Blueheart05

Freel stole third. :evil:

great strikeout of Griffey!

Playing the role of pest today: Rich Aurilia.

Freel with a walk. :x

OMG, come on Rusch

Lee struck out looking

Arroyo is throwing strikes now...

Walker pops out

hah, nice catch Rusch. That was ticketed for CF.

Good job Ronny.

Yes but his power numbers are crazy against Rusch. There goes Aurilia. Again, not much of a difference as how he does with the rest of the league. I mean, his stats may be a little better against Rusch. BTW he hit .247 last year, must have been a good year. It stands out because they are both LH plus, Dunn is a prolific power hitter so he's always a danger...

FYI, MLB.TV is showing the Comcast version of the game. I wonder if MLB will archive the national broadcast? They do that sometimes...

Yes but his power numbers are crazy against Rusch. There goes Aurilia.

What happened? Freel hit a ball to CF and went to second because of Pierre's arm. We'll see it all year...

I thought he was supposed to be moving to first--that's why they gave up Casey. What's up with that? They made a trade and thought the overall team defense would be improved by having Hatteberg at 1B. Well, it's clear from Tuesdays game that their defense is much improved with him in left. At least from the Cubs' perspective. :D LOL, I'm all for it if it continues to give the Cubs an advantage.

I thought he was supposed to be moving to first--that's why they gave up Casey. What's up with that? They made a trade and thought the overall team defense would be improved by having Hatteberg at 1B.

That is actually not what he wrote at all: I think he did say it makes things more difficult... Anyway, I'm not trying to nitpick. I understand what he's saying. The OF won't supply a lot of power (and will actually be below average when compared to other OF). Point well taken. My argument is with the assertion that they will be a "complete disaster." All I'm trying to do is illustrate how they can be productive minus the plethora of XBH.

I didn't say to expect the players to dip below career norms, I'm saying that it's as likely as all of them playing over your heads, which you stipluated in the previous post. The Cards have a merely okay outfield, but it's still superior to ours, check the thread in Rivalries. And of course, the Cubs can win with an outfield like that, it just makes things more difficult. With the resources Hendry has, it's not too much to ask that the outfield be better than it is. No, I said that if they play to their career norms the team will be fine, I didn't say anything about playing over their heads... Jones playing better than he has the last several years would be playing over his head, as would Murton putting up an .830 OPS. Apologies with regards to Pierre, who's career averages are well below average(87 career OPS+, although he has played in some extreme parks so that probably has some wiggle room) No, it wouldn't be playing over Jones' head. I'm not talking about a career year, I'm talking about taking more walks (which he has increased over the last couple years) and striking out a little less. Even if he has a low BA his OBP can be respectable. I'm also not talking about .830 OPS for Murton. My focus has been on his average and OBP. It's obvious that he is a patient hitter who will manage to get on base (whether he hits for power or not). You said they were going to be a "complete disaster" this is where we disagree the most because you are focusing only on their SLG abilities. My point is that they don't have to be very powerful collectively if they are able to get on base via walk, hit, or other means. The outfield is almost half the offense! They have to have some semblence of power as a group. Jones is just bad at getting on base, and has mediocre power for a corner outfielder. Pierre can be good at getting on base, but he hits for absolutely no power(pre-emptive statement: Power is NOT home runs, it's hitting for extra bases). Murton may or may not give you good OBP or power. In all likelihood he'll give you okay OBP and below average power, especially for a corner OF. On the whole, that makes the outfield not very good at all, especially for a high payroll team like the Cubs. Here again, I disagree with the tenor of your post because your underline assertion is that their lack of collective power makes winning difficult to impossible. While I will agree that they aren't going to be very powerful, I think they will get a fair share of XBH. However, it's far more important that they get on base consistently. A starting outfield of Alou, Patterson, and Sosa, didn't propel the Cubs to the postseason because the team didn't pitch well enough to win nor did they get on base enough to pressure their opponents. It's obvious that the Cubs aren't going to be playing so called "station to station" baseball. To make up for the lack of power there will be more hit and run plays and stolen base attempts (among other things). Again, none of that means anything if they don't get on base consistently. Team OBP will be much more important than team OPS (or more specifically, OF OPS).

I didn't say to expect the players to dip below career norms, I'm saying that it's as likely as all of them playing over your heads, which you stipluated in the previous post. The Cards have a merely okay outfield, but it's still superior to ours, check the thread in Rivalries. And of course, the Cubs can win with an outfield like that, it just makes things more difficult. With the resources Hendry has, it's not too much to ask that the outfield be better than it is. No, I said that if they play to their career norms the team will be fine, I didn't say anything about playing over their heads... Jones playing better than he has the last several years would be playing over his head, as would Murton putting up an .830 OPS. Apologies with regards to Pierre, who's career averages are well below average(87 career OPS+, although he has played in some extreme parks so that probably has some wiggle room) No, it wouldn't be playing over Jones' head. I'm not talking about a career year, I'm talking about taking more walks (which he has increased over the last couple of years) and striking out a little less. Even if he has a low BA his OBP can be respectable. I'm also not talking about .830 OPS for Murton. My focus has been on his average and OBP. It's obvious that he is a patient hitter who will manage to get on base (whether he hits for power or not). You said they were going to be a "complete disaster," this is where we disagree the most because you are focusing only on their SLG abilities. My point is that they don't have to be very powerful collectively if they are able to get on base via walk, hit, or other means.

I didn't say to expect the players to dip below career norms, I'm saying that it's as likely as all of them playing over your heads, which you stipluated in the previous post. The Cards have a merely okay outfield, but it's still superior to ours, check the thread in Rivalries. And of course, the Cubs can win with an outfield like that, it just makes things more difficult. With the resources Hendry has, it's not too much to ask that the outfield be better than it is. No, I said that if they play to their career norms the team will be fine, I didn't say anything about playing over their heads... Murton has hit .300 or better at all levels of baseball. I expect he will end this year in that neighborhood if not slightly less due to an adjustment period. The other two are established and again, if they play to their norms they will provide plenty.

Is it fantasy to want an outfield that isn't a complete offensive disaster two years running? Or to have a semblance of international scouting anymore? Or to stop overpaying in money in years for middle relievers? I think it's too early to say that the OF is a complete disaster. They may not have the ability to put up big power numbers but they can still be productive and help the team win. It's going to take career years from the entire outfield for the outfield to be much good. I disagree. If Pierre returns to his career norms, Murton provides consistent offense along the lines of his MiL and ML numbers, and Jones increases his numbers (not a career year but respectable) the team should be fine. I don't care what they hit in relation to other OF in the League, if they get hits, walks, RBI, during their turn in the batters box they will be productive and the team will benefit. What are the odds of that happening? Probably similar if not less likely than Murton slumping and posting an OPS around .700-.330, Pierre continuing his '05 struggles, and Jones continuing to be awful for a corner OF. You essentially said if the best case scenario happens then we'll be alright, which is obviously true. There's very little chance we see that, and it's why our outfield is going to be decidedly mediocre offensively. If I'm looking for the best case scenario you are being way too conservative and pessimistic about their ability to contribute. Even if Jones has a "bad" year it shouldn't be too different than Encarnacion's overall numbers. The Cubs can win with them whether they are mediocre or not. The Cardinals aren't running out world beaters in the OF; with the exception of Edmonds, there is nothing special. It will be their pitching, and the presence of their middle of the order hitters, that will decide their season. Similarly, if the Cubs manage to pitch well their offense should be enough on most days.

Is it fantasy to want an outfield that isn't a complete offensive disaster two years running? Or to have a semblance of international scouting anymore? Or to stop overpaying in money in years for middle relievers? I think it's too early to say that the OF is a complete disaster. They may not have the ability to put up big power numbers but they can still be productive and help the team win. It's going to take career years from the entire outfield for the outfield to be much good. I disagree. If Pierre returns to his career norms, Murton provides consistent offense along the lines of his MiL and ML numbers, and Jones increases his numbers (not a career year but respectable) the team should be fine. I don't care what they hit in relation to other OF in the League, if they get hits, walks, RBI, during their turn in the batters box they will be productive and the team will benefit.

Burnitz making the Brewers sweat with a 2 run bomb. The score is now 6 to 5 Brewers in the 7th.

FYI, this game will be on Comcast Sportsnet for Chicago people (ESPN will have a black out).

Is it fantasy to want an outfield that isn't a complete offensive disaster two years running? Or to have a semblance of international scouting anymore? Or to stop overpaying in money in years for middle relievers? I think it's too early to say that the OF is a complete disaster. They may not have the ability to put up big power numbers but they can still be productive and help the team win.