Cubbie Swagger

Isn't that exactly what he said? That Dempster argued about the strike zone, and as a result, the umpire retaliated by being even more resistant to calling close pitches strikes. Then, once Dempster left, the grudge was gone, so we started getting some calls. I was just thinking about how much I miss seeing Lou sprint out onto the field towards the umpire, yelling and throwing his hands in the air. The bad calls were prior to the exchange. How was the ump holding a grudge with the zone prior to Dempster saying something? He wasn't. I think the logic is that at first it was a coincidence, but after the arguement, it became a grudge. For the record, that wasn't even my opinion. I was just reiterating what someone else had said, in different words, because it seemed like you were saying the same thing as one another, but still disagreeing :-))

I went to the Peoria game earlier today (or well, looking at the clock, I guess yesterday) but unfortunately the game was rained out after a long delay. This didn't make any sense, though, because they made the announcement that the game had been cancelled about 30 seconds after the light drizzle stopped, and it was dry for the rest of the day. Not a single drop. I guess we were supposed to have thunderstorms, but for whatever reason, they never happened. They need to find a better source of weather info or something. On a positive note, I did manage to score Vitters' autograph. I was hoping I'd get a chance to stop and chat with him for a minute, but he got mobbed by fans as soon as he poked his head out of the dugout. People certainly know who he is around here. I get to trade my tickets in for any other home game... so I'm picking a double-header in June :grin:

Isn't that exactly what he said? That Dempster argued about the strike zone, and as a result, the umpire retaliated by being even more resistant to calling close pitches strikes. Then, once Dempster left, the grudge was gone, so we started getting some calls. I was just thinking about how much I miss seeing Lou sprint out onto the field towards the umpire, yelling and throwing his hands in the air.

I've been thinking the same thing. I haven't see him argue alot of calls, or get excited for any reason at all (good or bad). It's like he just shows up at the ballpark and goes home because that's his job... but he doesn't put any effort into it. It's got nothing to do with him saying questionable stuff. He has made in-game moves that don't make any baseball sense whatsoever, no matter who you ask. I never blamed anyone for anything. This wasn't a thread about who was responsible for the Cubs failure. I was basically just responding to all the "Lou's a freaking idiot" talk that you see on the boards. I was simply acknowledging that he had made alot of brainless moves, and suggested that it might not even be under his control. I do agree that Hendry is responsible for our struggles this year. I decided in the offseason that our 2009 roster was a downgrade from the 2008 edition. I think the only thing we can be satisfied with is the absence of Bob Howry in our bullpen. I'm certainly not. I wasnt at all referring to our losing streak. However, IMHO, Lou single-handedly lost a few games for us early in the year as a result of his management of our pitchers. Our losing streak is entirely due to lack of performance by our players.

Sometimes I think that Lou literally doesn't know what he's doing. He's talked about his "senior moments", and sometimes I wonder if his age is just taking a large toll on his mental capacity. In his interviews, sometimes he can't even form sentences, and some of the moves he's made have just been unexplainable. I'm beginning to think that it's not a matter of him making bad decisions, but rather, a matter of him just having mental lapses that cause him to do things that don't make sense. How did he manage previous teams (in particular, the ones that won games)? Honestly, I never followed his career very closely until he came to the Cubs. Opinions?

Anyone else think Fontenot has a chance to pull out of this? Last year (and this year) I took note of the fact that he seemed to be a very fundamentally sound hitter. He puts good swings on the ball and he usually squares it up pretty nice. Lately, it seems like he has been hitting some balls right on the button, but just hitting them right at people. That's usually a sign that things might be improving. I realize he's not a proven major leaguer or anything, I just don't think he's as bad as his stats have shown in 2009. I'm also a huge fan of OBP, so that's another thing I like about him.

I don't think it's the slump that is of concern. It's the fact that he's physically doing the same things that caused him to fail miserably last year. The whole stepping towards first base thing is ridiculous. I don't know about you guys, but I was taught in little league that you put your foot back down TOWARDS THE PITCHER. I realize this could be a difference in teaching between Japan and the US, but I just don't see why Kosuke can't shake it. If someone told me right now to take a step in a certain direction, it would certainly not be a difficult task. I mean, isn't anyone actually telling Kosuke this stuff? Does he not notice or what? Changing how he steps that drastically could potentially change his entire swing. It could take years to rebuild the swing...I'd rather work with what he has even if it is unconventional. Well, it appeared to me that for the first part of this season, he had started stepping towards the pitcher. Judging by his success using that method, and then his decline as he started slipping into his old method, I would say it's not a coincidence. I could be wrong, though.

I don't think it's the slump that is of concern. It's the fact that he's physically doing the same things that caused him to fail miserably last year. The whole stepping towards first base thing is ridiculous. I don't know about you guys, but I was taught in little league that you put your foot back down TOWARDS THE PITCHER. I realize this could be a difference in teaching between Japan and the US, but I just don't see why Kosuke can't shake it. If someone told me right now to take a step in a certain direction, it would certainly not be a difficult task. I mean, isn't anyone actually telling Kosuke this stuff? Does he not notice or what?

I think the bigger issue people need to get over is to stop expecting 2005 Lee. He isn't a 40 HR .330 BA guy anymore and never really was. He had 1 year outside of his career average and people automatically assumed he would/will continue to produce 2005 numbers when he has 10+ years of averaging numbers not nearly as good as 2005. People need to give Lee a break, he is going to hit 18-22 HR drive in 85-100 and bat somewhere between .275-.310 along with GG defense. Not great, but those are fine numbers from a 1B when we should have a deep lineup and we don't need to rely on 1 guy to have 2005 Lee seasons in order for us to win games. Fox will never be an everyday guy. Maybe platoon, bench bat at best. If you are saying that Vitters wouldn't be a everyday guy right now then you are correct. But to say a guy who is 19 in A ball who is hitting .354 with 9 HR and a OPS of .986 doesn't have a chance to be a everyday player in 3-5 years is crazy. I agree. I don't think Lee is terrible... he's just nothing special offensively. Obviously the contract is not good, but that's not a knock on him as a player. I don't mind him at all as our first baseman... .280/20/80 with a decent OBP and gold glove defense is perfectly acceptable. The problem is that he's been glued to the 3 hole in our lineup far too long. I think if everyone were healthy (and hitting like they should) Lee would be better off in the 6 or 7 hole. It's funny, Lee has alot of "blind" fans. It's almost like when Sosa was here... and everyone just loved Sammy because they loved him and he was the face of our team. Alot of the people at Wrigley wearing Lee jerseys don't even know his stats, and alot of them probably don't realize he's not still the 2005 Derrek Lee. They just cheer and cheer when he comes to the playe because he's Derrek Lee. As far as Vitters and Fox... yes, I was referring to their abilities as of this season. I'm sure Vitters is gonna be a solid major league player someday, but he's not gonna be the final piece of the puzzle that turns the 2009 Cubs around.

I think the problem with Derrek Lee is not that he is having a bad year, it's that he's just not very good anymore, period. He hasn't been good for awhile now. I think it's funny how Lou keeps him in the middle of the lineup just out of habit. Also... people need to stop talking about Jake Fox and Josh Vitters like they're everyday major league players. They are not.

Yeah I never heard anyone suggest that as a plan. I was a big Mike Fontenot fan last year, and I expected him to do well this year. However, at this point, out of him, Miles, Scales, and Freel, I'd stick Scales and Freel out there all the time.

Certainly not as outrageous as things like calling up Vitters or Fox to be our savior, or thinking Neal Cotts is a capable pitcher.

Yes... that would be outrageous. I think Jake Fox falls into the same category. It's silly to think one of these guys is gonna get called up and suddenly carry our offense. At the very least, we need to be looking at big-league solutions to our offensive struggles. Additionally, as others have said, there's too much potential downside to bringing someone up early. With that said... I'm going to see Vitters play in Peoria on Monday. I'll certainly be paying extra attention to him and doing a little scouting of my own, as I haven't seen him yet in person. I remember the first time I saw Pujols play in person (again, with Peoria, when they were a St. Louis affiliate). He came up to bat, they announced him, and I was just sitting there laughing out loud. At the time, I was not familiar with him. I was like, "are they serious?". Then he cranked one about 500 feet to almost dead center, and I stopped laughing. I did my research and found out who the guy was, and not long after that, I saw him on Sportscenter and then watched him take over the league.

Am I missing something here?

Wow, he just hit another 2-run double off the wall. So now he's got a walk, 2 doubles, and 4 rbi.

For the team we have right now, I'd rather have Gonzalez. I think our rotation is already stacked and it's certainly not our weakness. The only reason I would want to add Peavy is so we can use Marshall in the pen so we can get rid of Neal Cotts... but that's another story. I'm not a fan of D-Lee's offense these days, although he is a studd on defense. I'd still rather have Gonzalez.

When this guy was first brought up, I didn't take him seriously at all. I figured there had to be some reason why he had spent 11 years in the minors. But I'll be honest, this guy is really impressing me. He just won't stop hitting. I'm watching the game right now and I just watched him hit a big 2-run double after working a 3-0 count... and I didn't realize it but he's hit in every single game he's batted in. Are we gonna be able to keep this guy on the roster?

We couldn't trade him in the offseason. Lee has a no trade clause that he appears unwilling to waive and until he does, we can't trade him. He also has 10/5 protection (10 years in the league and 5 with his current team) which allows him to veto any trade. That's true, but if a guy knows that his team/fans want him gone, alot of times he isn't gonna force the organization to keep him against their will. That's not a desirable situation for a player to be in. Did we ever try to trade him and have him invoke the clause? I never heard anything.

As others have said, while he's not a great defender, it's really his effort that is the problem. On the ball Kendall hit, Soriano didn't even try. He leisurely jogged toward it, and then was too lazy to even make a decent attempt at putting some glove on the ball. After that, he still wasn't showing any sense of urgency, and he proceeded to kick the ball even further away from himself. And of course, during the process of all this, he doesn't even bother to take a single glance at the runner, and takes his sweet time setting himselfand lobbing the ball back in. Not to mention the time he hit a single off the wall because he stood there and watched it, and other such incidents.

^^^ Best answer yet. The BP data would apply more to other pitchers, and pitchers throw differently from game to game depending on alot of things. It's not necessarily bad, though.

Agreed. We've given away so many good relievers over the years, it's pathetic. Now they're helping other teams beat us.

I saw the game live, and judging by the way the ball came out of Dempster's hand, I don't think it was intentional at all. Braun certainly deserves alot more than that, though. Aside from his fist-pumping and shirt-untucking, just the way he walks/jogs makes me angry. The guy can't move a muscle without showing off in some regard. Also, I have very little respect for the Brewers when it comes to this type of thing. Last time I checked, they threw at Edmonds' head last year just for hitting a couple homers.

I still think we should have traded Lee in the offseason while he still had some value. At least Lou is starting to realize that he shouldn't be hitting 3rd. Honestly, I would rather have another stud reliever/closer than Lee.

The answer is Freel ;) But of course these posts were made before that acquisition. As far as Miles... I don't really mind him as a utility infielder, but he is certainly overpaid and overrated by the front office.

Thats Bs. That was a Baker like move putting Demp back out there to pitch. Hell he wont let Randy freaking Wells pitch after 85 pitches, but he will throw the guy thats making 15 mil or whatever it is back out there after 115 pitches. Its pure ignorance, along with alot of Lous other decision making this year. Its time for Lou to be grilled by the media but it wont happen. I questioned the move right off the bat as well. I was also a little aggravated when he stuck Harden back out there in the 8th inning (especially since we don't need to push his arm any harder than we have to). Of course both of those decisions backfired, and I had to fight the urge to throw something at my TV. Eventually I realized why Lou did what he did: HE DOESN'T TRUST HIS BULLPEN. He figured our chances were better with a tired starter on the mound than with any of our worthless relievers.