muntjack

Chirinos' numbers are getting pretty Pujolsian. 33/40 K/BB and a .261 ISOP? I know he turned 26 recently but my god. The last 4 years his OPS has gone .715 > .834 > .915 > .982 . The guy should be getting all of Koyie's ABs.

Those ABs could be given to any other catcher in the system and it would benefit the organization infinitely more than giving them to Koyie Hill.

Chirinos, please. There is no need for Koyie Hill to get another AB in a Cubs uniform.

Like Wells, Liriano has suffered from a ridiculously high BABIP.

Not swinging the bat has to be Koyie's best move in this spot.

at this point, it doesn't matter, but Starlin's hitting 2nd. No one loves Castro more than I do, but Soto has been more productive.

Q: How to spark struggling offense? A: Sit best hitter on team two days after an off day.

To be fair, Arroyo is looking pretty good.

Soto back to 8th? The guy has been one of the best hitters in the entire league this year and has been particularly hot as of late. Unless he has said something about feeling much more comfortable hitting 8th then there is just no excuse for this. Why isn't Lou questioned about it?

The kid is already one of the most productive ss in baseball. How beautiful.

The kid is already one of the most productive ss in baseball. How beautiful.

Would anyone have thought that after his 1st 200 ABs Starlin would be 4th in MLB in OPS amongst SS? He could pass Alex Gonzalez soon, trailing only Hanley and Tulo. Very impressive.

That inning should pay dividends, even though we didn't score. Hamels was laboring.

Howry gonna Howry

But the level of production really isn't the problem. Did we expect Aramis to be the worst hitter in baseball for two months? No. But did we expect Colvin to produce anywhere near what he has? No. Soriano and Soto have both bounced back. Carlos Silva could have been an all-star. Marlon Byrd is. There are a lot of Cubs playing well above preseason expectations. In close games, there is a level of variance that comes into play that is unmanageable. When you exacerbate a bad run of variance with really poor decision making in close games, you can easily end up in the Cubs position.

I think Corey Patterson is burned too deep in some fans' psyches.

There is just no chance the Cubs trade Colvin for anything short of a Felix Hernandez or Josh Johnson. The one guy hitting for power on the team who happens to be left handed and is a Wilken "told ya so" pick. Tyler Colvin is Jim Hendry's wet dream.

Anyone with MLBtv last year remember it coming back early and overhearing Bob say "I wouldn't want my hands on this ****"? Really wishing I could hear what he's saying now.

Against RHP: Soto .741 Hill .555

The argument that Aram's and Derrek's lack of production takes management off the hook is completely missing the forest for the trees here. We have gotten great production from a predicted non-impact source in Colvin. We've gotten great production from a predicted average to good source in Byrd. Soto and Soriano have rebounded from their terrible '09 seasons. Silva has gone from the worst starter in major league baseball to a borderline all-star. Marshall, Marmol, Dempster, Lilly and Gorzelanny are all having good to great seasons. The cubs have the highest payroll in the NL, have had no major injuries and yet are languishing at 10 games under because of historically bad management. Ramirez went through the worst funk of his career, but did we need to hit him cleanup through the entire thing? How much did that decision cost the team? Grabow showed right away that he was not fooling anyone, but did we need to keep trotting him out in crucial situations? How much did that decision cost the team. Theriot can not get on base to save his life, yet he has been given the most ABs. Xavier Nady has a .636 OPS, yet when he's in the lineup he has to be in the 4th spot. And most egregious of all, we have a guy with a .402 OBP in a platoon with a .274 and no sign of a change.

Hard for me to get excited about any of these guys when it seems just as likely that the cubs will use their 1st rounder on me.

More than any other team, the Cubs draft postion is irrelevant. Wilken will just draft more guys he feels are undervalued. Unless we get the #1 pick and there is a Strasburg type talent, it really won't matter. For all the talk of Adrian Gonzalez and Fielder, I can see the Cubs going back into the early 2000s mold and acquiring 3rd and 4th tier free agents to fill out the team. Ricketts was at Wrigley in 2003 and you can bet he has realized that the most beloved Cubs team in recent memory was 7th in the NL in payroll. Through a decent farm system and with a couple of overperforming free agents, you can turn a huge profit and still keep the fans coming. Wouldn;t shock me at all.

Yes. I don't know why you're not grasping this. It's not like I want him to fail, but it would be surprising if Colvin consistently hit 20+ HR each season as a starting OF. His success thus far this season, while a pleasant surprise, is nowhere near being proof that he'd be a 20+ HR guy every season. I have no problem with Colvin getting most of the RF starts if Fukudome is traded, but in the meantime it's simply not realistic to have him starting over the main 3 OF. You can't bench Fukudome if you expect to pull of a decent trade, Colvin definitely cannot man CF full time and a streaky Soriano is still more likely to be more beneficial to the team getting more starts than Colvin. It is hard to grasp when you change your argument, yes. It has now gone from Colvin ever hitting 20 in a full season being a "llooooooooooooonnnng shot", to "it would be surprising if he did it consistently". I have never even argued the point of him doing it consistently. I haven't argued whether he should get more playing time in this awkward outfield situation. I was arguing "loooooooooooong" shot for 20 when the guy is on a 40 HR pace. I haven't changed anything. I thought we were always talking about whether he could do it consistently as a starting OF, but yes, I do also think it would be a long shot for him to hit at least 20 this year if he became a starting OF for the Cubs today. His performance in a limited role thus far this season is in no way a guarantee that he'd continue at the pace he's currently on as a starter, or even be anywhere near that pace, or even that he'll continue at this pace in the role that he's currently in. I'll be very surprised if Colvin finishes this year with 20 or more home runs, either in his current part time role or if he basically becomes a starting OF if Fukudome is traded. Last post regarding this from me, I swear. I agree that what he's done so far is in no way a guarantee that he will hit 20 this season or beyond. I just disagree with the "long shot".

Yes. I don't know why you're not grasping this. It's not like I want him to fail, but it would be surprising if Colvin consistently hit 20+ HR each season as a starting OF. His success thus far this season, while a pleasant surprise, is nowhere near being proof that he'd be a 20+ HR guy every season. I have no problem with Colvin getting most of the RF starts if Fukudome is traded, but in the meantime it's simply not realistic to have him starting over the main 3 OF. You can't bench Fukudome if you expect to pull of a decent trade, Colvin definitely cannot man CF full time and a streaky Soriano is still more likely to be more beneficial to the team getting more starts than Colvin. It is hard to grasp when you change your argument, yes. It has now gone from Colvin ever hitting 20 in a full season being a "llooooooooooooonnnng shot", to "it would be surprising if he did it consistently". I have never even argued the point of him doing it consistently. I haven't argued whether he should get more playing time in this awkward outfield situation. I was arguing "loooooooooooong" shot for 20 when the guy is on a 40 HR pace.

Colvin now on pace for 21 HR in 282 AB but still a loooooooonnnnnnng shot to hit 20 in a full season.