Random Cubs Musings

[Guest]

freaking Hendry

 

I wonder if there are any other professional sports teams still being run that way.

The Phillies, LAA (to an extent), Dodgers, Orioles, probably a few others.

 

 

The only one of those that might be on that level is Philadelphia.

I could see the Orioles being as bad.

They just hired a "computer" guy this year.

[bukie]

It was probably the guy Ricketts hired to head up the analytics department when Hendry was still there...what was his name, Ari Kaplan or something?

[Guest]

freaking Hendry

 

I wonder if there are any other professional sports teams still being run that way.

The Phillies, LAA (to an extent), Dodgers, Orioles, probably a few others.

 

 

The only one of those that might be on that level is Philadelphia.

I could see the Orioles being as bad.

 

Yeah, the Orioles are pretty backwards still.

[Guest]

There's backwards, and then there's Hendry era Cubs backwards.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'd think that'd be more Wasserstrom than Kaplan

[mul21]

Heard Wittenmeyer on a radio show here during lunch. Man, that guy is a Debbie Downer. Saying weird things like the Cubs are at least 3-4 years from being competitive and pretty much belittling just about every prospect other than Javy. It should be on the 2nd or 3rd segment of this once they clips get posted.

 

http://insidestlaudio.com/Middlerelief/MiddleRelief_Podcast.xml

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Tim Keown has a pretty lengthy piece focused on Epstein and the rebuild for ESPN The Mag's MLB preview. It doesn't look like it's online yet and it's not terribly insightful, but here's a few fun tidbits:

 

That was crazy.

 

I'm very frustrated with Epstein on the scale of "how good is he among the 10-20 team-runners who are relatively modern and intelligent"?

 

But on the scale of "Lynch to Friedman," I'm very thankful we have him.

[Guest]

Jason Parks ‏@ProfessorParks 1m

The best player I saw today was Junior Lake, who hit every inning of AA game. Enormous tools (power, speed, arm) but still raw as [expletive].

 

I'm so confused. Is this a joke? Wasn't Castro the one who hit every inning of a AA game today?

[ConstableRabbit]

Yeah also I really don't feel like getting into a twitter debate with Parks. We all saw how dug in he was about Javy with Kyle et al.

[Guest]

It seems like a dig at Goldstein? i'm not sure i really get whats going on there

[ConstableRabbit]

Ohhh yeah it is. There were a couple responses and a RT about it.

[davell]

Junior DID play today. Remember, Parks is more scouting than anything else. Junior has tools galore. I think he meant it. The raw as [expletive] at the end is a giant disclaimer from him.

 

Honestly, I think North's post was a bit too influential on him. No, I don't think Junior winds up being an everyday player for us. But I do think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to giving him this year to figure things out in the majors.

[Guest]

Junior DID play today. Remember, Parks is more scouting than anything else. Junior has tools galore. I think he meant it. The raw as [expletive] at the end is a giant disclaimer from him.

 

Honestly, I think North's post was a bit too influential on him. No, I don't think Junior winds up being an everyday player for us. But I do think the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to giving him this year to figure things out in the majors.

 

So did Lake and Castro get to hit in every inning of this game?

 

I hope we won.

[abuck1220]

the best (worst) part of the espn mag preview is how they put a "score" on each teams chemistry. BAD NEWS...cubs have the worst chemistry in MLB costing them 3.5 wins this yr.

 

THANKS THEO

[Guest]

Sharma on power and the Cubs hoarding it

 

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/03/25/the-increasing-importance-of-power-in-baseball-and-the-cubs-excellent-position/

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Sharma on power and the Cubs hoarding it

 

http://www.bleachernation.com/2014/03/25/the-increasing-importance-of-power-in-baseball-and-the-cubs-excellent-position/

 

We've talked about this before.

 

It's one of those amazing/frustrating ying/yangs that are defining Epstein's early years. Hoarding something the rest of the league is short of? I love it.

 

But OBP still drives run production, and did anyone think we'd still have such massive OBP problems entering Epstein's third year?

[Guest]

Well, most of the power isn't at the MLB level yet, so I'm not sure it's an either/or thing. There's a pretty clear dichotomy with the guys that the front office inherited and those that they acquired. Castro, Castillo, Barney, Lake, Soriano, maybe even Baez, those guys have not been known for their OBP or plate discipline, and may not ever be in some cases. When you look at the guys they've acquired though, Rizzo, Valbuena, Sweeney, Olt, DeJesus, Bryant, Soler; it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP) is a bigger focus, and that should filter through to the big league team as the power graduates too.

[Guest]

Well, most of the power isn't at the MLB level yet, so I'm not sure it's an either/or thing. There's a pretty clear dichotomy with the guys that the front office inherited and those that they acquired. Castro, Castillo, Barney, Lake, Soriano, maybe even Baez, those guys have not been known for their OBP or plate discipline, and may not ever be in some cases. When you look at the guys they've acquired though, Rizzo, Valbuena, Sweeney, Olt, Bryant, Soler; it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP) is a bigger focus, and that should filter through to the big league team as the power graduates too.

 

I'm not sure Bryant falls into that. We'll see. He did walk at a good clip at Boise and the AFL in a small sample.

 

Also, hasn't Castillo had a history of pretty good plate discipline (just saying)?

[jersey cubs fan]

Well, most of the power isn't at the MLB level yet, so I'm not sure it's an either/or thing. There's a pretty clear dichotomy with the guys that the front office inherited and those that they acquired. Castro, Castillo, Barney, Lake, Soriano, maybe even Baez, those guys have not been known for their OBP or plate discipline, and may not ever be in some cases. When you look at the guys they've acquired though, Rizzo, Valbuena, Sweeney, Olt, Bryant, Soler; it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP) is a bigger focus, and that should filter through to the big league team as the power graduates too.

 

Don't know what you mean by an either/or thing. The point kyle made was that while it's cool the Cubs have power in the minors it is surprising and kind of bizarre that three years into an Epstein era this team is going to be bad at getting on base. Probably their best guy at getting on base last year was the aforementioned Castillo.

[Guest]

Well, most of the power isn't at the MLB level yet, so I'm not sure it's an either/or thing. There's a pretty clear dichotomy with the guys that the front office inherited and those that they acquired. Castro, Castillo, Barney, Lake, Soriano, maybe even Baez, those guys have not been known for their OBP or plate discipline, and may not ever be in some cases. When you look at the guys they've acquired though, Rizzo, Valbuena, Sweeney, Olt, Bryant, Soler; it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP) is a bigger focus, and that should filter through to the big league team as the power graduates too.

 

I'm not sure Bryant falls into that. We'll see. He did walk at a good clip at Boise and the AFL in a small sample.

 

Also, hasn't Castillo had a history of pretty good plate discipline (just saying)?

 

Castillo isn't the best example, and there's exceptions that prove the rule(Schierholtz is a bit of a hacker, for one), but I think you get where I'm going with this. Bryant hasn't had the chance to really walk much, but the consensus is he's selective and not going to have the same types of problems as someone like Baez, even though their BB/K numbers haven't been too disparate thus far.

[Guest]

Well, most of the power isn't at the MLB level yet, so I'm not sure it's an either/or thing. There's a pretty clear dichotomy with the guys that the front office inherited and those that they acquired. Castro, Castillo, Barney, Lake, Soriano, maybe even Baez, those guys have not been known for their OBP or plate discipline, and may not ever be in some cases. When you look at the guys they've acquired though, Rizzo, Valbuena, Sweeney, Olt, Bryant, Soler; it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP) is a bigger focus, and that should filter through to the big league team as the power graduates too.

 

I'm not sure Bryant falls into that. We'll see. He did walk at a good clip at Boise and the AFL in a small sample.

 

Also, hasn't Castillo had a history of pretty good plate discipline (just saying)?

 

Castillo isn't the best example, and there's exceptions that prove the rule(Schierholtz is a bit of a hacker, for one), but I think you get where I'm going with this. Bryant hasn't had the chance to really walk much, but the consensus is he's selective and not going to have the same types of problems as someone like Baez, even though their BB/K numbers haven't been too disparate thus far.

 

Yeah, I get the overall point. More was just surprised/confused to see Castillo mentioned in the group of guys not known for OBP. Ended up looking it up as a result.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP)

 

And here's where I have to disagree. A lot of the guys you mentioned are meh-OBP guys at least, despite their excellent plate discipline.

 

That's the second time in recent days I've seen Valbuena, career .302 OBP, praised as an on-base guy.

[Guest]

what's considered a decent OBP these days?

 

I remember thinking .340 and up was ok back in the day...would it be more like .330 now?

[jersey cubs fan]

what's considered a decent OBP these days?

 

I remember thinking .340 and up was ok back in the day...would it be more like .330 now?

 

The NL average was .315, the Cubs were .300 (14th). In 2000 the average was .342 and the Cubs were .335 (10th).

[Guest]

it's a lot clearer that mastery of the strike zone(and therefore OBP)

 

And here's where I have to disagree. A lot of the guys you mentioned are meh-OBP guys at least, despite their excellent plate discipline.

 

That's the second time in recent days I've seen Valbuena, career .302 OBP, praised as an on-base guy.

 

Well yeah, quality of the player matters. Valbuena is a platoon guy/fringe starter, so I'm not going to claim he's an OBP god. But compared to the other platoon guy/fringe starter that was inherited like Barney(or even Lake)? Suddenly Valbuena(.322 OBP as a Cub) is a pretty sizable upgrade.