Cubs Trade Rob Bowen and Jerry Blevins for Jason Kendall

[bukie]

If you can show me that a pitcher pitches worse to a catcher he doesn't like, great, you've got a case. Until then, I don't care what the pichers have to say about their catchers. They can blame them or praise them all they want, it comes down to their own abilities to pitch.

 

Carlos Zambrano, through June 1, had 4 quality starts out of 12. 3 of those QS's were with Blanco catching. Since the Barrett fight, Zambrano has 8 quality starts out of 8 starts. Barrett didn't catch any of them. Barrett caught 7 of the 8 non-quality starts, and the one Barrett didn't catch, Blanco caught him in a 5 1/3 inning, 2 run start that just missed being a QS.

 

If ever there were an example of a pitcher and a catcher not getting along, that is it.

[abuck1220]

kendall hitting .297 over his last 25 games is the new izturis led the league in hitting for two months.

 

Except Kendall has a track record of being solid in the past and Izzy had no such thing

 

and kendall's old and has caught eight billion games.

 

i'm not up in arms about the trade or anything, i'm just not doing cartwheels. i'd have preferred to just let soto take over.

[David]

Is this a freaking joke? He has a .542 OPS, this fixes nothing, and unless the A's picked up a ton of money, all this does is hamstring us in the future.

 

Jesus christ why can't the Cubs just let an inexpensive young player fill a freaking role? God dammit.

 

the future? unless im mistaken he's a free agent after this season. I don't think he's a very good player anymore but this isnt the worst deal hes done. the money isnt an issue for the Cubs and its a buy low chance. there's a pretty damn good chance kendalls obp is .340+ the rest of the season. power? no but as long as hes not an auto out im happy.

 

There really are uninformed fans here...first thing A's and Pirates are basically paying for Kendall, Cubs getting $1M, second he is FA after this year, no risk. 3rd Bowen was simply a body and some knowledge regarding what SD knows on Hill...Blevins is not a real prospect of note, a chance average FB, change and curve.

 

That all said, what Kendall has is a CERA...best in baseball, hmmm that is not an offensive number for the fantasy heads, and he did have a good June at the plate, back at his usual numbers.

 

Is he Gaitti or Karras, possibly but you guys know it all...

 

A - IMB! made his post before we knew how much of Kendall's salary we were taking on. Did he react a little early? Maybe, but it was in the heat of the moment, if you will.

 

B - Catcher ERA has been shown to be a worthless stat. A catcher who catches good pitchers will have a good one, a catcher who catches bad pitchers will have a bad one.

 

C - He was not at his usual numbers in June. His OBP (his main strength throughout his career) was still only .326 in June. Was he better than he has been most of the year? Absolutely. It's one of the reasons I'm holding out a little hope that he can, to some extent, revert to his old form.

[Sarcastic]

If you can show me that a pitcher pitches worse to a catcher he doesn't like, great, you've got a case. Until then, I don't care what the pichers have to say about their catchers. They can blame them or praise them all they want, it comes down to their own abilities to pitch.

 

Carlos Zambrano, through June 1, had 4 quality starts out of 12. 3 of those QS's were with Blanco catching. Since the Barrett fight, Zambrano has 8 quality starts out of 8 starts. Barrett didn't catch any of them. Barrett caught 7 of the 8 non-quality starts, and the one Barrett didn't catch, Blanco caught him in a 5 1/3 inning, 2 run start that just missed being a QS.

 

If ever there were an example of a pitcher and a catcher not getting along, that is it.

 

Sample size. 12 starts proves nothing. If you would like to look at Barrett's stats catching the Cubs staff this year total, or over the last 3.5 seasons, they have been posted repeatedly, and don't support your argument. I'd bet that if you looked at Barrett's full 3.5 seasons catching Zambrano, any difference would be pretty small.

[abuck1220]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

[frostwyrm]

i'd have preferred to just let soto take over.

 

Same here. We could have given Soto a few weeks of everyday play immediately after Barrett's departure, then made a judgment about whether we needed another catcher, but that wasn't going to happen under current management. Lou and Hendry had to have a veteran catcher for the stretch run. Depending on rookies makes them nervous.

[Derwood]

so, how long before Hendry signs Kendall to a 3 year extension?

 

/ducks

[illiniguy]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

[UK1679666180]

 

Well they have made the point to Bruce at least how much they loved the last few guys. Also you claim they liked how Fox called games, as opposed to Barrett?

 

Not opposed to Barrett but in general reference. I don't know how they liked his game calling ability, but from the looks of it they didn't. I'm pretty sure Bowen and Hil called a better game than Barrett, it doesn't equate to Soto not being able to do so.

 

Someone made reference that b/c Soto was at AAA that there's a chance he might not work well with the pitchers, I heard that wasn't the case with Soto or Fox in ST.

[CUBZ99]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

[Keener98]

Is this a freaking joke? He has a .542 OPS, this fixes nothing, and unless the A's picked up a ton of money, all this does is hamstring us in the future.

 

Jesus christ why can't the Cubs just let an inexpensive young player fill a freaking role? God dammit.

 

the future? unless im mistaken he's a free agent after this season. I don't think he's a very good player anymore but this isnt the worst deal hes done. the money isnt an issue for the Cubs and its a buy low chance. there's a pretty damn good chance kendalls obp is .340+ the rest of the season. power? no but as long as hes not an auto out im happy.

 

There really are uninformed fans here...first thing A's and Pirates are basically paying for Kendall, Cubs getting $1M, second he is FA after this year, no risk. 3rd Bowen was simply a body and some knowledge regarding what SD knows on Hill...Blevins is not a real prospect of note, a chance average FB, change and curve.

 

That all said, what Kendall has is a CERA...best in baseball, hmmm that is not an offensive number for the fantasy heads, and he did have a good June at the plate, back at his usual numbers.

 

 

...

 

You are showing just how uniformed the fans are, by using the ridiculous CERA stat, but thanks for showing how "informed" you are.

Edited July 17, 2007 by Keener98

[Sarcastic]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

 

Sure, but they didn't have to. That was the point. The numbers from this season are a meaningless sample size with plenty of varying factors. Checking out Barrett's overall numbers catching the staff in the time he's been here, he has been fine catching the Cubs pitchers.

[illiniguy]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

Sure, but what about next year when we have neither?

[inari]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

Sure, but what about next year when we have neither?

 

Because indications are definitely that Z is gonna leave.

[illiniguy]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

Sure, but what about next year when we have neither?

 

Because indications are definitely that Z is gonna leave.

What do you think he is going to come out and say he won't resign with us right now? That would do wonders for his image. If he really wanted to be here next year, instead of talking about it he would be signing a contract.

[abuck1220]

 

There really are uninformed fans here

 

That all said, what Kendall has is a CERA...best in baseball

 

 

i LOVE irony.

[Shilzzz]

Is this a freaking joke? He has a .542 OPS, this fixes nothing, and unless the A's picked up a ton of money, all this does is hamstring us in the future.

 

Jesus christ why can't the Cubs just let an inexpensive young player fill a freaking role? God dammit.

 

the future? unless im mistaken he's a free agent after this season. I don't think he's a very good player anymore but this isnt the worst deal hes done. the money isnt an issue for the Cubs and its a buy low chance. there's a pretty damn good chance kendalls obp is .340+ the rest of the season. power? no but as long as hes not an auto out im happy.

 

There really are uninformed fans here...first thing A's and Pirates are basically paying for Kendall, Cubs getting $1M, second he is FA after this year, no risk. 3rd Bowen was simply a body and some knowledge regarding what SD knows on Hill...Blevins is not a real prospect of note, a chance average FB, change and curve.

 

That all said, what Kendall has is a CERA...best in baseball, hmmm that is not an offensive number for the fantasy heads, and he did have a good June at the plate, back at his usual numbers.

 

 

...

 

You are showing just how uniformed the fans are, by using the ridiculous CERA stat, but thanks for showing how "informed" you are.

 

:lol: oh man, that was a good laugh. how can kendall NOT have the best CERA, when he catches THE BEST ROTATION IN BASEBALL? the most ridiculous stat i've ever heard of.

[Bote McBoteface]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

Sure, but what about next year when we have neither?

 

Because indications are definitely that Z is gonna leave.

What do you think he is going to come out and say he won't resign with us right now? That would do wonders for his image. If he really wanted to be here next year, instead of talking about it he would be signing a contract.

 

He said before the season he didn't want to be distracted by contract negotiation.

 

I always wondered if Zambrano's struggles early on were a result of ongoing negotiations, but I kept it to myself.

[Mephistopheles]

mephandom, would it be a bad idea for me to read the last ten or so pages from today? is it that poorly thought out?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

mephandom, would it be a bad idea for me to read the last ten or so pages from today? is it that poorly thought out?

 

Just Say No.

[bukie]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

 

Sure, but they didn't have to. That was the point. The numbers from this season are a meaningless sample size with plenty of varying factors. Checking out Barrett's overall numbers catching the staff in the time he's been here, he has been fine catching the Cubs pitchers.

 

It's not so much a meaningless sample size, at best it's an odd coincidence that every single one of Zambrano's 8 poor starts were with Barrett catching, and 13 of his 14 other starts were with someone else catching. Is it Zambrano's problem as much as Barrett's? Absolutely, but something had to be done to fix the situation.

 

Apparently, Hendry picked to dump Barrett.

[sethuel1]

God, how I wish the search function worked. Ever day at midnight I'd search for "CERA", and then i'd reply to any post using it with

 

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHJAHAHAHAJKHFHBWELFJBJKBEG;kjwbe

[Sarcastic]

also, if barrett catching effected zambrano this year that much, it's as much zambrano's fault as barrett's.

That I agree with.

 

If the Cubs had to get rid of Barrett to keep Zambrano, I am all for getting rid of Barrett.

 

Sure, but they didn't have to. That was the point. The numbers from this season are a meaningless sample size with plenty of varying factors. Checking out Barrett's overall numbers catching the staff in the time he's been here, he has been fine catching the Cubs pitchers.

 

It's not so much a meaningless sample size, at best it's an odd coincidence that every single one of Zambrano's 8 poor starts were with Barrett catching, and 13 of his 14 other starts were with someone else catching. Is it Zambrano's problem as much as Barrett's? Absolutely, but something had to be done to fix the situation.

 

Apparently, Hendry picked to dump Barrett.

 

No, something did not have to be done, because there was no real problem. The numbers you showed are meaningless. Look at Barrett's numbers catching the staff over a longer period of time, and you can clearly see that there is very little variation.

[Soriano12]

http://bethannmowery.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/friends_cera.gif

[Laura]

The elimination of the alternate blue jerseys may have factored into Z's early season stinkage. It takes time to adjust to a new wardrobe.