cubbinalltheway

this is a case where using conventional methods (i.e. actually watching) rather than stats probably wins. that or just using simple logic, of course.

WHAT IS A CLOSER? Wow, my point does get better with all caps. IS A CLOSER A SHUT DOWN PITCHER? COULD TEAMS IN NEED OF A CLOSER CONSIDER MARMOL AS ONE OF THOSE GUYS SHOULD THE CUBS BE SILLY ENOUGH TO ALLOW HIM TO BECOME? I'M YELLING AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!! is it really this hard or are you intentionally being obtuse? a closer is someone who pitches the 9th inning when their team is winning. he's the person who racks up saves. he's also the person who gets paid more than the setup men and the long relievers (assuming service time, of course). yes, teams could and will consider marmol as someone who could be a great closer. but unless carlos has been a closer, he wont get paid like a closer. think of it this way. you've got two pitchers, equal era's, equal whips. yet player A saved 44 games last year, while player B was player A's setup man. when teams X and Y are both looking to sign a closer, and both players are on the market, do you honestly feel that each player will get the same contract? or even remotely similar for that matter? if so, you need to take an hour or so and educate yourself on how the market works. Gee, thanks for your concern with my education but you could do more to enlighten yourself as well. Of course the pitcher with 44 saves will get a contract, but in a market where there is a need for a closers, people won't stop looking for one when that guys is signed. If a player of Marmols caliber is available he will likely garner a sizeable contract as well. Should I add in a insult to your intelligence to see if you understand my point at this time of my post? youre not following. i'm not saying that teams wont consider marmol for closer. i'm saying, again, that him pitching as a setup man the years prior to his free agency will cost him dollars when it comes time for him to sign his 3-4 year deal on the open market.

well, the bolded part is certainly true, but creating an errors created category is silly. Juan Pierre reached on an error a grand total of six times in 162 games in 2007 (the last time he was a starter). Chase Utley, who I think we can all agree isn't as fast as Pierre, reached on an error five times in 159 games in 2008. okay? are you really trying to suggest that a defender doesnt rush when there's a juan pierre running down the line as opposed to a prince fielder? Maybe Fielder is so slow that the defender takes too long and overthinks chucking it into the stands. What exactly are you disputing in grassbass's post? Those are facts about the # of times these guys reached base on error. i'm not disputing anything in his post, other than his implication that fielders don't rush when a fast guy is running down the line. everyone on here has watched enough baseball to know that when a "speedster" hits a grounder on the infield, the defenders often times rush their throw, rather than doing a crow hop cause ryan howard is running down the line.

WHAT IS A CLOSER? Wow, my point does get better with all caps. IS A CLOSER A SHUT DOWN PITCHER? COULD TEAMS IN NEED OF A CLOSER CONSIDER MARMOL AS ONE OF THOSE GUYS SHOULD THE CUBS BE SILLY ENOUGH TO ALLOW HIM TO BECOME? I'M YELLING AND I DON'T KNOW WHY!! is it really this hard or are you intentionally being obtuse? a closer is someone who pitches the 9th inning when their team is winning. he's the person who racks up saves. he's also the person who gets paid more than the setup men and the long relievers (assuming service time, of course). yes, teams could and will consider marmol as someone who could be a great closer. but unless carlos has been a closer, he wont get paid like a closer. think of it this way. you've got two pitchers, equal era's, equal whips. yet player A saved 44 games last year, while player B was player A's setup man. when teams X and Y are both looking to sign a closer, and both players are on the market, do you honestly feel that each player will get the same contract? or even remotely similar for that matter? if so, you need to take an hour or so and educate yourself on how the market works.

creepy

wow really? god that was quick.

It's silly to think he might regress? So it's silly to be anything other than absolutely certain that he'll at least match his numbers from last year? Am I reading that correctly? youre reading it literally. what i meant, and i guess i couldve been more clear, was that it's silly to operate on the assumption that he could be worse (not that you were). when talking about predicting the success of the 2009 cubs, i think it's pretty safe to assume that your 26 year old second year catcher is going to improve on his rookie campaign.

well, the bolded part is certainly true, but creating an errors created category is silly. Juan Pierre reached on an error a grand total of six times in 162 games in 2007 (the last time he was a starter). Chase Utley, who I think we can all agree isn't as fast as Pierre, reached on an error five times in 159 games in 2008. okay? are you really trying to suggest that a defender doesnt rush when there's a juan pierre running down the line as opposed to a prince fielder?

of course it's possible, but i think it's silly to think that soto might regress this year. he'll likely improve, not regress.

well, the bolded part is certainly true, but creating an errors created category is silly.

he's not going to get closer money BECAUSE HE'S NOT A CLOSER. that's the whole point. that's like saying "well carlos i know you typically pitch in the 8th innings, but because you're so good at it we're going to pay you as if you were a starter. sabbathia money it is!!!"

i've got a question. for the print at home tickets, is there a way to somehow email just two of the six tickets i bought to a person? i sold two opening day tix to a random person online and don't at all feel comfortable giving him the link in the confirmation email, which allows him access to all six tickets. for the people more knowledgable on computers, can i somehow just take a copy of the two tickets and email those to him? yes, i'm aware i can print them off and mail them. he needs them asap though.

as good as marmol is, it's awfully absurd to suggest that there haven't been just as good, if not better, setup men than him. You're going to have to refresh my memory of set up men that were better than 210 K's in 150 IP and era+ or 326 and 167 over their first two full seasons. K-Rod qualifies as a equal and who else as better or equal? this discussion is getting away from the original point -- that marmol the setup man will get paid less than marmol the closer, and i was thinking out loud (or on keyboard, i should say) how badly that will affect him. if you want to go through BR pages and see if i'm wrong in my notion that marmol isn't the best setup man ever, go for it. i don't really care to though.

actually it's very silly for grown men to complain that they can't swear on a baseball site. no it's not. it's talking baseball. if i'm at a bar and start talking baseball with the stranger on the stool next to me, i couldn't care less if he swears. when's the last baseball game you went to that you DIDN'T hear people cussing? and i'm not complaining at all. tim can run his site however he chooses, it's not my place to offer advice on how to do so. i just responded to the point that someone else brought up. if i really felt like i HAD to cuss while discussing the cubs, i'd just go to bcb or desipio or the countless other forums.

It's not that it would offend anybody necessarily, though I'm sure it would some. But like others have pointed to it keeps it safe for work, school, and if you have children around. Beyond that, it makes the site look more professional. I know this board actually has held media credentials with at least one cubs minor league organization and I think still at least receives press releases from the team. It just looks bad to have a site filled with vulgar language. bleedcubbieblue has done a LOT more "professional type things" (for lack of a better phrase) when it comes to being scene as a professional cubs site/blog/whatever... anyways, my point is that on that site you don't have some moderator jumping all over you or issuing a "board warning" when you cuss. i agree with the op, it's very silly for a bunch of grown men to be told not to curse on a baseball site. i would get it if this were a religious forum, but come on. and lol at the guy who said bradley shouldn't wear a 2008 all star game t-shirt. wtf??

as good as marmol is, it's awfully absurd to suggest that there haven't been just as good, if not better, setup men than him.

I really can't imagine this decision having that much of a financial impact on him. I realize how contracts these days are working, but if he takes a hit because he is not recording saves, he needs a new agent. If he stays healthy and effective until free agency, I expect him to get a huge contract regardless of saves. you can't be serious. closers, with their high saves totals, get paid and get paid well. setupmen, not so much. So your saying that scouts and general managers won't realize that Marmol is one of the best, young arms in the league and they wont give him huge contract offers simply because he is not recording saves? Even if he doesn't have 1 save from now, till the time he hits free agency, I would expect his 1st free agency contract be be near market value for elite closers. Teams will be lining up to get Marmol when he hits free agency. Hopefully its a non-issue and we have extended him by that time. who's the last non closing reliever who got "elite closer" money? who's the last non closing reliever who got HALF of "elite closer" money? you're dead wrong here.

i dont get all the hansbrough hate. bitter jealousy, i can only assume?

I really can't imagine this decision having that much of a financial impact on him. I realize how contracts these days are working, but if he takes a hit because he is not recording saves, he needs a new agent. If he stays healthy and effective until free agency, I expect him to get a huge contract regardless of saves. you can't be serious. closers, with their high saves totals, get paid and get paid well. setupmen, not so much.

great news. and the reason it's great is because it allows marmol to continue to be the firestopper, coming in as needed as opposed to when the inning says 9. although, i do wonder how he feels about this. and on a related note, when will he be eligible for free agency? surely he realizes the financial impact this will have on him.

what a weird way of phrasing that question miles would probably be my first "deletion"

hansbrough vs griffen is a matchup i'm excited about watching

god this announcer is horrible

missouri got outrebounded 21-7 (7!) in the first half. that has to change otherwise they stand no chance.

leo lyons shoots entirely too much