4/30 Cubs (Volstad) @ Phillies (Worley) 6:05 CSN

[Sosa21MVP]

Going for my first game thread winning streak! \:D/ Taking 3 of 4 in Philly would be a very pleasant surprise.

[Soul]

Wow, early wrap-around series. Weird.

[Smack]

This is a game we should win.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Taking 3 of 4 in Philly would be a very pleasant surprise.

 

Considering we usually beat Halladay, we missed Hamels, Lee's on the DL and their offense is putrid, it's really not as surprising as you'd think.

[Sosa21MVP]

Taking 3 of 4 in Philly would be a very pleasant surprise.

 

Considering we usually beat Halladay, we missed Hamels, Lee's on the DL and their offense is putrid, it's really not as surprising as you'd think.

 

Nothing that you just said changes my mind. It would still be a pleasant surprise. Especially since our worst pitcher got matched up with Halladay.

[El Duderino]

I'm trying to figure out how Volstad has an ERA over 6... his peripherals are not bad at all.

[Sosa21MVP]

I'm trying to figure out how Volstad has an ERA over 6... his peripherals are not bad at all.

 

Clearly a case of the "one bad inning syndrome".

[pitchcs]

Cubs haven't taken a series in Philly in many years.

[ctcf]

I'm trying to figure out how Volstad has an ERA over 6... his peripherals are not bad at all.

 

Clearly a case of the "one bad inning syndrome".

 

It really is kind of amazing how much so that has been the case for him so far.

[Fred Hornkohl]

Cubs haven't taken a series in Philly in many years.

 

Eleven of them, to be precise.

 

CUBS are 14-22 (0.389) vs. Philadelphia on the road (2001-2012)

 

 

Gam#      Date          Opponent                 Score
004  Fri  04/06/2001  @ Philadelphia              3- 2    
005  Sat  04/07/2001  @ Philadelphia              8- 4    
006  Sun  04/08/2001  @ Philadelphia              1- 3    
092  Wed  07/17/2002  @ Philadelphia          N   3- 4    
093  Thu  07/18/2002  @ Philadelphia              6- 4    
081  Mon  06/30/2003  @ Philadelphia          N   3- 4    
082  Tue  07/01/2003  @ Philadelphia          N   3- 4    
083  Wed  07/02/2003  @ Philadelphia          N   1- 0    
084  Thu  07/03/2003  @ Philadelphia          N   2-12    
096  Fri  07/23/2004  @ Philadelphia          N   5- 1    
097  Sat  07/24/2004  @ Philadelphia              3- 4    
098  Sun  07/25/2004  @ Philadelphia              2- 3    
106  Tue  08/02/2005  @ Philadelphia          N   2- 1    
107  Wed  08/03/2005  @ Philadelphia          N   3- 4    
108  Thu  08/04/2005  @ Philadelphia              4- 6    
151  Mon  09/18/2006  @ Philadelphia          N  11- 6    
152  Tue  09/19/2006  @ Philadelphia          N   1- 4    
153  Wed  09/20/2006  @ Philadelphia          N   2- 6    
033  Fri  05/11/2007  @ Philadelphia          N   2- 7    
034  Sat  05/12/2007  @ Philadelphia              7-11    
035  Sun  05/13/2007  @ Philadelphia              4- 1    
010  Fri  04/11/2008  @ Philadelphia          N   3- 5    
011  Sat  04/12/2008  @ Philadelphia          N   1- 7    
012  Sun  04/13/2008  @ Philadelphia              6- 5 (10)
091  Mon  07/20/2009  @ Philadelphia          N   1-10    
092  Tue  07/21/2009  @ Philadelphia          N   1- 4 (13)
093  Wed  07/22/2009  @ Philadelphia             10- 5    
041  Wed  05/19/2010  @ Philadelphia          N   4- 1    
042  Thu  05/20/2010  @ Philadelphia              4- 5    
061  Thu  06/09/2011  @ Philadelphia          N   4- 3    
062  Fri  06/10/2011  @ Philadelphia          N   5- 7    
063  Sat  06/11/2011  @ Philadelphia              1- 7    
064  Sun  06/12/2011  @ Philadelphia              3- 4    
020  Fri  04/27/2012  @ Philadelphia          N   5- 1    
021  Sat  04/28/2012  @ Philadelphia          N   2- 5    
022  Sun  04/29/2012  @ Philadelphia              5- 1    
023  Mon  04/30/2012  @ Philadelphia          N   

 

 

 

Go CUBS !!

[bukie]

I'm trying to figure out how Volstad has an ERA over 6... his peripherals are not bad at all.

 

Clearly a case of the "one bad inning syndrome".

He doesn't pitch well out of the stretch.

 

As long as he doesn't allow a baserunner, I like his chances.

[SouthSideRyan]

Cubs haven't taken a series in Philly in many years.

 

Eleven of them, to be precise.

 

CUBS are 14-22 (0.389) vs. Philadelphia on the road (2001-2012)

 

 

For not winning a series there in 11 years, that's a pretty good record.

[Smack]

I went all homery and picked up LaHair for my fantasy team. I'm going to go ahead and predict five homers this week for LaHair. Oh, and zero for the rest of the team.

[bukie]

I went all homery and picked up LaHair for my fantasy team. I'm going to go ahead and predict five homers this week for LaHair. Oh, and zero for the rest of the team.

He's been the fantasy equivalent to Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez to this point.

 

Although, picking him up now won't get you the points he already has, just the ones he gets going forward, and his insane BABIP is going to catch up with him eventually.

[Guest]

Speaking of insane BABIP numbers, after yesterday's game, Ian Stewart's LD% has now eclipsed his BABIP, which is just stupid. It's not all good for him, he's hitting an abnormal number of ground balls right now that is helping to suppress that BABIP, but still. Less than his LD%! How does that happen? He's always been a slow starter, so hopefully the BABIP regression and his apparent inclination for later months means he has a monster month in him soon.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Speaking of insane BABIP numbers, after yesterday's game, Ian Stewart's LD% has now eclipsed his BABIP, which is just stupid. It's not all good for him, he's hitting an abnormal number of ground balls right now that is helping to suppress that BABIP, but still. Less than his LD%! How does that happen? He's always been a slow starter, so hopefully the BABIP regression and his apparent inclination for later months means he has a monster month in him soon.

 

He's one more ofer away from worse numbers than he had last year, but he's got the peripherals of a league average offensive 3b so far.

[Smack]

I went all homery and picked up LaHair for my fantasy team. I'm going to go ahead and predict five homers this week for LaHair. Oh, and zero for the rest of the team.

He's been the fantasy equivalent to Prince Fielder and Adrian Gonzalez to this point.

 

Although, picking him up now won't get you the points he already has, just the ones he gets going forward, and his insane BABIP is going to catch up with him eventually.

 

Yeah, I'm not expecting that 1.100+ OPS to continue, but an .850 to .900 OPS would suit me just fine if guys get on base in front of him. It's just nice to have a Cub on my fantasy team. Which for hitters, means Castro or LaHair at this point! I would say Campana but I'm in a h2h league so steals don't mean nearly as much. I'm cheering for the greatest BABIP season in history.

[bukie]

Speaking of insane BABIP numbers, after yesterday's game, Ian Stewart's LD% has now eclipsed his BABIP, which is just stupid. It's not all good for him, he's hitting an abnormal number of ground balls right now that is helping to suppress that BABIP, but still. Less than his LD%! How does that happen? He's always been a slow starter, so hopefully the BABIP regression and his apparent inclination for later months means he has a monster month in him soon.

 

He's one more ofer away from worse numbers than he had last year, but he's got the peripherals of a league average offensive 3b so far.

I'm just concerned how long it'll be before the meatballs turn on him.

[Smack]

Speaking of insane BABIP numbers, after yesterday's game, Ian Stewart's LD% has now eclipsed his BABIP, which is just stupid. It's not all good for him, he's hitting an abnormal number of ground balls right now that is helping to suppress that BABIP, but still. Less than his LD%! How does that happen? He's always been a slow starter, so hopefully the BABIP regression and his apparent inclination for later months means he has a monster month in him soon.

 

He's one more ofer away from worse numbers than he had last year, but he's got the peripherals of a league average offensive 3b so far.

I'm just concerned how long it'll be before the meatballs turn on him.

 

I'm sure they would have turned on him already if there was a better option in Iowa.

[Rizzo Smash]

Maybe something is wrong with Ian's swing or something? I mean you just can't be that unlucky for two seasons. He has to be doing something with his swing that's making him hit balls right to defenders.

[Guest]

You absolutely can be unlucky for < 250 plate appearances, which is how many PA's Stewart has these last two years. In his case, he wasn't unlucky last year, he just wasn't hitting the ball hard at all(career low LD%), which is understandable given his scattershot playing time and injury. He's always going to be a guy who doesn't hit for a huge average(or BABIP) because of his approach, but he's been criminally unlucky this April. There's nothing you can do to stop hitting laser beams right at defenders, you just keep hitting them and they start finding gaps between the defenders.

[Guest]

DeJesus

Campana

Castro

LaHair

Soriano

Stewart

DeWitt (2B)

Soto

Volstad

[MWV]

Maybe something is wrong with Ian's swing or something? I mean you just can't be that unlucky for two seasons. He has to be doing something with his swing that's making him hit balls right to defenders.

 

As TT alluded to above, the big reasons for Stewart's struggles are a high GB/FB (1.00 in 2012, 0.60 for his career excluding 2012) and a ridiculously low BA on LD. MLB is hitting .709 on LD so far in 2012, while Stewart is hitting a paltry .364.

 

The first is a big deal because Stewart has always had a below average BA on ground balls (~40 to 60% of MLB average, with the exception of 2010), so the more GB he hits, the more likely his is to have a very low BAbip. This season's high ratio may have something to do with a swing adjustment, but it's too early to say for certain.

The second point is important for obvious reasons, and it is possible that defensive alignments have taken a few of those liners away from Stewart. In fact, over the previous three seasons (2009-2011) his batting average on balls he pulls has dipped from .463 to .432 to .300. Early in 2012, he's hitting just .136 on balls he pulls. His declining offensive numbers may be partially a matter of teams adjusting to his hitting tendencies, but bad luck is definitely a factor as well. Despite his awful season last year, his BA on LD wound up slightly above league average. Couple this season's rebound in LD% with a regression to career BA on LD numbers, and Stewart should rebound.

[Andy]

Not that DeWitt is any better, but I'm glad Darwin Barney isn't just being given free rein to play 2B no matter how he performs.

[Schwarber Fan]

What a terrible call