This mad me laugh

[Schwarber Fan]

I was searching for mlb rumors on mlb4u.com and I laughed when I saw what it said next to Sammy Sosa.

 

http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/4344.jpgSammy Sosa- 0 teams interested

 

Am I wrong for laughing at that??

[E.J.]

I was searching for rumors on mlb4u and this made me cry:

 

Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry- will likely receive 2-year contract extension thru 2008 season during the Spring

[Schwarber Fan]

I was searching for rumors on mlb4u and this made me cry:

 

Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry- will likely receive 2-year contract extension thru 2008 season during the Spring

 

Ya that is depressing I saw that too

 

It also mentions the Royals being interested in Burnitz, the Cubs having interest in Mench, and Lee possibly signing an extension this offseason.

[BigbadB]

I wanted him gone as much as the next guy. He's made some poor decisions over the years, but he will always be remembered as one of the greatest Cubs ever.

 

I hope he finds a team that will give him a shot a 600 HR's, and in turn he can help that team be competitive.

 

So, no, I don't find it funny.

[Chris]

I wasn't amused

[Schwarber Fan]

BigBadB made a good point, it was a little wrong for me to laugh at that.

I think whoever wrote: "0 teams interested" could have said it a different way though. Plus now I feel especially bad remembering what day is it....

 

Happy birthday Sammy

[Andy]

I was searching for rumors on mlb4u and this made me cry:

 

Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry- will likely receive 2-year contract extension thru 2008 season during the Spring

 

Ya that is depressing I saw that too

 

It also mentions the Royals being interested in Burnitz, the Cubs having interest in Mench, and Lee possibly signing an extension this offseason.

I figured that when Lee exploded this year that JH would try to lock him up this spring. I'd applaud such a move.

 

I've also heard Patterson + pitching prospect for Mench which sounds like a good deal.

[Schwarber Fan]

I was searching for rumors on mlb4u and this made me cry:

 

Dusty Baker and Jim Hendry- will likely receive 2-year contract extension thru 2008 season during the Spring

 

Ya that is depressing I saw that too

 

It also mentions the Royals being interested in Burnitz, the Cubs having interest in Mench, and Lee possibly signing an extension this offseason.

I figured that when Lee exploded this year that JH would try to lock him up this spring. I'd applaud such a move.

 

I've also heard Patterson + pitching prospect for Mench which sounds like a good deal.

 

Ya I like Mench too. I'm all for him.

[snoodmonger]

What exactly is it about Mench's Burnitz-esque numbers that makes him a nice fit for us? I suppose I wouldn't mind him as a fourth OF, but if we already have Murton, there's no room for a Mench in the everyday lineup.

 

 

 

oh, and I feel bad for Sammy, though he has brought a lot of it on himself. I wish there were some way he could redeem himself and then go out with grace. (Not Mark Grace. That would get ugly.)

[David]

I agree with snood. Not much interest in Mench from my end. People like his walk rates and his plate discipline and all that, but it has yet to translate to even a respectable OBP yet.

 

Not interested.

[TB_11]

More evidence that his best option might be to head to Japan.

[BigbadB]

The Cubs already have Lee, Ramirez, Murton and Barrett hitting from the right side. Why is Mench a better fit than say, a lefty power bat?

[imb]

Who cares if we get someone lefthanded or righthanded, as long as their hands successfully move bat to ball?

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Who cares if we get someone lefthanded or righthanded, as long as their hands successfully move bat to ball?

 

b/c right handed bats tend to demolish left handed pitching and left handed bats tend to crush right handed pitching.

 

look at the offensive splits vs. Left/Right handed pitching.

 

DLee definitely didn't fall into that trap this year. He didn't care what hand you threw with. 8) He's a bit of an exception to the rule though.

[BigbadB]

Who cares if we get someone lefthanded or righthanded, as long as their hands successfully move bat to ball?

 

For a number of reasons. Lefties tend to hit righties better than right handers. The league is dominated by right handed pitching.

 

Aramis Ramirez vs. LHP 1.112 OPS

Aramis Ramirez vs. RHP .859 OPS

 

Barrett vs. LHP 1.039 OPS

Barrett vs. RHP .732 OPS

 

Murton vs. LHP 1.006 OPS

Murton vs. RHP .807 OPS

 

Lee vs. LHP 1.112 OPS

Lee vs. RHP 1.069 OPS

 

Kevin Mench vs LHP .980 OPS

Kevin Mench vs RHP .743 OPS

 

With Mench, it's more of the same against right handed pitching. Wouldn't it be better to have say:

 

Cliff Floyd vs. LHP .710 OPS

Cliff Floyd vs. RHP .915 OPS

 

Brian Giles vs. LHP .843 OPS

Brian Giles vs. RHP .933 OPS

 

Luis Gonzalez vs. LHP .749 OPS

Luis Gonzalez vs. RHP .857 OPS

 

Shawn Green vs. LHP .669 OPS

Shawn Green vs. RHP .887 OPS

 

Considering how many more right handed pitcher there are in the league, you need a couple of decent lefty bats to counteract the offensive decrease you seen when your right handers face them. Not to mention the fact that a better balance doesn't make it nearly as easy on the opponents bullpen.

 

I only threw Gonzalez and Green in there just to add a couple more lefties to the mix. I am in no way advocating any kind of arrangement to make them Cubs.

 

If you pack your line up with right handers, the team will not score as well against right handed pitchers. If there are 3 right handers to every lefty, wouldn't the better idea be to have some lefty bats in the line up?

 

Maybe you still don't agree. But, I'll take a nice balance of lefties, righties and/or switch hitters everyday.

 

Note that everyone of those lefty hitters hits better than Aramis against right handed pitching. Guys you would never consider trading Aramis for hit right handers better than he does. Maybe that puts into perspective the importance of a couple of decent lefty bats in the line up.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Looking at your list, could Luis Gonzalez play right? With his contract and the glut of OFers in Arizona, he might be a decent fall back option.

[imb]

So what? I'd rather look at the finished product than look at what side of the plate he stands on.

 

If the guy has a .900 ops, i dont care if he's right handed, lefthanded, or if he headbutts the ball when it crosses the plate.

[MPrior]

So what? I'd rather look at the finished product than look at what side of the plate he stands on.

 

If the guy has a .900 ops, i dont care if he's right handed, lefthanded, or if he headbutts the ball when it crosses the plate.

 

Sure, overall production is much more important than whether you're right- or left-handed. But if overall production is more or less equal, it's definitely in our interest to get a lefty over a righty.

[BigbadB]

So what? I'd rather look at the finished product than look at what side of the plate he stands on.

 

If the guy has a .900 ops, i dont care if he's right handed, lefthanded, or if he headbutts the ball when it crosses the plate.

 

The problem is that many of these guys don't have a .900 OPS when then face RHP's. It's only when they face a left handed pitcher.

 

I understand what you are saying, and I can agree with it if all the guys you are signing hit just as well against right handers as they do lefties.

 

What I want is better production against right handed pitchers. The Cubs as a team last year had 1 player with an OPS above .900 against right handed pitching (Lee).

 

After that, here are the guys who hit well against right handed pitchers:

 

Ramirez (859), Zambrano (845 :shock: ), Cedeno (840), Garciaparra (820), Murton (807)

 

After Lee and Ramirez, you have a pitcher, a small sample size, a guy who was hurt most of the year and a small sample size.

 

Against lefties, the Cubs have Lee, Ramirez, Barrett and Murton all above 1.000 OPS and Walker is almost there at .980.

 

If you had that kind of production against right handed pitching, you'd win a lot more games. Since there are 3 right handers to every lefty, it's probably a good idea to focus on the guys who hit right handers better, since that's mostly what you'll face. Bullpens probably feature closer to 4 out of every 5 as righties.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The site was updated:

 

Sammy Sosa- will not return to O's...is on Steve Phillips' Top 50 Free Agents List and is predicted to sign with Tampa

[2242005CY]

I was searching for mlb rumors on mlb4u.com and I laughed when I saw what it said next to Sammy Sosa.

 

http://espn.go.com/i/mlb/profiles/players/4344.jpgSammy Sosa- 0 teams interested

 

Am I wrong for laughing at that??

 

No, only if I'm not wrong for laughing at this:

 

http://www.killsometime.com/Video/video.asp?ID=353