cheapseats

And, for this year anyway, it was probably a good move by the Dodgers. According to BP's stats, a SS who adds 6.2 wins is worth $11.75 million. Furcal has been good for 6.9 so far, and the season isn't over yet. There was a minority that believed the Dodgers made a smarter offer than the Cubs; the Dodgers might be paying more per year than the Cubs offered, but they're paying less overall, and they're getting what should be his best remaining years.

It really steams me that Hill is still in the game. If Dusty is worried about exhausting his bullpen (and if he is he has his priorities mixed up and his facts need checking), then bring up some minor leaguers. Hill tends to lose his mechanics after 90-100 pitches, and there's no point in risking injury when the team is leading by 7 and out of the playoff hunt.

Gotta qualify for a quality start, dude.

Hill at 100 pitches and no one is up in the bullpen. Someone wake up Dusty.

Exactly. 2 hitters are supposed to make outs by sacrifice bunts, grounding out behind the runner, etc. Useless.

Hill has thrown 85 pitches and generally starts to struggle at 90-100. There should be someone up in the bullpen, but there's not.

Not to be argumentative, but the possibility of one year being non-representative is the reason I gave the average PF from 2001-2006, a time period you described as subjective. A larger sample size is almost always better than a smaller sample size.

Ramirez is charged with an error - throw pulling Lee of first. Replays aren't definitive, but it looks like Lee's toe was on the base. Dusty argues briefly, making some funny looking "How big is Dusty?" arm gesture.

LA's average park factor for 2001-2006 is .900 and Seattle's is .883. Safeco has been (marginally) a harder place to hit for the last six years. Six years is a little subjective. LA was tougher last year (which is where I got my info), Safeco was tougher in '04, LA in 03, etc. Some date ranges favor them, and others LA. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor Any time frame is subjective, but going with six years is better than going with one year. Why did you pick last year instead of this year, when LA is actually the 5th best hitter's park in the league? As for Beltre, I'm not so naive as to believe that there's a 0% chance that he had used PED's, but PECOTA projected him to decline, just as I imagine it will predict Soriano to decline this year. It's not unusual for a player to have a career year and never come close to it again. Which, by the way, is another reason Hendry really failed this past offseason. If DLee repeated his 2005, the Cubs had a shot at being a .500 team, but the odds are that Lee, while being a very good player, will never have a year like 2005. I'm afraid that Hendry will expect similar numbers from Barrett next year, for example, when making decisions. Chances are that Barrett will be one of the better offensive catchers next year but will not be as good as he was this year.

LA's average park factor for 2001-2006 is .900 and Seattle's is .883. Safeco has been (marginally) a harder place to hit for the last six years.

If they got him, I bet they'd put him in LF so they could have better D up the middle.

I don't really see the Cubs as a disappointment; I'm not sure how many people outside of the Cubs front office thought this team even had a chance for a .500 record.

Please don't tell me this is a statement of endorsement. Does the man deserve to be let go... yes. Did he help at all in his tenure with the Cubs...somewhat. Should he still be treated with respect, because he has treated the fans with respect... yes. Dusty needs to part way. He hasn't really worked out with the organization, and I'm sure he can find a better fit elsewhere. This doesn't mean he should be trashed and humiliated on his way out. He can probably say something to do it on his own. Show him the class he shows the fans when he is speaking to them after games. He is not a good person. He constantly shifts blames to others rather than accepting blame for his own actions. He deserves nothing. cheapseats, being a bad manager, and 'is not a good person' are not the same thing. Don't confuse the two. Johnny B. Baker is wonderful person, nice, charming, personable. Dusty Baker the manager is dumber then a box of rocks. There are the same person, yes, but don't confused Baker's managerial persona with his off-the-field persona. That is true. Baker is an extremely nice and personable human being. The same could be said for Jim Hendry. Neither do I want running my team, but that doesn't mean they aren't good, well-intentioned individuals. To be clear, I'm not saying he beats up homeless people or makes child pornography in his spare time. However, he does put himself ahead of others. He is perfectly willing to sacrifice the future good of a team if it will help his own career. He constantly blames others for his own failure. Many of his peers believe he used to abuse cocaine. He cheated on his taxes to the tune of $400,000 (which became more than $1 million with interest). He brings his son to interviews as a calculated way to dodge tough questions. Calling him a "bad person" was a bit of hyperbole, but it's not as if he's Mother Theresa off the field. Whether he's a good guy or not shouldn't impact his employment status one whit, but it has, it does, and it will.

Please don't tell me this is a statement of endorsement. Does the man deserve to be let go... yes. Did he help at all in his tenure with the Cubs...somewhat. Should he still be treated with respect, because he has treated the fans with respect... yes. Dusty needs to part way. He hasn't really worked out with the organization, and I'm sure he can find a better fit elsewhere. This doesn't mean he should be trashed and humiliated on his way out. He can probably say something to do it on his own. Show him the class he shows the fans when he is speaking to them after games. He is not a good person. He constantly shifts blames to others rather than accepting blame for his own actions. He deserves nothing.

In a roundabout way, signing Dusty might have actually kept us from getting free agents. He is/was getting paid $4 million, while guys managing for the first time usually get $400,000 to $600,000. Lloyd McClendon only got $300,000 when he signed with the Pirates. Could the Cubs have used an extra $3.5 million each year in 2003-2006? That's almost enough to pay for Neifi AND Mabry. :twisted:

Considering the Cubs' emphasis on team speed this year, the Dan Fox article at Baseball Prospectus yesterday is really interesting. Dan has created baserunning stats that measure runs created by advancing on groundballs, advancing on flyouts (tagging up), stealing bases, and taking an extra base on hits. The one thing that I found particularly interesting was that, over a six year period (2000-2005), the best baserunner, Carlos Beltran, added about 25 or 26 runs through his baserunning. The worst baserunner during that time period, Jorge Posada, cost the Yankees about 20 runs, so the difference between the best and worst baserunner in MLB was about 45 runs. As frustrating as it was to watch Moises Alou get doubled off on flyballs, or as frustrating as it may be to watch Jacque Jones get picked off second, bad baserunning doesn't hurt a team over the long haul as much as I would have guessed. Conversely, over the long haul, good baserunning doesn't help the team as much as I would have guessed. Juan Pierre's baserunning was worth about 18-19 runs from 2000-2005, although that number would be better if he didn't get caught stealing so often and did a better job of tagging up on fly balls. Anyway, although we probably didn't need another reason to doubt Hendry's team speed obsession, here it is. OBP>SLG>speed

Robinson Cano 2006 Salary: $381,100

Len said it was the smallest Wrigley crowd since September 2002. I actually plan to take my son to his first game when the Rockies are in town at the end of September. If anyone knows someone who wants to give away tickets to the Friday game, I'll take 'em.

If by "group," you mean the front office, then I agree. If you mean the players, I disagree. They didn't quit on anything; they just aren't very good.

LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Am I a prophet? Well, you're smarter than Dusty. Damning with faint praise, I know. :oops: Perhaps someone from Iowa could let Dusty know that Hill had reached the point at which he usually tires.

Am I a prophet?

This should be the last inning for Hill. Really, he shoud have come out already.

Just stupid.

I can't believe this move If Mabry should pinch hit for anyone (and he shouldn't), it should be Pierre, who has trouble getting the ball out of the infield.