dalgreen

That's not the point. It may not have made a difference today, but on an everyday basis, it will cost you a ton of runs because you have the pitcher and not an RBI guy hitting behind your highest OBP guy. It's the kind of dumb thing that Dusty seems to do on a regular basis with no rhyme or reason that makes most of us insane. I didn't realize .326 was a good OBP on a regular basis. On this team it is. But really, Murton is perhaps the most patient hitter on the team. I don't think putting him one spot ahead of the pitcher is a good idea. He must not be too patient against righties with that kind of OBP. Anyway, I don't have a bias for those players under 26 years old. A .326 OBP sucks whether you're 24 or 34. This team is pathetic. And we're 1-9 in our last ten not because of batting orders, but because this team is just plain bad.

That's not the point. It may not have made a difference today, but on an everyday basis, it will cost you a ton of runs because you have the pitcher and not an RBI guy hitting behind your highest OBP guy. It's the kind of dumb thing that Dusty seems to do on a regular basis with no rhyme or reason that makes most of us insane. I didn't realize .326 was a good OBP on a regular basis.

Didn't I read in another thread that Murton's OBP vs. righties is .326? Plus, we lost 9-3. I don't think adding Murton at the top of the order with Cedeno's .326 OBP would account for 10 runs.

I was concerned that maybe Baker and the hitting coaches would mess with his approach, but Murton still has a very nice OBP. Why are some people getting concerned about his power numbers? Maybe he's just a gap to gap hitter and not a real power hitter. Again, I'm more hopeful of his future than what I would've been had he been a Cub farm product.

No, I didn't overlook it. I know you think that. But what I don't get is why you think it's an all or nothing package? Hendry's extension is not grounds for keeping Baker. I want them all gone. But I'll take 1 before I settle for none. I don't think Hendry will hire someone with a completely different philosophy than his. I don't see him hiring a manager who isn't into the toolsy player. I think he'll dismiss the thought of a manager who likes OBP and stresses patience at the plate. You've heard me say it a lot, I think Baker and Hendry are two peas in a pod. Getting Pierre, Jones, Bynum and Perez shows me he still isn't committed to OBP. So, why would he got out looking for a manager who is committed to OBP and patience at the plate? We'll get another Dusty Baker type without it being Dusty Baker. Just my opinion.

When Bynum gets two hits or gets on base two times in a week then I might only hate him.

Maybe I do, but that's only because I have zero confidence in him and you have negative confidence. So. How does this justify keeping the bad manager? I think you overlooked my last sentence in the original post, "I prefer for both of them to be gone."

Brenly just cracked me up. He said most of Hairston's hard hit balls go foul and this one goes fair. That was funny but true.

Baker will finish the season because Hendry won't fire him. Why? Because then the heat will only be on Hendry and he knows that. Right now I think most fans despise Baker more and Hendry can be comfortable with that. Personally, I think, they both should go or they both should stay. To me, their both the same and it does no good to keep one. Ideally, they both should go. Baker WON'T finish the season. One way or another....either Baker will get fired, or he will resign. I believe he will be fired, if this team continues to play this bad. But it safe to say....everybody---maybe excluding Speier---on the coaching staff will not be back in 2007. :lol: If you think Baker will resign then you don't know Baker. According to him. he's no quitter. Also, remember there were several fans on here saying he would get fired last year. Again, Hendry won't fire him because then the heat will all fall on Hendry. Also, to fire Baker would then mean Hendry made a mistake and I don't see Hendry admitting to a mistake. Remember last August there was a full page article on him and he held himself accountable for the season to that point? Well, all he did was do many of the same stupid stuff this season as he did last season -- overpaying for mediocrity, and relying on Wood and Prior to be healthy. Signs Miller, who was already hurt, to be the main backup for Wood and Prior. Right..... (in Dr. Evil's voice)

Baker will finish the season because Hendry won't fire him. Why? Because then the heat will only be on Hendry and he knows that. Right now I think most fans despise Baker more and Hendry can be comfortable with that. Personally, I think, they both should go or they both should stay. To me, their both the same and it does no good to keep one. Ideally, they both should go. I don't understand the both should stay or both should go theory. Why should the mistake of extending Hendry be compounded by the mistake of keeping Baker? Hendry's extension means he's here through at least next season (and probably 2008). We're stuck with that. We don't have to be stuck with Hendry and Baker together. Maybe it's unlikely, but maybe Hendry could find some success with a different manager. He doesn't do things the way I'd like him to, but I know there's more than one way to win. The Hendry/Baker combo isn't going to do it, but why not take a chance on the Hendry/whoever combo? If that doesn't work, then you clean house. Why torture yourself by keeping Baker just because Hendry is also staying? That's like saying you if you're going to kick me in the balls you might as well punch me in the face while you're at it. I think you have more confidence in Hendry than I do. I've seen no signs, not even a little one, that he'd improve with a different manager. Baker asked for more speed and Hendry goes and gets Bynum and Pierre (who now for three straight years has a bad OBP). Why Hendry goes and gets Bynum is beyond me. I think our scouting dept. and minor league talent is below average compared to five years ago. I have yet to be impressed with Hendry's use of the budget. Maybe he'd be a better GM with a lower payroll, I don't know, but I think he's just a bad GM no matter who his manager is.

Baker will finish the season because Hendry won't fire him. Why? Because then the heat will only be on Hendry and he knows that. Right now I think most fans despise Baker more and Hendry can be comfortable with that. Personally, I think, they both should go or they both should stay. To me, their both the same and it does no good to keep one. Ideally, they both should go. I mean c'mon seriously why fire him now? Can any other manager get anymore wins from this team? We have 3 rookie pitchers in our rotation! Do I think we could get more wins right now with another manager? No. My post is just being consistent because I said the same thing during the season last year and during this off-season. And, yes, there are more fire Dusty posts now than there were five weeks ago.

Wow! So I take it you've been pleased with Rothschild. If so, why?

Baker will finish the season because Hendry won't fire him. Why? Because then the heat will only be on Hendry and he knows that. Right now I think most fans despise Baker more and Hendry can be comfortable with that. Personally, I think, they both should go or they both should stay. To me, their both the same and it does no good to keep one. Ideally, they both should go.

So is Jones' groin bothering him again? I heard that's why he was taken out last night.

This is sad. I'm already hoping for a rain-out tomorrow at Wrigley.

I don't think that was Baker's fault. Just because a manager calls for a sac bunt doesn't mean you try and bunt at balls out of the zone. Even Marshall didn't do that. That was another example of bad baseball. This time it happens to be Cedeno showing incompetence at the plate. perhaps bad bseball on cedeno's part, but you have to play for a big inning when you're down 5, w/ a rookie on the mound, and especially w/ the way this team has been hitting. I hated the sac bunt call. But Cedeno also helped to ruin the inning because he could've been hitting with a 3-0 or 3-1 count. It seems that people want to hold only Baker accountable. Baker made another stupid decision. But Cedeno added to this team's poor and stupid play by insisting on offering at two pitchers clearly out of the strike zone. yeah, have to agree that cedeno can't be given a pass. it can't all be about dusty hate. Cedeno takes some blame. But he's also a rookie playing for a rookie hating manager who preaches over aggression and stupid baseball. It's a lot more excusable for a young ballplayer to make that mistake than it is for an old experience manager to make the mistake Dusty made. Baker has to be held to a higher standard. I have to disagree regarding Cedeno. Marshall is a rookie and he didn't offer at bad pitches. There's no need to bring up Baker's decision to bunt because it was stupid. But once Cedeno gets in the box he's got to be smart about it. The fact that he was upset after offering at the second pitch well out of the strike zone probably means he understands he put himself in the hole. That whole at-bat and maybe the inning changes had he had the same approach at the plate that Marshall did.

I'm surprised Hendry hasn't made a play for Lance Niekro yet. He's a toolsy player yet has a pathetic avg and OBP.

They also only have player in the top ten in all offensive categories, that being Juan Pierre in steals (funny, because I don't remember any of them). No other Cub is in the top ten in any offensive category. Pathetic.

I don't think that was Baker's fault. Just because a manager calls for a sac bunt doesn't mean you try and bunt at balls out of the zone. Even Marshall didn't do that. That was another example of bad baseball. This time it happens to be Cedeno showing incompetence at the plate. perhaps bad bseball on cedeno's part, but you have to play for a big inning when you're down 5, w/ a rookie on the mound, and especially w/ the way this team has been hitting. I hated the sac bunt call. But Cedeno also helped to ruin the inning because he could've been hitting with a 3-0 or 3-1 count. It seems that people want to hold only Baker accountable. Baker made another stupid decision. But Cedeno added to this team's poor and stupid play by insisting on offering at two pitchers clearly out of the strike zone.

I don't think that was Baker's fault. Just because a manager calls for a sac bunt doesn't mean you try and bunt at balls out of the zone. Even Marshall didn't do that. That was another example of bad baseball. This time it happens to be Cedeno showing incompetence at the plate. It's a lot harder to stop yourself from offering at a pitch out of the zone than it is to not make a stupid strategic decision. I didn't like the decision to call for a sac bunt. But, again, when you square around to bunt it doesn't mean you have to offer at it. Had he been disciplined he would've had a 3-1 or 3-0 count on him. Marshall had a better bunting strategy than Cedeno did. Incompetency in managing doesn't excuse poor execution from the players.

Meh, Pierre has been awful, but this is a full on team suckfest. Remember how we kept hearing how Pierre has been one of the toughest guys to strikeout over his career? He's had no problem striking out to me.

I don't think that was Baker's fault. Just because a manager calls for a sac bunt doesn't mean you try and bunt at balls out of the zone. Even Marshall didn't do that. That was another example of bad baseball. This time it happens to be Cedeno showing incompetence at the plate.

Shmidt was coming off of a complete game shutout in his last start. I pointed this out in the game thread but it bears repeating here. Shmidt is one of those rare pitchers that you have to be somewhat agreesive with. You have to look for a hitable fastball early in the count and hope you don't miss it. The reason is his change is so devistating. Moreover, he rarely walks people, although this year his walk totals are up a bit from historic levels. The Cubs offense is real bad, but Shmidt was on last night for the second start in a row. I agree with you. Too many people look at pitch count and automatically think that Cub hitters were swinging at bad pitches. Last night, Schmidt was around the plate a lot more than what I've seen of him in the past. Yeah, there were some second pitch swings at balls out of the strike zone, but even with that he was around the plate a lot more than usual. Because of that the most pitches he probably would've thrown was 110.

If Baker was the only problem we'd be in good shape. Instead, he's one of many,many problems. Remember only a few years ago people thought Riggleman was the only problem, then people thought Baylor was the only problem. The problem is with MacPhail, Baker, Hendry, the scouting dept., the minor league system, etc.

I wouldn't mind a payroll of $80-$85 million with a GM who knew how to spend money wisely instead of a GM who just throws money around. An $80-$85 million payroll wouldn't allow for stupid contracts like Perez's and Jones'.