Why can't the Cubs win at home?

[EricG]

NL Central Standings 
Team          W L   Pct.GB Home Road 
x-St. Louis 100 62 .617  - 50-31 50-31 
y-Houston    89 73 .549 11 53-28 36-45 
Milwaukee    81 81 .500 19 46-35 35-46 
Chi. Cubs    79 83 .488 21 38-43 41-40 
Cincinnati   73 89 .451 27 42-39 31-50 
Pittsburgh   67 95 .414 33 34-47 33-48 

 

Cincinnati had a winning record at home. What is the key to winning in Wrigley? Can they build a team that likes to play day games? Their road record is respectable, should be enough to win the wild card.

ESPN standings(look at day/night records)

Stats:

Day Hitting

Night Hitting

Day Pitching

Night Pitching

Those extra night games next season might help. If Dusty doesn't like day games he should quit.

[goonys evil twin]

Cincinnati had a winning record at home. What is the key to winning in Wrigley? Can they build a team that likes to play day games? Their road record is respectable, should be enough to win the wild card.

 

The first thing should be to stop complaining about how hard it is to play at home. Quit making excuses. There's no reason why they can't win at home, and there's no special team to build in order to win at home. Just build a lineup that gets on base and hits for some power, a defense that fields the ball, and a pitching staff that gets outs and doesn't give up walks.

 

Baseball is simple, there's no reason to try and make it complex.

[EricG]

well look at the stats, Zambrano likes pitching during the day Maddux likes pitching at night.

[goonys evil twin]

well look at the stats, Zambrano likes pitching during the day Maddux likes pitching at night.

 

Stats like that will likely vary from year to year. Basing your personel decisions on how a guy did during the day or night last year is just asking for your roster to blow up in your face.

 

It's not that hard.

 

Get good productive baseball players.

[imb]

god hates me

[wekse]

curse

[imb]

oh wait, billy goat.

[BigbadB]

Cincinnati had a winning record at home. What is the key to winning in Wrigley? Can they build a team that likes to play day games? Their road record is respectable, should be enough to win the wild card.

 

The first thing should be to stop complaining about how hard it is to play at home. Quit making excuses. There's no reason why they can't win at home, and there's no special team to build in order to win at home. Just build a lineup that gets on base and hits for some power, a defense that fields the ball, and a pitching staff that gets outs and doesn't give up walks.

 

Baseball is simple, there's no reason to try and make it complex.

 

Here are some interesting facts:

 

Cubs offense

 

5th in XBH's

10th in AVG

20th in runs scored

28th in walks

 

Cubs pitching

 

5th best in BAA

7th worst in BB's

15th in ERA

 

With this team, it's all about the lack of respect for damage a walk can do. As Goony stated, it's really simple and there is no reason to make it any more complex than that. Here are two simple questions to answer based on the stats I provided above:

 

1. Why does a team that averages in the top 10 in batting average and XBH's finish in the bottom 10 in runs scored?

 

2. Why does a team that ranks in the top 5 in BAA finish in the bottom 15 in ERA?

[UMFan83]

Some reasons why the Cubs can't play at home:

 

-Too many day games, too few dark players (this explains the summer months)

-The firehouse across the street is too loud and distracting

-The green of the ivy doesn't match the Cubs blue uniforms and creates a distracting contrast in colors that distorts the Cubs players vision

-Wrigley is surrounded by bars. Bars that are open until 4 am. You have to be at the ballpark at 10am for a 2PM game. Think about it.

-Too much traffic around the ballpark. Get too winded riding your bike down Halsted

-That large imposing scoreboard scares our outfielders. Corey Patterson swore it was going to fall on him at some point last year.

-Ryan Dempster made the players laugh so much that it distracted them (but only at home)

[Andy]

Some reasons why the Cubs can't play at home:

 

-Too many day games, too few dark players (this explains the summer months)

-The firehouse across the street is too loud and distracting

-The green of the ivy doesn't match the Cubs blue uniforms and creates a distracting contrast in colors that distorts the Cubs players vision

-Wrigley is surrounded by bars. Bars that are open until 4 am. You have to be at the ballpark at 10am for a 2PM game. Think about it.

-Too much traffic around the ballpark. Get too winded riding your bike down Halsted

-That large imposing scoreboard scares our outfielders. Corey Patterson swore it was going to fall on him at some point last year.

-Ryan Dempster made the players laugh so much that it distracted them (but only at home)

hahahahaha

 

Why don't we just schedule 81 night games? Let's make Dusty happy. All he does is piss and moan about the day/night differential.

[gflore34]

Lack of offensive versatility, we all know the Cubs MO at Wrigley wait for the 3 Run HR, how many times did we hear Dusty say - "if the wind wasn't blowing in, those deep fly balls would have been HR's" - or something to that extent? Combine this with a pitching staff that couldn't throw strikes if their lives depended upon it and you have a losing home record. Edited October 19, 2005 by gflore34

[wekse]

another reason....they aren't good.

[erik316wttn]

Cincinnati had a winning record at home. What is the key to winning in Wrigley? Can they build a team that likes to play day games? Their road record is respectable, should be enough to win the wild card.

 

The first thing should be to stop complaining about how hard it is to play at home. Quit making excuses. There's no reason why they can't win at home, and there's no special team to build in order to win at home. Just build a lineup that gets on base and hits for some power, a defense that fields the ball, and a pitching staff that gets outs and doesn't give up walks.

 

Baseball is simple, there's no reason to try and make it complex.

 

Here are some interesting facts:

 

Cubs offense

 

5th in XBH's

10th in AVG

20th in runs scored

28th in walks

 

Cubs pitching

 

5th best in BAA

7th worst in BB's

15th in ERA

 

With this team, it's all about the lack of respect for damage a walk can do. As Goony stated, it's really simple and there is no reason to make it any more complex than that. Here are two simple questions to answer based on the stats I provided above:

 

1. Why does a team that averages in the top 10 in batting average and XBH's finish in the bottom 10 in runs scored?

 

2. Why does a team that ranks in the top 5 in BAA finish in the bottom 15 in ERA?

 

1) Complete and total lack of situational hitting. I wish I had a dollar for every time this year there were RISP and we had some yahoo up there (not named Lee or Ramirez) who would get anxious, swing at the first pitch, and ground out weakly or pop up, or go out there and swing at 3 balls and strike out. We also couldn't move runners over, and the utter and complete refusal to take a walk by most of the hitters didn't help much either.

 

2) Walks at inopportune times. All you need to score a run is one hit when you have two walks behind it. I blame this on the "nibble" theory. You saw it with those maddening teams of the 80's and 90's.

 

The pitcher has OK-to-good stuff. Instead of going right after the hitter and challenging him, trying to make him hit your pitch, the pitcher tries to get cute and nibble the corners. Tries to hit an exact spot on the outside or inside corner, and misses, and then keeps trying, and keeps missing. The walks add up, and then when the pitcher is really in trouble, he has to throw a big old meatball up there for a strike and it gets hammered.

[Mark_R]

Some reasons why the Cubs can't play at home:

 

-Too many day games, too few dark players (this explains the summer months)

-The firehouse across the street is too loud and distracting

-The green of the ivy doesn't match the Cubs blue uniforms and creates a distracting contrast in colors that distorts the Cubs players vision

-Wrigley is surrounded by bars. Bars that are open until 4 am. You have to be at the ballpark at 10am for a 2PM game. Think about it.

-Too much traffic around the ballpark. Get too winded riding your bike down Halsted

-That large imposing scoreboard scares our outfielders. Corey Patterson swore it was going to fall on him at some point last year.

-Ryan Dempster made the players laugh so much that it distracted them (but only at home)

 

You forgot all the fun things you can do during the day like getting your car washed, do your laundry, or go shopping.

[Diffusion]

Cubs pitching

 

5th best in BAA

7th worst in BB's

15th in ERA

 

What killed the Cubs' pitching this year just as much as the walks, if not more, was coming 25th overall in HR allowed. 1st in K, 24rd in BB, 25th in HR.

[goonys evil twin]

I wish I had a dollar for every time this year there were RISP

 

I wish I had a dollar for everytime there was nobody on base in the first place.

 

The problem is OBP, much moreso than what they do when a guy gets on base.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Our fans act like idiots, creating a hostile environment for our own players?

[barrettismyidol]

Our fans act like idiots, creating a hostile environment for our own players?

 

Are you being sarcastic?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Our fans act like idiots, creating a hostile environment for our own players?

 

Are you being sarcastic?

 

Not at all.

[Mark_R]

Why is something like chemistry overlooked (which I agree is a direct result of winning), but fan behavior is being given credence here?

[EricG]

I agree the Cubs are too aggressive on offense. My question is why does every team in the division except the Cubs and Pirates have a winning record at home, and why do the only the Cubs and Cardinals have a winning road record?

[LoneStarCubFan]

another reason....they aren't good.

 

Heeeeyyyyyy, you might be on to something there.

[CubinNY]

I agree the Cubs are too aggressive on offense. My question is why does every team in the division except the Cubs and Pirates have a winning record at home, and why do the only the Cubs and Cardinals have a winning road record?

 

The Cubs record at home and the road are well within the margin of error. What that means is that they are functionally equivelent. The record shows that the Cubs were a mediocre team, that is all.

 

It really is that simple.

[barrettismyidol]

Our fans act like idiots, creating a hostile environment for our own players?

 

Are you being sarcastic?

 

Not at all.

 

I think a "hostile" enviroment is the least of their concerns. I'm sure some athletes are rattled by booing, but most are professionals who have learned to tune it out.

[badger1679666666]

Our fans act like idiots, creating a hostile environment for our own players?

 

come on man, all your posts indicate you are MUCH smarter than that. These are professional athletes - fan reaction shouldn't impact their production at home that much.

 

That point holds about as much water as the "team chemistry" argument from last year.