5/19 Ny mets (Gee) @ Cubs (T Wood) 1:20 CDT, WGN TV

[Tryptamine]

There's the sombrero for Rizzo. Statistical normalization at its finest.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The baseball variance gods absolutely owe us a ninth-inning comeback here. If not, they're a bunch of jerks.

[Schwarber Fan]

There's nothing I hate more than watching lefties try to hit LHP. I know Rizzo's been good but it's just tough to watch.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

#%$@#%$@# hell Sveum. You cannot use Marmol here.

[Schwarber Fan]

#%$@#%$@# hell Sveum. You cannot use Marmol here.

 

Even I don't get this POV.

[Schwarber Fan]

Walkoff HR Soriano

[Hairyducked Idiot]

#%$@#%$@# hell Sveum. You cannot use Marmol here.

 

Even I don't get this POV.

 

Marmol is a terrible relief pitcher. This is a one-run game late. Don't use terrible relievers in one-run situations.

 

It was a bad call despite working.

[Guest]

#%$@#%$@# hell Sveum. You cannot use Marmol here.

 

Even I don't get this POV.

 

I get it. I don't care in hindsight because it worked out... but I've been livid enough times at Marmol coming in in winnable games this year that I understand it completely.

 

Unless you don't think they can win this game, which seems likely enough.

[Sammy Sofa]

I just noticed all the empty seats when the camera panned for the Sweeney home run. What is going on? It is a beautiful Sunday afternoon and the Cubs are actually playing pretty good baseball. Why are people not going to these games?

 

Most Cubs fans still think this team is hopelessly awful and doomed to lose 100 games again.

 

It was packed when I was there yesterday.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

All of the Cubs' most patient hitters have caught some sort of swinging-at-ball-in-the-dirt disease today.

[SpongeWorthy]

Been a lot of feeble swings against the Mets pen today.

[Tryptamine]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

And so the Cubs remain 3 games worse than their Pythagorean record suggests they should be.

 

The last time the Cubs had three games or more of positive variance in a season was 2003.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

 

If you're looking for someone with PH HR success recently then Navarro is your guy.

[gscool89]

So glad Dale Sveum punted the 8th inning by using Ryan Sweeney and Nate Schierholtz against lefties instead of Alfonso Soriano

[Schwarber Fan]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

 

If you're looking for someone with PH HR success recently then Navarro is your guy.

 

"Recently" is pretty relative. Plus, he has like 5 other hits all year.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

 

If you're looking for someone with PH HR success recently then Navarro is your guy.

 

"Recently" is pretty relative. Plus, he has like 5 other hits all year.

 

"Recently" = this season. I'm really not sweating using either him or an incredibly flawed hitter against a really good pitcher in Soriano in that spot.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

There are no good PH options for being down with no outs and nobody on. Just send someone up there to swing as hard as they can and hope they catch one.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

 

If you're looking for someone with PH HR success recently then Navarro is your guy.

 

"Recently" is pretty relative. Plus, he has like 5 other hits all year.

 

His offensive line as a sub was this going into today:

 

.500 .545 1.100 1.645

[Guest]

Yes, use Navarro as the final hitter instead of Soriano. Brilliant.

 

If you're looking for someone with PH HR success recently then Navarro is your guy.

 

"Recently" is pretty relative. Plus, he has like 5 other hits all year.

 

"Recently," Soriano has been .226/.255/.358 against RHP this season (without a ridiculously low BABIP or anything).

 

So who really cares?

 

Also, SSS and competely anecdotal, but I don't ever recall Soriano not being awful when coming in as a PH in the entire 6+ seasons he's been here.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

[expletive] this game.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

OK, so by my math, in the last 20 seasons going back to 1994, the Cubs are -38 on pythagorean variance.

 

In that time, they've had +4 or better variance in one season (1998) and -4 or worse six times.

[Guest]

OK, so by my math, in the last 20 seasons going back to 1994, the Cubs are -38 on pythagorean variance.

 

In that time, they've had +4 or better variance in one season (1998) and -4 or worse six times.

 

This is a pointless thing to point out that means nothing, tells us nothing remotely predictive, and only serves to fuel the "only the Cubs" stupidity.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

OK, so by my math, in the last 20 seasons going back to 1994, the Cubs are -38 on pythagorean variance.

 

In that time, they've had +4 or better variance in one season (1998) and -4 or worse six times.

 

This is a pointless thing to point out that means nothing, tells us nothing remotely predictive, and only serves to fuel the "only the Cubs" stupidity.

 

Hmm. So you aren't going to like my follow-up about playoff win percentage against expected?

 

It might explain part of why our fanbase is so quick to throw in the towel on teams that just need some positive variance.

[Schwarber Fan]

Meanwhile, the Cardinals just don't lose games. It's brutal.