004. Mediocre would be another good terminology.

 

LA can have him and he won't be missed. If he wore #43, it would be a thing of beauty.

 

I also don't mind not having him, but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

if soriano has a year like last, i wouldn't mind sending him up to the plate most often.

 

you like to maximize the PA of your better hitters. you'd also like to get them runners on in front of them, but i still like the idea of soriano getting a lot of PA's.

 

I think optimally Lee would be the leadoff hitter, but I can't remember.

[Magnetic Curses]

Well guys all of your points are noted. I just don't competely agree that he is horrible he was good before 2004, since then he has been mediocre. Thats my personal opinion. sorry I havent gotten back to the board the last day or two, but were having a snow day at school today its pretty sweet.

 

I'd give him mediocre status with his .330 OBP if he had something of value to offer other than speed. He doesn't, therefore he's horrible. Poor routes to fly balls, weenie arm, no power and gets caught stealing way too much for my liking. All told, horrible is a pretty good definition.

 

He wasn't always horrible. He was serviceable in 2003 and 2004. Mediocre would be another good terminology.

 

LA can have him and he won't be missed. If he wore #43, it would be a thing of beauty.

 

I also don't mind not having him, but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

if soriano has a year like last, i wouldn't mind sending him up to the plate most often.

 

you like to maximize the PA of your better hitters. you'd also like to get them runners on in front of them, but i still like the idea of soriano getting a lot of PA's.

 

I think optimally Lee would be the leadoff hitter, but I can't remember.

 

i know, but we'll never bat him leadoff.

[rchap24]

Well guys all of your points are noted. I just don't competely agree that he is horrible he was good before 2004, since then he has been mediocre. Thats my personal opinion. sorry I havent gotten back to the board the last day or two, but were having a snow day at school today its pretty sweet.

 

I'd give him mediocre status with his .330 OBP if he had something of value to offer other than speed. He doesn't, therefore he's horrible. Poor routes to fly balls, weenie arm, no power and gets caught stealing way too much for my liking. All told, horrible is a pretty good definition.

 

He wasn't always horrible. He was serviceable in 2003 and 2004. Mediocre would be another good terminology.

 

LA can have him and he won't be missed. If he wore #43, it would be a thing of beauty.

 

I also don't mind not having him, but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

if soriano has a year like last, i wouldn't mind sending him up to the plate most often.

 

you like to maximize the PA of your better hitters. you'd also like to get them runners on in front of them, but i still like the idea of soriano getting a lot of PA's.

 

Well obviously. I hope He does! Then we can stop agruing about a good leadoff hitter.

[BigbadB]

but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

Can you name a better lead off hitter than Soriano was last year? I don't think I can.

 

While the lead off hitter definitely doesn't get any RBI chances outside of hitting a home run in his very first at bat, the same can't be said of all the rest of his at bats, unless he's leading off an inning.

 

I would probably argue that Jacque Jones is probably a better CFer than Lofton at this point. Lofton is one of my all time favorite players in this league, but he's not even close to being an everyday player anymore. He has Juan Pierre arm strength. Jones has a decent arm, he just has to work on his release point.

 

Soriano has the capability of starting a game off 1-0 with 1 swing of the bat. His line drive power can also put him on 2nd or 3rd base with one swing of the bat. His speed allows him to steal a base. I have some reservations about his OBP in general, but if it's anywhere close to what he did last year, the production guys in the middle of the order are going to be very happy with Mr. Soriano hitting in the lead off spot. If DeRosa puts up an OBP and SLG like he did last year, the Cubs are going to score a lot of runs this year.

[rchap24]

but in an ideal situation I would want a better leadoff hitter than Soriano thats all im saying. I would be willing to drop Jones if we could get a guy like lofton even though hes old to play center be good defensively and could make room for Soriano back later in the order for some more pop.

 

Can you name a better lead off hitter than Soriano was last year? I don't think I can.

 

While the lead off hitter definitely doesn't get any RBI chances outside of hitting a home run in his very first at bat, the same can't be said of all the rest of his at bats, unless he's leading off an inning.

 

I would probably argue that Jacque Jones is probably a better CFer than Lofton at this point. Lofton is one of my all time favorite players in this league, but he's not even close to being an everyday player anymore. He has Juan Pierre arm strength. Jones has a decent arm, he just has to work on his release point.

 

Soriano has the capability of starting a game off 1-0 with 1 swing of the bat. His line drive power can also put him on 2nd or 3rd base with one swing of the bat. His speed allows him to steal a base. I have some reservations about his OBP in general, but if it's anywhere close to what he did last year, the production guys in the middle of the order are going to be very happy with Mr. Soriano hitting in the lead off spot. If DeRosa puts up an OBP and SLG like he did last year, the Cubs are going to score a lot of runs this year.

 

Oh def no one was! I just don't think he'll repeat last year. If he does he's by far the best in the leauge.

[BigbadB]

Oh def no one was! I just don't think he'll repeat last year. If he does he's by far the best in the leauge.

 

What about his 2006 can he not repeat? The Cubs 2007 offense is a much stronger offense than the 2006 Nats. The Cubs play in the friendliest hitting division in the NL. In other words, playing more regularly in Wrigley, GAP, Minutemaid, the New Busch, PNC and Miller is a huge difference over playing half your games in Washington and some of the other tough hitter's parks in the NL East. While he did draw more intentional walks last year than all of his previous years combined, what might he have done with those "non at bats" that might have improved his numbers even more? His OPS+ of 132 isn't all that much better than the OPS+ of 131 and 128 he's put up in previous seasons.

 

While I would expect his OBP to drop a little bit, I expect his AVG to go up. A .295/.345 season would be pretty good for a lead off hitter. Especially when you consider the .295 AVG comes with a really good SLG.

 

Of course, it's also possible that he'll continue improving his eye at the plate and provide an even better OBP than he did last year.

 

He scored 119 runs last year compared to Pierre's 87. That's 32 runs difference. Pierre can keep leading the league in hits and outs made. I'll take Soriano's production in the lead off spot all day and try to forget Juan Pierre was ever a Cub.

[BigbadB]

By the way, guess what team finished dead last in runs scored from the lead off spot? Juan Pierre and the Chicago Cubs.

 

Only 4 teams had a worse OBP from the lead off spot than the Cubs.

 

Juan Pierre (Cubs) had the 8th best AVG in MLB. It's not the hits that hurt Pierre, it's the inability to draw a walk that hurts him.

 

The Cleveland Indians lead off hitters scored 51 more times than the Cubs lead off hitters in 2006.

 

Batting average comparison between the 2? .290 and .294. Hit comparison? 204 to 197. Not much difference. The big difference? .378 OBP to .329. 80 walks for Cleveland and 33 for the Cubs (Pierre). That's almost the whole difference in runs scored.

 

It's all about OBP at the top of the order. Pierre doesn't have it anymore.

[rchap24]

Oh def no one was! I just don't think he'll repeat last year. If he does he's by far the best in the leauge.

 

What about his 2006 can he not repeat? The Cubs 2007 offense is a much stronger offense than the 2006 Nats. The Cubs play in the friendliest hitting division in the NL. In other words, playing more regularly in Wrigley, GAP, Minutemaid, the New Busch, PNC and Miller is a huge difference over playing half your games in Washington and some of the other tough hitter's parks in the NL East. While he did draw more intentional walks last year than all of his previous years combined, what might he have done with those "non at bats" that might have improved his numbers even more? His OPS+ of 132 isn't all that much better than the OPS+ of 131 and 128 he's put up in previous seasons.

 

While I would expect his OBP to drop a little bit, I expect his AVG to go up. A .295/.345 season would be pretty good for a lead off hitter. Especially when you consider the .295 AVG comes with a really good SLG.

 

Of course, it's also possible that he'll continue improving his eye at the plate and provide an even better OBP than he did last year.

 

He scored 119 runs last year compared to Pierre's 87. That's 32 runs difference. Pierre can keep leading the league in hits and outs made. I'll take Soriano's production in the lead off spot all day and try to forget Juan Pierre was ever a Cub.

 

Im not saying he can't I just don't think he will. He is a great player and im rooting for him to get me wrong. I hope he does!

[goonys evil twin]

Oh def no one was! I just don't think he'll repeat last year. If he does he's by far the best in the leauge.

 

What about his 2006 can he not repeat?

Im not saying he can't I just don't think he will. He is a great player and im rooting for him to get me wrong. I hope he does!

 

I'm with you. Anything can happen. And nobody is saying he can't repeat, but the question isn't can't, it's what is likely.

[RammyFanny]

Oh def no one was! I just don't think he'll repeat last year. If he does he's by far the best in the leauge.

 

What about his 2006 can he not repeat? The Cubs 2007 offense is a much stronger offense than the 2006 Nats. The Cubs play in the friendliest hitting division in the NL. In other words, playing more regularly in Wrigley, GAP, Minutemaid, the New Busch, PNC and Miller is a huge difference over playing half your games in Washington and some of the other tough hitter's parks in the NL East. While he did draw more intentional walks last year than all of his previous years combined, what might he have done with those "non at bats" that might have improved his numbers even more? His OPS+ of 132 isn't all that much better than the OPS+ of 131 and 128 he's put up in previous seasons.

 

While I would expect his OBP to drop a little bit, I expect his AVG to go up. A .295/.345 season would be pretty good for a lead off hitter. Especially when you consider the .295 AVG comes with a really good SLG.

 

Of course, it's also possible that he'll continue improving his eye at the plate and provide an even better OBP than he did last year.

 

He scored 119 runs last year compared to Pierre's 87. That's 32 runs difference. Pierre can keep leading the league in hits and outs made. I'll take Soriano's production in the lead off spot all day and try to forget Juan Pierre was ever a Cub.

Good points BBB. Keep in mind that when this team acquires power bats, they usually know what they are doing. Lee was a pretty good hitter when we got him, now he's superstar good. Ramirez (though you can play the age case) was nothing too special and now he's very good. Barrett was pretty bad in Montreal or where ever he came from, and look how much he's improved. Jones was pretty bad and now he is pretty respectable and a relative bargain for his production (last year). It seems whenever we acquire a potential power bat they always turn out good, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Fonz can hopefully stay at last years pace, or even improve on his OBP and patience a little (come on Gerald Perry).

[goonys evil twin]

Good points BBB. Keep in mind that when this team acquires power bats, they usually know what they are doing. Lee was a pretty good hitter when we got him, now he's superstar good. Ramirez (though you can play the age case) was nothing too special and now he's very good. Barrett was pretty bad in Montreal or where ever he came from, and look how much he's improved. Jones was pretty bad and now he is pretty respectable and a relative bargain for his production (last year). It seems whenever we acquire a potential power bat they always turn out good, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Fonz can hopefully stay at last years pace, or even improve on his OBP and patience a little (come on Gerald Perry).

 

That's an interesting way of looking at Cubs' acquisitions. I think their results in the runs scored category over the past several years says a lot more about their ability to find good bats. Which is to say they are bad at it. Remember, they also acquired Burnitz, Nomar and Alou, letting all of them walk when their contracts expired as a result of inconsistent production.

[BigbadB]

Good points BBB. Keep in mind that when this team acquires power bats, they usually know what they are doing. Lee was a pretty good hitter when we got him, now he's superstar good. Ramirez (though you can play the age case) was nothing too special and now he's very good. Barrett was pretty bad in Montreal or where ever he came from, and look how much he's improved. Jones was pretty bad and now he is pretty respectable and a relative bargain for his production (last year). It seems whenever we acquire a potential power bat they always turn out good, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Fonz can hopefully stay at last years pace, or even improve on his OBP and patience a little (come on Gerald Perry).

 

I think you're stretching things a bit. Derrek Lee was his same old self his first year with the Cubs. He truly had a great year in 2005. There is no way of knowing if that one year was an aberration or not. There is also no way of knowing if there will be lasting effects from the wrist injury.

 

Aramis was good before he became a Cub. The .300/.350/.536 season he put up in 2001 was right on par with his last 2 seasons in Chicago.

 

Jacque Jones did nothing more in Chicago last year than he has done in Minnesota.

 

Barrett has been a better player as a Cub, but he has always been advertised to be that player. He was a #1 pick in the draft.

 

What you failed to mention was the list of players who have not performed as expected. Moises Alou, Corey Patterson, Jeromy Burnitz, Jerry Hairston, Juan Pierre, etc.....

 

I think this team will be pretty good. I just hope Piniella has a different philosophy from Dusty on how to make a team win.