Article Ideas

[treebird]

how about a piece on cubs home/away numbers and whether we've reached the point where we should start reading something to them, and, if not, what that point would be?

[Banedon]

how about a piece on cubs home/away numbers and whether we've reached the point where we should start reading something to them, and, if not, what that point would be?

 

This could include something about Ned Yost's decision to platoon his 5th starters based on Home/Road performance.

[weis21]

Thoughts on Fukudome's recent struggles and/or his future?

 

Maybe comparing his production by month to other Japanese players in their first year of MLB? Are pitchers pitching him differently, or has he seemed to change his approach at all? Basically, just your thoughts on what the future may hold for our RF.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

I wouldn't mind seeing an analysis on the Cubs current scouting and in particular how they measure up to other teams.

 

Granted, I know that there are discussions about Wilken in the draft forum, but I don't recall seeing much in terms of comparison particularly within the division.

[Mizzou]

Are other people going to write for this site in a more formal fashion, or just meph?

[CuseCubFan69]

I'd like to see an article about how stats like line drives and hard hit balls are determined along with when a pitcher is considered to be losing his effectiveness.

 

I'd also like to see what effects homefield vs away really have on a hitter. Why is there a difference and such a huge one at times?

[Guest]

Are other people going to write for this site in a more formal fashion, or just meph?

I've had other people write for the front page in the past, including Bob's Keeper, T2E & Raw. Unfortunately, time has kept each one of us from writing as regularly as we'd like (or since 2006!). I'm open to other people doing so if anyone would like to go for it.

[nilodnayr]

Heres a good one for hot stove time...try to figure out who is going to be a Type A and Type B free agent. Its increasingly been a big piece of the puzzle in determining a player's value and how apt a team might be to trading him.

 

The formulas have never been published but, theres some info here. I think USA today publishes the final scores, so I'm thinking a math mind like yourself could approximate the formula.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/10/stats-used-for.html

[Mephistopheles]

im starting to get a hang of this mysql thing

 

Until now all of my stuff has been saved on file after file of excel. It became a pain in the ass to mix and match and I wanted to get into pitchfx more, and that's where excel really failed me. I've spent much of the weekend learning mysql (seriously on friday I wanted to shoot myself because i couldn't figure out how to even load the bbdatabank database from baseball-databank.org). I've started to import my excel stuff. I've got a lot of my Japanese stuff uploaded. I've got just my AAA hitters from 2002-07 entered, with PFs. I also have gotten all the pitch by pitch data from opening day up until about May 1st. The spider thing for me dies every thirty or forty games. After that I'll add some minor league pitch by pitch stuff. Some interesting things

 

EqA leaders in AAA from 02-07 min 200 PA

+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
| Player             | Year | Lg   | TeamID | PA   | EqA   | EqR   |
+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
| Ryan Howard        | 2005 | IL   | SWB    |  257 | 0.369 |  61.0 |
| Marcus Thames      | 2004 | IL   | TOL    |  267 | 0.360 |  69.0 |
| Marcus Thames      | 2005 | IL   | TOL    |  314 | 0.356 |  74.1 |
| D'Angelo Jimenez   | 2007 | IL   | COC    |  204 | 0.355 |  41.6 |
| Calvin Pickering   | 2004 | PCL  | OMA    |  369 | 0.352 |  95.6 |
| Jonny Gomes        | 2005 | IL   | DUR    |  202 | 0.349 |  43.8 |
| Roberto Petagine   | 2005 | IL   | PAW    |  336 | 0.348 |  71.6 |
| Todd Linden        | 2005 | PCL  | FRE    |  415 | 0.346 |  98.5 |
| Kevin Orie         | 2005 | PCL  | NAS    |  217 | 0.346 |  51.0 |
| Rickie Weeks       | 2005 | PCL  | NAS    |  249 | 0.344 |  58.9 |
| Jack Cust          | 2006 | PCL  | POR    |  591 | 0.343 | 119.8 |
| Rick Short         | 2005 | PCL  | NO     |  433 | 0.341 |  97.1 |
| Hiram Bocachica    | 2006 | PCL  | SAC    |  344 | 0.340 |  74.5 |
| Larry Sutton       | 2004 | PCL  | ALQ    |  367 | 0.339 |  82.1 |
| Ross Gload         | 2005 | IL   | CHK    |  263 | 0.338 |  55.8 |
| Geovany Soto       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  449 | 0.337 |  99.1 |
| Brandon Larson     | 2002 | IL   | LOU    |  321 | 0.336 |  66.6 |
| Bucky Jacobsen     | 2004 | PCL  | TAC    |  342 | 0.336 |  83.0 |
| Brian Myrow        | 2007 | PCL  | POR    |  414 | 0.336 |  88.1 |
| Travis Hafner      | 2002 | PCL  | OKL    |  480 | 0.336 | 100.4 |
| Ryan Church        | 2004 | PCL  | EDM    |  398 | 0.335 |  93.0 |
| Chris Snelling     | 2005 | PCL  | TAC    |  291 | 0.335 |  63.1 |
| Brian Daubach      | 2005 | IL   | NOR    |  412 | 0.334 |  83.4 |
| Josh Willingham    | 2005 | PCL  | ALQ    |  279 | 0.334 |  58.5 |
| Jason Ellison      | 2006 | PCL  | FRE    |  211 | 0.333 |  42.0 |
| Bubba Crosby       | 2003 | PCL  | LV     |  302 | 0.332 |  62.7 |
| Jason Botts        | 2006 | PCL  | OKL    |  259 | 0.331 |  53.6 |
| Jason Bay          | 2003 | PCL  | POR    |  362 | 0.331 |  76.9 |
| Joe Dillon         | 2005 | PCL  | ALQ    |  425 | 0.331 |  86.4 |
| Matt Diaz          | 2005 | PCL  | OMA    |  277 | 0.330 |  62.3 |
| Fernando Seguignol | 2003 | IL   | COC    |  436 | 0.330 |  85.1 |
| Brandon Larson     | 2003 | IL   | LOU    |  310 | 0.329 |  61.0 |
| Jason Botts        | 2007 | PCL  | OKL    |  459 | 0.329 |  93.6 |
| Chris Shelton      | 2005 | IL   | TOL    |  211 | 0.328 |  41.5 |
| Aaron Guiel        | 2002 | PCL  | OMA    |  244 | 0.328 |  50.2 |
| Chris Denorfia     | 2006 | IL   | LOU    |  353 | 0.327 |  60.8 |
| Shane Costa        | 2006 | PCL  | OMA    |  224 | 0.327 |  45.4 |
| Josh Phelps        | 2002 | IL   | SYR    |  289 | 0.327 |  57.5 |
| Joe Dillon         | 2007 | PCL  | NAS    |  378 | 0.326 |  79.8 |
| Marshall McDougall | 2005 | PCL  | OKL    |  256 | 0.325 |  53.7 |
| Dan Johnson        | 2006 | PCL  | SAC    |  209 | 0.325 |  39.8 |
| Ryan Raburn        | 2007 | IL   | TOL    |  373 | 0.325 |  68.5 |
| Mitch Jones        | 2007 | PCL  | LV     |  219 | 0.324 |  45.4 |
| Freddy Sanchez     | 2003 | IL   | PAW    |  242 | 0.324 |  42.7 |
| Jorge Piedra       | 2007 | PCL  | SAC    |  306 | 0.323 |  61.8 |
| Jack Hannahan      | 2007 | IL   | TOL    |  417 | 0.323 |  71.7 |
| Terrmel Sledge     | 2006 | PCL  | POR    |  434 | 0.323 |  84.7 |
| Luke Scott         | 2006 | PCL  | RoR    |  381 | 0.323 |  74.1 |
| Marcos Scutaro     | 2003 | IL   | NOR    |  277 | 0.323 |  52.8 |
| Howie Kendrick     | 2006 | PCL  | SLB    |  312 | 0.322 |  60.2 |
| Coco Crisp         | 2003 | IL   | BUF    |  251 | 0.322 |  46.0 |
| Carlos Pena        | 2005 | IL   | TOL    |  309 | 0.321 |  57.4 |
| Josh Phelps        | 2006 | IL   | TOL    |  522 | 0.321 |  91.3 |
| Adam Hyzdu         | 2004 | IL   | PAW    |  549 | 0.321 | 108.5 |
| Val Pascucci       | 2004 | PCL  | EDM    |  471 | 0.320 | 101.0 |
| George Lombard     | 2006 | PCL  | NO     |  220 | 0.320 |  43.2 |
| Conor Jackson      | 2005 | PCL  | TUC    |  409 | 0.320 |  76.9 |
| Jon Nunnally       | 2003 | PCL  | MEM    |  526 | 0.320 | 105.2 |
| Shelley Duncan     | 2007 | IL   | SWB    |  387 | 0.320 |  69.0 |
| Nick Green         | 2007 | PCL  | TAC    |  313 | 0.319 |  65.6 |
| Scott Hairston     | 2006 | PCL  | TUC    |  440 | 0.319 |  81.9 |
| Matt Kemp          | 2006 | PCL  | LV     |  202 | 0.318 |  36.9 |
| Bryan Lahair       | 2006 | PCL  | TAC    |  230 | 0.318 |  43.5 |
| Johnny Estrada     | 2003 | IL   | RIC    |  384 | 0.318 |  69.9 |
| Dan Johnson        | 2005 | PCL  | SAC    |  217 | 0.318 |  42.9 |
| Midre Cummings     | 2004 | IL   | DUR    |  500 | 0.317 |  94.6 |
| Robert Machado     | 2003 | IL   | OTT    |  238 | 0.317 |  42.7 |
| Ruben Mateo        | 2003 | IL   | LOU    |  243 | 0.317 |  42.8 |
| Jason Kubel        | 2004 | IL   | ROC    |  384 | 0.317 |  74.1 |
| Joe Vitiello       | 2002 | IL   | OTT    |  470 | 0.317 |  84.3 |
| Jeff Keppinger     | 2007 | IL   | LOU    |  261 | 0.316 |  42.6 |
| Jack Cust          | 2003 | IL   | OTT    |  413 | 0.316 |  69.4 |
| Luis Lopez         | 2004 | IL   | RIC    |  262 | 0.316 |  49.0 |
| Xavier Nady        | 2004 | PCL  | POR    |  313 | 0.316 |  68.8 |
| Felipe Lopez       | 2002 | IL   | SYR    |  202 | 0.316 |  34.3 |
| Garrett Atkins     | 2004 | PCL  | CSS    |  502 | 0.315 |  98.5 |
| Shin-Soo Choo      | 2006 | PCL  | TAC    |  427 | 0.315 |  80.1 |
| Pete Laforest      | 2003 | IL   | DUR    |  237 | 0.315 |  42.2 |
| Chase Utley        | 2003 | IL   | SWB    |  472 | 0.315 |  84.5 |
| Justin Morneau     | 2004 | IL   | ROC    |  320 | 0.314 |  62.4 |
| Billy Butler       | 2007 | PCL  | OMA    |  256 | 0.314 |  48.6 |
| Ernie Young        | 2006 | IL   | CHK    |  417 | 0.314 |  65.3 |
| Jeff Liefer        | 2005 | IL   | BUF    |  361 | 0.314 |  66.0 |
| Andy Phillips      | 2005 | IL   | COC    |  340 | 0.313 |  62.4 |
| James Loney        | 2006 | PCL  | LV     |  406 | 0.313 |  70.9 |
| Josh Fields        | 2006 | IL   | CHK    |  526 | 0.313 |  86.0 |
| Adrian Gonzalez    | 2005 | PCL  | OKL    |  368 | 0.313 |  72.1 |
| Adam Jones         | 2007 | PCL  | TAC    |  469 | 0.313 |  94.7 |
| Lou Collier        | 2002 | IL   | OTT    |  344 | 0.313 |  60.2 |
| Scott Seabol       | 2003 | PCL  | MEM    |  339 | 0.312 |  65.5 |
| Joe Crede          | 2002 | IL   | CHK    |  385 | 0.312 |  69.9 |
| Carlos Ruiz        | 2006 | IL   | SWB    |  423 | 0.312 |  67.5 |
| Kevin Witt         | 2006 | IL   | DUR    |  542 | 0.312 |  89.5 |
| Jason Dubois       | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  426 | 0.312 |  90.1 |
| Russell Branyan    | 2004 | IL   | BUF    |  355 | 0.311 |  68.3 |
| Tom Wilson         | 2005 | PCL  | CSS    |  246 | 0.311 |  45.5 |
| Craig Monroe       | 2002 | IL   | TOL    |  393 | 0.311 |  68.8 |
| Brian Daubach      | 2004 | IL   | PAW    |  407 | 0.311 |  74.4 |
| Mike Kinkade       | 2002 | PCL  | LV     |  316 | 0.310 |  59.5 |
| Tagg Bozied        | 2004 | PCL  | POR    |  231 | 0.310 |  49.0 |
+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
100 rows in set (0.89 sec)

 

Looking at just the Iowa Cubs is always fun. Well not really.

 

+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
| Player             | Year | Lg   | TeamID | PA   | EqA   | EqR   |
+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
| Geovany Soto       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  449 | 0.337 |  99.1 |
| Matt Murton        | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  172 | 0.314 |  32.8 |
| Gookie Dawkins     | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  184 | 0.313 |  37.8 |
| Jason Dubois       | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  426 | 0.312 |  90.1 |
| Ronny Cedeno       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  327 | 0.309 |  60.3 |
| Felix Pie          | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  250 | 0.308 |  47.0 |
| Michael Restovich  | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  506 | 0.308 |  91.3 |
| Hee-Seop Choi      | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  573 | 0.307 | 104.0 |
| Mike Kinkade       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  137 | 0.303 |  24.7 |
| Ronny Cedeno       | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  275 | 0.300 |  49.9 |
| Kevin Orie         | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  319 | 0.299 |  58.8 |
| Mike Fontenot      | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  231 | 0.298 |  40.5 |
| Julio Zuleta       | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  487 | 0.294 |  85.6 |
| Micah Hoffpauir    | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  342 | 0.294 |  59.2 |
| Trenidad Hubbard   | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  395 | 0.294 |  64.0 |
| Scott McClain      | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  481 | 0.294 |  86.7 |
| Angel Echevarria   | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  234 | 0.293 |  41.2 |
| Trenidad Hubbard   | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  535 | 0.292 |  94.5 |
| Russ Johnson       | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  485 | 0.292 |  85.4 |
| Scott Moore        | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  382 | 0.289 |  63.2 |
| Corey Patterson    | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  102 | 0.286 |  17.2 |
| Mike Fontenot      | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  418 | 0.284 |  62.6 |
| Phil Hiatt         | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  523 | 0.284 |  84.1 |
| Jayson Bass        | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  471 | 0.283 |  75.9 |
| Jacob Fox          | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  108 | 0.282 |  17.4 |
| Bobby Hill         | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  403 | 0.281 |  63.0 |
| Damian Jackson     | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  108 | 0.281 |  18.7 |
| Adam Melhuse       | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  254 | 0.280 |  39.3 |
| Ben Grieve         | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  342 | 0.279 |  52.5 |
| Brendan Harris     | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  270 | 0.277 |  45.1 |
| Donny Leon         | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  360 | 0.276 |  55.0 |
| Trenidad Hubbard   | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  274 | 0.275 |  41.4 |
| Koyie Hill         | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  162 | 0.274 |  23.7 |
| Micah Hoffpauir    | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  297 | 0.273 |  41.8 |
| Calvin Murray      | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  500 | 0.272 |  77.5 |
| Buck Coats         | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  508 | 0.272 |  72.7 |
| Eric Patterson     | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  582 | 0.272 |  85.4 |
| David Kelton       | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  488 | 0.271 |  69.6 |
| Mike Fontenot      | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  449 | 0.270 |  63.7 |
| Ryan Theriot       | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  312 | 0.269 |  41.2 |
| Felix Pie          | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  623 | 0.269 |  86.6 |
| Calvin Murray      | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  579 | 0.268 |  81.1 |
| Bobby Hill         | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  398 | 0.268 |  55.2 |
| Midre Cummings     | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  425 | 0.268 |  60.1 |
| Denny Hocking      | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  115 | 0.266 |  17.5 |
| Josh Kroeger       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  198 | 0.264 |  27.4 |
| Mark Johnson       | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  216 | 0.264 |  28.5 |
| Bill Selby         | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  437 | 0.260 |  64.7 |
| Matt Craig         | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  121 | 0.260 |  16.1 |
| Geovany Soto       | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  391 | 0.259 |  47.7 |
| Keith McDonald     | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  310 | 0.258 |  40.4 |
| Buck Coats         | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  498 | 0.256 |  60.3 |
| Mario Encarnacion  | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  217 | 0.256 |  28.1 |
| Casey McGehee      | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  546 | 0.255 |  65.7 |
| John Nelson        | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  180 | 0.255 |  23.6 |
| Augie Ojeda        | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  378 | 0.251 |  42.7 |
| Jeff Deardorff     | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  355 | 0.250 |  42.2 |
| Mickey Lopez       | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  377 | 0.250 |  46.2 |
| Donny Leon         | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  427 | 0.249 |  55.7 |
| David Kelton       | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  495 | 0.248 |  61.5 |
| Kimera Bartee      | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  460 | 0.246 |  56.7 |
| Angel Pagan        | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  127 | 0.244 |  15.2 |
| Nate Frese         | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  347 | 0.242 |  37.9 |
| David Kelton       | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  453 | 0.242 |  57.7 |
| Nic Jackson        | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  493 | 0.241 |  55.9 |
| Ivanon Coffie      | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  414 | 0.241 |  48.0 |
| Geovany Soto       | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  345 | 0.240 |  37.7 |
| Augie Ojeda        | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  317 | 0.239 |  33.3 |
| Jose A. Reyes      | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  126 | 0.234 |  12.1 |
| Micah Hoffpauir    | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  438 | 0.230 |  44.2 |
| Anthony Richie     | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  215 | 0.229 |  22.7 |
| Mike Mahoney       | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  201 | 0.227 |  19.5 |
| Brandon Sing       | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  114 | 0.226 |  10.6 |
| Luis Montanez      | 2006 | PCL  | IOW    |  269 | 0.223 |  24.9 |
| Luis Ordaz         | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  203 | 0.223 |  19.4 |
| Mike Mahoney       | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  240 | 0.223 |  22.8 |
| Richard Lewis      | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  122 | 0.222 |  13.0 |
| Augie Ojeda        | 2002 | PCL  | IOW    |  322 | 0.221 |  30.4 |
| Carlos Rojas       | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  233 | 0.221 |  21.4 |
| Nate Frese         | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  224 | 0.219 |  21.2 |
| Benji Gil          | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  120 | 0.214 |  11.3 |
| Cody Ransom        | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  188 | 0.209 |  15.8 |
| Josh Paul          | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  154 | 0.208 |  12.3 |
| Fernando Lunar     | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  264 | 0.198 |  20.8 |
| Joseph Simokaitis  | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  142 | 0.192 |   9.8 |
| Richard Lewis      | 2005 | PCL  | IOW    |  287 | 0.189 |  19.4 |
| Chris Pritchett    | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  115 | 0.184 |   7.0 |
| Jackson Melian     | 2003 | PCL  | IOW    |  137 | 0.175 |   7.6 |
| Casey Kopitzke     | 2004 | PCL  | IOW    |  263 | 0.153 |  11.4 |
| Christopher Walker | 2007 | PCL  | IOW    |  181 | 0.127 |   4.8 |
+--------------------+------+------+--------+------+-------+-------+
90 rows in set (0.88 sec)

 

Anyone who is good at this stuff and would like to answer any questions i have would be appreciated

[Guest]

What do you need?

[Mephistopheles]

Nothing at the moment, except is there a similar function to vlookup from excel? The only way that I could call back the league constants I needed for EqA was to nest a few subqueries to get it to work.

 

For example, the first output came from

 

SELECT Player, Year, Lg, TeamID, PA, EqA, EqR from (SELECT Player, Year, Lg, TeamID, PA, round(((2*((2*H+2B+2*3B+3*HR+1.5*(BB+HBP+SB)+SF+SH)/(PA+CS+SB))/LGRAW)-1)*PA*LGRPA/(PF/1000),1) AS EqR, round(pow(((((2*((2*H+2B+2*3B+3*HR+1.5*(BB+HBP+SB)+SF+SH)/(PA+CS+SB))/LGRAW)-1)*PA*LGRPA/(PF/1000))/(AB-H+CS+SF+SH)/(LGROUT/pow(.26,2.5))),.4),3) as EqA from (SELECT batting.`Year`, batting.`Lv`, batting.`Lg`, batting.`Player`, batting.`TeamID`, batting.`PA`, batting.`AB`, batting.`R`, batting.`H`, batting.`2B`, batting.`3B`, batting.`HR`, batting.`SH`, batting.`SF`, batting.`BB`, batting.`HBP`, batting.`SB`, batting.`CS`, `LGRAW`, `LGRPA`, `LGROUT`, PF FROM batting, league, pfs where league.Year=batting.Year AND league.Lg=batting.Lg AND batting.Year=pfs.Year AND batting.TeamID=pfs.TeamID) t

) y where PA>200 order by EqA desc limit 100

 

At the very beginning I had three tables, the batting data, park factor data and league hitting data. I had to join all three and then only keep the columns I wanted to move on. Is there a better way?

[Guest]

If you're going to store the data fully normalized and at the lowest level, probably not. If there are certain calculations you will make all the time, though, you might consider storing those as part of the table structure so that the calcs don't have to be done each time. All I really know to do is to trade off storage space versus processing time.

 

Certainly, you'll want to index the data properly so that retrieval times get minimized, as well.

[UK1679666180]

Meph, want to tackle the discussion on Adam Dunn and whether or not he'd be better off being more aggressive early in the count rather than working the count further to his advantage or falling behind?

[gus_dog]

I never tire of hearing of Reed Johnson. What a pick up. The guy has been nails for the Cubs. It's guys like him that make the difference, IMO. I love Reed Johnson.