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fromthestretch

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Everything posted by fromthestretch

  1. fromthestretch
    Let me get this straight, you continually talk about the importance of pitching, yet you think that the Angels will be willing to deal a 27-year old starting pitcher capable of pitching over 200+ innings with an ERA in the mid-3.00s, simply because they don't think he's an ace?
  2. fromthestretch
    If I remember correctly, Beck came into that game with absolutely nothing left in the tank. He had no velocity whatsoever. I believe he got Carter to pop out on an inside pitch that barely broke 70 mph.
  3. fromthestretch
    That's absurd. A bat is far more dangerous than a fist. Throwing a bat at somebody is also assault, quite possible with a deadly weapon. A bat is far more dangerous than a fist if it's swung, but thrown? Would you rather be punched in the face or hit with a bat thrown from 10, 20 feet? I'd take the bat, and hypotheticals are fun. I'd like to know who's throwing the punch before I make my decision on that one. Also, in the event of a bat being thrown at me, would I get to wear the chest protector like the ump?
  4. fromthestretch
    Garland is right at about his career average for ERA and WHIP, while Contreras is at right about his career average for ERA and better than his career average for WHIP. Considering that Garland has had one good full season and Contreras has been inconsistent as a major leaguer, I'd say they're pitching as well as could be expected. Garcia and Buehrle are both struggling. No question about that. Vazquez hasn't been good for a couple years, and he wasn't even on the Sox last year.
  5. fromthestretch
    I believe Xavier Nady had a similar clause when he was drafted.
  6. fromthestretch
    He played nearly 450 games in CF in his career. Where'd you get that number? Baseball Reference lists 57 games in CF, out of 2850 games played. BP says 446. Baseball Reference lists him as an "OF" for over 2000 of those games. Yeah, I noticed that. I wonder why that is. Anyway, 2,421 games at left versus 446 games at center supports the spirit of neely's post. If you're looking at the fielding stats on Baseball Reference and it just says "OF" rather than RF, LF, or CF, follow that stat line to the far right. It gives the breakdown of games played per OF position. And while the numbers may support the "spirit" of his post, nearly 450 games at a position is a far cry from never playing it. There were two seasons with the Yankees (1985 and 1986) where he was pretty much a full-time centerfielder.
  7. fromthestretch
    The funny thing is, out of those three pitchers for the '52 Dodgers, the one that won the most games that season was Joe Black, who had 15 wins as their closer. He only made two starts that year.
  8. fromthestretch
    Looking at Henderson's stats, it strikes me as odd that a guy with his speed never had more than seven triples in a season.
  9. fromthestretch
    He played nearly 450 games in CF in his career.
  10. fromthestretch
    The problem is this...we want him to pitch well enough for another team to have enough interest to trade for him, but we don't want him to pitch so well that Hendry thinks it's a good idea to hold onto him for next season.
  11. fromthestretch
    I remember Dawson and Dunston being well received by the fans, as well. not exactly accurate. Dunston was pretty much hated by Cub fans until 1989 when he stopped sucking so bad. The point is that for the majority of his career he was loved by the fans, despite the fact that he was a medicore player.
  12. fromthestretch
    I remember Dawson and Dunston being well received by the fans, as well.
  13. fromthestretch
    How is it that some people in the media bash Cub fans as a group for filling Wrigley every game and being too supportive of a team that consistently loses, while at the same time, others in the media write about how Cub fans are too negative? Seriously, every team has problems with its fans at some level. Idiots who write racist hatemail, people who throw things at players, morons that run onto the field, etc....these people do not represent the majority of any team's fans.
  14. fromthestretch
    Let's assume what you say is true...that every team gets on base an average of 10 times per game. In order to have an average, you need some teams getting on base more than that and some teams getting on base less. Don't you think if you were running a team it would be in your best interests to be one of the teams getting on base more than that to maximize your chances? If the rest of the league is getting on base an average of 10 times per game, then I want my team getting on base at least 11 times per game. A couple points: 1. You can't score without first getting on base. Even a home run constitutes getting on base. 2. All this talk about batting average with RISP is pointless without recognizing the value of OBP. You can't have opportunities to bat with RISP if you don't get runners on base in the first place. Getting on base is the first step in scoring runs. If you don't get on base, everything else is moot.
  15. fromthestretch
    Probably because those are not really things within a batter's control. An error is a defensive miscue, and the majority of fielder's choices result in an out. Why on earth should the hitter be credited with getting on base when it's the defense's fault he reached or when an out was recorded?
  16. fromthestretch
    My apologies if someone else already asked this, but I've only made it through five pages of this thread so far. What if the #2 hitter leads off the fourth inning? Shouldn't he be capable of getting on base? The first hitter in the lineup doesn't lead off every inning. EDIT: It appears someone did bring this up.
  17. fromthestretch
    Whether or not there should have been a Game 7 is irrelevant. They had to play it, and Wood didn't perform. Using that logic, I could just as easily say that the Gonzalez error wouldn't have occurred had the Cubs swept the first four games. Errors are as much a part of the game as the offense not showing up and a pitcher having a bad game. Seriously, you can't hold Gonzalez any more accountable for the Cubs not reaching the series than the rest of that team.
  18. fromthestretch
    Sarcasm or not, I'm in the camp of in any sport, defense wins championships. Defense in football, basketball, soccer, etc. means preventing the other team from scoring. In baseball, that's overwhelmingly the task of the pitching staff, not the guys behind them. Defense in baseball doesn't compare to defense in other sports and is a relatively small factor in keeping the other team from crossing home. exactly. defense (as in preventing the other team from scoring) is very important in baseball. but actual fielding makes up a very small % of defense. Defense may not win championships, but it can certainly lose them. (See Gonzalez, Alex) Every time someone points this out I'm going to point out AGonz's .980 OPS and 4HR's in the postseason, without which no one would ever remember the ground ball to SS. Offense and pitching are so much more important that defense it's not even funny. And every time someone points that out I'm going to, again, point out that defense can lose championships. You can say what you want, but the fact is that AGon blew a routine double play and cost us the World Series. Not Bartman. Especially at shortstop, defense is crucial at that time of the year. I don't really care what Gonzalez hit during the playoffs. If he hit .000 in the series, but made that play, he would have done his job because he wasn't an important part of our offense, but he WAS an important part of our defense, and he blew it. I don't remember any games hinging on Gonzalez's offensive exploits. You can put just as much blame on Zambrano's Game 1 performance, the offense not showing up for Game 5, Wood's Game 7 performance, etc. It's not all about one play.
  19. fromthestretch
    I don't think they are necessarily 'critical' to a teams success either, but something has to be said for the non-measurable attributes speed creates like annoying the crap out of the opposing pitcher and him throwing a fastball that catches too much of the plate. Also, what can be said about players like '03 Lofton, '05 Damon/D. Roberts and '05 Podsednik directly leading to a teams playoff success? The only thing that needs to be said is that it doesn't affect pitchers nearly as much as you might think. I don't think you'll find many pitchers that let runners "annoy the crap" out of them. If fast runners consistently have that affect on them, especially at the major league level, perhaps they should see a sports psychologist. Maddux has spent his entire career giving runners the cold shoulder, and it seems to have worked well for him.
  20. fromthestretch
    I'm just not drinking the Cubs brass' kool-aid on Cedeno. I think a majority of the hype came from the failed Furcal acquisition, so hey, we have a great Cedeno already so who cares if we failed again at an impact FA signing. I don't like Cedeno because the Cubs tell me to like him. I like him because of the improvement he showed at AA in 2004, the numbers he put up at AAA in 2005 (despite being young for the league), and the numbers he put up at the major league level in 2005 (despite inconsistent playing time). His winter league numbers were icing on the cake. Yes, he had his struggles in the minors in the past. But as he moved up, he improved. Combined with his age, that gives me faith he can continue to improve.
  21. fromthestretch
    Michael Barrett's .924 OPS is much more valuable to this team than his ability to tell a pitcher to calm down. As for calling a game, unless the pitch selection is coming from the dugout, a pitcher has the ability to shake his catcher off. The pitcher is the one that should know what he wants to throw in a certain situation and where he wants to throw it. Blaming catchers for calling a bad game is an excuse used by pitchers that don't want to admit they screwed up. Heh...I agree with you, but I know the Red Sox sure don't right now. Varitek was a crutch that the pitching staff leaned too hard on, and it's sad if Mirabelli and Lopez end up becoming scapegoats for poor pitching performances down the stretch.
  22. fromthestretch
    Michael Barrett's .924 OPS is much more valuable to this team than his ability to tell a pitcher to calm down. As for calling a game, unless the pitch selection is coming from the dugout, a pitcher has the ability to shake his catcher off. The pitcher is the one that should know what he wants to throw in a certain situation and where he wants to throw it. Blaming catchers for calling a bad game is an excuse used by pitchers that don't want to admit they screwed up.
  23. fromthestretch
    I too am concerned with Cedeno. Izturis' D is vastly better, and I don't care what Ronny hit in Arizona or Winter league or whatever - his offense has been anemic so far. I'd rather give Cedeno the chance to improve. He's three years younger, makes a lot less money, and his OPS this season isn't too far off Izturis' career OPS. There's always a chance Cedeno won't improve. However, Izturis hasn't shown much at the major league level, and his minor league numbers certainly don't suggest that he has any offensive potential.
  24. fromthestretch
    Depends on the lineup Hendry constructs next season. If the Cubs are getting decent offensive production from the rest of the lineup, then I won't be too upset if he repeats his 2004 numbers (although I do think $4 million is still steep for that). However, considering that he can run pretty well and has no power, it would be nice to see him get on base more.
  25. fromthestretch
    What does? Sabrmetrics? Focusing on the right things is a good first step. Defense wasn't close to being the biggest problem with this team before they got Izturis, so it's not like he's filling some big hole in the infield. Improve the offense and get healthy pitching before you begin to worry about the defense. If the Cubs are going to keep Izturis, they should probably look for better production at 2B. Even if Cedeno improves, a middle infield of Cedeno and Izturis is not going to provide much offense. You can live with having one of them, but not both, especially with Neifi as the primary backup for both positions. Out of the two, I'd keep Cedeno and try to deal Izturis to a team that over-values his defensive ability and can afford his salary for the remainder of his contract.
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