RichHillIsABeast

I'm not thrilled about the Cubs taking ABs from Murton, but this could be a very good signing for the offense overall. When Murton isn't starting, he's going to be the first option off the bench. If Murton is losing ABs to Floyd, it's b/c Floyd is healthy (unlikely) and mashing the ball. Piniella won't play favorites like Dusty did. Floyd won't play over Murton just to reach his incentives (based on PAs). If Dusty was still at the helm, I'd be furious over this move. Thankfully he's gone.

It's very important when you have a ton of near ML ready, but not quite options. Guys that give you 200 innings at a league average ERA become quite valuable when you're looking at Marmol, Marshall, Mateo, and Guzman. One of those guys in a decent rotation is not a problem. 2+ of those guys (like last year) is a recipe for bad things. Lilly and Marquis are not world burners. No one is claiming that. They do prevent the severe swings of rookie pitchers, who don't (generally speaking of course) know how to keep their teams in ballgames. Marquis won a ton of games w/o his best stuff last season. Some of that was run support and some of that was knowing how to pitch. Same with Lilly, who somehow managed to get away with being a flyball pitcher in a bandbox for years.

Z will be a Cub for a long time.

Ah. I don't know, he's gotten some pretty nice GB/FB ratios in the past. As long as the IF defense is strong behind him, he should be ok. Izturis is a wizard. Ramirez is better than average. Lee is a stud. DeRosa...could be better. If that sinker isn't working from start to start, he's going to get beaten up pretty bad every now and again.

How does the defense have anything to do with how Marquis gets the ball into play (GB, FB, or LD)?

Because Jones must really want out? Because the Cubs prefer Soriano in a corner OF spot for defensive purposes? Because Pie is a defensive stud and can be best utilized in CF and Soriano wanted to be put in one OF spot and left there (agreed upon during his contract discussions)? I doubt Pie makes the team out of ST anyway. He's not exactly ripping it up in the DWL.

Actually, the theory is lineup protection, when the facts have indicated that it really makes no difference. Where are these facts? I'm sure the links to the studies have been posted numerous times. You could probably find the articles using google. Whatever. You think batting Izturis behind DLee won't affect Lee's numbers? Of course lineup protection matters. It doesn't take a statistical study to figure out something that obvious.

Soriano is a very different player than Pierre. Soriano is not Pierre. Soriano is not Neifi. Putting DeRosa/Izturis in the 2 hole for the 2007 season isn't remotely the same thing as having two guys who couldn't get on base in front of Lee/Ramirez in 2005.

Actually, the theory is lineup protection, when the facts have indicated that it really makes no difference. Where are these facts?

Having Murton hit behind them doesn't ensure that at all. If a pitcher knows he can get Jones to chase bad pitches, he's going to continue to throw him bad pitches in most situations. Having Murton hitting behind him doesn't magically make Jones a more selective hitter. Nope, it means Jones gets more fastballs, which he can hit. You don't pitch Jones outside the zone (with offspeed stuff) when you have a guy behind him that can hurt you. Murton has pop and XBH potential. In most situations, a pitcher with any confidence in his stuff isn't going to care whether it's Murton or Barrett or Izturis hitting behind Jones. He's going to have a plan of attack and stick to it. If he knows he can get Jones to chase a certain offspeed pitch, having Murton hitting behind him instead of Jones isn't going to make the pitcher too scared to throw that pitch. That's the difference between theory and practice. Watch decent hitters without lineup protection behind them. "Pitching around" someone isn't a made up concept. Sounds stupid, but it's done all the time.

Having Murton hit behind them doesn't ensure that at all. If a pitcher knows he can get Jones to chase bad pitches, he's going to continue to throw him bad pitches in most situations. Having Murton hitting behind him doesn't magically make Jones a more selective hitter. Nope, it means Jones gets more fastballs, which he can hit. You don't pitch Jones outside the zone (with offspeed stuff) when you have a guy behind him that can hurt you. Murton has pop and XBH potential.

Isn't it assumed that Jones hits 5th? If so, the worst hitter he has behing him is Barrett, which is fine. I don't want anybody pulling that crap. If you're bunting, then you've got Soriano on base, and he can just steal anyway. And what are you doing bunting Soriano to second, anyway? That means an automatic out, which isn't what you're looking for when you've got two really good hitters coming up. I'll take someone who can get on base and and score when Lee and ARam hit homers and doubles. I would guess that Jones and Barrett will alternate lineup spots depending on how each player is hitting. Piniella will play small ball. Count on it. Given that, I think we need a balanced lineup and I don't want Murton's ABs wasted sac bunting, or hitting to a certain side of the IF. Putting Murton in the 2 hole would be great if we weren't going to play small ball. But we are. I'm not big on small ball either, but that's what we're going to get.

OBP isn't as important at the bottom of the lineup though. COnsidering that Soriano's OBP might be below average, we should make sure that we have someone hitting in front of Ramirez and Lee that will get on at .360+ As it stands, Murton is the really the only sure bet for that type of production. If we put Soriano and Izturis at the top, we could be looking at 2005 all over again in terms of OBP at the top of the lineup (maybe not as bad, but close). It's not about OBP. It's about not having the opposing team pitch around Jones/Barrett. Jones gets eaten up by offspeed stuff. Having someone like Murton behind them ensures they don't get pitched around (offspeed stuff out of the zone). Whoever in the 2 spot is going to be asked to put the ball on a certain side of the IF, moving Soriano along, maybe even sac bunting more than a handful of times. I don't want Murton's skillset wasted pulling that crap. Should Murton bat 2nd? Sure, but we're not living in a vaccuum. Piniella isn't going to play station to station baseball.

Batting DeRosa or Izturis 2nd is actually a decent way to go. Otherwise the back end of our lineup is going to suck hardcore. Soriano Murton Lee Ramirez Jones Barrett DeRosa Izturis ^^^ That's stacking all our best hitters up front. Soriano DeRosa/Izturis Lee Ramirez Jones Murton Barrett DeRosa/Izturis ^^^ That's much more balanced IMO. Wasting several innings offensively a game b/c we have a crappy 7-8-9 is not the way to go. I'd rather have Murton's OBP and developing power batting 5th through 8th.

The Red Sox and Drew are getting a second opinion. I can't imagine the Sox pulling something that shady. Drew would have access to his own medical records (including team physicals). It would be pretty easy to prove he did/didn't fail a physical.

I'm sorry, but when you put up an ERA better than 6.02, then you can wear that number. He's not a top tier FA. There's no need to kiss his ***.

Put Hester in at DT.

The last time I checked you can't punish someone merely for being at the scene of a crime.

That made me very happy. :D

Urlacher missed today's practice b/c of his toe, didn't he? I thought I saw that on NFL Network, but I'm not positive.

what? everyone knows that anyone who wants to have an assault rifle should be able to have one without having to get a permit, even if they are on probation and have prior gun charges. also, tank johnson being deprived of a an assault rifle is hurting our national defense. He didn't have an assault rifle. He had 2. No he didn't. He had 0 assault rifles in his possession. I don't see the need to split hairs here but if you want to, knock yourself out. There were 2 assualt rifles in his house. I'm not splitting hairs. There's a huge difference. He had 2 assault-style rifles in his possession, not 2 assault rifles. Small difference in terminology, huge difference in reality. Assault-style means it looks like an automatic, but is really semi-auto. Assault rifles have the capability for full auto. If he had two assault rifles, it would be a federal offense for him to own them. He had a prior record and definitely wouldn't pass the federal screening for the required license. He'd be headed for jail, no question. Tank only violated Illinois state law. The possible penalties he faces are fairly trivial. Maybe a brief stay in state prison, but I doubt it. He had lots of guns in his house which is what Treeman was trying to get across by his post. I just don't see the need to nitpick here. I doubt the different between "Assault Style" and "Assault" changes anything in regards to Treeman's post. 6 guns is not "lots." There is no crime in owning 6 guns as opposed to 1 in this case. The amount has nothing to do with the charges. Yes, it does change Treeman's post. He had no clue what an "assault weapon" is. I enjoy his sarcasm, but maybe knowing what you're talking about first would be a good idea before imploying that method of communication. His post was 100% factually incorrect. Assault weapon in this case means Tank goes to jail and does not pass Go. I guarantee you that's not a "trivial" thing to Tank, Tank's lawyer, the state of Illinois, or the Federal government. Tank wouldn't be playing football ever again.

Ok, I'll bite. What do you call an AR-15? The AR-15 is not an assault rifle. It is a civi weapon. Semi-auto. You could walk down to your local sporting goods store right now and buy one, provided you passed the instant backround check. *Tank wouldn't have passed that check, so who knows where it came from.

what? everyone knows that anyone who wants to have an assault rifle should be able to have one without having to get a permit, even if they are on probation and have prior gun charges. also, tank johnson being deprived of a an assault rifle is hurting our national defense. He didn't have an assault rifle. He had 2. No he didn't. He had 0 assault rifles in his possession. I don't see the need to split hairs here but if you want to, knock yourself out. There were 2 assualt rifles in his house. I'm not splitting hairs. There's a huge difference. He had 2 assault-style rifles in his possession, not 2 assault rifles. Small difference in terminology, huge difference in reality. Assault-style means it looks like an automatic, but is really semi-auto. Assault rifles have the capability for full auto. If he had two assault rifles, it would be a federal offense for him to own them. He had a prior record and definitely wouldn't pass the federal screening for the required license. He'd be headed for jail, no question. Tank only violated Illinois state law. The possible penalties he faces are fairly trivial. Maybe a brief stay in state prison, but I doubt it.

what? everyone knows that anyone who wants to have an assault rifle should be able to have one without having to get a permit, even if they are on probation and have prior gun charges. also, tank johnson being deprived of a an assault rifle is hurting our national defense. He didn't have an assault rifle. He had 2. No he didn't. He had 0 assault rifles in his possession.

what? everyone knows that anyone who wants to have an assault rifle should be able to have one without having to get a permit, even if they are on probation and have prior gun charges. also, tank johnson being deprived of a an assault rifle is hurting our national defense. He didn't have an assault rifle.