CubColtPacer

His contract is up after the 2010 season.

I just have a few questions. 1. Who are you going to release to make this happen? It isn't as easy as just calling somebody up with the Cubs option situation. Cotts is really the only one that hasn't shown anything so far, but I know the Cubs would be reluctant to let him go. I have no idea who else should be jettisoned at this point. And once that's done, it's pretty irreversible, so you have to be absolutely sure you're releasing the right person. 2. Is the situation really bad enough to make a move? Remember, the Cubs are still 9th in baseball in bullpen ERA, 10th in opponent OPS, and 13th in WHIP (in the NL, they are 6th, 5th, and 7th respectively). Lou's still having issues figuring out who is going to be the best out of the Patton/Guzman/Vizcaino trio after the top 3 of Marmol/Gregg/Heilman. I don't see why the Cubs should panic because they only have an above average bullpen in the first two weeks of the year. 3. Is Samardzija the right choice? If the Cubs decided to make a bullpen move, there are other options at Iowa besides Samardzija. Jeff Stevens could be called up from the right side or Jason Wadell from the left side. If they wanted to pull somebody from being a starter at Iowa to being a reliever in the big leagues, Caridad or Ascanio might be a more obvious choice than Samardzija right now. Samardzija needs the time right now to be able to work on his secondary pitches, and the Cubs have the time to let him become a better pitcher overall. 4. Who are you going to use as your 6th starter if Samardzija is gone? The way the bullpen is being used shows that there is no long man. So if there's a start or two to be made, does Atkins take them? This is probably the least important concern as there are options at Iowa but it is still a concern. This is still a feeling out time for the bullpen. Everybody is still trying to figure out what the Cubs have down there. Until the picture clears showing obvious weak links, it's hard to start thinking upgrade this early. And the Cubs have the time because the bullpen is not dragging them down majorly right now.

Good to see you posting more in the minors, I love your posts elsewhere. I'm surprised about McDaniel's K-rate. He had 48 Ks in 34.2 innings last year (and 18 walks). Only 5 K and 3 BB in 11.1 IP this season. His sinker is still working though and that helps alleviate K-rate concerns (2.22 GO-AO this year, 2.18 last). Thanks for the kind words. I couldn't venture into the minor league forum very much without you and the other wonderful people in here around to help me keep everyone straight. :D I know in his first start that McDaniel was throwing a heavier dose of sinkers than usual. Hitters were not going into deep counts regularly with him. The Cubs may be working with him to not rely so much on the curveball which generates lots of strikeouts but also is the hardest pitch of his to control for strikes. Using the sinker more also can mean that the changeup will not need to be developed quite as much as a 3rd pitch which has been one of the big hangups with McDaniel. Plus, the decreased velocity of his fastball (and probably decreased movement as well) due to him starting instead of relieving might be causing more contact and less deep counts that cause the strikeouts and walks to pile up. As for Coleman, was there a reason for his struggles in college last year? It's always surprising to see somebody improve in almost every category from their numbers in the Atlantic Sun conference. The biggest key for Coleman has been in halving his walk rate. If that can stay down, his acceptable strikeout rates and home run rates should make him a capable major league arm pretty quickly. I'm not getting excited for Archer quite yet. From his history, it looks like it will be a roller coaster ride with him. He'll probably only be able to be properly evaluated when a large part of the season is done to see if his control has truly improved or not.

Wow. Coleman, McDaniel, and Archer all with great outings other than the low strikeout totals. The Cubs drafting and trading for some interesting pitchers in the last 2 years looks to be finally paying off. Colvin drew his 8th walk tonight with 25 AB's. He had 10 walks in 245 AB's in Daytona in 07. He unfortunately though just got his average back to .200 with a 1 for 3 night tonight. His BABIP is only .250 to this point of the season.

I hadn't seen it yet..but the lineup posted on Bruce Miles blog is (link below): Soriano, LF Fukudome, CF Lee, 1B Hoffpauir, RF Ramirez, 3B Soto, C Fontenot, 2B Theriot, SS Zambrano, P http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1818

Please read the game commentary here that addresses both the running into outs and the bullpen situation: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1366:questionable-choices-questionable-calls-send-cubs-to-defeat&catid=50:kyle-clark&Itemid=117

Read the article about today's game here: http://www.northsidebaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1366:questionable-choices-questionable-calls-send-cubs-to-defeat&catid=50:kyle-clark&Itemid=117 It covers everything from the Cubs problems in baserunning to the state of the bullpen. In your opinion, what is the level of the bullpen right now? Does the article paint a true picture of it?

Marmol was only going to pitch if the Cubs managed to tie the game again. Looks like Vizcaino is going to finish this one out instead.

He doesn't always like to do things that make sense. If you don't trust Cotts here, you really can't ever bring him in (which is becoming increasingly an option). Duncan has over a 300 point split between left-handers and right-handers. You have to try to make use of that split. The whole key is Marmol shouldve started the inning, not a rule 5 kid Would you have taken Marmol out before the 8th then?

He doesn't always like to do things that make sense. If you don't trust Cotts here, you really can't ever bring him in (which is becoming increasingly an option). Duncan has over a 300 point split between left-handers and right-handers. You have to try to make use of that split.

I don't think 3-2 is really a true hit and run. At the same time, the Cubs should never run on Yadier Molina. There is absolutely no situation where it is worth it. He had Fukudome running on 3-1. People want to know why Lee GIDPs so damn much? Just look at the manager for your answer. Fukudome didn't run on 3-1 (I just checked to make sure). He ran twice in a row on 3-2. And I absolutely don't agree with the GIDP comment. The hit and run forces Lee to make more weak contact than normal. It causes more outs on the bases.. But the combination of weak contact+ runner going either makes the number of GIDP's stay the same or lower them, not raise them. That's the only benefit though and there are more negatives to be brought up.

I don't think 3-2 is really a true hit and run. At the same time, the Cubs should never run on Yadier Molina. There is absolutely no situation where it is worth it.

Absolutely not true. The three pitchers who are interesting who started today all did well. Maestri also had a good outing. It wasn't a good day for the hitters, but it was a pretty nice day for pitching. And Colvin has turned once again back into the person he was for the first few months last year, and this year's version is even more patient so far than last year. Hopefully this time he can integrate the two parts of his game together and start getting some XBH to go with his walks.

For Cubs starters it probably goes: Dempster, Z, Marshall, Harden, Lilly For the Cardinals it's probably this (for the 3 starters that we know): Wainwright, Wellemeyer, Lohse Tomorrow's probably the best day, although I think it will partially depend on the wind. Lou won't want to put Micah out there on a day where the wind is playing tricks on the ball like it has the last 2 games.

A 2nd transfer from the IU program. This time it is Nick Williams, who was reportedly concerned about the amount of PT he'd get: http://www.indystar.com/article/20090415/SPORTS0601/90415071/1004/SPORTS I was really high on him midseason, but I can understand why he left. He is really a 3 and Watford is going to dominate the playing time at that position. There aren't enough shooting guard minutes to go around already and he's too small to play the 4 very often. That leaves a scholarship open for the 09 class, or Crean could choose to delay it to 2010 and have a 3 player class then.

If Fontenot thought it went to the backstop and so could take 3rd easily and have Johnson right behind him, then it makes sense to take 3rd (to stay out of the DP that Soto grounded into). Unfortunately Fontenot read it wrong while Johnson read it correctly. The sad part is that if either one of them had reversed (Fontenot reading it correctly or Johnson also reading it wrong) the Cubs would still be batting. The problem is you don't go to 3rd if you think it went, you have to know it went. You can't mess around with so few outs and such little value in going from 2nd to 3rd. There was just nothing to gain there. Oh, definitely agreed. I'm just saying there is a situation there where taking 3rd is the correct move. But you have to be absolutely sure, and it's a really bad mistake when you're wrong like Fontenot was.

If Fontenot thought it went to the backstop and so could take 3rd easily and have Johnson right behind him, then it makes sense to take 3rd (to stay out of the DP that Soto grounded into). Unfortunately Fontenot read it wrong while Johnson read it correctly. The sad part is that if either one of them had reversed (Fontenot reading it correctly or Johnson also reading it wrong) the Cubs would still be batting.

ball went between catcher's legs. Fontenot thought it went to the backstop because the catcher was having trouble but it was actually right behind the catcher who threw Fontenot out at third.

I have a feeling Lou will hold Ramirez until the 9 spot if the Cubs can get there because Bradley is almost certainly not available and if Ramirez hit 8 that would leave Hill for 9.

Neither is great, but give me the guy that has more upside, plays better defense, hits for more power, and doesnt cost 2.5 million for 2 year. That's fine. I would completely agree with you (although I would have kept DeRosa, not signed Miles, and still traded Cedeno as part of the deal for Heilman). But you said that Cedeno was better specifically at the plate than Miles. And that isn't really true. It's his other things (upside, defense, contract) that makes him the better option, not his hitting.

I agree. That .328 OPS would look miiiiighty fine right about now. Oh damn you showed me. If you think Miles is a better option at the plate than Cedeno, I dont know what to tell you. If Cedeno develops he is a better hitter. He has much more upside than Miles ever will have. But Miles has outproduced him each of the last 3 seasons. It's certainly not irrational to think he could outproduce him for a 4th straight. At least at the plate (Cedeno's a much better defender).

I'm not a huge fan of the hit and run either. But our minds are always going to be conditioned against the hit and run because we remember when people are gunned out much more than when either the steal is successful or the hitter hits a ground ball that becomes 1 out instead of 2. Unfortunately we'd have to track each result by ourselves. My guess it is overall a negative thing but much closer than people think.

Well, that last one was a double steal so it had to have been called from the dugout. And the first time when Theriot ran in the Fukudome at-bat it was on a 3-1 count, which is a count that is almost certainly called from the dugout as well (runners would rather go with the runner down in the count). And I also thought the last pitch to Lee was a strike while the previous ones weren't.

I would have no problem doing a reboot of the first round or two. I'm just pulling names off of ranking sheets right now this deep into the draft and so it doesn't provide that much value. Plus I do agree that the first round would change significantly if done again. It's the ripple effect..2 or 3 picks change and suddenly everything changes because most teams can't just take BPA.

Just because it's a "generally known fact" around the league doesn't mean it's true. It's a generally known fact that Cardinals fans are the best in baseball. I think many here would disagree with that. My problem comes from the fact he uses Jacque Jones and LaTroy Hawkins as examples of racist behavior. They weren't booed because they were black; they were booed because they failed a lot. Also, the most booed Cub I've ever heard is Todd Hundley. I'm sure there are racists who go to Cubs games, but I really am skeptical that it's a higher ratio than any other ballpark. He didn't say booed though...he said racial taunts. Even if those were because they failed quite a bit, racial taunts are still completely unnecessary. And that certainly wouldn't apply to all the opposing players who come in and hear supposedly racial things about them. And I really doubt that it's a generally accepted fact among the players that the Cardinals have the best fans. That's where the difference lies. What incentive do these players have to lie? I guess you could say the 06 Cubs had a little bit of an incentive to try to gain sympathy (although that is still a very shaky explanation) but what about the others? Players hate to go on record speaking something negative about groups of fans because they understand it's a business. The fact that they were willing to for this story says a lot about what they think.