Random Cubs Musings

[XZero771679666304]

I was 21, and my friend and I had been out golfing, but it started raining and there was lightning, so we went home early and turned on the game, it was the top of the 7th.

[Sammy Sofa]

I sprinted

 

I call bull [expletive].

[Hairyducked Idiot]

That sounds ominous-ish, regarding Stewart's three-day weekend:

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/16712/stewart-takes-surprise-break-from-i-cubs

 

“We had a lot of discussions with him about it, in the end that was the decision,” Hoyer said cryptically. “He has the right, it’s the given right the players have and that was the decision.”

[Derwood]

I was in grad school

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

I was in 5th grade and didn't really follow baseball (or sports in general) at the time. I was more interested in the Stone Cold vs. Dude Love feud.

 

Only reason I heard about it was because my dad went [expletive] over it.

[neely crenshaw]

A little inspiration.

They were talking about anniversary of the 20K game and read off the lineup.

CF Brant Brown

2B Mickey Morandini

RF Sammy Sosa

1B Mark Grace

LF Henry Rodriguez

SS Jeff Blauser

C Sandy Martinez

3B Kevin Orie

They had 2 guys hit .300 and have an .800 ops(Grace and Sosa) and they made the playoffs...

They did pick up Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti (who were very good) late in the season but our current lineup is at least in the ballpark of this, and the starting staff was awful-Tapani 4.85, Mark Clark 4.84, Wood 3.40, Tracshel 4.46, Geremi Gonzalez 5.32

[Little Slide Rooter]

That sounds ominous-ish, regarding Stewart's three-day weekend:

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/16712/stewart-takes-surprise-break-from-i-cubs

 

“We had a lot of discussions with him about it, in the end that was the decision,” Hoyer said cryptically. “He has the right, it’s the given right the players have and that was the decision.”

 

As I said, he gets 2 million dollars regardless. He's likely doing everything within his rights to be cut without the Cubs being able to file grievance, and then hoping that someone picks him up. While teams are going to notice this behavior, and frown upon it, someone's bound to be tempted to pick up the 27 year old former mega-prospect coming off wrist injury as long as they don't have to give up anything in return.

[Hawk4Hall]

A little inspiration.

They were talking about anniversary of the 20K game and read off the lineup.

CF Brant Brown

2B Mickey Morandini

RF Sammy Sosa

1B Mark Grace

LF Henry Rodriguez

SS Jeff Blauser

C Sandy Martinez

3B Kevin Orie

They had 2 guys hit .300 and have an .800 ops(Grace and Sosa) and they made the playoffs...

They did pick up Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti (who were very good) late in the season but our current lineup is at least in the ballpark of this, and the starting staff was awful-Tapani 4.85, Mark Clark 4.84, Wood 3.40, Tracshel 4.46, Geremi Gonzalez 5.32

That starting staff also had Don Wengert in the rotation near the end of the season because someone got hurt and he was awful. 1-5 as a starter.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's too bad the Cubs can't find a 2B or RF who can get on base. Or at least the RH hitting side of RF who can get on base. Outside of those two positions the Cubs are at least holding their own in comparison to the rest of the league.

[champaignchris]

A little inspiration.

They were talking about anniversary of the 20K game and read off the lineup.

CF Brant Brown

2B Mickey Morandini

RF Sammy Sosa

1B Mark Grace

LF Henry Rodriguez

SS Jeff Blauser

C Sandy Martinez

3B Kevin Orie

They had 2 guys hit .300 and have an .800 ops(Grace and Sosa) and they made the playoffs...

They did pick up Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti (who were very good) late in the season but our current lineup is at least in the ballpark of this, and the starting staff was awful-Tapani 4.85, Mark Clark 4.84, Wood 3.40, Tracshel 4.46, Geremi Gonzalez 5.32

 

In the NL, that team was 3rd in Runs, 4th in hits, and 3rd in home runs. Sosa, of course, had a season for the ages. Mark Grace and Henry Rodriguez both had very good years, and - as you mentioned - both Gaetti and Hill posted extraordinary OPS+'s of 154 after arriving mid-season - both arriving via the waiver wire instead of trades believe it or not. The team was also pretty decent defensively, especially in the infield. Still, they also got a bit lucky and outperformed their Pythagorean record by 5 games. (Compare to the agonizing 2004 Cubs that underperformed their Pythagorean by 5.)

[UMFan83]

A little inspiration.

They were talking about anniversary of the 20K game and read off the lineup.

CF Brant Brown

2B Mickey Morandini

RF Sammy Sosa

1B Mark Grace

LF Henry Rodriguez

SS Jeff Blauser

C Sandy Martinez

3B Kevin Orie

They had 2 guys hit .300 and have an .800 ops(Grace and Sosa) and they made the playoffs...

They did pick up Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti (who were very good) late in the season but our current lineup is at least in the ballpark of this, and the starting staff was awful-Tapani 4.85, Mark Clark 4.84, Wood 3.40, Tracshel 4.46, Geremi Gonzalez 5.32

That starting staff also had Don Wengert in the rotation near the end of the season because someone got hurt and he was awful. 1-5 as a starter.

 

The worst was Mike Morgan. I went to a game he started in September, and by the 5th inning the Cubs were down 10-2.

 

 

Of course then the Cubs came back with 10 in the last 3 innings aided by Sosa's 60th HR and won on a Orlando Merced walkoff HR and it was one of the best live sports moments for me ever (along with Z's no-no and the Bulls 3 OT win over Boston)

[jersey cubs fan]

Of course then the Cubs came back with 10 in the last 3 innings aided by Sosa's 60th HR and won on a Orlando Merced walkoff HR and it was one of the best live sports moments for me ever (along with Z's no-no and the Bulls 3 OT win over Boston)

 

I convinced a friend to road trip back from NY for that game.

[Old Style]

Woman chokes to death on a hot dog at Wrigley.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-choke-20130508,0,5549966.story

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Today's attendance (26,354) was the lowest for a Cubs-Cardinals game since 1998.

 

I'm starting to wonder if between the lost attendance (and lost concessions, because the announced attendance has been far beyond the actual attendance loss), we might not be looking at a lowered payroll next year. Especially when we'll also be fronting the money to start the renovations, even though that should balance out once the ad revenue starts coming in.

 

Hopefully the national TV money will offset all that, at least.

[Schwarber Fan]

9-8 in night games this season. All the more reason for more of them at Wrigley.

[Wilson A2000]

Woman chokes to death on a hot dog at Wrigley.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-choke-20130508,0,5549966.story

 

Really sad story. A nurse gave her CPR, but no one figured out she needed the Heimlich Maneuver.

[Guest]

Woman chokes to death on a hot dog at Wrigley.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-choke-20130508,0,5549966.story

 

Must be what Mojo was talking about. Awful.

[ConstableRabbit]

Woman chokes to death on a hot dog at Wrigley.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-choke-20130508,0,5549966.story

 

Really sad story. A nurse gave her CPR, but no one figured out she needed the Heimlich Maneuver.

Many don't realize that it's almost impossible to make a sound when you're choking. 2 hands over the throat is almost universally the "help! I'm choking!" sign.

 

 

 

[KingCubsFan]

A little inspiration.

They were talking about anniversary of the 20K game and read off the lineup.

CF Brant Brown

2B Mickey Morandini

RF Sammy Sosa

1B Mark Grace

LF Henry Rodriguez

SS Jeff Blauser

C Sandy Martinez

3B Kevin Orie

They had 2 guys hit .300 and have an .800 ops(Grace and Sosa) and they made the playoffs...

They did pick up Glenallen Hill and Gary Gaetti (who were very good) late in the season but our current lineup is at least in the ballpark of this, and the starting staff was awful-Tapani 4.85, Mark Clark 4.84, Wood 3.40, Tracshel 4.46, Geremi Gonzalez 5.32

 

In the NL, that team was 3rd in Runs, 4th in hits, and 3rd in home runs. Sosa, of course, had a season for the ages. Mark Grace and Henry Rodriguez both had very good years, and - as you mentioned - both Gaetti and Hill posted extraordinary OPS+'s of 154 after arriving mid-season - both arriving via the waiver wire instead of trades believe it or not. The team was also pretty decent defensively, especially in the infield. Still, they also got a bit lucky and outperformed their Pythagorean record by 5 games. (Compare to the agonizing 2004 Cubs that underperformed their Pythagorean by 5.)

Brant Brown was awesome too. Overall, that team did a good job of getting on base.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Tom Ricketts on the DP Show tomorrow.

[jersey cubs fan]

Tom Ricketts on the DP Show tomorrow.

 

I don't care what he does in the privacy of his own bedroom, but don't broadcast it.

[CubColtPacer]

The Cubs offense is getting awfully close to league average. They are crushing the rest of the NL in doubles. The OBP deficit which was 30 points under league average a few weeks ago is down to 9. Still dead last in walks, but as expected their batting average is creeping up (and it still might have a little more room to creep up further). Their RISP numbers have been flying up recently, but still could use about another 100 points to be in line with how the rest of the league does.

 

Obviously league average is not the ideal, but it's much better than what was expected before the season.

[Cubswin11]

The Cubs offense is getting awfully close to league average. They are crushing the rest of the NL in doubles. The OBP deficit which was 30 points under league average a few weeks ago is down to 9. Still dead last in walks, but as expected their batting average is creeping up (and it still might have a little more room to creep up further). Their RISP numbers have been flying up recently, but still could use about another 100 points to be in line with how the rest of the league does.

 

Obviously league average is not the ideal, but it's much better than what was expected before the season.

That's all real promising (as a whole, this offensive unit accomplishing league averageness isn't something I thought would happen). I do fear, however, that once the offense gets going (like it is now) the starting pitching is going to start to regress since the peripherals, on almost the whole rotation, suggest that they are mostly over achieving and having quite a bit of babip/risp/% stranded luck. Meaning that the up tick in offense will be supplemented with the down turn in pitching and not a lot of increase in wins.

[Guest]

The Cubs offense is getting awfully close to league average. They are crushing the rest of the NL in doubles. The OBP deficit which was 30 points under league average a few weeks ago is down to 9. Still dead last in walks, but as expected their batting average is creeping up (and it still might have a little more room to creep up further). Their RISP numbers have been flying up recently, but still could use about another 100 points to be in line with how the rest of the league does.

 

Obviously league average is not the ideal, but it's much better than what was expected before the season.

That's all real promising (as a whole, this offensive unit accomplishing league averageness isn't something I thought would happen). I do fear, however, that once the offense gets going (like it is now) the starting pitching is going to start to regress since the peripherals, on almost the whole rotation, suggest that they are mostly over achieving and having quite a bit of babip/risp/% stranded luck. Meaning that the up tick in offense will be supplemented with the down turn in pitching and not a lot of increase in wins.

 

The starters, at least, aren't outperforming their FIP numbers by anything crazy.

 

Question - if the Cubs are particularly adept at shifting (and pitching to the shift), would that explain outperforming FIP as a team?

[sneakypower]

Cubs starters had a 4.52 ERA last season with a 4.36 FIP (.288 babip)

Cubs starters have a 3.40 ERA this season with a 3.72 FIP (.253 babip)

 

the babip is the big thing; superior defense doesn't seem to account for it though (+30 team UZR last year vs. -8 this year)

 

it's worth noting we have a real strong IFFB% (12.7% vs. 7.6% last year), which isn't properly accounted for by standard FIP