TB_11

I think we've all had it with Corey/Neifi going 1-2 in the order. I thought it might be interesting to look at the top five guys in NL RBI and their plate appearances split with runners on, so we can put some numbers on how few opportunities Derrek has had to knock people in: PAs* PAs w/ men on % RBI w/ runners on RBI/(PA w/men on) C Lee 345 182 52.8 63 .36 D Lee 347 140 40.3 54 .39 Pujols 361 171 47.4 55 .32 Burrell 309 171 55.3 54 .32 A Jones 338 178 52.7 44 .25 PAs* are ABs + walks + HBP, I don't have PAs from sacrifices in here Out of all the leading NL RBI guys, Derrek has had by far the least amount of PA*s with men on, while still driving in guys at the same (if not slightly better) rate than everybody else. Here's the same analysis, now done for PA*s with guys in scoring position: PAs* PAs w/ RISP % RBI w/ RISP RBI/(PA w/RISP) C Lee 345 113 32.8 55 .49 D Lee 347 94 27.1 49 .52 Pujols 361 103 28.5 46 .45 Burrell 309 104 33.7 49 .47 A Jones 338 111 32.8 28 .25 Again, we see the same effect, although it is a little more muted here - Derrek has had fewer PA*s with men in scoring position, but has taken advantage of those PA*s at a rate on par or better than the rest of the NL RBI guys. It's pretty obvious Neifi/Corey going 1-2 is not helping our cause at all, and any benefit from having Walker bat toward the bottom of the order for protection is being negated by not having anyone for Derrek to knock in. Our chances of scoring runs and winning games, as well as one of the great Cubs seasons in history is being muted because of the lineup and our manager. Others thoughts?

Agreed - we're .500 when 2 of our 3 best starters have been out for the majority of the first half, when our shortstop has been injured for the entire season, when our 2nd basemen spent a large part of the first half on the DL, when we've had two horrific OBP guys batting in front of the MVLee, and when our bullpen was still being formed. We still have the potential to make a run in the second half.

That makes reason #245,654 why I love Ryno.

Post in more threads (while intoxicated), plz. Great. With Raisin's new avatar it's going to feel like he's yelling every post. I WAS CONSIDERING MAKING ALL MY POSTS IN CAPS. Just as long as you throw in the regular rant against RASH-O NEST-ERO-VICH and SLA-VA MED-VE-DEN-KOOOOOOOO.

Agree on the first part - he became a lot more susceptible to outside pitches. He lost the ability to drive those to the right side of the field. Agree on the second part too. I think he can still put it together and be a feared slugger in the AL.

Post in more threads (while intoxicated), plz. Great. With Raisin's new avatar it's going to feel like he's yelling every post.

Luck. They are 20-7 in 1-run games. They've been relying on their bullpen way too much, and there's no way they can maintain their record.

Bruce Miles is smart.

My dream pitcher would be a durable Pedro Martinez. Pitches all coming from the same motion, changes speeds nicely, and in his prime could over-power you with speen or finesse his way into the strike zone.

I'd cry...... not just tears coming down my face mind you. I'd cry and weep like a little girl for 15 minutes. I've met too many people who have gone their entire lives not seeing a Cubs championship not to get caught up in the emotions. After that I'd party it up so good I'd probably end up in jail. All I'd ask from the prison guard is to see the front cover of the following morning's newspaper to make sure it all wasn't a dream.

Maddux has also become a 2nd-half pitcher in his later years. Dusty will keep pitching him and wait for his performance to improve.

My favorite part of all that is the number of at-bats for Corey and Neifi. 100+ at bats in a month when you're playing that poorly. Wonderful. /sarcasm

Yep. While Clement's K/9 are down this year vs last, so are his walks/9. Overall his BAA, OBP allowed, and SLG allowed are comparable to last year. XZero where do you get your run support numbers from?

Randy Johnson was the best pitcher in the NL last year, better than Clemens in every major stat except one - wins. Johnson finished with 16 wins and Clemens with 18. Wins are not an accurate statistic to compare pitchers - there are too many other factors conrtributing to a team winning a game to attribute it all to the pitcher.

Completely agree - he gets the ball back, winds up, and throws it in. Repeat. Finesse pitchers are more enjoyable to watch than power pitchers when they're on, IMO. Love the avatar 10man.

He threw off a mound for 5-10 minutes on Sunday according to ESPN.com. Please don't be teasing us here Mark........ Link

Haha, that's pretty funny. I'm sure Drew Rosenhaus (sp?) is already pointing this out on PTI.

The Phillies are dumb.

Maddux's first quarter shouldn't be used to project how the rest of the season is going to pan out. Toward the end of his career, Maddux has become a post-All-Star break pithcer. Last year he allowed 33 fewer baserunners while pitching 10 less innings after the All-Star break, and his ERA was a full run lower. His three-year averages show the same thing, with his post-All-Star break ERA at 2.98, vs 4.04 pre-All-Star break. I remember that one of the justifications for bringing Maddux here at the end of his career was to pass on his pitching wisdom to Wood, Prior, Zambrano, and Clement. Given that Maddux's strength was always getting guys out with few pitches, and that the Cubs staff remains reliant on the strikeout, it looks like that hasn't happened.

he looked good today - while that team obviously revolves around hughes, arenas, and jameson, he can be an x-factor. i dont think we have a big guy who can match up with his speed and size at the same time.

nocioni was unbelievable - 23 and 18....... the tnt guys said it best - those are garnett and duncan numbers, and this guy averaged less than 30 min per game during the regular season. NO-CI-ON-NI! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP

Team Predictions 1. 87 wins 2. 5 wins 3. 735 runs 4. 650 earned runs Player Predictions 1. 30 home runs 2. 60 BBs 3. .305 4. 98 RBIs 5. 16 wins 6. 3.15 ERA 7. 225 Ks 8. 30 starts Tiebreaker .740 OPS ----------------------- ETA (Serena) Team Predictions 1. 87 wins + 50 2. 5 wins + 10 3. 735 runs +150 4. 650 earned runs +175 Player Predictions 1. 30 home runs + 0 2. 60 BBs + 0 3. .305 + 0 4. 98 RBIs + 30 5. 16 wins + 20 6. 3.15 ERA + 40 7. 225 Ks + 0 8. 30 starts + 40 Tiebreaker .740 OPS Total: 515