Bruce Miles Touches on NSBB Themes

[JC]

Link

 

Bruce seems as fed up as us in his latest effort. He has touched on several themes that we have long discussed here. It was nice to see a collective number of them in print, particularly in the same article. When these complaints are strewn over a number of different articles, the tend to lose their punch. Without trying to suck up, Bruce demonstrates again that he is the premier Cub's beat writer.

 

Part of the problem resides in the dugout. Manager Dusty Baker refuses to acknowledge the offensive importance of on-base percentage, and as a result, the Cubs regularly field lineups that have little chance of creating runs.

 

(Granted, [the selling] approach might not sit well in Tribune Tower, where the higher-ups thought they were shelling out more and more money in recent years so that they could mug for the cameras come World Series time.)

 

•LHP Mike Remlinger. Warhorse who may have one more run left in hiM… As everybody in baseball but Baker knows, he’s more effective against right-handed batters, so never, ever, use him against lefties

 

•CF Corey Patterson. Handyman special. If you can fix this guy, you’ve got a potential star… Aggressive hitter who won’t clog the bases with needless walks.

 

The Cubs also ought to give shortstop Ronny Cedeno more playing time instead of letting him rot on the bench.

 

If Braves manager Bobby Cox can win with three rookies in the lineup —— Wilson Betemit, Ryan Langerhans and Kelly Johnson —— the Cubs can give it a try.

 

(Emphasis added).

[dalgreen]

He is the best Cub beat writer. Did you notice in his column regarding Patterson that he said Patterson politely declined to comment? But Sullivan wrote that Patterson took his demotion hard and didn't comment to reporters? Amazing how they can have a totally different take.

[CUBZ99]

Link

 

Bruce seems as fed up as us in his latest effort. He has touched on several themes that we have long discussed here. It was nice to see a collective number of them in print, particularly in the same article. When these complaints are strewn over a number of different articles, the tend to lose their punch. Without trying to suck up, Bruce demonstrates again that he is the premier Cub's beat writer.

 

Part of the problem resides in the dugout. Manager Dusty Baker refuses to acknowledge the offensive importance of on-base percentage, and as a result, the Cubs regularly field lineups that have little chance of creating runs.

 

(Granted, [the selling] approach might not sit well in Tribune Tower, where the higher-ups thought they were shelling out more and more money in recent years so that they could mug for the cameras come World Series time.)

 

•LHP Mike Remlinger. Warhorse who may have one more run left in hiM… As everybody in baseball but Baker knows, he’s more effective against right-handed batters, so never, ever, use him against lefties

 

•CF Corey Patterson. Handyman special. If you can fix this guy, you’ve got a potential star… Aggressive hitter who won’t clog the bases with needless walks.

 

The Cubs also ought to give shortstop Ronny Cedeno more playing time instead of letting him rot on the bench.

 

If Braves manager Bobby Cox can win with three rookies in the lineup —— Wilson Betemit, Ryan Langerhans and Kelly Johnson —— the Cubs can give it a try.

 

(Emphasis added).

 

This was a nice article. The tone has officially changed with all of the beat writers. They must have some indication that Baker is close to being fired to all start piling on the guy after 2 1/2 years of being fairly deferential. Unfortunately, it took them a long time to start criticising Baker. Dusty has made it clear with the Stone fiasco that he does not take criticism well, wonder how he is going to react after the real first flood of articles squarely taking aim at his shortcomings?

[Wendy City]

The Drumbeat for Dustbags head is getting louder in the press. Miles is, of course, tacitly calling for it in this article - as you have pointed out through emphasis. Clearly, if the Cubs go to a youth movement for the end of the year, Dusty can no longer me the manager. He couldn't handle it and it would be dangerous to those players to let him try.

[LuckyPup]

looks like the kitchen will be very hot for Baker when he gets back to Chicago-He better be glad the All Star break may be a distraction-His days of a "free pass" are over-

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Phil Rogers ripped Baker a new one this morning as well. We'll see if Mariotti follows along with the trend.

[dime]

I'm sure bruce miles got all his ideas from reading internet posts. after all, no one else has the unique insight that the manager is to blame.

[CUBZ99]

I'm sure bruce miles got all his ideas from reading internet posts. after all, no one else has the unique insight that the manager is to blame.

 

Well that was a little out of left field? #-o

[JC]

We'll see if Mariotti follows along with the trend.

 

Let me put on my Mariotti hat and give it a go.

 

"All is not well in Cubdom.

 

The Rev. Johnny B. will need to hold a revival rivalling the Sermon on the Mount to get this bunch of non-believers to even show up at Chapel Wrigley, let alone try to win.

 

Indeed, the Tribsters no doubt are fuming this morning following the Lovable Losers' eighth straight loss to a bunch of kids from AA Bravo Town. Shelling out $100M and being four games under .500 in July will do that to you. (Though, had they spent money on the numberous free agents instead of being constrained by chronic tight-fistedness, they may be in a better position than relying on Hollandsworth, an unproven Dubois, et al.)

 

Baker and his boys will see themselves hung in effigy on Sheffield when they return to the Not So Friendly Confines. All the while, you have to wonder if they had acquired the Sheffield playing in right for the Yanks when he was ripe for the picking if they'd be in this situation. That was Cubdom's Sheffield of Dreams. Now, they are lost.

 

Desperate to do something, the manic Jim Hendry finally dumped underachieving Corey Patterson, banishing him and Dubois to the minors late last night. The scapegoats have arrived! In their steads, youngsters Adam Greenberg and Matt Murton were summoned as personal water boys for Baker and his No So Good Pitching Coach, Larry Rothschild.

 

Never fear, Cub fans, Kerry Wood will return to the hill and throw a gem, striking out 1 billion Marlins, and life will be good again. Cubdom will rejoice, "We've turned the corner! Woody's back!" The next day, Wood's arm will be in a cast, having torn every soft tissue structure from shoulder to little finger, and Baker will wonder why everyone is so made that Wood threw 243 pitches. Steve Stone, of course, will be smiling.

 

Advice to Jim Hendry: Next season, look for Cub ballplayers, not Cub Scouts.

 

Proverbial fork, meet bearhide."

[HoopsCubs]

I'm sure bruce miles got all his ideas from reading internet posts. after all, no one else has the unique insight that the manager is to blame.

 

I'm not sure if you meant to say Phil Rogers, and said Bruce Miles instead. Mr. Miles did not single out Baker at all in his column in terms of blame; he also indicated that there were significant organizational issues.

 

Like it or not, this team missed Moises Alou big time.

[J.R.]

Like it or not, this team missed Moises Alou big time.

 

Yes.

[JC]

I'm sure bruce miles got all his ideas from reading internet posts. after all, no one else has the unique insight that the manager is to blame.

 

Well that was a little out of left field? #-o

 

It was just a pathetic dig at me based on the title of the thread. Because I indicated Bruce touched on NSBB themes, he is assuming that I was saying Bruce got his ideas from NSBB for his article, which wasn't the implication.

[Chris]

Thanks for the thread, I appreciate the quotes

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

We'll see if Mariotti follows along with the trend.

 

Let me put on my Mariotti hat and give it a go.

 

"All is not well in Cubdom.

 

The Rev. Johnny B. will need to hold a revival rivalling the Sermon on the Mount to get this bunch of non-believers to even show up at Chapel Wrigley, let alone try to win.

 

Indeed, the Tribsters no doubt are fuming this morning following the Lovable Losers' eighth straight loss to a bunch of kids from AA Bravo Town. Shelling out $100M and being four games under .500 in July will do that to you. (Though, had they spent money on the numberous free agents instead of being constrained by chronic tight-fistedness, they may be in a better position than relying on Hollandsworth, an unproven Dubois, et al.)

 

Baker and his boys will see themselves hung in effigy on Sheffield when they return to the Not So Friendly Confines. All the while, you have to wonder if they had acquired the Sheffield playing in right for the Yanks when he was ripe for the picking if they'd be in this situation. That was Cubdom's Sheffield of Dreams. Now, they are lost.

 

Desperate to do something, the manic Jim Hendry finally dumped underachieving Corey Patterson, banishing him and Dubois to the minors late last night. The scapegoats have arrived! In their steads, youngsters Adam Greenberg and Matt Murton were summoned as personal water boys for Baker and his No So Good Pitching Coach, Larry Rothschild.

 

Never fear, Cub fans, Kerry Wood will return to the hill and throw a gem, striking out 1 billion Marlins, and life will be good again. Cubdom will rejoice, "We've turned the corner! Woody's back!" The next day, Wood's arm will be in a cast, having torn every soft tissue structure from shoulder to little finger, and Baker will wonder why everyone is so made that Wood threw 243 pitches. Steve Stone, of course, will be smiling.

 

Advice to Jim Hendry: Next season, look for Cub ballplayers, not Cub Scouts.

 

Proverbial fork, meet bearhide."

 

Wow, that definitely captures the essence of Mariotti. Any excuse to kick a Chicago team when they are down, and he's all over it.

[MustangMike]

Miles...Shmiles

 

I read Phil Rodgers...only because of gems like this:

 

 

"Ryan Dempster has been a blessing as the closer, but the setup crew has been in shambles all season. The worst injury of the year, worse than Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood or Mike Prior, was Chad Fox's blown elbow in April."

 

Long Live Bruce Miles

[E.J.]

Miles...Shmiles

 

I read Phil Rodgers...only because of gems like this:

 

 

"Ryan Dempster has been a blessing as the closer, but the setup crew has been in shambles all season. The worst injury of the year, worse than Nomar Garciaparra, Kerry Wood or Mike Prior, was Chad Fox's blown elbow in April."

 

Long Live Bruce Miles

 

If we still had Chad Fox we'd probably be in 1st place in the division. It was a huge loss for us. Rodgers is the greatest writer evar!!!!11

[Beer Kaese]

I'm sure bruce miles got all his ideas from reading internet posts. after all, no one else has the unique insight that the manager is to blame.

 

Well that was a little out of left field? #-o

 

It was just a pathetic dig at me based on the title of the thread. Because I indicated Bruce touched on NSBB themes, he is assuming that I was saying Bruce got his ideas from NSBB for his article, which wasn't the implication.

 

Sports writers surf boards like this from time to time to see what the fanatics are talking about and have for years. It's the cyber version of sitting in a bar and listening to drunk guys arguing. The one advantage of the cyber age is that writer could be sitting in his hotel room in Miami.

[CubfaninCA]

Now even the mainstream media, not just Baseball America and the Moneyball geeks, are exposing Baker as a fraud. Heck of a run for Baker though. Guess anybody can win when organizations shell out the money.

[CubinNY]

Now even the mainstream media, not just Baseball America and the Moneyball geeks, are exposing Baker as a fraud. Heck of a run for Baker though. Guess anybody can win when organizations shell out the money.

 

If and when Baker gets fired he will land on his feet. To quote Michael Lewis said in Moneyball,"there really is no level of incompetence that won't be tolerated." He'll get a gig on ESPN's BBTN for a year and then go back to managing, probably for an organization like the Reds or the Marlins.

[TB_11]

Now even the mainstream media, not just Baseball America and the Moneyball geeks, are exposing Baker as a fraud. Heck of a run for Baker though. Guess anybody can win when organizations shell out the money.

 

If and when Baker gets fired he will land on his feet. To quote Michael Lewis said in Moneyball,"there really is no level of incompetence that won't be tolerated." He'll get a gig on ESPN's BBTN for a year and then go back to managing, probably for an organization like the Reds or the Marlins.

 

He'll be able to find a job easy. I imagine he'd want to be in a smaller market where the press won't be as large of a presence.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

If Braves manager Bobby Cox can win with three rookies in the lineup —— Wilson Betemit, Ryan Langerhans and Kelly Johnson —— the Cubs can give it a try.

 

It's important that Murton and Greenberg start when they come up. Dusty has a tendency to give the young guys an AB or two in a PH role when they are first called up and then let them sit a couple days before giving them a rare start. That's just a terrible way to debut a youngster in the majors in my opinion. Look no further than how Cox handled Francouer last night. He looked very nervous in his first couple AB's in front of the friends and family. Getting those AB's out of the way set up his blast in the 8th. There is no way in the world he comes off the bench in that spot and does anything similar. Now, he has Francouer's confidence elevated and if there were any doubts in his head that he could not handle ML pitching; they are eliminated.

 

Bobby Cox does this with all the young players. They start a game or two as soon as they arrive to the club. Then, Cox decides how to best incorporate those young players over the long haul. He did the same thing with Nick Green and Charles Thomas last season. The same goes this season for McCann, Langerhans, Johnson, and now Francouer.

 

I have utmost confidence in Dusty that he will handle Murton and Greenberg in the worst possible way.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

If you think Murton, and especially Greenberg, will get anything other than rare, spot duty, then you're smoking something. Baker will never do it, and with him now sensing he's on life support, Baker's stubborn streak will only get worse. Hard Bake is upon us, he'll sit the kids out of spite.

 

If (not looking likely now) they get the Marlins games in, I'd be shocked if Perez wasn't batting 1 or 2 at SS, with Hairston getting the other 1-2 slot at 2B, Hollandsworth in CF (yep, I'm calling it) and Macias in LF. If Lee is back, then Walker slides back to 2B and Hairston is on the bench.

 

Hard Bake doesn't care about anything but Johnny B.

[treebird]

I have utmost confidence in Dusty that he will handle Murton and Greenberg in the worst possible way.

 

thnx for da sig

[MembersOnlyJacket]

I have utmost confidence in Dusty that he will handle Murton and Greenberg in the worst possible way.

 

thnx for da sig

 

you're welcome.

[CUBZ99]

If you think Murton, and especially Greenberg, will get anything other than rare, spot duty, then you're smoking something. Baker will never do it, and with him now sensing he's on life support, Baker's stubborn streak will only get worse. Hard Bake is upon us, he'll sit the kids out of spite.

 

If (not looking likely now) they get the Marlins games in, I'd be shocked if Perez wasn't batting 1 or 2 at SS, with Hairston getting the other 1-2 slot at 2B, Hollandsworth in CF (yep, I'm calling it) and Macias in LF. If Lee is back, then Walker slides back to 2B and Hairston is on the bench.

 

Hard Bake doesn't care about anything but Johnny B.

 

Baker liked Greenburg in Spring Trainings so maybe that will benefit his playing time. Dusty generally doesn't say nice things about rookies.