This season is already over.

[coreyMVP]

This team is awful. I remember in the mid to late 70's I used to wait for the famous "June swoon" when a Cub team playing slightly over .500 would collapse. After the last couple of years, I would love to get to June with a competitive team. The Cubs are now working on the "April swoon."

[entbird79]

I'm sure there are plenty of stats to prove the point, but bottom line is that he is a pitcher, and that's his focus--pitching. He's thrown in to hit when required, as are others at times. What I'm saying is that in a game when you need one stinking run to win, and no one in the regular lineup can make that happen, you cannot get too jazzed up when you see Marquis come up. It's a matter of "necessity is the mother of invention," nothing more. It's not often that you're going to be glad that a pitcher is coming in to hit in that situation, that's for sure.

 

 

Is there a rule stating that we need to use every player on the roster before the 9th? I understand that we have been going into extras a lot lately and Z didn't give us enough innings, but man. It seemed like Lou was switching people out every other at-bat there.

 

Another thing, why was every one of our hitters swinging out of their shoes when all they needed was a weak single or a fly ball to score the winning run. I'm sick of seeing Derosa almost falling down on swings in extra innings. Pie could have scored on a weak grounder through the infield, and we can't even manage that.

[jersey cubs fan]

I actually got up and left the room when they put Marquis in. The talking heads want to tell you what a great hitter he is, but you know it's just not right.

 

Why can't it be? If a pitcher hits well enough, they should be considered part of the bench. If you count this year, then 3 out of the last 4 years Marquis has hit .292, .310, and .273.

 

Also between 2004-2006, he was 6-19 as a pinch hitter with 1 2B and 1 3B. With the Cubs roster right now, putting Marquis up there is just as effective as Izturis, Cedeno, Blanco, or Pie.

 

...which should tell you exactly how much trouble we're in.

 

Marquis is a .225 lifetime hitter, according to the stats I saw last night on screen.

 

That is true, but that's because he went 7 for 73 in his years with Atlanta. Somebody with St. Louis taught him how to hit. In the past 3 1/2 years, he has been a .262 hitter overall. Still not awesome, but pretty good for a back of the bench guy. For pretty much any team, when you get to your 3rd or 4th best bench option, that's about as much as you can hope for.

 

Talking about his 3 best AVG seasons is skewing the facts.

 

He's a good hitter, FOR A PITCHER, but that is about all he is. He's a lifetime .224 hitter with a 563 OPS. Last season he hit .179 with an OPS of 466. He's had one, remotely decent season at the plate, 2005, when he put up a line of .310/.326/.460. Every other season that he's had more than 2 ABs, his OBP is sub .300. Nobody would think of somebody like this as a viable pinch hitter. It's quite likely that his 87 at bats in 2005 were more a fluke than anything else, and he's going to be a 500-600 OPS kind of guy from here on out, much like Neifi Perez's April 2005 was a fluke.

[Soul]

To me, seeing Marquis as a pinch hitter is an indication this club is in trouble -- or at least that our roster has some big time problems. Which other team would find this an acceptable situation?

 

Do we really have a $100 million club that can't muster anything more in a critical situation than jason marquis?

 

Come on now. That means we're in trouble. It just does.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

[Derwood]

being 4th in BA w/ risp isn't very useful when you never have risp

[C.C.]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

 

As long as it's not too late when it does even out...

[CubColtPacer]

To me, seeing Marquis as a pinch hitter is an indication this club is in trouble -- or at least that our roster has some big time problems. Which other team would find this an acceptable situation?

 

Do we really have a $100 million club that can't muster anything more in a critical situation than jason marquis?

 

Come on now. That means we're in trouble. It just does.

 

Obviously St. Louis found it an acceptable situation-they sent him up to the plate 9 times in 2005, and 10 in 2006 as a PH.

[Soul]

To me, seeing Marquis as a pinch hitter is an indication this club is in trouble -- or at least that our roster has some big time problems. Which other team would find this an acceptable situation?

 

Do we really have a $100 million club that can't muster anything more in a critical situation than jason marquis?

 

Come on now. That means we're in trouble. It just does.

 

Obviously St. Louis found it an acceptable situation-they sent him up to the plate 9 times in 2005, and 10 in 2006 as a PH.

 

 

Probably in blowouts.

[Mephistopheles]

i love this place. a lot of the team has struggled and not played up to their ability and you make it seem as if the world is falling down and those players wont improve.

 

 

come on guys. use your noggin.

[jersey cubs fan]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

 

Pyth is worthless at this stage. It looks good thanks to a couple high scoring games. I've never liked its inability to account for feast or famine offenses like the Cubs, and that is just exasperated this early in the season. Take out the Cubs 2 highest and 2 lowest scoring games, and their average runs scored drops from about 4.6 to 4.3. The Cubs aren't having bad luck. They are a flawed team having all its weaknesses exposed.

 

People keep talking about the 1 and 2 run losses, but the Cubs have lost by 3, 4 and 5 runs as well. When you are a bad team with a bad record, your record is going to be bad in just about every split.

 

The Cubs need to drastically improve their play, not hope for luck to start going there way.

[Derwood]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

 

Pyth is worthless at this stage. It looks good thanks to a couple high scoring games. I've never liked its inability to account for feast or famine offenses like the Cubs, and that is just exasperated this early in the season. Take out the Cubs 2 highest and 2 lowest scoring games, and their average runs scored drops from about 4.6 to 4.3. The Cubs aren't having bad luck. They are a flawed team having all its weaknesses exposed.

 

People keep talking about the 1 and 2 run losses, but the Cubs have lost by 3, 4 and 5 runs as well. When you are a bad team with a bad record, your record is going to be bad in just about every split.

 

The Cubs need to drastically improve their play, not hope for luck to start going there way.

 

to their credit, I don't think any of the Cubs have blamed any of this on bad luck

[C.C.]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

 

Pyth is worthless at this stage. It looks good thanks to a couple high scoring games. I've never liked its inability to account for feast or famine offenses like the Cubs, and that is just exasperated this early in the season. Take out the Cubs 2 highest and 2 lowest scoring games, and their average runs scored drops from about 4.6 to 4.3. The Cubs aren't having bad luck. They are a flawed team having all its weaknesses exposed.

 

People keep talking about the 1 and 2 run losses, but the Cubs have lost by 3, 4 and 5 runs as well. When you are a bad team with a bad record, your record is going to be bad in just about every split.

 

The Cubs need to drastically improve their play, not hope for luck to start going there way.

 

to their credit, I don't think any of the Cubs have blamed any of this on bad luck

 

Yet.

[Soul]

i love this place. a lot of the team has struggled and not played up to their ability and you make it seem as if the world is falling down and those players wont improve.

 

 

come on guys. use your noggin.

 

Well, I'm still giving it until mid/end May before making any declarations (not that what I say matters anyway).

 

There are also some areas of the club that have performed above their expectations, such as Lilly/Marquis -- even Rich Hill. So we need some areas to improve, and others to hold their own at the same time.

 

Meanwhile, teams like the BoSox have no trouble beating up on someone 8-6 and declaring everything to be cool, even though Dice-K hasn't been completely dominant and some other areas of the club might not be tearing a new hole in the fabric of the universe.

 

It's still all about winning games, even with some areas of the club not performing.

Edited April 24, 2007 by Soul

[Brian]

To me, seeing Marquis as a pinch hitter is an indication this club is in trouble -- or at least that our roster has some big time problems. Which other team would find this an acceptable situation?

 

Do we really have a $100 million club that can't muster anything more in a critical situation than jason marquis?

 

Come on now. That means we're in trouble. It just does.

 

I'm almost 100% positive there were absolutely no position players left.

[jersey cubs fan]

i love this place. a lot of the team has struggled and not played up to their ability and you make it seem as if the world is falling down and those players wont improve.

 

 

come on guys. use your noggin.

 

And a lot of players have completely outplayed their abilities.

 

Guys who are struggling are not guys who are surprisingly struggling.

[kujay]

To me, seeing Marquis as a pinch hitter is an indication this club is in trouble -- or at least that our roster has some big time problems. Which other team would find this an acceptable situation?

 

Do we really have a $100 million club that can't muster anything more in a critical situation than jason marquis?

 

Come on now. That means we're in trouble. It just does.

 

Obviously St. Louis found it an acceptable situation-they sent him up to the plate 9 times in 2005, and 10 in 2006 as a PH.

 

 

Probably in blowouts.

 

Nah Tony would use him to pinch hit in the early innings if his pitcher was sucking and he didn't want to waste one of his other bench guys.

[Soul]

At least we now know the real reason Hendry wanted Marquis so badly.

 

Wonder no more, Cubbie fans! Why was Marquis signed?

 

 

Secret pinch-hitting WEAPON.

[Brian]

my post might have gotten lost at the bottom of the last page... There was nobody else to hit last night except for Marquis it was the 11th inning and all the position players were used up.

[jersey cubs fan]

my post might have gotten lost at the bottom of the last page... There was nobody else to hit last night except for Marquis it was the 11th inning and all the position players were used up.

 

And yet, the manager wants fewer position players.

 

Lou's been away from the NL for a very long time, perhaps he needs to rethink his late inning strategies to stop getting into this situation.

[Soul]

my post might have gotten lost at the bottom of the last page... There was nobody else to hit last night except for Marquis it was the 11th inning and all the position players were used up.

 

I saw it. My first thought is, what have the Cubs done in the past in such situations? I have not seen a pitcher used this much in PH situations.

 

One way or another, Marquis as a PH must be part of the plan. Otherwise Lou would make sure it never comes to that.

[CubColtPacer]

No team can continue to have luck as bad as the Cubs have had in close games to start the year. We have the best pythagorean record in the Central, which isn't a surprise given that the team is supposed to be right there with the rest of the mediocrity in the division. Give some time for these things to even out a bit.

 

 

 

People keep talking about the 1 and 2 run losses, but the Cubs have lost by 3, 4 and 5 runs as well. When you are a bad team with a bad record, your record is going to be bad in just about every split.

 

Actually, not really in this case

1 run/2 run/extra innings (i.e.-close games) Cubs 0-9

All other games Cubs 7-3

 

The Cubs haven't been getting blown out very much at all. In fact, the last time the Cubs lost a game by 3 or more that didn't go into extra innings (a blowout)-was the first Sunday of the season, game #6.

[Rob]

What are the odds that we are the first team in history to not win a single game when the run differential is two or less? Almost negligible. We will start to win some of those games, of that I am sure.

 

More than anything else, I'm impressed that we're playing such a high percentage of our games either in that level or by going ahead three or more runs.

 

Bad teams aren't more likely to lose one or two run games than they are to get blown out... and the Cubs aren't getting blown out.

 

This is bad luck, that's all. People just need to relax.

[C.C.]

What are the odds that we are the first team in history to not win a single game when the run differential is two or less? Almost negligible. We will start to win some of those games, of that I am sure.

 

More than anything else, I'm impressed that we're playing such a high percentage of our games either in that level or by going ahead three or more runs.

 

Bad teams aren't more likely to lose one or two run games than they are to get blown out... and the Cubs aren't getting blown out.

 

This is bad luck, that's all. People just need to relax.

 

But will we lose more then we win. That's the question.

[rynefan]

It's SOME bad luck. It's also some bad playing and coaching.