BigbadB

Yeah, I picked up on it. I was just adding fuel to the fire.

Wait, I'm not done having fun with this topic: Macias as a pinch hitter this year 54 at bats, .185 AVG/.207 OBP/.241 SLG/.448 OPS 13 Total Bases, 5 RBI's Good thing he got more than double the pinch hit at bats of any other Cub player this year.

How does a guy end up being the all time pinch hit leader? By sitting on the bench, regularly. That means he wasn't good enough to be an everyday player. I can only see back to 1987, so I'm probably missing about the first 15 years of Harris' career as a utility player, but as a career pinch hitter he is: .265/.318/.656 Who do those numbers resemble? They are a lot like Neifi Perez. Todd Hollandsworth has a career .287/.360/.835 PH record. If guys like Dusty didn't attempt to give a good pinch hitter like Hollandsworth an everyday job, maybe a GOOD pinch hitter would have broken Lenny Harris' record by now. But, what do I know? I was dumb enough to want Hollandsworth back as a key bat off the bench. Little did I know that this was going to be the last thing Dusty would attempt to use him for.

yes there are probabilities, but that just tells you what you would expect to happen if that exact scenario happened 100 times, it does not tell you what would happen this time. stat heads would NEVER have brought up Gibson v. Eck in game 1 or Perez to hit a grand slam or Lee to have the year he did or Patterson to have the year he did etc. Stats are a tool but some of you use it like an end all be all, this isn't a computer program, there are too many human variables to use it that way. no, it doesn't tell you what will happen "this time." it tells you the likelihood that something will happen. a gut feeling doesn't tell you what will happen either (dusty's style of managing). no method is clairvoyant. no, stat hounds wouldn't have predicted the things you say (the odds were against them, not that they were impossible)...and no one else did either, so your point is... at least in two of those situations someone predicted something good would happen or they wouldn't have been in those situations. I'm not arguing against the use of stats as a tool, but I think in sports the correllation between past and current performance isn't as accurate as many give it credit for. Too many human variables, including variables like how hard a player will try. I do think a player tries harder when the game is on the line, (the reason closers are a hard role to fill), I think players play better for different teams, not just because of what statistical data surrounds them in the lineup but because they are where they want to be. I would submit that gut feeling plays just as large a role as statistics and it should. If not, you could hire a computer program as your next GM and forget the whole human interaction thing...and save yourself some money A computer programmer wouldn't be a good GM. A guy who can read computer generated stats would likely be a better manager than a guy who relies on gut instinct. Dusty Baker time and again last year brought in Remlinger on gut instinct (or just plain stupidity) to face left handers. The computer generated stats says "DON'T DO IT, DUSTY", yet he did it anyway. What happened when he did it? Bad things. In the last 3 years, Remlinger has a .215 BAA against right handers and a .284 BAA against lefties. Lefties have nearly as many hits, XBH's and RBI's as righties do, except in less than 2/3's of the at bats. Looks like poop, smells like poop, it's probably poop. But, Dusty tastes it anyway.

Would you trade Adam Dunn for Kerry Wood? Would you trade Ichiro for Kerry Wood? Not only is Wood not cheap, but he's injury prone as well. I would laugh at the team that called and asked if we would take Kerry Wood for Adam Dunn. Wood costs more money, will likely be a free agent sooner and is a question mark regarding health. Now, if you want to discuss Prior or Zambrano, I'd be all ears. Trading a guy like Wood when his value is its lowest is not a good idea. You won't get what you are expecting in return. Why would a team offer up a good player like that for an injury risk?

Is it really fair to compare Podsednik's runs scored to others, when Podsednik only played in 129 games? Podsednik's runs scored would have been much higher if he played in more games. His runs scored would have been much higher if he had better production hitting behind him (after Konerko, there wasn't much else). That's what a .350+ OBP will get you. I don't like the caught stealings, which hurt the RBI chances behind him, but even with the caught stealing, he's far and away better than what the Cubs were throwing out there everyday. The White Sox had a much better all around offense in 2004, therefore didn't need a key top of the order hitter like they did this year. Without Podsednik, they probably lose the division to Cleveland. Here's why the 2004 offense was much better than the 2005 offense: 2005: guys with a better OBP than .335 (3) 2004: guys with a better OBP than .335 (7) 2005: guys with a better OBP than .350 (2) 2004: guys with a better OBP than .350 (6) If you'd like to see a direct correlation between the White Sox poor offense and the Cubs poor offense, look no further than the OBP of guys who played everyday: Pierzinski .308 Crede .303 Uribe .301 Everett .311 Patterson .254 Perez .298 Hollandsworth .301 Macias/Lawton/Burnitz/Blanco (combine these guys together for a below .300 OBP You can't have a good offense when 1/2 of your offense hits like this. At least the White Sox maximized their line up for best overall production. The Cubs second best OBP guy last year (Murton) was getting on base regularly in the 6 hole for who? The two and three guys who SHOULD be the worst hitters on the team. Worst place to put a guy with a good OBP. It's the same thing Dusty did with Bellhorn. One of the best OBP guys on the team, and instead of expecting them to get on base like they are good at, Dusty wants them to drive in runs. Podsednik's value would be about as wasted as it could get hitting in front of Pierzinski and Crede rather than Iguchi, Konerko and Dye. Of course, offense isn't what got the Sox to the playoffs in the first place. But, with the little offense they had, they scored the necessary runs to win more than they lost. Bottom line, make the best use of the players you have. Anything less will only hurt the teams chances. Dusty's thought process? Let's hide the worst hitter on the team right in front of the best hitter on the team. How anyone in their right mind would even remotely consider this as a viable option for run scoring efficiency is beyond me. How many times would Lee have driven in Murton if he was hitting at the top of the order? How many times did Murton get stranded on base hitting 6th? If you don't maximize your offense, you deserve the fate you receive. Like staying home come playoff time.

Oh my god, would love that macias, Perez and Harris, what a bench. I heard that those three make the best cup of coffe in the league. I'm not sure any of the three should have ever been up to the major leagues for longer than a cup of coffee.

Bobcats? Boy am I out of touch with NBA.

There you go. this is amazing. if you cant see the difference in between "the sox's success was due to scott" and "that having scott lead off in 2005 didnt make a huge difference in the white sox's success" then i guess you win. That's nice. I didn't say that. Whatever. Enjoy ignorance. "Enjoy ignorance" does not support your argument. If that's the best you can do, maybe you should refrain from arguing.

And if they do, they will most certainly be looking to dump the remainder of Kaz's contract. There was quite a bit of talk on this board about going after Kaz around the trade deadline. Is that interest still around? Could he be what the Cubs are looking for if the Mets eat a good bit of the remainder of his deal? This sound just like something Hendry might gamble on. So, now we would rather give up prospects for an injured SS, pay out more cash than Nomar might cost, meanwhile freeing up cash for the Mets to go out and covet the free agents WE should be talking to. Nomar would cost us nothing in prospects and could be cheaper than Matsui, besides more productive. I give up. I need a break from this place. [-(

Corey Patterson could put up 20 HR's and 80-85 RBI's if you stuck him in right and batted him 6th all year. Just say no on Encarnacion.

No bowling for Kerry!

You're right, anyone with a stats system for defense is SABRiffic. I'm walking away rather than being patronized by somebody who thinks reading a little BA makes him a statistician. I believe it is you that is patronizing others.

Their attendance did drop by 7,000 fans a game. They went from 4th in attendance in their inaugural season at Citizen's Bank Park to 13th this year. Now that the newness has worn out, will they slide back to 24th in attendance like they were in 2002?

Because we have a back up plan in place (Cedeno) if Nomar were to get injured, I don't see that much risk in bringing him back. Based on the projections of what he would cost, why not offer him a contract that was laced with incentives? If he doesn't meet the incentives, he doesn't get an increase. If he's healthy, he could have a splendid year offensively. If he leaves, and Furcal signs with the Mets (as is rumored), who are you going to get? What will you have to give up to get him? I'd fight to keep Nomar here. If he elects to take his chances on the market, I'd offer arbitration. Some team will offer him some serious coin on the market. The lack of interest Cubs management is showing towards bringing Nomar back or signing Giles is very disappointing.

The harsh language was not needed at all to make your point. Try it!

Makes sense considering who the White Sox had to face in the World Series. When the Cubs face pitchers like that, they go up there hacking like there's no tomorrow. Not only does that not work, but it almost assures that pitcher of seeing the 8th or 9th inning.

No, we weren't having a good time. A legitimate baseball discussion was followed by a ton of crap. Some of us are getting real tired of seeing threads turn into meaningless garble. Hint: If you don't want to talk seriously about baseball, we have a social forum for you to play in. This is not directed at WillisC28, but rather those who turned this thread into a mock of other posters on this site.

And, if he goes there, nobody should be surprised. The Cards are consistent winners, have an opening in OF, and have the cash to pay him. Wasn't I just hearing that St. Louis was not going to increase their budget. If that's the case, I'm not sure they have the money to spend on Giles. Besides, with the guys they have, a guy like Jacque Jones makes much more sense.

Tampa will be all about pitching. Or at least they should.

Look at the other parks in that division. San Fran, LA and Arizona. Arizona is a good place to hit when the lid is off. When it is not, it's not all that nice. Other than Colorado, it's not exactly a hitter's haven division.

Pitching and defense, huh? HOW ABOUT OBP?

Wow! Not a chance. Trading TWO guys who's values are at their lowest along with another guy who is very productive given his salary. With all of these suggestions for Cedeno to be penciled in as a starter, does anyone have any projections for him for a full season? What if he has an offensive season that looks like Patterson's past season? Can the Cubs win with that kind of everyday production? Who is his back up if that's the best he can do? Because we don't know whether he can be a plus production guy or a minus production guy, I don't think it's a good idea to pencil him in as a starter on a team that is in desperate need to improve offensively.

I think we could get something of value, Patterson still has as much talent as anyone in baseball. He also has speed, and power, and youth. He could make as much as 3m this coming year. Please name a team that would be willing to pay 3m for a guy who hit .215 AVG last year and has a career OBP of .293. If you find a team willing to pay him 3m to play for them, now tell me what you think they would be willing to give up to get him? IMO, you give him away and get peanuts in return, or you keep him and hope he starts living up to his potential. Giving him away right now is giving up another guy when his value is at an all time low. Bad idea.

I'm not ready to write him off just yet. He did bring back Walker. If he can get a decent lefty power hitter (with a good OBP) to fill right field, a good OBP guy to fill center that can lead off (or Furcal at SS), then I think he can address pitching and call it a good offseason.