Random Cubs Musings

[Banedon]

This type of thread has worked well in general baseball discussions...for stuff that doesn't really warrant it's own thread.

 

I'll start off with this....for some reason, Kerry Wood was warming up in uniform before the Cubs-Rangers game yesterday....

 

http://cbschicago.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/biar03eccaejvff.jpg

[jersey cubs fan]

for some reason,

 

the reason being to elicit this type of reaction

[Old Style]

COME BACK!!!!!!!

[Backtobanks]

He certainly can't be much worse than what we've been sending out there.

[Sammy Sofa]

He certainly can be.

[Guest]

He certainly can be.

 

 

He can be, but I don't think he necessarily would be (at least, not if given time to prepare).

[Hawk4Hall]

I'd rather Wood stay retired. I'd hate to see him come back and just get shelled. He was reaching the end of his career and he retired at the right time. He went out in a good way.

[Guest]

I'd rather Wood stay retired. I'd hate to see him come back and just get shelled. He was reaching the end of his career and he retired at the right time. He went out in a good way.

 

I don't think anybody is truly pleading for him to come back.

[Hawk4Hall]

I'd rather Wood stay retired. I'd hate to see him come back and just get shelled. He was reaching the end of his career and he retired at the right time. He went out in a good way.

 

I don't think anybody is truly pleading for him to come back.

I know, but given the bullpen situation Lee Smith could warm up in a pre-game and lead to internet chatter.

[Banedon]

I'd rather Wood stay retired. I'd hate to see him come back and just get shelled. He was reaching the end of his career and he retired at the right time. He went out in a good way.

 

I don't think anybody is truly pleading for him to come back.

 

Yeah, I mean...he's fielding at first base, not pitching.

[UK1679666180]

How good has the Cubs' offense been?

 

"So far this season, the Cubs have amassed about 400 plate appearances, 11 homers, 35 runs, a 23.9% strikeout rate and a 5.5% walk rate (these numbers are offensive, of course, and, yes, I mean that in multiple ways). All that and more is good for a .635 OPS and a .275 wOBA. In case you're wondering, no, the Cubs position players have not yet attained replacement-level production. With positional, fielding, and baserunning adjustments factored in, they're worth 0.1 wins below a replacement level player."

 

http://networkedblogs.com/KhiBh

[UMFan83]

Well the Cubs just signed Gregg and Loe off the scrapheap, Wood couldn't be much worse then those two....

[GammonsPocketTweets]

How good has the Cubs' offense been?

 

"So far this season, the Cubs have amassed about 400 plate appearances, 11 homers, 35 runs, a 23.9% strikeout rate and a 5.5% walk rate (these numbers are offensive, of course, and, yes, I mean that in multiple ways). All that and more is good for a .635 OPS and a .275 wOBA. In case you're wondering, no, the Cubs position players have not yet attained replacement-level production. With positional, fielding, and baserunning adjustments factored in, they're worth 0.1 wins below a replacement level player."

 

http://networkedblogs.com/KhiBh

 

 

Man, this team sucks.

[KingCubsFan]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

[Guest]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

He's got an absurdly high BABIP and had a pretty high one last year, too. Also, hasn't drawn a walk yet this year (probably just a SSS oddity, given his history).

 

Either way, Soto didn't need that much luck to look good and still didn't end up being a solid starter for 5 years. Just saying it's a bit early to say that.

[neely crenshaw]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

He has got to shore up the d though. It hurts you in so many ways that it can take away any offensive plus he is adding. I also worry his hitting will fade(tough position to keep it up all season, especially when we get into hot day games). These things should have been addressed by now, but for a team based on pitching and defense, poor catching can be a killer.

His offense has far outdone what I expected though!

[KingCubsFan]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

He's got an absurdly high BABIP and had a pretty high one last year, too. Also, hasn't drawn a walk yet this year (probably just a SSS oddity, given his history).

 

Either way, Soto didn't need that much luck to look good and still didn't end up being a solid starter for 5 years. Just saying it's a bit early to say that.

Not too worried about the walks. His pitches per plate appearance are similar to DeJesus and, like you said, his history shows he'll take a few. Catchers are obviously one of the hardest positions to predict, but between his second half last year and the start to this year, I'm encouraged.

[jersey cubs fan]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

He's got an absurdly high BABIP and had a pretty high one last year, too. Also, hasn't drawn a walk yet this year (probably just a SSS oddity, given his history).

 

Either way, Soto didn't need that much luck to look good and still didn't end up being a solid starter for 5 years. Just saying it's a bit early to say that.

Not too worried about the walks. His pitches per plate appearance are similar to DeJesus and, like you said, his history shows he'll take a few. Catchers are obviously one of the hardest positions to predict, but between his second half last year and the start to this year, I'm encouraged.

 

There's reason to be encouraged but I still can't see penciling him in as a starter for 5 years at this point. Guys come and go at that position all the time. They will need to acquire depth at the position.

[sneakypower]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

He's got an absurdly high BABIP and had a pretty high one last year, too. Also, hasn't drawn a walk yet this year (probably just a SSS oddity, given his history).

 

Either way, Soto didn't need that much luck to look good and still didn't end up being a solid starter for 5 years. Just saying it's a bit early to say that.

had he put up a .311 babip (his ZiPS projection) thus far, his line would look something like .262/.300/.392 right now

 

he's earned some of that babip (25% LD), but .444 is obviously not something sustainable

[Lefty]

On the plus side, I've liked what I've seen out of Wellington Castillo so far. The nuances of catching still need some work, but overall I think he's a solid starter for the next 5 or so years. The Cubs need more of those.

 

Remember: "We don't need to draft Wieters, we have Soto!" Good times.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Question for the day: Does anyone remember a Cubs team that allowed this many baseballs to hit the backstop?

[Shawon12]

Question...is there a means to measure if some guys hit the ball hard and thus, have a high BABIP?

[Guest]

Question...is there a means to measure if some guys hit the ball hard and thus, have a high BABIP?

 

The common way to do that is with line drive percentage. The quick and messy way to estimate what BABIP "should" be is to add .110 or .120 to LD%, but that's really just an approximation.

 

Using that .110 to calculate, here's the Cubs so far in BABIP:

 

http://i.imgur.com/ksX7Tmd.png

 

So of regulars, Castro and Castillo have been the "luckiest", and Rizzo, DeJesus, and Soriano have all been very "unlucky".

[Banedon]

Berkman fesses up that there's more to his Wrigley dislike:

 

“A lot of those comments are born because I’m a .215 hitter here,” he said. “And a lot of players base their opinions on ballparks on whether they perform well in those ballparks. I don’t mean anything personal against the Cubs organization or the Cubs fans. I just don’t enjoy performing in this venue.

 

“It’s been difficult on me over the years, and as a consequence, I don’t have a real high opinion of the friendly confines.”

 

Berkman recalled a game with Houston in 2008 when the game was delayed by lightning.

 

“Not only have I not performed well, I almost came as close to dying here as I’ve ever been anywhere in my life,” he said. “So all of those experience combined don’t have a real friendly feeling.”

[jersey cubs fan]

Berkman fesses up that there's more to his Wrigley dislike:

 

“Not only have I not performed well, I almost came as close to dying here as I’ve ever been anywhere in my life,” he said. “So all of those experience combined don’t have a real friendly feeling.”

 

I love that quote. He's a country boy right? He had to have been just as close to lightning at some point in his life.