CubinNY

I THINK THE dh FREES UP GM'S AND MANAGERS TO THINK ABOUT THEIR LINEUPS AND POS PLAYERS AS HITTERS FIRST How so? They still play defense in the AL don't they?

The DH does not make AL teams inherently better. It makes them different. The DH Acutally penalizes AL teams in two ways 1) It makes the bench shorter (i.e, less bench players) and 2) Pitcher's don't hit until the World Series. If the AL seems to be a stronger league it's b/c the better teams with the better players are in the AL. During much of the 1970s and 1980s the NL dominated the AL in the all-star game and I think lead in WS victories. With the rise of the Yankees in the 90s the ballance of power switched.

Managing in the AL is much easier than managing in the NL. The WS were extremely lucky last year in terms of the health of their team. I give Williams credit for brining in a lot of those players but they already had a pretty good nucleous of talent to begin with. Making stupid comments in the press and yelling obsenities doesn't make one a good manager.

Mods please dismemeber and burn this thread. I hate the DH. It's not baseball, it's basebally. There are more than enoug crappy fielders who can hit to go around.

Is that so? His W-L was 3-5 in April/May 2005, his ERA was 3.71 (a 3.71 ERA would have been good enough to be in the top 20 starters in the NL in 2005) Through the end of May 2005 Pettitte allowed 26 ER in 63 IP Through the end of May 2006 Pettitte has allowed 45 ER in 71-2/3 IP If a 3.71 "wasn't very good", what exactly do you call a 5.65? BTW 1st half generally refers to pre ASB, Pettitte had a 6-7 record at the ASB break with an ERA of 3.09 NSBB is the only place where one can read a Cardianl fan evisorate the argument of an Astros fan on a Cubs board. This place is great. Thank you Tim. Sign of for Premium folks.

It seems as if the Cubs have a lot of "soft" players. Len was questioning Hill's toughness last night. It is never the coaching or usage patterns, it's always the players.

Is anyone in this thread saying that it is? Yes. And more than once. I never said this was a terrible move or one that shouldn't be done. To me it is a so what trade at best, and a what were they thinking trade at worst. But he comes cheap and if he helps the bench great, but the Cubs could have used the help about 8 weeks ago. It makes the team better. Isn't that the bottom line? And if so, why complain??? It's obviously not some sort of blockbuster deal, but it gives them a better chance to win from here on out. Sometimes the nitpicking gets old. You know what gets old, having to repeat one's self for those that come to a thread late and fail to read any posts before the one they are responding to. Who is nitpicking? The bench has been putrid for a number of years. Lee went down six weeks ago. Hendry is just now dealing with it. Someone wrote that getting Nevin is a big deal. Then there was the suggestion to look at the number of ABs by the bench. Given current trends Nevin's @ 1.93 ABs per game off the bench doesn't really help that much.

Is anyone in this thread saying that it is? Yes. And more than once. I never said this was a terrible move or one that shouldn't be done. To me it is a so what trade at best, and a what were they thinking trade at worst. But he comes cheap and if he helps the bench great, but the Cubs could have used the help about 8 weeks ago.

Got to love the over-managing lefty/righty match ups. It's LaRussa like.

c'ya Matty. In light of the fact that Dusty has had ample opportunity to bench Matt already and has not done so, I'm taking a wait and see approach. Murton has been hot lately. Let's see how this plays out. I like this move. Nevin can play first until Lee returns and then gives use RHed pop off the bench, and hopefully a platoon partner for Jones. Exactly who was going to replace Mutron? Bynum? Restovich? the dearly departed JH Jr? It could be that Murton wasn't replaced becuase there was no one to replace him. But as you and Tim pointed out, we shall see. Although having a viable option on the bench is great, I fail to see how this move makes the Cubs appreciably better. Look at the number of at bats by the bench so far and the cumulative OPS of the bench players. Improving the bench is a very big deal. The Cubs have 1703 ABs. Of those 350 are "bench" ABs. Neifi has the most with 93 or 26%. If we exclude his ABs (He has been the primary 2nd baseman) the number goes down to 257. That is right at 15 % of the ABs. If you take out Blanco (43) who rarely if ever PH, the number goes down to 12.5% or 214. As of tonight the Cubs are averaging a pathetic 33 ABs/game. Using these numbers that gives us 3.96 ABs per game by the bench. For argument sake let's say that Nevin takes the lion's share of the bench ABs (say 33%) that gives him a grand total of 1.3 ABs per game. I reiterate, I fail to see how this makes the Cubs appreciably better. 1) those ab's are likely to be high leverage and we're not putting an absolutely atrocious hitter in play there 2) I don't think you can just exclude Neifi's AB's from the calculation entirely. When he's not starting, he's Dusty's "big bat" off the bench. I am not saying this makes the team a lock for the WS, I'm just saying that it improves the team and is therefore worthwhile. Are you trying to say the Cubs are worse off with this move? If not, why complain about it? What I'm saying is that trading for Neivin to improve the bench is not a very big deal. This trade is classic Hendry. Too little, too late. If Dusty uses Nevin as a platoon partner with JJ, I will be extremly surprized and extremely pleased. If he uses Nevin as a replacement for Murton I won't be happy at all, but will be less surprized. If he uses Nevin as the primary bat off the bench, I think that is great, but not a big deal at all.

Milton has a good move to first and Bynum is fast enough to score on a gapper. I hope he stays put.

It's a good thing you don't care.

Who doesn't love JJ?

I agree. He was the whipping boy last year. It's a shame, but I am happy for Corey. Why must I hate the team I love?

what about those who first-guessed the deal? ssshhh!

c'ya Matty. In light of the fact that Dusty has had ample opportunity to bench Matt already and has not done so, I'm taking a wait and see approach. Murton has been hot lately. Let's see how this plays out. I like this move. Nevin can play first until Lee returns and then gives use RHed pop off the bench, and hopefully a platoon partner for Jones. Exactly who was going to replace Mutron? Bynum? Restovich? the dearly departed JH Jr? It could be that Murton wasn't replaced becuase there was no one to replace him. But as you and Tim pointed out, we shall see. Although having a viable option on the bench is great, I fail to see how this move makes the Cubs appreciably better. Look at the number of at bats by the bench so far and the cumulative OPS of the bench players. Improving the bench is a very big deal. The Cubs have 1703 ABs. Of those 350 are "bench" ABs. Neifi has the most with 93 or 26%. If we exclude his ABs (He has been the primary 2nd baseman) the number goes down to 257. That is right at 15 % of the ABs. If you take out Blanco (43) who rarely if ever PH, the number goes down to 12.5% or 214. As of tonight the Cubs are averaging a pathetic 33 ABs/game. Using these numbers that gives us 3.96 ABs per game by the bench. For argument sake let's say that Nevin takes the lion's share of the bench ABs (say 33%) that gives him a grand total of 1.3 ABs per game. I reiterate, I fail to see how this makes the Cubs appreciably better.

c'ya Matty. In light of the fact that Dusty has had ample opportunity to bench Matt already and has not done so, I'm taking a wait and see approach. Murton has been hot lately. Let's see how this plays out. I like this move. Nevin can play first until Lee returns and then gives use RHed pop off the bench, and hopefully a platoon partner for Jones. Exactly who was going to replace Mutron? Bynum? Restovich? the dearly departed JH Jr? It could be that Murton wasn't replaced becuase there was no one to replace him. But as you and Tim pointed out, we shall see. Although having a viable option on the bench is great, I fail to see how this move makes the Cubs appreciably better.

c'ya Matty.

"at all"??? You are overstating your position. It obviously gives the Cubs a better option than they currently have at 1B until Lee gets back and a right handed power bat on the bench when he does. It makes them better right now. You will have a hard time refuting that point. Once Lee gets back Phill's 5 or 6 PAs/week will put the Cubs right in the cat bird seat. On the other hand, maybe he can help IF they wake up and platoon JJ with him. That might be his best use.

Just now read this. Eric Duncan and Phillip Hughes? Seriously? Duncan has been sucking and Hughes is ok, but nowhere near even in the jock sniffing range of Prior.

Except for when Murton goes into a slump and never again gets regular playing time.

Jesus Christi, the Cubs do love the washed up vets. Do they have a shot at Jose Lima?

Let's cut out the middle man here. Maddux for Manager/Player.

Ok. Someone tell me something good about Chris Marrero 3B Florida (HS) Is he as good a prospect as Rowell? Are the Cubs done drafting high ceiling HS pitchers in the first round?

I'm not sure the GM's between Santo and Ramirez would agree! Bill. Madlock. I'm on record as being the biggest Madlock fan on the board, dang I was heartbroke the day he was traded. Along with Ryno and Big Daddy, my three favorite Cubs of all time. Second biggest. Did you cry when he was traded? I did. I was only 4 or 5.