CubsWin

Well, it will mean that he is beginning to put the bat on the ball, but his walk rate is still quite low. Getting on base at a good clip will make him a top prospect in my book.

Both Harvey and Sing had good nights on Thursday. Harvey has a 5-game hitting streak going. In those 5 games, he is hitting .526 (10-for-19) with 3 doubles, 1 triple and 1 HR for a SLG of .947. He has driven in 7 runs, scored 4 runs while striking out only twice during the streak. While he is making contact like crazy, he hasn't walked once during the last 5 games. Sing has a 4-game hitting streak going, but do to his ability to take a walk he has a 6-game on-base streak. In those last 6 games, Sing has hit .476 (10-for-21) with 4 HRs for a SLG of 1.048. Sing has driven in 11 runs, scored 6 runs while striking out 3 times against 6 walks. His OBP for this streak is .762. I think its safe to say these guys are hot right now...

Bo, thanks for taking the time to visit and answer our questions. Scott Moore is just 21, so he is age appropriate for the FSL, but he is repeating the league this year. How much of an advantage does a player have when repeating a league? Should we be skeptical of his performance this season because he is repeating? And also, in your opinion, which of the pitchers currently on the Daytona roster has the best chance of succeeding in the major leagues? I would imagine it would be one of Petrick, Wells or Mateo. Am I missing someone? Thanks again, Bo.

Between now and August 15th, the Cubs host a 4-game series against Arizona, are on the road for 3 in Philly and 3 in New York, home for 3 against the Reds and 4 against the Cards. Thats 17 games. In their last 17, they have gone 12-5. I doubt they will match that record against those teams. The Astros schedule between now and then is considerably easier. One more against Philly and 4 against the Mets on the road, then to Arizona for 3 and San Fran for 3 before returning home to host Washington for 3 and Pittsburgh for 3. It sounds odd to say, but if the Cubs can arrive in Houston on the 15th no more than 3 back, I'll be...happy.

Agreed. Very clearly put, Truffle. Macias has value, always had. But, like every other player, he needs to be used in a way that maximizes his value. That said, even with a terrible OBP, there are still times where having Macias lead off an inning might be using him well. If he has shown the ability to hit a certain pitcher very well, I don't think it would be a terrible idea to send him to the plate. But that wouldn't happen very often.

He doesn't suck, he's a very serviceable SS just not what we were expecting as a starter. He's hitting in the .260s not .230 Corey was a worse. Atleast Neifi makes contact. He's one of the worst hitters in the game, his OBP is criminal. I loved that HR as much as anyone(I was there, it was awesome), but people are saying that he's on fire when he's 2 for 8 these last two games. He's an awful hitter, plain and simple. He's awful, but he is a back-up. His offense is actually slightly above replacement and he plays plus defense. Seriously, it would be hard to expect much else from a back-up. Now that is an accurate statement. He is a back-up after all. And just to set the record straight. Hendry wasn't an idiot for signing him as a back-up. And CPatt20, I know what you meant by he is "an awful hitter". But it is more accurate to say that he is an awful get-on-baser. As a hitter of the baseball, he isn't half bad. What he is terrible at is taking a walk. But I know what you meant.

And it was just about a week ago that some Cubs fans were making a stink about Baker replacing Murton with Holla in the 9th inning. I could've sworn that some posters said that Baker would never do the opposite. Well....

Nothing will.

Yeah, right! Wow, who would've thunk it?

Aardsma, I say! I want to see how much we ripped off the Giants.. What does Jermaine Van Buren have to do to get called up. In AAA, he has a WHIP just under 1, an ERA just over 2, he is striking well over a batter per inning. Why does this guy not get considered? No room on the 40-man. DFA Remlinger.

Actually, the Cubs announced that Wood could be put in the pen. Cubs.com

The blue pinstripes were slowing him down...

I don't know. I think Hawkins is still weak of mind.

Here comes the Hawk, the mighty... Never mind. :oops:

Aardsma, I say! I want to see how much we ripped off the Giants.. What does Jermaine Van Buren have to do to get called up. In AAA, he has a WHIP just under 1, an ERA just over 2, he is striking well over a batter per inning. Why does this guy not get considered?

What kind of Cubs fan wastes his time looking up stats like that? Don't you know that Neifi is just plain terrible and shouldn't be in the major leagues? :wink: Um...Neifi is plain terrible as an everyday SS on a contending team. Stats like that are usually aberrations. It probably wasn't you, USSoccer, but I recall a ton of posters on this site saying that Hendry was an idiot for signing Perez after he was cut by the Giants. Neifi didn't deserve to play in the majors. He was another team's reject. No one, at that time, qualified any of their statements the way you just did. I wish they had. Whats the difference? He's still bad either way. No, you are missing the point. The difference is that the original post wasn't intended to comment on Neifi's value as a player. It was a satirical comment on how some posters on this site brand a player worthless and then stick to it no matter what. Wild overly negative statements are acceptable on this site to some, but overly positive statement are laughed at by everyone. The original post was a comment on the double standard that exists amongst many Cubs fans. He is bad at getting on base, though, isn't he? :wink:

Not a bad game for Hill in his first major league start. He might be able to play at this level. Who is for Hill joining the rotation next season?

What kind of Cubs fan wastes his time looking up stats like that? Don't you know that Neifi is just plain terrible and shouldn't be in the major leagues? :wink: Um...Neifi is plain terrible as an everyday SS on a contending team. Stats like that are usually aberrations. It probably wasn't you, USSoccer, but I recall a ton of posters on this site saying that Hendry was an idiot for signing Perez after he was cut by the Giants. Neifi didn't deserve to play in the majors. He was another team's reject. No one, at that time, qualified any of their statements the way you just did. I wish they had.

What kind of Cubs fan wastes his time looking up stats like that? Don't you know that Neifi is just plain terrible and shouldn't be in the major leagues? :wink:

Starting Hill makes sense to me, as well. Mitre's numbers as a starter this season are hit and miss. Overall he is 2-3, 5.19 in 7 starts striking out 19 and walking 14 in 43.1 innings pitched. But Hill's minor league numbers are eye-popping. In 18 games, he has gone 8-4 with a 3.62 ERA. He leads all minor leaguers with 164 strikeouts against just 32 walks in 109.1 innings. In 7 starts at AAA, he is 3-1, 4.53, striking out 62 while walking 11 in 43.2 innings. If the Cubs want to win this game, I believe the numbers show that starting Rich Hill over Mitre or Rusch is their best option.

Greenberg is on the DL so he isn't taking up a roster spot. They don't specify a move in any of the news about Hill starting tonight, but I'd be surprised if it was anything besides Wood to the DL or Mitre to AAA. Cubs placed Wood on the 15-day DL today. Cubs.com Here is an interesting stat on Hill, who has previously been known for his propensity to walk batters, no one on the AAA roster who has pitched more than 11 innings has walked less batters per 9 innings than has Hill. One could read that as a terrible sign for the control of the Cubs AAA arms, but when you consider that Rich Hill has walked just 11 batters in 43.2 innings, its actually a good thing. :wink: Another interesting stat from the Cubs.com article:"In 18 minor league games, he has gone 8-4 with a 3.62 ERA. The southpaw leads all minor leaguers with 164 strikeouts - and has issued just 32 walks in 109.1 innings of work." Impressive, young one.

I'm not eactly sure where to start piakcing apart this post, so I'll just start at the top. Baker, Nomar, Wood, and Patterson aren't the sole, or even biggest, reasons the Cubs aren't 10-15 games over five hundred. The reasons are: 1. The lack of a true leadoff hitter, before Hairston was placed there (yes, Patterson does tie into this). 2. An extremely inconsistent young bullpen. Those are by far our two biggest problems. Blaming Dusty, Wood, Nomar, and Patterson in some sort of blind rage is easy, but it's also wrong. You're scapegoating, when, in reality, the Cub's problems run much deeper than a top caliber pitcher who has been abused prior to joining the big leagues, a center fielder that was taught to be a power hitter all through the minor leagues and only now has been told to be a leadoff hitter, a perenial all-star shortstop who has won abatting title who tore amuscle from his groin andn (rather than sitting on his money) is now rehabbing in an attempt to rejoin the Cubs and contribute down the stretch, and a manager who you personally don't like even though he has carried to the NLCS, and back to back winning seasons for the first time in a long time. As far as the Sosa deal, would you rather pay him $20 mil (or whatever it would be) to bat .230 for us, or $15 mil (or whatever it is) to bat .230 for the Orioles. We've been through this already on this sight, there was NO better deal out there, especially after the video of him leaving the clubhouse early surfaced. Early in the season, Baker was batting Neifi and Patterson at the top of the order. Last year, Patterson had initial success in the lead off spot, and was told to prepare to be a leadoff man this year. That expiriment, at least for the moment, has failed. That's on Patterson not Dusty. Neifi was on fire for several months, and putting him at the top was logical. He has cooled off significantly since then. Yes Dusty like to play veterans, like Perez, over rookie's like Cedeno. This is a GOOD philospophy. Dusty is having to choose between experience and raw talent. Nobody knows how Cedeno would handle being a starter in the Big leagues, and the middle of a race for the wild card isn't the time to find out. I like young players too, but they have to prove themselves before I put blind faith in them like you do. Nomar Garcipara is a superstar, and deservedly so. He got injured, and has a recent history of injury. HE"S A PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE! He's going to be injured. Hopefully his groin muscle is fully healed, because when health he is one of the best hitters EVER. Kerry Wood was overused by his High School coach, laying the foundation for the shoulder structural problems he has tody. His mechanics are much smoother now, taknig strain off that shoulder. Still, he went down again with shoulder tightness recently. After the season he may have a procedure like Matt Morriss did last year to repair some of the damage. This may be a good idea, because when healthy this guy is one of the best. His arm problems, at best, are only partially his fault, with others like his highschool Coach carrying much more of the blame. You blame Baker for Corey Patterson's struggles. Obviously you don't know much about how FARM SYSTEMS work. In the minor leagues he was trained to be a run producer, power hitter. He was told all along he would be a run producer, power hitter. He wants to be a run producer power hitter. Now, suddenly, he's ordered to be a leadoff man, a very differnt style of hitting. Patterson has neither the skills or desire to be a power hitter, and Dusty Baker is too busy being the MANAGER of a big league team to snap the kid into shape. If he will ever be a leadoff hitter, he will learn it in the minors for a minor league hitting coach, not a big league MANAGER. I'm sorry, but I'm really getting tired of people lashing out about problems with the Cubs, and blaming anyone and everyone in sight. One man cannot solve all the woes of the Cubs. Firing Dusty would signify the end for our bid to reach the post season this year. Do you really want to do that? We need bullpen help, and for Hairston and Walker to continue to produce at the top of the order. Nomar may provide a seruious spark should he return (I hope! I hope!). Kerry Wood is still a top level starter. He needs to watch himself the rest of the season, and, if necessary, get surgery to clean up some of the scar tissue in his shoulder. In the mean time he should be on a pitch count the rest of the season. Thank you for basically writing the post I would have written. CubfaninCA, there were so many holes in your post I didn't know where to start either. I loved the part about the Sosa deal putting the Cubs in a financial bind this season. If the Cubs hadn't traded Sosa, they would be paying more money in payroll this year. That trade saved them money, got them better production out of RF and gave them their best lead-off hitter. What led you to complain about the Sosa trade?

RH Sean Gallagher (10-3, 1.95 ERA) vs. RH Ricky Savickas (4-3, 4.98 ERA) Gallagher and Pawelek. This should be good. Oh yeah, and then there is that matter of Mark Prior pitching for the series win in St. Louis. :yawn:

Can't argue with those numbers. How about: Hairston, Jr. Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Barrett Hollandsworth Cedeno? The only problem with that is that Blanco is likely to catch Prior, so... Hairston, Jr. Walker Lee Ramirez Burnitz Cedeno Hollandsworth Blanco? I don't know. I'm sure glad I'm not managing the Cubs. I'd probably be more hated that Baker, if thats possible. :wink:

Agreed. I really would like to see Murton get in there, but Suppan's ERA against left-handed batting this year is 5.75 while his ERA against righties is 2.93. Knowing that, would you still start Murton? Neifi just plain sucks at getting on base. And he sucks even more when he is batting left-handed, so even though Suppan is so much more successful against righties than he is against lefties, maybe we can find a justification for playing Cedeno.