Piniella: I'm retiring at the end of the season

[javy knows my name]

Wow, this thread really brought out the morons. I didn't know there were so many left still

This from a person using the term Cubbie.

 

Who would you like to see as GM and Manager of the Cubs?

GM - Depodesta

Mgr - Fredi if he's available or Bobby V

[Guest]

An overlooked aspect of Sandberg the manager(at least in this thread) is that he's pretty much a crazy person on the field. He gets thrown out like every 10 games or so. That's probably an exaggeration, but it wasn't much of one as recently as last year.

That's a good point, nothing shows FIRE and INTENSITY like getting tossed. Also it will help the players to know he's INTENSE and wants to win and if they only PLAY THE GAME THE RIGHT WAY good will come out.

 

Also, he's really, really aggressive on the base paths or at least he was as a MGR/3rd base coach in the minors. He loves to have guys thrown out while HUSTLING trying to stretch a single into a double or a double into a triple. GOT TO PUT PRESSURE ON THE OTHER GUY.

 

I can't wait.

[Ballgame64]

cutting down on your swing with two strikes because making the defense make a play is better than striking out (unless of course you hit into a double play).

 

That's playing smart baseball at the little league level, not the majors.

If the object of the exercise as a hitter is to not make an out, isn't it better to put the ball in play than to swing and miss assuming the pitch is a strike?

However, a batter who shortens his swing still strikes out, as well. And he's much less likely to get a hit - major league defenses are really, really good. Simply putting the ball into play weakly is extremely unlikely to get you on base.

 

On the other hand, taking a good solid swing at the ball optimizes your chances of having a positive result.

Thanks for the explanation. So in today's world, when you look back in baseball history, how do we judge guys like Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn? Neither guy hit for a lot of power but did not strike out much. How does their OPS compare to what is considered a good hitter now.

 

I would say Gwynn's approach is more what I am talking about when I think of shortening your swing or having a controlled swing. Maybe they were just so good at hitting that they are not the best examples.

[Tyrant]

So in today's world, when you look back in baseball history, how do we judge guys like Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn? Neither guy hit for a lot of power but did not strike out much. How does their OPS compare to what is considered a good hitter now.

 

Boggs once hit 45 doubles in a year to go along with a .476 OBP. He was still hitting the ball hard.

[Ballgame64]

With Joe Torre's contact also up at the end of the year and Paul Sullivan saying LA sources say Torre would like the challenge of managing the Cubs, what would people here think of Joe Torre as the next manager?

 

He had a heck of a run with the Yankees and the Dodgers have lost the last two NLCS. But way back when, he did not have a lot of success as a manager.

[Old Style]

Wow, this thread really brought out the morons. I didn't know there were so many left still

So glad you added your wit & wisdom to the topic, my good man.

I'll stop adding mine if you stop adding yours

Gotta love the Welcoming Committee around these parts.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'd rather have Torre than Sandberg. And Torre once batted Alex Rodriguez 8th in a playoff game.

[woodchip2153]

coincidentally fangraphs has a post about Braun and how it looks like he has cut down his swing and why that might not be a good thing.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/ryan-brauns-power/

 

Braun's wOBA

2007 .422

2008 .377

2009 .405

2010 .362

[SouthSideRyan]

He has had success at each level. There are a lot of people here who will not give him much credit for what he has done and think he will be a horrible manager because he doesn't spew stats constantly, talks about playing the game the right way or they simply say the teams have been successful inspite of Sandberg. But at the end of the day, the team is judged on Wins/Losses and ultimately on championships, not how many times a manager calls fo sacrifice bunt during the seaon.

 

Ok let's judge Sandberg on his win-loss records

 

71-68

60-78 (QUICK!! PROMOTE HIM!!)

71-69 (OVER 500?? PROMOTE HIM AGAIN!!)

51-44

 

That is a stellar 6 games under 500 for his managerial career. Surely, no other minor league managers are out there with that kind of track record.

So why did they promote him? You may not agree with how the front office judges such things, but obviously someone felt he has done a good job. My comment about wins/losses is at the major league level since we all know kids are moved off minor league teams as they prove worthy of promotion, which can impact the final record.

 

Wouldn't the players' talent on the big league level have just as much impact as those on the minor league level?

 

I have no idea what the front office saw in Sandberg's performance to fast track him. If I had to guess I'd say it was a combination of them loving stupid things like small-ball and getting ejected along with the PR side of it. Nobody cares if Jody Davis is managing AA.

[jersey cubs fan]

I have no idea what the front office saw in Sandberg's performance to fast track him. If I had to guess I'd say it was a combination of them loving stupid things like small-ball and getting ejected along with the PR side of it. Nobody cares if Jody Davis is managing AA.

 

I think it's 90% PR and 10%, "wait he actually likes bunting and all that BS that we love."

 

 

 

Joe Torre is a little too full of himself in my opinion. He thinks he matters. His teams also make too many outs on the bases and via the sacrifice. On the other hand his teams were always incredibly patient walk machines. So who knows. I'll just reiterate that what matters most is the GM.

[UK1679666180]

My top 3 choices in order:

 

1)Tim Bogar

2)Matt Walbeck

3)Torey Lovullo

[jersey cubs fan]

I know everybody likes to claim ownership is cheap and the Cubs always go with no names and people like Phil Rogers and Dave Kaplan probably insist that the next guy has to be a big name with rings, but the Cubs are going on back to back to back big name managers with Baylor, Baker and Piniella. And that didn't help. Hopefully they have the freedom to go after anybody they want.

[mhuber92211]

What happened to Alan Trammell?

[Guest]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

[fiver]

So in today's world, when you look back in baseball history, how do we judge guys like Wade Boggs or Tony Gwynn? Neither guy hit for a lot of power but did not strike out much. How does their OPS compare to what is considered a good hitter now.

 

 

Boggs had a career OPS of .858 and a career OBP of .415. Gwynn comes in at .847 and .388 respectively. They'd be great assets to a team today because of the rate they got on base (didn't make an out)...not so much because of the fact they didn't strike out much.

Edited July 20, 2010 by fiver

[fiver]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

 

Hendry lives a charmed life....can a 31 year old man decide to become a Red Sox fan after being a lifelong Cubs fan?

[BeerHere]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

dammit

[jersey cubs fan]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

 

Hendry lives a charmed life....can a 31 year old man decide to become a Red Sox fan after being a lifelong Cubs fan?

 

It really is amazing. MacPhail hooked him up with an extension like a day before he walked away, then Kenney gave him another one when the future was cloudy.

 

Ricketts is now officially on my [expletive] list.

[Guest]

What happened to Alan Trammell?

 

I'd be fine with Trammell. The only thing that really impresses me about Torre is his ability to tell Steinbrenner to take a hike while taking his managing career elsewhere.

 

The clubhouse attendant could have filled out daily line up cards for the Yankees and won a World Series or two during the span Torre was there.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

He dropped the ball!

[Guest]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

 

Son of a bitch.

[Keener98]

[expletive] you Ricketts! How the hell does Hendry continue to keep his [expletive] job! Unreal

[Cubs Fan Dan]

Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that Hendry "will be our GM next year. He will lead the effort to find a manager. It will be Jim's decision, but we will work together."

 

Click for depression

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

He dropped the ball!

 

I listened to the whole press conference and as I heard and saw the quote, I heard many things that made me think Ricketts is not going keep Hendry, it makes perfect sense for him to be in full support of Hendry right now with the trade deadline approaching. I also believe the quote was more in the direction of "Hendry will be our GM going into the offseason and will work with hiring the new manager."

[Guest]

I was withholding judgment on Ricketts, but I guess that's no longer necessary at this point.

 

Just bring the lovable losers back. This half-assed attempt to be competitive is way more painful.

[Guest]

 

 

Ricketts is now officially on my [expletive] list.

That should be on a shirt.

 

I saw this coming after reading Bruce Miles's blogs the past month or so.

Edited July 20, 2010 by CubinNY