jersey cubs fan

The whole strategy argument does nothing for me. I don't like the DH, but I'm fine with the AL having the DH and the NL not having it. It's hard to say if it hurts an NL team more to play with a DH in some games or if it hurts AL teams more when they don't have the DH. I would be very disappointed if the NL went to the DH, and the inevitable conclusion to "making the rules the same" is more DH, not less. So status quo is fine with me on this issue.

You gotta love the implication that he has a week to prove what he's already proven over 900+ career plate appearances.

Just wanted to add the NY media treats Beltran similarly to how Rozner treats Ramirez. They talk about him as if he doesn't care, doesn't show up when it matters, and is not a leader. It's somewhat similar to the sports talk coming out of Philly when they pushed Abreu out of town. I'm not predicting they dump him like I predicted Philly would dump Bobby, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that a Mets related overhaul could include dealing Beltran.

Actually: $5.5m from each of the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons is deferred. To when I do not know, but what that means is his salary paid in those years is $13m, and the team can payout the rest over time, meaning that what's left is a 3.5 year $64.75m deal that actually costs less in real terms. He's also a very good CF who hits extremely well for a CF. His 2005 season, first year in NY, was bad. However, going back to his age 26 season, his OPS+ has been 132, 132, 96, 150, 126, 126. He's a top 5 CF in all of a baseball with a more solid track record than any of the others, with the exception of Sizemore. He just turned 31, so, while he is likely past his prime, his contract will only pay him through 34. If he wants something like a 3-year extension in order to waive his no-trade, then he's probably too costly. But he'd be a hell of an addition to this Cubs team.

Brett Wallace

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day. I think you could say that the latter is significantly easier, as it pertains to injury prevention. When it comes to overuse, what's the cause of the injury? Fatigue leading to poor mechanics. When you've thrown more innings than that prior to the usage, and the usage isn't long enough to fatigue the arm and cause mechanical breakdown, then I don't think it's a particularly large risk(while noting the all pitchers are risks because pitching is unnatural, etc.). In your theory, any pitcher who has ever thrown 150+ innings as a starter could throw 140 innings as a reliever and suffer no consequences. I do not know where the danger zone lies, but there has to be one. Being on the very edge of usage patterns compared to all relievers has to be risky. If there's no risk in relieving there would be no relievers that get hurt throwing. I wasn't trying to theorize anything. I'm just stating that Marmol's style and movement is conducive to a high pitch count pitcher. It doesn't matter what role he fills (starter or reliever), trying to get him to be a more efficient pitcher is probably a waste of time, and possibly reduces his effectiveness breaking out of the zone. So for Lou, plugging him in with a 4 run lead to get sharp isn't likely to do anything for him. To protect him from injury, he just needs to be free to throw his game with fewer appearances. I was talking about TT's theory that reliever innings are fine as long as they are fewer innings than a guy has thrown as a starter. I was not responding to anything you wrote.

Marmol will turn 26 this year. He's not 20 or 21, and he doesn't need to be protected like he's that young. I'm not asking for the Joba rules here. I'm talking about not putting him on the extreme edge of reliever usage, which is where he's been since coming up last year.

this is coming from a guy that likes soccer. You know the old saying about soccer and golf. We love to play it because it is so boring to watch. Not even close to the same thing. In golf they hit a shot, walk 200 yards, then stand over the ball for 30 second, then walk around it for few more, talk to the caddy and then hit the shot. Putts are even worse because they walk around the ball for a minute looking at every single angle and slope, then take some practice swings, look at the lie a little more, take a couple more practice swings and then finally shoot the ball. watching an 18-hole playoff is different than a regular tournament round though. Watching 18 goes much quicker when they keep showing the shots of dozens of other golfers. That being said. It's not a sit and watch sport. It's a great thing to have on in the background while doing other things.

Lou is insinuating he has to use Marmol frequently to keep him sharp, so he'll throw more strikes and keep his pitch counts down per at bat. The problem is Marmol's lack of sharpness is quite possibly due to the absurd overuse the past year. He's pretending he's got some sort of impossible task of balancing the rest Marmol needs with the frequency he needs. I don't know. Marmol as a starter had major issues with pitch count. I can't recall a time in his pro career he was ever a guy that would be termed efficient. A lot of people around here advocate moving him back into the rotation, but I'd be surprised if could turn out to be more than a 5 inning starter. He's just a high pitch count guy anyway. I don't think he's going to get sharper and Lou's best bet is to just use him less frequently. That's my theory. It's all well and good to say he needs to throw fewer pitches, but the guy is an extremely high K rate pitcher, and that means more pitches. The only real option is to stop throwing him every other day, stop throwing him with 5 runs leads, and stop being such a hard headed moron about it. When you can play a game without needing Marmol, that's a good thing.

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day. I think you could say that the latter is significantly easier, as it pertains to injury prevention. When it comes to overuse, what's the cause of the injury? Fatigue leading to poor mechanics. When you've thrown more innings than that prior to the usage, and the usage isn't long enough to fatigue the arm and cause mechanical breakdown, then I don't think it's a particularly large risk(while noting the all pitchers are risks because pitching is unnatural, etc.). In your theory, any pitcher who has ever thrown 150+ innings as a starter could throw 140 innings as a reliever and suffer no consequences. I do not know where the danger zone lies, but there has to be one. Being on the very edge of usage patterns compared to all relievers has to be risky. If there's no risk in relieving there would be no relievers that get hurt throwing.

sudden death

NY and Florida are getting hammered with storms today. I wonder how the travel plans will be affected.

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day.

one more biscuit for breakfast...

18-hole playoffs are crazy, but this has been entertaining.

big putt

I'm sure the people at Starbuck's like him.

Can't wait to read Jayson Stark whining about it.

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall). I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless. No, it really hasn't. A young kid essentially put on pace for 80+ appearances and 100+ innings, which is how he's been used ever since being called up, is reckless. Using a pitcher in half your games virtually ensures the vast majority of his pitching is done on 0-1 days rest. He's on the far edge of the extreme usage. If his usage hasn't been reckless, there's no such thing as reckless usage of relief pitchers, let alone very young ones.

You're not accounting for the injuries they have. They're missing Carmona and Westbrook from the rotation. They are missing Hafner and Martinez from the lineup. That's the 2 and 3 starters, and the 4 and 5 hitters. Fully healthy, I agree, you don't give up while 5.5 games back. But they are not likely to make up ground while missing that many key guys. There's also the fact that right now there is over half a season to go, but by the trading deadline there will only be a third.

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall). I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless.

I'm not sure what that really means. They look like baseball players to me, at least when they wear baseball uniforms. Murton is slugging under .400 against AAA pitching. He can't play defense. He runs the bases like he's drunk. I understand that he can get on base at a decent clip, but he's nothing more than 4th OF material at this point in his career. I don't know why people are so upset he didn't get called up. Because we already had Eric Patterson on the roster, his name is Mike Fontenot. Someone who can hit LHP with power off the bench is something we don't have, and Murton could have provided it. Again, I'm trying to figure out how a guy that can't slug over 400 in the PCL can provide consistent power at the MLB level. He had a .985 OPS against LHP in Iowa this year, and he has a career OPS over .880 against them at the MLB level. Why is it that the very same posters (and I'm not including this particular poster, FWIW) are so quick to latch on to Murton's OPS v. LHP but absolutely refused to consider or acknowledge Jacque Jones' OPS v. RHP over the course of hsi career? Jacque was used as an everyday outfielder. He was also past his prime and on the downside of his career. Murton is in the timeframe where he should be in his prime, and he's a minimum wage earner whereas Jones had a bloated contract.

or not

It's over

Hendry knows when to hold 'em. Hopefully he'll learn to walk away or when to run. Does he count his money when he's sitting at the table? There will be time enough for counting when the dealing's done. Just put it on the Peterman account.