Let's give Lou some credit

[NomarSammy]

I know it is not like this board to actually reflect and give management some credit, but I want to commend Lou for how he has handled this team. I love the fact that he is giving Fontenot a shot. He has been great at AAA for 2 years now and was a first round draft pcik--I just think it is refreshing after Dusty to have a guy who will let "unproven players" play. I love the energy that Theriot, fonte and Pie have provided and I think it may spark us as the season goes on. Too his credit, I think Lou just likes ballplayers and he is not afraid to let them play. Personally, I am enjoying watching him take ownership over this mess that he was handed.

 

Go ahead--tell me how dumb and wrong I am......................

[Soriano12]

You are dumb and wrong.

[killthegoat06]

I agree with NomarSammy. I am disappointed by their record, but Piniella is definitely an upgrade over Dusty. Edited June 12, 2007 by killthegoat06

[killthegoat06]

You are dumb and wrong.

Thanks for the insight. :wink:

[NomarSammy]

You are dumb and wrong.

 

Thank you--i appreciat that:)

[jersey cubs fan]

I know it is not like this board to actually reflect and give management some credit,

 

They are 6 games under .500. How much credit should management get?

 

 

I like Lou better than Dusty. But the team is still a disappointment.

[CubinNY]

I think Lou just likes ballplayers and he is not afraid to let them play.

 

If he liked Ballplayers he would play Murton insteas of Jones and Floyd.

 

He's as old school as we thought. And just becuase he's better than Dusty doesn't make him good.

[abuck1220]

i'm so excited that at some positions, piniella is playing the better player. he's a genius.

[KingCubsFan]

HE DOESN'T PLAY MURTON EVERY GAME!!!! HE'S TERRIBLE AND NEEDS TO BE FIRED!!!

[CUBZ99]

I think Lou just likes ballplayers and he is not afraid to let them play.

 

If he liked Ballplayers he would play Murton insteas of Jones and Floyd.

 

He's as old school as we thought. And just becuase he's better than Dusty doesn't make him good.

 

Is Murton hurt? Looking at all of Lou's moves so far this year, the whole Murton situation seems out of place. Murton is the type of ballplayer that you would think Lou would love. My guess is that there is more behind the scenes than we are privy to.

[jersey cubs fan]

HE DOESN'T PLAY MURTON EVERY GAME!!!! HE'S TERRIBLE AND NEEDS TO BE FIRED!!!

 

Every game? Or barely any games?

[jersey cubs fan]

Is Murton hurt? Looking at all of Lou's moves so far this year, the whole Murton situation seems out of place. Murton is the type of ballplayer that you would think Lou would love. My guess is that there is more behind the scenes than we are privy to.

 

I doubt it. He's on record saying expensive veterans get the nod. He's clearly a guy who prefers to have some LH bats. He's got Floyd and Jones pencilled in ahead of him. I think it's pretty obvious what is going on there, nothing behind the scenes at all.

[CubinNY]

I think Lou just likes ballplayers and he is not afraid to let them play.

 

If he liked Ballplayers he would play Murton insteas of Jones and Floyd.

 

He's as old school as we thought. And just becuase he's better than Dusty doesn't make him good.

 

Is Murton hurt? Looking at all of Lou's moves so far this year, the whole Murton situation seems out of place. Murton is the type of ballplayer that you would think Lou would love. My guess is that there is more behind the scenes than we are privy to.

 

I think Lou and Hendry want guys with more pop in their bat in the outfield to drive in non-existent base runners.

 

It's what the old school manager would do. Meanwhile, neither Jones nor Floyd are hitting the ball out of the park, or hitting the ball for that matter.

[CubColtPacer]

I think Lou just likes ballplayers and he is not afraid to let them play.

 

If he liked Ballplayers he would play Murton insteas of Jones and Floyd.

 

He's as old school as we thought. And just becuase he's better than Dusty doesn't make him good.

 

Is Murton hurt? Looking at all of Lou's moves so far this year, the whole Murton situation seems out of place. Murton is the type of ballplayer that you would think Lou would love. My guess is that there is more behind the scenes than we are privy to.

 

I think Lou and Hendry want guys with more pop in their bat in the outfield to drive in non-existent base runners.

 

It's what the old school manager would do. Meanwhile, neither Jones nor Floyd are hitting the ball out of the park, or hitting the ball for that matter.

 

Floyd's not hitting the ball?

 

I posted this in the other thread:

 

Murton (116 AB's)-.259/.338/.345

Floyd (111 AB's)-.306/.364/.423

 

So Floyd has been over 100 points of OPS better than Murton, and yet played less than him. Right now, Floyd's the guy who should be playing more if Lou wants to play guys who have produced.

 

I agree with you completely with Jones-if Murton is not hurt, then Lou absolutely should not be starting Jones in RF.

[Moonlight Graham]

All I know is we better see Floyd against every RP until he gets hurt or slumps worse than Jones (almost impossible). When Floyd can play again there is no reason Jones should see the field. Especially with ARAM out.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think Lou and Hendry want guys with more pop in their bat in the outfield to drive in non-existent base runners.

 

It's what the old school manager would do. Meanwhile, neither Jones nor Floyd are hitting the ball out of the park, or hitting the ball for that matter.

 

Floyd's not hitting the ball?

 

I posted this in the other thread:

 

Murton (116 AB's)-.259/.338/.345

Floyd (111 AB's)-.306/.364/.423

 

So Floyd has been over 100 points of OPS better than Murton, and yet played less than him. Right now, Floyd's the guy who should be playing more if Lou wants to play guys who have produced.

 

I agree with you completely with Jones-if Murton is not hurt, then Lou absolutely should not be starting Jones in RF.

 

He's not hitting for power. He's got a sub 800 OPS. So no, he's not really hitting. He's got a nice average, but that's about it. And the only reason he's played less is because he's so fragile and has been on the bereavement list.

[KingCubsFan]

Daily Reminder:

Cliff Floyd at-bats: 111

Matt Murton at-bats: 116

 

For a board that prides itself on statistical analysis, I am shocked that this appears to get by everyone. And Murton has had more at bats than Floyd for a large part of the season.

[jersey cubs fan]

Daily Reminder:

Cliff Floyd at-bats: 111

Matt Murton at-bats: 116

 

For a board that prides itself on statistical analysis, I am shocked that this appears to get by everyone. And Murton has had more at bats than Floyd for a large part of the season.

 

The only reason is Floyd's health (and his father's).

 

And this isn't just a Floyd vs Murton debate. It's primarily Jones who has trumped both in playing time.

[KingCubsFan]

Daily Reminder:

Cliff Floyd at-bats: 111

Matt Murton at-bats: 116

 

For a board that prides itself on statistical analysis, I am shocked that this appears to get by everyone. And Murton has had more at bats than Floyd for a large part of the season.

 

The only reason is Floyd's health (and his father's).

 

And this isn't just a Floyd vs Murton debate. It's primarily Jones who has trumped both in playing time.

You don't really believe that do you? Floyd has missed 4 games because of his father (maybe 3 considering he was available to play last night). He wouldn't have started all those games. Murton has been injured too. Agree on Jones, though. With Pie playing everyday, he's become worthless considering he's forgotten how to hit.

[jersey cubs fan]

You don't really believe that do you? Floyd has missed 4 games because of his father (maybe 3 considering he was available to play last night). He wouldn't have started all those games. Murton has been injured too. Agree on Jones, though. With Pie playing everyday, he's become worthless considering he's forgotten how to hit.

 

Yeah I believe it, it's obvious. He started the season banged up. He missed at least one start, and probably two this weekend, which would have vaulted him over Murton easily. There was talk of a back issue with Murton, but no evidence, and he said he was fine. Floyd has been injured most of his career and moves around like Bonds nowadays. He's clearly incapable of starting everyday and being held back due to health.

[Banedon]

I know it is not like this board to actually reflect and give management some credit,

 

They are 6 games under .500. How much credit should management get?

 

 

I like Lou better than Dusty. But the team is still a disappointment.

 

An argument about Dusty vs Lou is like an argument over Neifi Perez or Cesar Izturis. One's better than the other, but that isn't saying much.

 

I'll pass on both.

[nick23]

You don't really believe that do you? Floyd has missed 4 games because of his father (maybe 3 considering he was available to play last night). He wouldn't have started all those games. Murton has been injured too. Agree on Jones, though. With Pie playing everyday, he's become worthless considering he's forgotten how to hit.

 

Yeah I believe it, it's obvious. He started the season banged up. He missed at least one start, and probably two this weekend, which would have vaulted him over Murton easily. There was talk of a back issue with Murton, but no evidence, and he said he was fine. Floyd has been injured most of his career and moves around like Bonds nowadays. He's clearly incapable of starting everyday and being held back due to health.

You need evidence of Murton's back injury? I like Murton and feel he should be playing 80% of the time but Floyd has clearly outplayed him this year. A Floyd/Murton platoon makes so much sense right now. I don't understand why management is being so patient with Jones. If you can't trade him just bench him. He's clearly the inferior player to Murton and Floyd. It's so frustrating.

Edited June 12, 2007 by nick23

[jersey cubs fan]

You don't really believe that do you? Floyd has missed 4 games because of his father (maybe 3 considering he was available to play last night). He wouldn't have started all those games. Murton has been injured too. Agree on Jones, though. With Pie playing everyday, he's become worthless considering he's forgotten how to hit.

 

Yeah I believe it, it's obvious. He started the season banged up. He missed at least one start, and probably two this weekend, which would have vaulted him over Murton easily. There was talk of a back issue with Murton, but no evidence, and he said he was fine. Floyd has been injured most of his career and moves around like Bonds nowadays. He's clearly incapable of starting everyday and being held back due to health.

You need evidence of Murton's back injury? I like Murton and feel he should be playing 80% of the time but Floyd has clearly outplayed him this year. A Floyd/Murton platoon makes so much sense right now. I don't understand why management is being so patient with Jones. If you can't trade him just bench him. He's clearly the inferior player to Murton and Floyd. It's so frusterating.

 

What I mean is that Floyd has clearly been held back more to injury than Murton. There was talk by Lou that he was sitting Murton for health reasons, but it seems pretty clear that was mostly talk, even if Murton was dinged up. Floyd is a walking injury.

 

The only reason Murton has more ABs than Floyd is because of the health of Floyd (and his father).

[soapy]

Lou's better than Dusty, but he's nothing great, so far.

 

Pros:

-starting pitcher usage. not as much abuse (aside from last night, but that was sort of an extreme case). this was far and away my biggest concern before the season. for the most part, he's kept pitch counts at a reasonable level, IMO.

-Theriot and Fontenot are getting regular playing time dispite their rookie status. I hope that continues.

-more emphasis (or so it seems) on walks. both taking them for hitters and limiting them for pitchers. this is still a problem, but i'm guessing the coaching staff can only do so much.

-Pie (seemingly) becoming the primary CF.

 

 

Cons:

-J. Jones continues to play regularly and hit in key spots in the order. There is no rational explination for this. Murton and Floyd are both better options (even Pagan at this point).

-bullpen usage. still defering to veteran guys too much even when they continue to fail.

-5th starter. old news, but Miller in the rotation was a joke and probably cost the cubs a few games. then he couldn't decide if he wanted Guzman there or not and started jerking him around. stupid.

-Murton should be playing more. I have no problem with he and Floyd platooning, but there is no rational reason why he would be behind Jones. I'd be happy to see close to a 50/50 split between Murton and Floyd.

-the lineups annoy me, though that's not a huge deal. Jones hits high too often, and Soriano/Pie isn't exactly an ideal 1/2. Not sure who is though.

[Soriano12]

I was not happy how Piniella handled the Atlanta series, specifically the Reneria situation. After Renteria pulled that crap on Fontenot, he needed to go down. Yes I realize the issues with getting another arm tossed out of the game, but you have to protect your players. I expect some more payback for Renteria next time these 2 teams face each other.