Outshined_One

Let's have some fun with the Cubs' starting pitching. Zambrano Comments: Seriously, what happened to old Z? This season, Zambrano is projected to give up 31 HRs. Last year, he gave up 21. The year before, 20. And it's not like he's been the victim of bad luck and cheapies; under 70 degree and calm conditions, home runs hit off of him average nearly 407 feet (highest among Cubs SPs). Moreover, the speed of the ball off the bat on his HRs average more (110.5 mph) than anyone else on the Cubs' staff. Granted, the differences in mph are minor between all pitchers, but it's striking enough to merit consideration. That's a tad alarming, especially considering Zambrano is supposed to be a sinkerballer. However, on the slightly brighter side of things, Zambrano has only given up 4 HRs since May. Also, he seems to do markedly better at home (5 HRs) than on the road (12 HRs). It'll be interesting to see where he goes from here. Moving on to Ted Lilly Comments: Much like Ted Lilly himself, nothing particularly blows you away, but overall you can't complain about what you get. He has a fairly even home/road split (6/7, respectively). Moreover, he doesn't give up much in the way of screaming line drives (SOB on the chart = Speed off Bat). Not bad. And now for a personal favorite, Rich Hill Comments: Fascinating. He has the slowest speed of the ball off the bat of any pitcher on the Cubs' staff (107.2 mph). One of those home runs hit off of him in ideal conditions would not have even been a home run on a normal day. He's also the pitcher with the lowest true distance (387.5) and the lowest standard distance (391.5). I'm guessing it's difficult to hit a screamer off of Hill. However, someone keep Mike Cameron the heck away from him. Yeesh. Time for some Jason Marquis action. Comments: Holy crap did Andruw Jones murder one off of Marquis. 117.2 mph off the bat? Yikes. That aside, he's done pretty darn well at home (3 HRs) and has turned in some respectable numbers from this side of things. Once again, you can't complain. And finally, Sean Marshall. Comments: I have no memory of Kouzmanoff hitting two home runs in the same inning against Marshall. Their numbers must be a tad off. At any rate, though, like Zambrano, Marhsall doesn't give up much in the way of cheap home runs. The sample size might be a tad on the small side, so it might be difficult to make an evaluation of Marshall on this side of things based on his limited amount of work this season. Still, it'll be worth keeping an eye on. Anyone want to have fun with the angles to see if any other nifty things come out? I'm no longer any good with math beyond the basics. :oops:

It's weird that all his HRs have come at Wrigley.

Since this team's lack of power has been a topic of conversation lately, THT's latest article on underperformers and overperformers of the first half provided a nifty link to a website which tracks every home run in baseball: Link For a quick reference, here's a glossary of terms: I gotta say, Zambrano doesn't give up much in the way of cheapies. Wow.

Eh, this is no different than the Reds fans who stuffed the ballot boxes in 1957 to the point of turning the All Star Game into the Reds versus the American League.

The best SEC team which I guess would have been Vandy, (even thou Miss State made it to the CWS) wouldnt play 400 ball in the Appy League, maybe the Arizona/Gcl league, the pitching staff are so weak after the 2nd game in 3 game series in the SEC or any college league for that matter. There was a joke hidden somewhere in my post. Unfortunately, Donaldson can't go back to college. :P

That escalator clause and his 10/5 rights will make trading him next to impossible, imo. Did they give him the escalator clause? I thought the Sox said no to that. That's what ESPN is saying:

That escalator clause and his 10/5 rights will make trading him next to impossible, imo.

In all fairness to Gallagher, he's only made two career starts in AAA. And ERA is a rather piss-poor stat to use for a pitcher in the minors. Yea I know, I was basically saying that Gallagher has never been put in the same class as a Hughes, Gallardo, or any of the other "sure fire" pitching prospects in the game. Indeed. Although, if anyone has a good reason why Milwaukee has decided to use Gallardo out of the bullpen lately, I'd love to hear it.

In all fairness to Gallagher, he's only made two career starts in AAA. And ERA is a rather piss-poor stat to use for a pitcher in the minors.

To some extent, yes, there is something to be said for the quality of the pitching at the lower levels. Most guys you come across in the various levels of A ball tend not to have a well-developed arsenal of pitches, namely offspeed and breaking stuff, and hitters can have an easier time of things by just sitting dead red on a fastball in the zone in most at bats. It's part of the reason you see guys like Brian Dopirak and Ryan Harvey look like all-world talent in Peoria, then flounder at higher levels. However, there is an important distinction that I think needs to be made. While drawing walks can certainly be learned over the course of a player's career, a player has a much easier time of it if he already has good habits instilled in him at lower levels, be it in college or little league. A guy who displays plate patience at lower levels is going to have an easier time of continuing that as he advances. Harvey and Dopirak never displayed drawing walks as a plus tool in their arsenals. Remember, while the pitchers are not that advanced, neither are the hitters. Both sides need to keep adjusting to one another. So, in my opinion, there is much to be said for a hitter who displays an excellent IsoD (OBP-AVG) at any level.

Quick, find a creative way to fake rally! I'll say the Cubs score two, load the bases with two outs, then get a bases clearing double...only one of the runners forgot to step on third and gets called out on appeal.

Quick, bring in Wuertz so he can strike out the side!

I call it the Pat Hughes Syndrome.

yay

Kerry would appreciate it if everyone would stop knocking him. He's trying his hardest to make a comeback, dangit! :evil:

Alex Rios would command one heck of a package. The guy is hitting .295/.350/.523 with 17 HRs. He's 26. He's been improving year after year. He'll be under their control for the foreseeable future. I have a hard time seeing the Blue Jays part with him unless they're bowled over.

Wright and Wyatt are both putting up pretty good numbers in Boise, but the Cubs might want to promote them in the near future, considering both are 22 and old for the Northwest League.

I also heard that Bowden also talked about Matt Harrison and Brandon James in any deal for Young? I mean, come on...Bowden you CAN'T BE THAT STUPID. I remember when he wanted both Juan Cruz and Corey Patterson for Pokey Reese, but these rumors are borderline insane. Hey, sometimes teams are dumb enough to fork guys like that over. Look at Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano.

I can't imagine that's the case. If you have a solid medical reason for taking a medication, no organization can ban you from taking them. I'm sure that certain players have received exemptions so long as they're under a doctor's care (as long as the doctor isn't Dr. Nick). That and teams would have all sorts of fun lawsuits on their hands if they banned all prescription medication. Between painkillers, asthma medication, heart pills, and other prescriptions, I'm guessing a sizable percentage of baseball players have various legitimate conditions which require prescriptions in order for them to function normally...much less live.

Eh, maybe he'll become a decent left handed reliever. If you look at some of the guys on the I-Cubs pitching staff, you can easily see O'Malley is better than some of the pitchers there.

Welcome aboard! Cubs and Bulls fans are always welcome here. :D

I don't know who you are, but I like you. We need more Badgers on this board!

Banned stimulant? He get caught with greenies or something? And since when did clarified butter become a banned substance?

Go banana!

While I'm glad to hear this news, how much payroll could Hendry conceivably add? After the whole Jacque Jones to the Marlins fiasco, I'm worried that there are so many places a potential trade veto could come from that any efforts on Hendry's behalf could be for nothing. I'd love to see this team have some of its weaknesses addressed, don't get me wrong, but I won't believe it until I see it.