Danny82

Just a quick FYI, Neife started against Suppan, who is a righty.

I think the player they got back was more than a marginal prospect. They got Andre Ethier, a 23 year old outfielder who was the Texas League player of the year.

So, do those who think that the Cubs' brass is dishonest to its fans about its players injuries think the same thing about the Dodgers?

That's not the choice. Most first pitches are not great pitches to hit. I'm not sure how you can say that with any sense of certainty. Pitchers obviously don't want to have to fall behind in the count if they don't have to. That said, I think the first pitch should be treated like a 3-1 or 2-0 pitch...the batter should wait for a pitch in his zone and drive it if it comes to that zone. If it doesn't, even though it might be a strike, lay off.

Not really. Sure it is. Case in point - Lee's at bat in the 8th inning yesterday. You would have preferred him to take that first pitch just to work the count and have the reliever amass a higher pitch count? That was a great pitch to hit, and he absolutely should have swung at it. I honestly can't see how a reliever's pitch count should be of ANY concern to the batter.

Exactly.

I think we all know that Rusch isn't really the Cubs #2...even with Prior and Wood out.

:roll: Oh boy, here we go again OK, I'll ask a simple question. What are the odds of the player hitting the 2 doubles of being out at 2B? Zero or next to zero? And the odds of the 2 singles and stealing second? about 1 in 4 Not true re: Pierre. He has a 74% career stealing percentage. Assuming that his percentage is approximately the same for stealing second or third, the odds of him stealing second two consecutive times is 55% Thanks for posting the EXACT thing I just said, however the wording may have been confusing. However the context of my question was how often in the guy hitting the doubles out at 2nd base, virtually nil but the guy hitting 2 singles and stealing 2nd will be out at 2nd 25% of the time. And you wrote that Pierre's stealing % is 74 which means he is out stealing 25% of his attempted steals or about 1 in 4 batter hits 2 doubles, virtually 100% safe at 2nd base or 2 of 2 on 2nd batter hits 2 singles attempts steals of 2nd, 1.48 of 2 times on 2nd Lets stretch that out to 40 doubles/40 singles singles hitter times successfully on 2nd of 40 attempts 29.6 rounded to 30. So now do you not only NOT have a runner on 2nd, you don't have a runner on 1st either and 1 less out to work with that inning. (and no I am not downplaying steals, just making a point in the context of the question re SLG %) The problem with your chosen scenario is you IMPLY 100% success rate (but then steals second base after each hit?) It's not MY chosen anything. I was just cleaning up the percentages in your post because the wording WAS confusing...your wording made it sound like a player would only be able to steal second after a single two times in a row 1/4 of the time. Now I see what you were really saying, but it didn't come off that way in the post to which I responded. I think we have things cleared up now though.

:roll: Oh boy, here we go again OK, I'll ask a simple question. What are the odds of the player hitting the 2 doubles of being out at 2B? Zero or next to zero? And the odds of the 2 singles and stealing second? about 1 in 4 Not true re: Pierre. He has a 74% career stealing percentage. Assuming that his percentage is approximately the same for stealing second or third, the odds of him stealing second two consecutive times is 55%

1) Maddux won the Cy Young as a Cub. 2) Mitre doesn't have near Maddux's control. 3) I think people are going a little overboard in their predictions for Mitre after only one start for Florida. He had a few awesome, but random starts for the Cubs too.

FWIW, Guardado pitched 41 in *one* inning last night.

Thank you for pointing out the obvious. And thank you for the condescending tone.

I wouldn't. Len has a good sense of humor and has been gracious enough to do a Q&A here, but he is terrible in the booth. I'd rather listen to Ron and Brenly. They are both color men.

I noticed those "Young" comments. They made me ill. Dusty you can keep on saying I never had any young players before. To bad it's not believable. I think you guys are analyzing FAR too much into those comments. Why must most everything Baker says be spun in the most negative light possible?

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he really likes riding the hot hand, into the ground. fox would agree. After all 8 of those innings over the course of 11 games?

I'm just happy that a young player is starting and in the lineup. yes, but i'd be willing to bet that Murton will have the highest OBP of anyone not named Lee, yet Dusty will continue to bat him lower than Jones, who will suck If Murton has a higher OBP than Ramirez, then I will be so happy I won't care where he hits in the lineup.

That is a bit harsh. The title of the thread in transactions gives no indication of what the "joke" was. Do you look through all the threads, even those with topics that don't seem relevant to yours, before you post a new topic? it's still there, in transactions... and probably on the front page. it's not hard to look at the index, it should be the first page when you get to the message board. Carlos Lee for Murton, Hill, Guzman? just like that. does that seem relevant enough for you? You were still being harsh. The substance of the discussion was under the general heading "April Fool's Joke".

That is a bit harsh. The title of the thread in transactions gives no indication of what the "joke" was. Do you look through all the threads, even those with topics that don't seem relevant to yours, before you post a new topic?

Maybe you are right, but I think you are forgetting about the post to which I was responding that said the Marlins "needed more pitching". While some might say you can never have enough pitching, the Marlins are one of the better pitching farm systems in the majors currently. Hence, I don't think they necessarily "need more pitching" as much as they need more position player talent.

Petit, Olsen and Sanchez all project as 1s or 2s. Johnson probably a 2-3. Those are probably the top 4. Like I said, they have more pitching talent in their minors than any other position.

??? Pitching is the one thing they picked up a TON of over the winter. They probably have more top pitching prospects than any other organization. Olsen Vargas Johnson Nolasco Petit Sanchez And there is more where that came from.

Very true, but this isnt the first time we've heard that rumor. It seems like there may be something to it. I dont know if I understand it fully, as I havent taken the time to do more then skim a couple articles about it. But as I understand it, it has something to do with If they cannot get a new stadium deal to bring in new revenue, they may need to trade Willis/Cabrera to clear up some cash. From today's Newsday Article Pie, Marshall, Murton, and Gallagher can all go for Cabrera. I don't think it would take quite that much. Especially if Murton has a good year.

Did I miscount or does that give them 41 on the 40 man roster?

No, they're not. Not even close. We didn't have Wood and Prior for most of last year, and we didn't lose 90, and we're better this year. you gotta be kidding me. they lost 83 last year when the two of them combined for 37 starts. you really think that if they started ZERO that the cubs wouldn't lose seven more games? with this offense (and the fact that their replacements would be rusch/williams/hill/marshall) the cubs could lose 95-100 w/o those guys. Even without Prior and Wood all year, the Cubs are nowhere near a 100 loss team. For a frame of reference, no one in the entire NL lost more than 95 games last year.