CubinNY

Give them Miller and JJ for Lastings

I'm with the devil, though I'm going to wait until he starts facing better competition before I make any judgments. If he does really well in AA I will be extremely happy and a little suprized.

Thanks. I bet there were also long periods of silence punctuated by hip slang that Hendry didn't quite understand.

He was my favorite player too. I think I was 5 or 6 playing 3rd base in YMCA softball with wristbands up to my elbows. The only thing I was missing was an afro and the correct amount of pigmentation in my skin. I cried when he was traded.

anyone else notice whose batting gloves he's wearing? Nice bracelet on Felix.

IMO, they are largely overblown. I think he had a bad week and a half stretch where he had multiple error games, but was fine before and after. One of those games was a game I went to at Carolina. I believe he had three errors total that game, including two in one inning. I think it was rather ironic that on the day this question was asked he commits 2 errors. Maybe he reads this board and this thread got in his mind. :D Or I am the Cubs freaking jinx.

NIce pitching not so nice defense.

I'm not worried about Prior at all. Because this thread is about speculation, here is mine: Prior was just throwing BP to get used to being back on the mound in game conditions. I think I read a quote saying that and here it is: There are lots of pitchers who suck in ST becuase they are working on this or that and aren't really concerned with impressing the fans or the media. I am hoping Prior is one of them.

Because it's fun to say Fernando. What were the problems that Patterson had at second fielding wise? I'm just wondering since he would be a nice player to have at second and I've read about this possible switch to the OF. IMO, they are largely overblown. I think he had a bad week and a half stretch where he had multiple error games, but was fine before and after. I do think I've read he needs to work on his feet, but I think most of his errors were throwing, but I could be wrong.

I most adamantly. I would imagine Fuson does too. That's the entire point of being more patient.

It's because we so desperately WANT to be satisfied with this team, when the truth is that we never are, and likely never will be. Look at the Bears...as much fun as we had this year, there's still a lot of dissatisfaction with the team...the defense didn't play well against the Colts, or Grossman stinks, or the coaching doesn't adapt...it's just the nature of Chicago sports fans, if not all sports fans. And it's especially the nature of the internet sports fan. What I want to see is improvement or at least some semblence of follow through on the part of the coaching staff to make things better. With Dusty it was all denial and blame.

Rocky Cherry has some good stuff according to the announcers. I wonder what it tastes like rocky or cherry? Cubs win and Mariners winless.

I don't understand this grouping. Is that Carlos Guillen? He's hit .300 plus for three straight years. And while he's no threat to the HR record, I wouldn't say he's got no power. Similarly, Bellhorn wasn't devoid of power either. Juan Pierre has no power. Neifi Perez has very little power. But Bellhorn certainly has (had?) some. I admittedly didn't dig too deep when siting examples, I guess very little power? Bellhorn has 69 HRS in 2,400 PAs (27 of those came in one year with the Cubs).

I'm not sure how it proves anything like that-anybody can be taught to take more walks at the expense of some of their hits. What San Diego is trying to do is instill plate discipline and make their hitters better, which I don't think this evidence has any proof for that at all. Edit: I do think plate discipline to a point is learned (some of it is natural, and some of it can be improved)-but this shows me very little except that they pushed their hitters to take more pitchers, which in a couple leagues caused high walks, high SO's, and very low AVG and SLG. That's not true at all. The high strike outs, low average, and slugging are independent of plate discipline. It shows how bad some of the players are in their system. Adam Dunn has high strikes, low average and great slugging. I can't agree with the bolded statement. While I in no way believe that lower AVG and SLG numbers are the result of their more patient approach at the plate (it probably has a lot to do with a lack of talent, by and large), they are definitely not independent of one another. They're all linked pretty closely as the result of a general approach at the plate. My only reply is that you can teach Ronny Cedeno to be more patient at the plate, yet he will never be able to slug like A-Rod. How do you account for the Adam Dunns and Mark Bellhorns of MLB? I'm not sure what you're asking. Adam Dunn's and Bellhorn's (or any ballplayer's) abilities are all the result of their approaches at the plate and their world class hand-eye coordination. Obviously, Ronny's slugging (or his patience or his overall hitting ability) will never be at ARod's level. That doesn't make SLG independent from OBP or from batting average or even strikeouts, and certainly not from the hitter's actual approach to batting. They're all intertwined (to varying degrees) and are all the result of what the hitter is doing up there at the plate. Dunn's numbers are a result of an incredibly powerful swing, a very patient approach at the plate (both of which could lead to strikeouts), and an assload of hitting talent. I'm not being clear. There are hitters who are patient but with no power and low batting average (Bellhorne, Hattiberg, C. Guillen) There are hitters who are patient with lots of power and low batting average (Dunn, Burrell, Youklis) There are hitters who are patient with lots of pwer and high batting averges. (Pujols, Bonds, Howard) There are hitters with little patience, no power and low batting average (Neifi, Izturis) (but not many) There are hitters with little patience lots of power and low batting average (Kingman, Soriano, Monroe, Francouer) There are hitters with little patience lots of power and high batting averag (Vlad, Aramis, LaRoche) What I am saying is that SLG and AVE are independent of patience. The best players combine all three and that's why we call them the best. Having patience at the plate does not automatically make a player a better hitter.

I knew this would happen. The NY media love to get into speculation. I'd love A-Rod but don't see it happening.

I'm not sure how it proves anything like that-anybody can be taught to take more walks at the expense of some of their hits. What San Diego is trying to do is instill plate discipline and make their hitters better, which I don't think this evidence has any proof for that at all. Edit: I do think plate discipline to a point is learned (some of it is natural, and some of it can be improved)-but this shows me very little except that they pushed their hitters to take more pitchers, which in a couple leagues caused high walks, high SO's, and very low AVG and SLG. That's not true at all. The high strike outs, low average, and slugging are independent of plate discipline. It shows how bad some of the players are in their system. Adam Dunn has high strikes, low average and great slugging. I can't agree with the bolded statement. While I in no way believe that lower AVG and SLG numbers are the result of their more patient approach at the plate (it probably has a lot to do with a lack of talent, by and large), they are definitely not independent of one another. They're all linked pretty closely as the result of a general approach at the plate. My only reply is that you can teach Ronny Cedeno to be more patient at the plate, yet he will never be able to slug like A-Rod. How do you account for the Adam Dunns and Mark Bellhorns of MLB?

I'm not sure how it proves anything like that-anybody can be taught to take more walks at the expense of some of their hits. What San Diego is trying to do is instill plate discipline and make their hitters better, which I don't think this evidence has any proof for that at all. Edit: I do think plate discipline to a point is learned (some of it is natural, and some of it can be improved)-but this shows me very little except that they pushed their hitters to take more pitchers, which in a couple leagues caused high walks, high SO's, and very low AVG and SLG. That's not true at all. The high strike outs, low average, and slugging are independent of plate discipline. It shows how bad some of the players are in their system. Adam Dunn has high strikes, low average and great slugging.

Obviously I think plate discipline can be learend, however the data are far from conclusive. Because the Pads minor leagures were very bad the previous year any improvement last year could be attributed to regression toward the mean. The important thing is sustainability. If these guys can sustain the righer rates then we have more data. Yet the rates sitll aren't that much above average. I'd like to see some real sustained improvement above the mean before I'd draw any conclusions.

The records of minor league of teams don't matter. 90% of those guys won't make it to the big leagues.

Nice article from Bruce, regarding Lou's temper and the play of the Cubs. There are some good quotes from Lou. http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/cubs.asp?id=287509 So far Lou is nothing like Dusty.

This is from Phil Rogers Column in the Trib Those data are from last year. I will be interested to see if they can be repeated this year.

It seemed like his walk rate was going up until Dusty came along. He basically had one semi-decent year under Joshua. Even when he went off in Winter ball last year he never walked. Dusty's philosphy may have been coincedentially related to Ronny making the big club. Ronny is a pretty free swinging player. Which season are you referring to with Joshua? He was with Von in 2004 (.279/.328/.401). He had better seasons without Von in 2001 in Mesa (.350/.398/.466) and 2005 in Iowa (.355/.403/.518). I was referring to 2005 and I though Jusha was the hitting coach. I really don't consider Mesa numbers important and 2004 were just ok. -------- Edit: Upon futher reflection, I was referring to 2004 but it looks like 2004 and 2005 are about the same. IsoD .49

It seemed like his walk rate was going up until Dusty came along. He basically had one semi-decent year under Joshua. Even when he went off in Winter ball last year he never walked. Dusty's philosphy may have been coincedentially related to Ronny making the big club. Ronny is a pretty free swinging player.

Stay calm people, The sucks aren't going to be playing for the big club come April.

Man, if Ryan Harvey would just learn the strike zone he would be something special. It's not too late, let's hope a light turns on. BTW> This should be moved to minors.