In particular, Lee and Ramirez performed abysmally over the first half of last year: 2010 first half #s: NL: .257/.327/.402 Cubs: .254/.321/.398 Lee: .233/.329 /.366 Ramirez: .207/.268/.380 Removing the contribution of Lee and Ramirez (~18% of total PA over that period) and replacing it with their career average numbers yields a team line of .265/.331/.421. Merely average first-halves for Lee and Ramirez may have been enough to bring the offense from below average in every category to above average across the board. The fact that they typically occupied the middle of the lineup didn't help, either. Fortunately, Aramis was his old self in the second half (.276/.321/.526 w/ 15 HR in 246 PA), so that augurs well for 2011. Even a modest rebound from Peña should more than compensate for losing DLee. Excellent analysis. THIS is the type of stuff I come here to read. Unfortunately I'm forced to read 15 pages of arguments and name calling to find these posts though.