We choose to be punchless

[Sosa21MVP]

That's what I mean by 'choosing to be punchless'

Its a choice we made..

 

We all have to make choices, and live with the consequences.

You prefer not to look beyond the ASB (I'm not even going to bring up the rest of the decade), you just want a quick fix to the (admittedly painful) product on the field - aka the Jim Hendry way.

The new front office has chosen a long -term strategy to fix the organization's problems and is sticking to that strategy. FWIW, I prefer this long-term approach, even if the immediate result is frustrating to watch on most days.

 

I agree. It is not a band aid type of fix. I am looking forward to seeing the kids get called up later in the season.

[Soul]

Maybe we did choose to be punchless. But the choices were made long ago, not so much this year.

[sneakypower]

I'm curious what LaHair's splits against lefties are in 2010-2011?

 

I can't find 2011, but separating 2010 from what I posted above, 116 PA, .222.276/.370/.636, 28 K

in iowa (2011), he hit:

.283/.340/.529 vs. LHP

.354/.441/.720 vs. RHP

[Derwood]

I choose for this thread to be punch-filled

[dew1679666265]

We all have to make choices, and live with the consequences.

You prefer not to look beyond the ASB (I'm not even going to bring up the rest of the decade), you just want a quick fix to the (admittedly painful) product on the field - aka the Jim Hendry way.

The new front office has chosen a long -term strategy to fix the organization's problems and is sticking to that strategy. FWIW, I prefer this long-term approach, even if the immediate result is frustrating to watch on most days.

 

I still have issues with the idea that the only two options were:

 

awful now and great later

or

mediocre now and mediocre later

 

I'm not convinced we couldn't have built a better product today by adding assets that would help us be better in the short term without hurting us long term (Cespedes, keep Z, put together a better than awful bench, etc). I have full confidence the Theo regime will make this organization and team great in time, but I think it's misleading to assume the previously mentioned were the only two options we had.

[Backtobanks]

We all have to make choices, and live with the consequences.

You prefer not to look beyond the ASB (I'm not even going to bring up the rest of the decade), you just want a quick fix to the (admittedly painful) product on the field - aka the Jim Hendry way.

The new front office has chosen a long -term strategy to fix the organization's problems and is sticking to that strategy. FWIW, I prefer this long-term approach, even if the immediate result is frustrating to watch on most days.

 

I still have issues with the idea that the only two options were:

 

awful now and great later

or

mediocre now and mediocre later

 

I'm not convinced we couldn't have built a better product today by adding assets that would help us be better in the short term without hurting us long term (Cespedes, keep Z, put together a better than awful bench, etc). I have full confidence the Theo regime will make this organization and team great in time, but I think it's misleading to assume the previously mentioned were the only two options we had.

 

I totally agree. It gets back to the idea that whatever Theo does has to be the right way. There's no way the 2012 Cubs had to be this terrible.

[Sammy Sofa]

We all have to make choices, and live with the consequences.

You prefer not to look beyond the ASB (I'm not even going to bring up the rest of the decade), you just want a quick fix to the (admittedly painful) product on the field - aka the Jim Hendry way.

The new front office has chosen a long -term strategy to fix the organization's problems and is sticking to that strategy. FWIW, I prefer this long-term approach, even if the immediate result is frustrating to watch on most days.

 

I still have issues with the idea that the only two options were:

 

awful now and great later

or

mediocre now and mediocre later

 

I'm not convinced we couldn't have built a better product today by adding assets that would help us be better in the short term without hurting us long term (Cespedes, keep Z, put together a better than awful bench, etc). I have full confidence the Theo regime will make this organization and team great in time, but I think it's misleading to assume the previously mentioned were the only two options we had.

 

I totally agree. It gets back to the idea that whatever Theo does has to be the right way.

 

NO IT DOESN'T. This is seriously the stupidest tangent you've ever gone on, and that's impressive. You've for some reason built up this inane idea that people don't given Hendry enough credit, so that's mutated into how everyone blindly loves the new FO. What is even your point in all of this? You don't want Theo can co. running the Cubs?

[Vanilla Ice]

I still don't think we'll regret not signing Cespedes.

[Backtobanks]

We all have to make choices, and live with the consequences.

You prefer not to look beyond the ASB (I'm not even going to bring up the rest of the decade), you just want a quick fix to the (admittedly painful) product on the field - aka the Jim Hendry way.

The new front office has chosen a long -term strategy to fix the organization's problems and is sticking to that strategy. FWIW, I prefer this long-term approach, even if the immediate result is frustrating to watch on most days.

 

I still have issues with the idea that the only two options were:

 

awful now and great later

or

mediocre now and mediocre later

 

I'm not convinced we couldn't have built a better product today by adding assets that would help us be better in the short term without hurting us long term (Cespedes, keep Z, put together a better than awful bench, etc). I have full confidence the Theo regime will make this organization and team great in time, but I think it's misleading to assume the previously mentioned were the only two options we had.

 

I totally agree. It gets back to the idea that whatever Theo does has to be the right way.

 

NO IT DOESN'T. This is seriously the stupidest tangent you've ever gone on, and that's impressive. You've for some reason built up this inane idea that people don't given Hendry enough credit, so that's mutated into how everyone blindly loves the new FO. What is even your point in all of this? You don't want Theo can co. running the Cubs?

 

I do think that the Theo Koolaide has been devoured by many of the posters here and yes, they are blind when it comes to the FO. I have posted often that I have confidence in Theo & Co. improving the organization, but I do think they are going to take far too long to be a serious contender. Also, I think that this year's club did not have to be this bad while the FO rebuilds. I know the Theo & Co. will own the city if they gets us to the WS (and especially if the win the WS). If they're going to get that much credit if (when) they produce a winner, then they deserve the blame for the crappy team (possibly historically crappy) they put on the field this year.

[Sammy Sofa]

Who is "blind to the FO" here and how? What did you expect them to do this year? For example: I think they "failed" in that they tried to sign Cespedes and Darvish and didn't. That said, having either or both guys this season wouldn't really make a big difference to this point. What do YOU think they failed at?

[davell]

Again, please tell us what YOUR offseason plan was? Anytime this has been asked, there's never been actual players in your response.

[davell]

Oh, and by the way, I would think anyone could see the point about heading into a new job, not having much time to get to know your landscape, then not wanting to put very much longterm money on your books, at least until you got to know the entire organization you just joined. Couple that with the changing CBA and I totally get why you don't just go and spend, because you can. Only issue that was probably not addressed in a decent manner was the pen. Even then, Kerry Wood was supposed to help there and Marmol wasn't supposed to suck THIS bad.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Who is "blind to the FO" here and how? What did you expect them to do this year? For example: I think they "failed" in that they tried to sign Cespedes and Darvish and didn't. That said, having either or both guys this season wouldn't really make a big difference to this point. What do YOU think they failed at?

 

I don't think they failed at all. I just think they succeeded at the wrong thing.

 

They decided they wanted to blow off the year. They proceeded to gut the team where they could and fill it with no-cost replacements and cheap guys they thought they could deal at the deadline. They succeeded wildly.

[SouthSideRyan]

Again, please tell us what YOUR offseason plan was? Anytime this has been asked, there's never been actual players in your response.

 

His offseason plan was to keep Jim Hendry.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'm not so much bothered by those who criticize Theo and Co. for not spending in the offseason, but I'm pretty floored by those who are already judging the new regime as a whole on the quarter of their first season. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want Pujols or Fielder, but not at the contracts the got. Aside from those 2 and maybe Darvish or Cespedes, there was nothing avaialble that would have really helped the team long term.

[Backtobanks]

Who is "blind to the FO" here and how? What did you expect them to do this year? For example: I think they "failed" in that they tried to sign Cespedes and Darvish and didn't. That said, having either or both guys this season wouldn't really make a big difference to this point. What do YOU think they failed at?

 

Again, please tell us what YOUR offseason plan was? Anytime this has been asked, there's never been actual players in your response.

 

Darvish is the one player that they certainly should have gone after. The winning bid was almost exactly what everyone was predicting, so Theo could have gone higher than the predictions. Cespedes also was attainable. I wasn't a big fan of the Zambrano trade, but it was a forgone conclusion that they wanted him gone. I would have tried for a deal involving Headley from SD instead of Stewart at 3B. They might have been a bad team this year, but they would have had a few more holes filled for next year and beyond.

[javy knows my name]

Who is "blind to the FO" here and how? What did you expect them to do this year? For example: I think they "failed" in that they tried to sign Cespedes and Darvish and didn't. That said, having either or both guys this season wouldn't really make a big difference to this point. What do YOU think they failed at?

 

Again, please tell us what YOUR offseason plan was? Anytime this has been asked, there's never been actual players in your response.

 

Darvish is the one player that they certainly should have gone after. (They did.) The winning bid was almost exactly what everyone was predicting (No, it wasn't.), so Theo could have gone higher than the predictions. (Game theory.) Cespedes also was attainable. (Not at our price.) I wasn't a big fan of the Zambrano trade, but it was a forgone conclusion that they wanted him gone. I would have tried for a deal involving Headley from SD instead of Stewart at 3B. (Those trades are not comparable in terms of money or talent required.) They might have been a bad team this year, but they would have had a few more holes filled for next year and beyond.

[biittner77]

Vitters has a grand total of 202 at bats in AAA and he has been alright, but he certainly hasn't been setting the world on fire. Combine that with the fact that he is still only 22 years old and I would like to see him get more development time in Iowa with a possible September callup.

 

I'll admit up front that I'm bordering on being a Vitters apologist. I also understand that Stewart is so unlucky that he is more likely to get hit by a meteor with a winning powerball ticket stuck to the front of it than get a line drive to not be hit right to a fielder.

 

That being said, it's not such a bad idea to bring Vitters up before then (like if he got his AAA ops north of .800) since a sept. call up is a fairly small sample size that's watered down by the presence of other sept. call ups pitching for non contending teams.

[Guest]

Vitters has a grand total of 202 at bats in AAA and he has been alright, but he certainly hasn't been setting the world on fire. Combine that with the fact that he is still only 22 years old and I would like to see him get more development time in Iowa with a possible September callup.

 

I'll admit up front that I'm bordering on being a Vitters apologist. I also understand that Stewart is so unlucky that he is more likely to get hit by a meteor with a winning powerball ticket stuck to the front of it than get a line drive to not be hit right to a fielder.

 

That being said, it's not such a bad idea to bring Vitters up before then (like if he got his AAA ops north of .800) since a sept. call up is a fairly small sample size that's watered down by the presence of other sept. call ups pitching for non contending teams.

 

Stewart isn't all that unlucky anymore. He just sucks now. Probably due to his wrist, but oh well. Doesn't look like that's going to go away.

[Guest]

Vitters has a grand total of 202 at bats in AAA and he has been alright, but he certainly hasn't been setting the world on fire. Combine that with the fact that he is still only 22 years old and I would like to see him get more development time in Iowa with a possible September callup.

 

I'll admit up front that I'm bordering on being a Vitters apologist. I also understand that Stewart is so unlucky that he is more likely to get hit by a meteor with a winning powerball ticket stuck to the front of it than get a line drive to not be hit right to a fielder.

 

That being said, it's not such a bad idea to bring Vitters up before then (like if he got his AAA ops north of .800) since a sept. call up is a fairly small sample size that's watered down by the presence of other sept. call ups pitching for non contending teams.

I want Vitters to spend all of 2012 in Iowa. I don't believe he's ever had a single complete, healthy year at a single level before. I want him to do that in Iowa this year and make some adjustments before being rewarded with a promotion.

[jersey cubs fan]

Vitters has a grand total of 202 at bats in AAA and he has been alright, but he certainly hasn't been setting the world on fire. Combine that with the fact that he is still only 22 years old and I would like to see him get more development time in Iowa with a possible September callup.

 

I'll admit up front that I'm bordering on being a Vitters apologist. I also understand that Stewart is so unlucky that he is more likely to get hit by a meteor with a winning powerball ticket stuck to the front of it than get a line drive to not be hit right to a fielder.

 

That being said, it's not such a bad idea to bring Vitters up before then (like if he got his AAA ops north of .800) since a sept. call up is a fairly small sample size that's watered down by the presence of other sept. call ups pitching for non contending teams.

I want Vitters to spend all of 2012 in Iowa. I don't believe he's ever had a single complete, healthy year at a single level before. I want him to do that in Iowa this year and make some adjustments before being rewarded with a promotion.

 

Yeah, there's no reason to call him up this year. He's probably the guy most capable of benefiting from more time within this system.

 

And Ian Stewart's unluckiness is a bit overblown.

[Guest]

Yeah, there's no reason to call him up this year. He's probably the guy most capable of benefiting from more time within this system.

 

And Ian Stewart's unluckiness is a bit overblown.

 

It was legit when it was talked about early on.

 

Now he's just hitting a ton of groundballs and striking out way more.

[Guest]

Stewart's luck wasn't really overblown during the first month of the season, he truly was criminally unlucky. That doesn't mean that he's owed a bunch of good luck to balance it out though, so what we're left is simply to keep that April in mind when evaluating his numbers at a season level.

 

Stewart thru 4/29: 81 PA, .160/.222/.253/.475, .196 BABIP

Stewart since: 121 PA, .231/.339/.394/.733, .278 BABIP

 

 

Personally, I think that latter line looks pretty close to what to expect from Stewart going forward, which means he's an average 3B bat with above average defense. Like an arbitration eligible Darwin Barney. Not a cornerstone, but good enough to not hurt the team if they choose to address other positions. I was hoping that Stewart would be more than that, and still hold a little hope that more power will reveal itself if he can get clear of his wrist injury. But Stewart isn't a glaring problem on this team, or even a problem at all.

[CubColtPacer]

Stewart's luck wasn't really overblown during the first month of the season, he truly was criminally unlucky. That doesn't mean that he's owed a bunch of good luck to balance it out though, so what we're left is simply to keep that April in mind when evaluating his numbers at a season level.

 

Stewart thru 4/29: 81 PA, .160/.222/.253/.475, .196 BABIP

Stewart since: 121 PA, .231/.339/.394/.733, .278 BABIP

 

 

Personally, I think that latter line looks pretty close to what to expect from Stewart going forward, which means he's an average 3B bat with above average defense. Like an arbitration eligible Darwin Barney. Not a cornerstone, but good enough to not hurt the team if they choose to address other positions. I was hoping that Stewart would be more than that, and still hold a little hope that more power will reveal itself if he can get clear of his wrist injury. But Stewart isn't a glaring problem on this team, or even a problem at all.

 

I'm not sure Stewart can even sustain the latter's ISOP with the way he's hitting GB's. His ISOP this year is .134 (compared to a career .185) and that's with a HR/FB percentage just barely under his career average. And while his walk rate is around career averages, it should be noted that he's on pace to break his career high in intentional walks due to being in the 8 spot lately (he's already had 4). Adjust a little bit for those two things and you have a .700-.710 type hitter. Not a huge problem, but just hanging on to a job by the skin of his teeth.

[jersey cubs fan]

Stewart's luck wasn't really overblown during the first month of the season,

 

Yes, but it's June now.