General Cubs Chit-Chat

[Banedon]

Games above .500....

 

http://i.imgur.com/XB1Lqag.png

[Banedon]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cubs-look-like-a-perfect-baseball-team/

[BigSlick]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-cubs-look-like-a-perfect-baseball-team/

Sometimes its fun to just read a big ol celebration of your team

 

And this article neglects to say that even as Tommy La Stella and Matt Szczur and others come back to earth, Jason Heyward and Miguel Montero are gonna come back and contribute

 

Awww yea, that feels good

 

Cubs season OBPs

 

 

Russell .361

 

 

League average OBP is .319 and only 12 teams in baseball have a higher team OBP than Montero. OK I cheated, there are 3 teams with a .317 OBP but close enough to Miggy.

 

Addy having a .360 OBP with gold glove defense is definitely something I'll take for the 22 year old. God bless this team.

[Banedon]

And this article neglects to say that even as Tommy La Stella and Matt Szczur and others come back to earth, Jason Heyward and Miguel Montero are gonna come back and contribute

 

yeah, I really thought they were about to say that as I was reading it...but they never did.

[itisallpartoftheplan]

We've had some sweet 4 game sweeps lately. Got me thinking about some of the great ones.

 

2016 vs WAS

2015 vs NYM Bryant's first Wrigley HR, walk off walk Coghlan

2015 vs SFG Rondon Loads Bases escapes jam

2008 vs COL Blanco, Edmonds, DeRosa comeback

2008 vs MIL Brewers first loss on a CC start Edmonds 2HR w/ Grand Slam

2003 vs STL 4 of 5 but still sweet! Sosa walk off, Alfonseca bumps ump

 

any other big ones that you can remember? Favorite moments?

[David]

We've had some sweet 4 game sweeps lately. Got me thinking about some of the great ones.

 

2016 vs WAS

2015 vs NYM Bryant's first Wrigley HR, walk off walk Coghlan

2015 vs SFG Rondon Loads Bases escapes jam

2008 vs COL Blanco, Edmonds, DeRosa comeback

2008 vs MIL Brewers first loss on a CC start Edmonds 2HR w/ Grand Slam

2003 vs STL 4 of 5 but still sweet! Sosa walk off, Alfonseca bumps ump

 

any other big ones that you can remember? Favorite moments?

 

nothing to add other than i was just thinking yesterday that it seems like when we've had good teams, we've had a lot of 4 game statement series sweeps...or the 4/5 vs st louis like you mentioned.

[Brian]

2016 vs WAS

2015 vs NYM Bryant's first Wrigley HR, walk off walk Coghlan

 

Let's not compare these series any further.

[Gmoney08]

Between June 12, 1906 and June 26, 1907, the Cubs had a 162 game stretch where they went 127-32.

 

Uh that's 3 games short....

No, it isn't. There were ties back in the day that didn't count towards the standings.

 

If you exclude the ties what was the Cubs record over 162 games in that stretch? I guess adding the next three full games on to that stretch or adding the previous three full games to before that stretch started?

 

 

Also, can anyone pull up other teams who had crazy 162 game stretches between two seasons?

[Gmoney08]

 

Uh that's 3 games short....

No, it isn't. There were ties back in the day that didn't count towards the standings.

 

If you exclude the ties what was the Cubs record over 162 games in that stretch? I guess adding the next three full games on to that stretch or adding the previous three full games to before that stretch started?

 

 

Also, can anyone pull up other teams who had crazy 162 game stretches between two seasons?

 

Also, why doing some googling of this there was a small reddit thread about stats over a rolling 162 game stretch.

 

 

Found out Sosa hit 76 homers over a 162 game stretch between 98-99. Wow.. surprised that isn't talked about more... or Bonds 80 between April 2001-02,

[ChiCubsFan]

"They came in thinking they were the better team, and left knowing they weren't." For some reason that quote has stuck with me.

[bukie]

Fun with Elo rating...the Cubs' current Elo rating is +1589, which puts them in some rare company:

 

It is currently better than the high water mark of 20 MLB franchises: Marlins, Rockies, Padres, Brewers, Rays, Royals, Nats (Expos), Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Rangers, Astros, Angels, Phillies, Twins (Senators), White Sox, Mets, Red Sox, Tigers, Braves, and Dodgers (the 2001 Mariners were +1590, and the Cubs' high water mark is +1620 in 1906).

 

There are a total of 34 seasons in MLB history (World Series era) that went higher than +1589, only 8 of which have occurred since the divisional era began, as parity in the league is so much higher since then.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Inlearningmode]

Boom

[Little Slide Rooter]

So I think I've finally found the flaw with this team. In years past, we've always had that one guy we could blame when things go wrong. From Neifi Perez to Aaron Miles to Koyie Hill, Jason Marquis to Bob Howry to Edwin Jackson, we've never been without a scapegoat.

 

Sadly, we don't have that guy anymore. I mean yeah, Clayton Richard kind of sucks, but it's not like he's ever going to find himself in a high leverage situation ala Phil Coke or Brian Schlitter. Even during Munenori Kawasaki's brief big league stint, he managed to hit .500. And even if he was given the opportunity to suck, the guy's just so darned lovable, I don't think anyone could bring themselves to boo him. I guess in September, we can see if Justin Germano or Brian Bogosevic are available. But for now, I guess we'll just have to like everyone.

[Sammy Sofa]

Soler seems primed for villain status.

[badger]

I feel like he's too sexy for that. Or at least his dong potential is.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Once the BABIPs normalize, Soler can reclaim his destiny as a pretty good hitter who is barely an average starter because he plays the outfield like a man who fears he only has so many caught baseballs allotted to his life and will die when they run out.

[sneakypower]

Cubs roster has 6 players who are 5+ WAR in the last year

 

and 4 more who are 3.6+ WAR

[Sammy Sofa]

Once the BABIPs normalize, Soler can reclaim his destiny as a pretty good hitter who is barely an average starter because he plays the outfield like a man who fears he only has so many caught baseballs allotted to his life and will die when they run out.

 

I feel like his sexiness works against him, like it will make him even more hateable once it sinks in how much me just might stink.

 

And while the sensible side of me sees the Soriano-like player you're describing as managing to be useful like Sorinao himself was, inevitably he would be loathed by the meatball masses like Soriano was. Or hell, maybe he escapes their wrath because he doesn't have a big contract.

 

It just seems like being terrible at everything except for hitting (sometimes) is a recipe for villainy.

[Elrhino]

It's always a bit baffling when such a seemingly gifted athlete can be such a butcher on defense. I think the ultimate was Adam Dunn, who was a highly recruited, scholarship football player at the University of Texas at quarterback and tight end.

[Sammy Sofa]

Sure, but it's not all that surprising when someone built like this...

 

 

...stinks in the OF, regardless of how well he played football.

 

Soler is frustrating because, like you said, he SHOULD be amazing even based on just looking at him.

[Tracer Bullet]

and being a college QB doesn't really say anything about one's athleticism. No one will ever forget the sight of Landry Jones "running" the 40 yard dash.

[Cubswin11]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/kris-bryant-has-a-new-swing/

[Elrhino]

and being a college QB doesn't really say anything about one's athleticism. No one will ever forget the sight of Landry Jones "running" the 40 yard dash.

 

Yeah, but after he was buried behind a couple of other QBs at UT they moved him over to TE because he was such a highly recruited athlete they wanted to find someway to get him on the field and utilize him. It's just amazing to me that a guy like that can't even become halfway servicable at 1B.

[PosterToBeNamedLater]

and being a college QB doesn't really say anything about one's athleticism. No one will ever forget the sight of Landry Jones "running" the 40 yard dash.

 

I was watching some of the first Superman a couple of months ago and couldn't help but be reminded of Landry Jones.

http://i1.wp.com/assets.sbnation.com/assets/2225803/lolandry.gif?w=848

 

Around 30 seconds in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSlTtr5NVUg&t=0m30s