CubinNY

Bold denotes Lee and the players with less RBI than him Babe Ruth 1921, 119 XBH, 171 RBI Lou Gehrig 1927, 117 XBH, 175 RBI Barry Bonds 2001, 107 XBH, 137 RBI Chuck Klein 1930, 107 XBH, 170 RBI Todd Helton 2001, 105 XBH, 146 RBI Albert Belle 1995, 103 XBH, 126 RBI Hank Greenberg 1937, 103 XBH, 183 RBI Todd Helton 2000, 103 XBH, 147 RBI Chuck Klein 1932, 103 XBH, 137 RBI Stan Musial 1948, 103 XBH, 131 RBI Sammy Sosa 2001, 103 XBH, 160 RBI Rogers Hornsby 1922, 102 XBH, 152 RBI Jimmie Foxx 1932, 100 XBH, 169 RBI Lou Gehrig 1930, 100 XBH, 174 RBI Luis Gonzalez 2001, 100 XBH, 142 RBI Albert Belle 1998, 99 XBH, 152 RBI Carlos Delgado 2000, 99 XBH, 137 RBI Hank Greenberg 1940, 99 XBH, 150 RBI Derrek Lee 2005, 99 XBH, 107 RBI Albert Pujols 2004, 99 XBH, 123 RBI Babe Ruth 1920, 99 XBH, 137 RBI Babe Ruth 1923, 99 XBH, 131 RBI Larry Walker 1997, 99 XBH, 130 RBI Hank Greenberg 1935, 98 XBH, 170 RBI Juan Gonzalez 1998, 97 XBH, 157 RBI Joe Medwick 1937, 97 XBH, 154 RBI Babe Ruth 1927, 97 XBH, 164 RBI Hack Wilson 1930, 97 XBH, 191 RBI Joe DiMaggio 1937, 96 XBH, 167 RBI Hank Greenberg 1934, 96 XBH, 139 RBI Hal Trosky 1936, 96 XBH, 162 RBI Lou Gehrig 1934, 95 XBH, 165 RBI Joe Medwick 1936, 95 XBH, 138 RBI Albert Pujols 2003, 95 XBH, 124 RBI Lance Berkman 2001, 94 XBH, 126 RBI Jimmie Foxx 1933, 94 XBH, 163 RBI Babe Herman 1930, 94 XBH, 130 RBI Rogers Hornsby 1929, 94 XBH, 149 RBI Chuck Klein 1929, 94 XBH, 145 RBI Jim Bottomley 1928, 93 XBH, 136 RBI Ellis Burks 1996, 93 XBH, 128 RBI Lou Gehrig 1936, 93 XBH, 152 RBI Ken Griffey 1997, 93 XBH, 147 RBI Al Simmons 1930, 93 XBH, 165 RBI Hank Aaron 1959, 92 XBH, 123 RBI Brady Anderson 1996, 92 XBH, 110 RBI Jimmie Foxx 1938, 92 XBH, 175 RBI Lou Gehrig 1931, 92 XBH, 184 RBI Ken Griffey 1998, 92 XBH, 146 RBI Stan Musial 1953, 92 XBH, 113 RBI Frank Robinson 1962, 92 XBH, 136 RBI Babe Ruth 1924, 92 XBH, 121 RBI Alfonso Soriano 2002, 92 XBH, 102 RBI Mark McGwire 1998, 91 XBH, 147 RBI David Ortiz 2004, 91 XBH, 139 RBI Alex Rodriguez 1996, 91 XBH, 123 RBI Babe Ruth 1928, 91 XBH, 142 RBI Rogers Hornsby 1925, 90 XBH, 143 RBI Willie Mays 1962, 90 XBH, 141 RBI Stan Musial 1949, 90 XBH, 123 RBI Willie Stargell 1973, 90 XBH, 119 RBI Albert Belle 1996, 89 XBH, 148 RBI Andres Galarraga 1996, 89 XBH, 150 RBI Richard Hidalgo 2000, 89 XBH, 122 RBI Duke Snider 1954, 89 XBH, 130 RBI Sammy Sosa 1999, 89 XBH, 141 RBI Sammy Sosa 2000, 89 XBH, 138 RBI Hal Trosky 1934, 89 XBH, 142 RBI Garret Anderson 2002, 88 XBH, 123 RBI Barry Bonds 1993, 88 XBH, 123 RBI Barry Bonds 1998, 88 XBH, 122 RBI Joe DiMaggio 1936, 88 XBH, 125 RBI David Ortiz 2005, 88 XBH, 148 RBI Albert Pujols 2001, 88 XBH, 130 RBI Ripper Collins 1934, 87 XBH, 128 RBI Kiki Cuyler 1925, 87 XBH, 102 RBI Charlie Gehringer 1936, 87 XBH, 116 RBI Lou Gehrig 1928, 87 XBH, 142 RBI Jason Giambi 2001, 87 XBH, 120 RBI Shawn Green 1999, 87 XBH, 123 RBI Todd Helton 2003, 87 XBH, 117 RBI Chipper Jones 1999, 87 XBH, 110 RBI Willie Mays 1954, 87 XBH, 110 RBI Mark McGwire 1999, 87 XBH, 147 RBI Kevin Mitchell 1989, 87 XBH, 125 RBI Johnny Mize 1940, 87 XBH, 137 RBI Manny Ramirez 2004, 87 XBH, 130 RBI Alex Rodriguez 2001, 87 XBH, 135 RBI Tris Speaker 1923, 87 XBH, 130 RBI Mark Teixeira 2005, 87 XBH, 144 RBI Frank Thomas 2000, 87 XBH, 143 RBI Vernon Wells 2003, 87 XBH, 117 RBI Robin Yount 1982, 87 XBH, 114 RBI Jeff Bagwell 2001, 86 XBH, 130 RBI Ken Griffey 1993, 86 XBH, 109 RBI Reggie Jackson 1969, 86 XBH, 118 RBI Eddie Mathews 1953, 86 XBH, 135 RBI Don Mattingly 1985, 86 XBH, 145 RBI Don Mattingly 1986, 86 XBH, 113 RBI Hal McRae 1977, 86 XBH, 92 RBI Johnny Mize 1939, 86 XBH, 108 RBI Wally Moses 1937, 86 XBH, 86 RBI Stan Musial 1946, 86 XBH, 103 RBI Magglio Ordonez 2002, 86 XBH, 135 RBI Jim Rice 1978, 86 XBH, 139 RBI Alex Rodriguez 2002, 86 XBH, 142 RBI Babe Ruth 1930, 86 XBH, 153 RBI George Sisler 1920, 86 XBH, 122 RBI Sammy Sosa 1998, 86 XBH, 158 RBI Ted Williams 1939, 86 XBH, 145 RBI So, there have been 74 seasons in the history of the game in which a player has managed 88 or more extra base hits, and in only one of those seasons has a player accrued less RBIs than Derrek Lee did last year. And there's a good reason for that one player failing to do so: not only did Alfonso Soriano manage seven less XBHs than Lee, but he also spent the entire season batting leadoff! Good to see you around again.

18. We are counting down to number 1 here folks. Next up a long distance dedication for all the pet lovers out there. Stay tooned.

Nothing, and I mean nothing that they have done in their respective careers makes either Eyre or Howry special. In fact, they are so unspecial that they are middle relievers. Middle relievers are middle releivers for a reason. I am sorry, I cannot get excited that Hendry went out and spent too much on middle relief. Middle relief is a crap shoot. I hope they are special, but middle relief is not why the Cubs were a medicore team last year.

Do tell?

I believe the league already wrapped up and Cedeno was named Rookie of the year if I am not mistaken.

Breaks, luck, chance, whatever one wants to call it usuallly evens out in a 162 game season. It is not the lucky teams that end up in the playoffs every year, it is the best teams. The Cubs have been using the same formula more or less for three years now. This has to be the year for them to make some noise or the chemists who made the formula have to be changed.

19 days

Isn't Piazza from Philadelphia?

Isn't Piazza from Philadelphia?

Depends on which time of year. I said discussions.

I like to use this analogy in this case. If a lion is chasing me and you, I don't have to be fast, I just have to be faster than you. The same thing goes with the vet v. the rookie. How the player performed after he left the Cubs or in the next year is completly irrelavent. If "the Horn" put up better numbers he should have played. Going with known production, if it is bad, is no virtue.

It looks like Coo Coo Crisp is available. Jason Michaels is available. I don't want to start another debate but if the Cubs could have upgraded in LF or RF they could have used Patterson for one more year. Cliff Floyd probably could have been had. Giles was out there. IMO There are any number of creative deals that could have been made. It is not so much that Pierre is bad, b/c he is not. He is medicore. But all his worth is tied up in his speed. If he gets hit in the quad with a ball. Forget about any stolen bases for a month and his lackluster defense will be exposed. His bad routs are often made up for by his speed. I don't think Pierre's offensive game will play well in Wrigley. He is deviod of any power whatsoever and the long grass won't help his swinging bunts much (contrary to popular opinon). The stadium in Florida was made for his game. Lightning fast infield and what not. The Cubs also gave up two pretty good pitching prospects and Mitre, who I think was never given a proper chance. But the future will tell that tale. I don't think the Cubs should have targeted a "lead off" man. B/c lead off is not a position on the field. I think they should have gone after the best players at whatever postion they were targeting, taking money vs. performance into the equation. As has been pointed out, speed is useless when it is setting on the bench. Needless to say though, I will be rooting hard for Pierre every time he steps to the plate.

I don't think your post was off topic as the thread has careened of course from what it was. If one looks at the Cubs the last two years they have ranked near the top in HRs and near the bottom in OBP. I think looking at aggragate numbers like OPS is skewing reality a little. In other words, the OPS has been good b/c the Cubs have been clubbing the ball out of the park at a phenominal rate. What has this translated into interms of runs scored? In 2004 the Cubs ranked 7th in the NL and 2005 9th. At the end of the day that half of what matters. The other piece is runs allowed. Again we see that the Cubs have struck batters out at a phenominal rate. But let's look where they rank at team WHIP: 9th and 11th. Why is that? walks. The Cubs are near the bottom of the NL in how many walks they give. What has this translated to in terms of runs allowed? The Cubs were middle of the pack in the NL 2004 and 2005. Taken together the Cubs Pythagrean Record shows that they were about five games worse in 2004 then they should have been and one game worse in 2005, meaning with a little better "luck" (and less Hawkins) they should have made the playoffs in 04 but where rightly medicore in 2005. I've seen very little this off-seasn to make me optimistic that they can improve either side of the equation enough to make a meaningful difference to change a medicore team. I don't think Pierre's 4 runs will make that much of an improvement. He will likely be an improvement over Patteson's 2005 season, but that isn't saying a whole hell of a lot. In addition, one of the biggest problems on defense is still wearing a Cub uniform and his name is Mike Barrett. I love his offense and the Cubs will need it more than ever this year, but if Hendry was looking to make a major upgrade in that department he should have changed catchers. I am not advocating that in anyway. What I'm saying is, I don't know what Hendry and the Cubs are thinking, but whatever it is I don't like it.

so if the move is unimportant, why did you make this comment? the move was getting overhyped by some... Thomas turns 38 in May and has missed a considerable amount of time the past 2 years. The guy could be going the way of other great power hitters/steroid users like Sosa & Bonds. His body's probably shot, but if he gets on Giambi's HGH who knows maybe he'll play half a year.... What's up with the steriod talk? Are you privy to information no one else is or are you just spouting off?

It's looking more and more likel Molina is the last kid standing after a game of musical chairs. The Mets. Omar is creating an all Latin team. Personally I have no problem with it, but you guys should here the stuff the anglo Mets fans are saying on the sports talk shows. The Benson trade put a lot of these guys over the edge. And when a NYer goes over the edge it isn't pretty.

It sure would be exciting if either Fox or Reed could bust out. Catchers who can hit are hard to come by.

I only have this breakdown for the CUBS, so I can't really compare it to other teams for you. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Total CUBS 58 79 75 101 63 121 72 72 52 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 703 Opponents 91 88 61 71 115 65 74 85 53 0 7 4 0 0 0 0 714 That first inning was a killer many a game last year.

Murray is a real life Crash Davis. He is the guy who is supposed to show the young "Meat" how to act on and offf the field. Every ML team carries a guy like this in the minors.

In the context in which Baker said, "walks clog bases" it was most definately not a throw away line. Unless you have an axe to grind. When he said it Baker was talking about what makes a good baseball player. He also said something to the extent of "you don't walk across home plate you run" or some other such nonsense. It is abundently clear that you read other peoples post and disregard the crux of the argument so that it fits whatever you think the person is trying to say. No problem, I don't take it personally. I just don't by what your cookin. Evaluate Neifie anyway you want, he is a crappy player and shouldn't start at any position. I'm not here to tell you how to act or think. But I do feel free to call sheaningens when I think I see them.

I wonder what the Cubs could have recieved for Corey? Maybe Boston wasn't interested?

Well, nothing major was really done.. Say what you want about where the guy writes for, but the real reason people are hurt by it is because its true. A lineup of Pierre, Walker, Lee, ARam, Jones, Murton, Barrett and Perez/Cedeno exactly wasn't what I had in mind when the offseason began. That is the lineup of a 4th place team, not a contender. Who's going to hit for Jones against lefties? Why did we end up with Jones in the first place? Whos going to be there in case Murton isn't a MLB calibur starter? Even if Ronnie beats out Perez, is that even really an upgrade? And if Walker gets traded or injured, then are they just left with a Perez, Cedeno combo? The pitching staff really isn't that much better. There's Zambrano, Prior and...well, not much else worth mentioning at this point, at least, not as a positive point. Wood is obviously someone I am not counting on. Maddux, though I love the guy, is on his last legs, Williams is hardly going to scare anyone. The pen has Dempster as our closer..it will be interesting to see if he can duplicate his success. Then we have Howry and Eyre, who could be great, or could be busts. The rest are pretty much the same ragtag group from last tear. Was the DRay comment harsh? Yea, it was. But it's just not as far off as people here are taking it. [sarcasm]Hey, you haven't been here long enough to be a group thinking pessimsist[/sarcasm] I agree with every word you wrote.

That is fantastic

The question is, will Joe Morgan mention Bonds more than he'll mention the great Joe Morgan? If you took a drink every time Joe Morgan referred to his career or the Big Red Machine, how long would it take to get drunk?[/i] Maybe we'll have a Joe Morgan drinking game thread? If he is televising a game on a Friday or Saturday I will be there, shot glass and beer in hand.

black jack