BigSlick

it was usually via the error

ugh stupid strategies this game would rule if we didn't have to swing at balls hey a base hit anyway

Holy crap Did I just see an at bat where Soriano didn't swing for 5 straight pitches and walked?

Check out my thread in Cubs baseball about fielding stats Edmonds is less than good

2 more smoked balls by Lilly come on, I liked you better when you were missing bats, I'll still take it

That breaking ball was crushed, good job Soriano

Reed doesn't seem to get better contact off Lefties, his little bloopers and ground balls just seem to drop more often Whatever, I'll take it.

Usually when a pitcher is struggling the ump starts squeezing him, but if your name is Glavine and you've been playing since I've been born you actually are unable to throw a ball into you completely miss the zone by three feet

This umpire is terrible

Hahahah, no matter what Theriot did, that intentional walk to load the bases up against a guy who only makes an out 60% ofthe time is the silliest decision ever

The only legitimate reason for Soriano to be leading off is that he is fragile and can't handle the thought of batting anywhere else, so I don't see why it is such a ridiculous claim plus you guys watch him play, he is kind of a goofball and makes some dumb decisions in the field, he doesn't help his case

Whatever happened to day games?

The sad thing is there is absolutely no way we can wrap up the division before September because we play all of our division rivals like 6 times each in the month. Obviously MLB wants to make sure that teams get some interesting pennant races at the end of the year, but it seems dishonest to just rig the schedule it so it happens no matter what.

The guy who blogged it speaks about Duncan's surprising numbers: "How is that different from Dewan’s plus/minus? His plus/minus is essentially the same as UZR if you turn it into runs. The only significant difference is that it uses a different database, which seems to make a big difference. Duncan was a -6 last year in 86 games, so between this year and last, he is +3 net runs in 119 games. I am sure that the 95% confidence interval for 119 games would be like plus or minus 15 runs or so. As I always say, when you have a group of sample data, if there are not the usual outliers (whatever you would expect when you combine a bunch of bell curves), you are likely cheating. Then again, we can’t just assume that every player who does not comport with our notion of that player is an outlier, otherwise, what is the point of the metric in the first place? What we do is to regress the metric towards some “scouting” report on the player. If that “scouting report” is a knowledgeable player watching a lot of that player, that is fine. But, again, we have to be careful and understand that these metrics are generally better than our “minds and eyes” which can play tricks on us. The metrics are (hopefully) unbiased. We also have to understand that the larger the sample that the metric is based on, the more we have to rely on it, at the expense of what we “think we know” about that player (assuming that the metric has some requisite level of accuracy and reliability of course). Duncan has some kind of a bad reputation as an OF’er, and I know he looks awkward out there, but LaRussa has said that he is actually a very good outfielder. Whether Tony was just being kind or PC, I don’t know. But when I think of Duncan, I always think of Tony’s remarks about his defense. If I had to put a value on his defense, I would honestly say it was just a little below average (of course, with a lot of uncertainty) . I get that estimate from his general rep (bad), his UZR (a little above average in 119 games), and LaRussa’s statements (which I interpret as being that he is average at worst)."

Plus a new LT and a new left guard and someone who was on the line but hasn't played RT in a few years. Wow. Sounds like a pretty rough year coming up. Oh well, maybe they'll suprise everyone who knows. Just for the record: next time Jerry, when a good portion of the city is screaming at you not to draft a guy because he's trouble, how about listening for a change? Plenty of us smelled trouble with Benson on draft day back then, why couldn't our erstwhile general manager? When fans & media know about a guy's issues and call it out before the draft even happens, you'd think the guy who is making the decisions and has an army of professionals to advise him would be able to see it too. In short, this wasn't hard to forsee, many did when the pick was made. I supported Mike Williams for a while so I'm going to plead ignorance and say I don't know anything about football

...Theres really nothing that extraordinary concerning the Cubs other than one player... http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/article/how_well_can_we_project_team_defense_and_other_uzr_data/ CF Best Cameron 40 Amezaga 31 Victorino 30 A Rios 29 C Gomez 28 Beltran 26 M Cabrera 24 Worst Edmonds -38 J Hamilton -37 V Wells -31 Kotsay -24 A Jones -20 Yup, thats right, given Edmonds fielding over the course of a full season he'd lose us almost 4 games with his fielding alone. Now yes, take that with a grain of salt considering the small sample size, but its something to keep an eye out for.

Hope for the best with this team, but ALWAYS, under EVERY circumstance, expect the worst. It's less painful that way when they rip your heart out. I'll keep that in mind the next time the Cubs are up 12-1 in the 9th. I'll be expecting 3 grand slams :wink: Honestly, with some of the Cubs teams I've seen, that wouldn't have shocked me much. It seemed like at their worst, they were finding new and creative ways to lose each game. This year, however, has been very un-Cub-like, but part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. I might get flamed for this, and I'm not trying to be a pessimist, but I think a lot of guys have just been playing way over their heads and we're really not this good. Demp has been lucky according to his BABIP. He still walks too many people. Hill stinks this year, Marquis is Marquis, Gallagher has done ok in a sample size. Theriot has no right to be doing this well. We've got a few lightning in a bottle situations, I fear. Reminder that Derrek Lee's OBP is .337 Some are over their heads some are under their heads, I don't think its really that odd or that we're unnaturally lucky

The fact that Volquez walked 5 is encouraging, keep it up buddy! The specter of Baker hovers over him

So the Bears continue their long line of busted Running Back picks, a shame. Lets hope Forte isn't among them

Perhaps the Cubs organization saw something mechanical that he was changing in Texas, maybe it was a triumph of scouting over statistical analysis? Thats why they knew he would do fine here? Nah, maybe I'm giving them too much credit....

I've pulled for the A's in a small way ever since I read Moneyball

Pythag wise the Angels aren't even the best in their division, they don't impress me that much. Well I guess no one in that league is looking that great this year anyway... Yeah I'll take Boston, wouldn't be surprised if its one of like 6 teams though

I'd rather it get down to being close with the team we're clearly better than. I really hate that I'm doing this because I feel like the baseball Gods are going to strike me down for my hubris but... We're clearly better than both of them

Theodore Roosevelt Lilly looks awesome there, he really looks pissed off pretty much all the time, in any picture you can find, anywhere.

Reminder that the last 3 times the Cubs have made the playoffs Kerry played an integral part to that process. Well sort of in 2007, but it holds true the previous 2 times, and would hold true this year if we are so lucky to make it.