Looking National League Stats

[Buford T Justice]

I'm liking what I see

 

Pitching

Cubs are 2nd in opposing batting average @ .231

9th in K's

4th in ERA w/ 3.57

Next to last in innings pitched (not sure if thats good or bad)

11th in walks allowed

 

Batting 4th in Slugging percentage with .467

5th in hits with 266

4th in Batting Average with .275

6th in Total Bases with 418

1st in Doubles with 72

7th in OBP with .334 (needs work there)

[BigbadB]

While the .334 OBP could certainly use work, it's the best OBP they've sported since 2001.

[CubmanPi]

Also, I thought the offense was designed with the idea that they were hoping to be middle of the pack OBP and top five in SLG. All those people who were saying the offense would come around if they pulled that off appear to be right.

 

As far as the IP, the Cubs are tied with the Cardinals for last in the NL in games played, so I would imagine that's really the only explanation.

[BigbadB]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

 

Without looking, Seattle's pitching staff is probably dead last in IP since they have 5 games to make up.

[CubmanPi]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

I think it just means that we're abusing our pitchers less than any other team in the NL. I bet after 27 games last year under Dusty, the team had like TWICE the IP.

[seanimal]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

I think it just means that we're abusing our pitchers less than any other team in the NL. I bet after 27 games last year under Dusty, the team had like TWICE the IP.

 

Is the stat for just starters or for all pitchers?

[bukie]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

I think it just means that we're abusing our pitchers less than any other team in the NL. I bet after 27 games last year under Dusty, the team had like TWICE the IP.

 

Is the stat for just starters or for all pitchers?

 

For all pitchers, which just means the Cubs have played the fewest games in the NL.

[BigbadB]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

I think it just means that we're abusing our pitchers less than any other team in the NL. I bet after 27 games last year under Dusty, the team had like TWICE the IP.

 

Is the stat for just starters or for all pitchers?

 

All pitchers. I just looked it up. As I stated before, it's a meaningless stat. Our starters have actually done a fairly decent job of getting deep into games, though not much help from Carlos and Wade.

[BigbadB]

Cubs are tied with San Diego for best WHIP. Walks given up are definitely down from last year. I'd like to see the offense walk a bit more.

 

Hope Barrett breaks out of his offensive funk soon, too.

[CubColtPacer]

Just to clarify for anyone looking, that 11th in walks allowed that he posted actually means that the Cubs have been the 6th best team at preventing walks from their pitchers. Even people who have watched the games this year I think would not believe that, but it's true.

 

Here are some other stats:

 

Starters ERA: 3.78 (6th in league)

Bullpen ERA: 3.14 (5th in league)

 

 

8th in HR's (I bet the team will be top 3 or 4 before all is said and done)

The only bad stat they have is that they are 13th in walks-but they are still on pace to walk over 100 times more than last year.

 

That .334 OBP number keeps slowly rising-I expect it to level off pretty soon here. If the team can have between a .335-.340 OBP on the season, I will be very happy. That would be a top 5 OBP in the NL each of the last 2 years, and combined with their slugging would make the team one of the best scoring teams in the league.

 

Plus, this offense has been on a roll now for a little while. In their last 16 games, they are averaging 5.625 runs per game. In their last 11, it's been 5.9. In their last 7, it's been 6.43 runs per game.

[Justin]

DLee will take care of any OBP problems ;)

[soccer10k]

Definitely like the stats right now.

[soccer10k]

IP is a meaningless team stat. It just means that between extra inning games and actual games played, the Cubs pitchers have pitched the fewest innings.

I think it just means that we're abusing our pitchers less than any other team in the NL. I bet after 27 games last year under Dusty, the team had like TWICE the IP.

 

So Dusty forced the team to play extra inning games all the time? :wink:

[Buford T Justice]

Last 7 Days Cubs are #2 in the NL with a .383 OBP the Rockies are in 1st with a .390.. I love it...Higher OBP has translated into 5 wins.

 

and added to the overall OBP which is .337

Edited May 6, 2007 by Buford T Justice

[killthegoat06]

Last 7 Days Cubs are #2 in the NL with a .383 OBP the Rockies are in 1st with a .390.. I love it...Higher OBP has translated into 5 wins.

 

and added to the overall OBP which is not .337

 

What is it then? :lol:

[Buford T Justice]

Last 7 Days Cubs are #2 in the NL with a .383 OBP the Rockies are in 1st with a .390.. I love it...Higher OBP has translated into 5 wins.

 

and added to the overall OBP which is not .337

 

What is it then? :lol:

 

OBP=Buford T Justice is an idiot.I fixed the post.

[CubColtPacer]

The OBP has hit .340 now. I'm not sure they will be able to, but if they could just maintain this OBP for the rest of the season, it will be very, very good. Of course, I wouldn't mind them bumping it up another few points, but that's really just icing on the cake at that point :D

[brinoch]

If the Cubs can get the team OBP to .350, I rather think they'll be in solid contention this season. The pitching's there, and if the hitting keeps at this clip, I like our chances.

[SouthSideRyan]

If the Cubs can get the team OBP to .350, I rather think they'll be in solid contention this season. The pitching's there, and if the hitting keeps at this clip, I like our chances.

 

If the Cubs finish the year with a 350 OBP they'll probably be leading the league in that category. Last time multiple teams had OBPs 350+ was 2000.

[Mephistopheles]

If the Cubs can get the team OBP to .350, I rather think they'll be in solid contention this season. The pitching's there, and if the hitting keeps at this clip, I like our chances.

 

 

if the cubs can get their team obp to 350 theyd score 900 runs. only three nl teams have done it since the 2000 season. colorado once, st louis once and the giants once.

[Abe Frohman]

This is a good team. 2007 is going to be very fun.

[TruffleShuffle]

I don't see .350 as really being possible. Here are the 3-year OBPs on this team, at least for guys likely to see significant playing time:

 

Soriano: .329

Theriot: .382

Lee: .385

ARam: .361

Jock: .323

Barrett: .349

Murton: .370

DeRosa: .332

Floyd: .347

Izturis: .315

 

 

I'd expect Soriano, Lee, ARam and DeRosa to be pretty close to those numbers.

 

Floyd, Barrett, Murton (given what we've seen this year) and Izturis will probably be a little lower. I'd be happy if Theriot could stay in the area of .350.

 

Jock might be a little higher. Pie is a bit of a wild card, but I'd guess his OBP would be around .325 for a full year played at this level.

 

The Cubs' team OBP in 2006 was .319 - truly atrocious. The NL average OBP in 2006 was .334; the Dodgers were tops at .348, followed by the Nationals at .347 and the Rockies at .341.

 

In 2005, the league OBP was .330, the top figure was the Phillies at .348, and the Cubs were 11th at .324.

 

In 2004, the league OBP was .337, the top figure was the Giants at .357 (thanks Barry), and the Cubs were 11th at .328. The Giants were the only team above .350.

 

In 2003, the league OBP was .333, the top figure was the Cards at .350, and the Cubs were 13th at .323.

 

 

My point in all of that is that the league average OBP tends to fall around .335, and in only two of the past four years has any team reached .350. Those teams had guys named Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols. When I look at the Cubs, I don't see a team that I'd expect to be very good at getting on base, but looking at upgrades like:

 

2B: DeRosa over Cedeno/Neifi/assorted trash

SS: Theriot (please play him) over Izturis/Cedeno

CF: Soriano over Pierre

Bench: Floyd/Ward over Mabry/Pagan

 

 

...it's clear that some glaring OBP black holes have been filled. Hell, even Marquis is a really good hitting-pitcher. So I don't think .350 is realistic, but something close to the league average (guess at around .335) is doable, and optimistically I could see the Cubs falling in at around 5th-6th in the league, somewhere close to .340.

 

This isn't perfect, but there is enough power on this team to make a solidly productive offense out of a .340 OBP, and it represents a huge departure from the past four years, when the Cubs were in the bottom third of the league in OBP. It's a big step in the right direction.

[brinoch]

And, they'll be in solid contention, yes?

 

In the last few years, there's been at least one or two teams that have been at or near .350 in the NL. Obviously, with the pitcher in the lineup, that makes things a little tougher. (I'd actually be interested in the adjusted OBP for each team from '03-'06, but that's neither here nor there.)

[brinoch]

 

[snip]

 

...it's clear that some glaring OBP black holes have been filled. Hell, even Marquis is a really good hitting-pitcher. So I don't think .350 is realistic, but something close to the league average (guess at around .335) is doable, and optimistically I could see the Cubs falling in at around 5th-6th in the league, somewhere close to .340.

 

This isn't perfect, but there is enough power on this team to make a solidly productive offense out of a .340 OBP, and it represents a huge departure from the past four years, when the Cubs were in the bottom third of the league in OBP. It's a big step in the right direction.

 

This is a nice analysis -- thanks, Truffle.

 

I think the Cubs have a realistic shot for .340. Without thinking about the pitcher, I was thinking a .350 team OBP because that's pretty much the basement for what I'd look for in a player.

[TruffleShuffle]

Cubs team walks:

 

2007: 91 (13th) -- IsoD .062

2006: 359 (last by 64) -- IsoD .051

2005: 419 (last by 12) -- IsoD .054

2004: 489 (14th) -- IsoD .060

2003: 492 (14th) -- IsoD .064

 

 

Now a negative about the offense... team BABIP is currently .315, which is well over the league average of .300. There may be some guys on this team who can expect to have BABIP above league average -- I don't really have time to look into this -- but the .315 figure will probably come down. The team BA with RISP is also .285, good for 2nd in the league (although from the game threads you'd never think we got a clutch hit). This is also likely unsustainable. Some of the decrease in "luck" will hopefully be mitigated by an increase in consistency (offense was very hot/cold the first month) and better luck in the pythagorean W/L.