TheDude
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Everything posted by TheDude
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Yep. And what's with the talk about "being good enough to make it to the playoffs"? Shouldn't we be trying to win the World Series? We are not good enough. This team has huge holes at SS, C, CF, and RF. We need to upgrade at least one of them. Guess what? The majority of teams the Cubs play the rest of the way have more holes and are susceptible to dominant pitching, which is the Cubs primary strength. The Cubs play a lot of bad teams the rest of the way. Yes the Cubs should make a move to improve one of the holes. No question. But the team is good enough to make the playoffs as is, because they play bad teams a lot. Though I question its ability to make it past the divisional series as constructed. They would need dominate with pitching to stand a chance. Why should we settle for just getting there? We shouldn't, as I already stated. Just look at the text you quoted.
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OPS isn't just HRs, as D. Lee proved in the first half. Theriot could increase his OPS by increasing his doubles and triples production, which is low. Currently he has 68 singles and 20 extra-base hits, nearly a 3.5/1 ratio. In order for Theriot to stick everyday as an MLB SS with minimal HR power (and get 500 ABs rather than as super-sub with 350 ABs) he needs to put up 35+ doubles and leg out a few more triples.
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Yep. And what's with the talk about "being good enough to make it to the playoffs"? Shouldn't we be trying to win the World Series? We are not good enough. This team has huge holes at SS, C, CF, and RF. We need to upgrade at least one of them. Guess what? The majority of teams the Cubs play the rest of the way have more holes and are susceptible to dominant pitching, which is the Cubs primary strength. The Cubs play a lot of bad teams the rest of the way. Yes the Cubs should make a move to improve one of the holes. No question. But the team is good enough to make the playoffs as is, because they play bad teams a lot. Though I question its ability to make it past the divisional series as constructed. They would need dominate with pitching to stand a chance.
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You are nuts. The Cubs are getting bottom of the NL barrel production from SS, CF, C and RF, and you think there are no holes? You should check Theriot's July stats and find me an NL shortstop who put up better numbers. Theriot's season OPS is still just .706. That's low. Theriot's advantage is his energy and timeliness (which may read as luck), because he seems to be at the core of nearly all Cubs rallies. But that is an immeasurable anecdote at best.
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I don't know about 'easily'. They might miss the playoffs, but on paper, even with standing pat, they are now favored to make the playoffs. Given the remaining schedule, this current team should have no problem with a .600 win percentage the rest of the way (finishing around 89 or 90 wins). Personally, I think the reason to make a deal is to increase the success of the team in the playoffs more than to get there. They should get there already.
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I think if Z is the only 20 game winner and his ERA drops just a tad more he will win the Cy Young. Wins still mean the most to the voters Also, a lot depends on whether the Cubs get to the playoffs. Not for the Cy Young. For whatever reason a double-standard exists: Typically MVP must come from a playoff team, Cy Young goes to best pitcher regardless. And yes for Cy Young, Wins rank very high in the voters minds, while ERA, K's, and even Innings Pitched tend be the secondary delineations.
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Koyie Hill & the black hole that he is offensively
TheDude replied to rabidawg900's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
No kidding. He's pretty much locked-up the Silver Slugger already. Among pitchers with 20 ABs or more, only he and Brad Penny have an OPS over .700. But Zambrano's slugging and HRs put him out in front easily. -
oh no doubt, the mechanics of his swing are absolutely a thing of beauty to watch. he gets amazing plate coverage and whip out of those long, skinny arms. one of the reasons he swings at that outside slider is that he's very adept at taking that outside fastball to the opposite field bleachers. i just wish his pitch recognition were better, there's got to be some sort of trick he can learn, maybe he can wear those contacts or something. I'm curious if there is any truth to the rumblings about Soriano's swing cheating him of a few extra-base hits because of the propensity to generate top-spin on balls hit to left field. Just with naked eye observation, it seems there are times he destroys the ball, but it dives into warning track rather than sails out. It's probably just nonsense, but I wonder if anyone has a little more on the subject.
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Koyie Hill & the black hole that he is offensively
TheDude replied to rabidawg900's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Bruce Miles answered this question in a thread back around the Kendall trade. Essentially, the Cubs pitchers are saying Hill's game calling and receiving is making a major difference in their game performance and confidence. Management is listening to them evidently, and accepting whatever meager offense he contributes. -
Zambrano is going to have a tough time in the Cy Young running. Although, I will be very surprised if the season ends with 6 guys under 3.00 ERA, as it currently stands. Zambrano was 5th in the NL in 2006 in ERA with an ERA that was all of .005 less than his current ERA, which is presently 13th best in the NL. If Z can maintain an ERA around 3.50 and eclipse 20 wins (needs 6 of last 10 starts) while approaching 200 Ks (needs 7.2 per start the rest of the way) he stands a chance. But only if many of the 12 guys ahead of him in ERA regress.
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Griffey belongs in Seattle.
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Should probably wait until the end of the season for this thread's conclusion. Three weeks ago, as another pointed out already, you couldn't make the claim that he was at career norms again. In the last 2 days (since this thread was started) he has raised his OPS over 20 points. He's not going to get put up 40 HRs and over .900 OPS, but it is within reason to think he might get 28 HR and an .870 OPS.
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I'm not convinced Milwaukee has a better offense than the Cubs. They have scored 22 more runs, but have also played in 3 more games. Equalize the games and the Cubs are ~8 Runs less on the season. They might have a slightly better offense, but I wouldn't call it significantly better or obvious.
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He has as many HR as Cubs team leaders. Would provide a nice bit of pop off the bench and give the Cubs their third super utility player.
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Isn't there a significant talent difference between these two? I don't see how you can even start to make a comparison.
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Admitting a mistake this quickly by making another trade for a catcher would be really out of character for Hendry. He's done it before. I thought he was being sarcastic, considering that's exactly how he ended up with Kendall in the first place. I don't think Hendry views trading Barret as a mistake. I was thinking of other times where Hendry has moved an at-the-time recent acquisition only weeks later, such as Matt Lawton and Jody Gerut.
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Admitting a mistake this quickly by making another trade for a catcher would be really out of character for Hendry. He's done it before.
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Evaluating the trading chips
TheDude replied to TruffleShuffle's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
I would be surprised if the Cubs look to deal anyone from the 25-man roster at this point, even the excess salary guys. I think the team is probably satisfied with Jones in CF right now and looking for Eyre to rebound. Not that this is necessarily my wishes, just what I expect. If the Cubs deal, it will be from the farm. -
Thinking like Hendry
TheDude replied to Lefty's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Hendry's last meaningful quote to the press was lauding the career OBP of Kendall, so I'm guessing Abreu, since the team needs a power hitting RF ;). -
The 25-man is in chaos with all the injuries and Lee's suspension. I wouldn't read anything into the temp call-ups versus Cedeno or Murton.
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utility player, utility player, 5th starter, inconsistent guy with #2/3 talent, 5th outfielder, inconsistent pitcher with good arm who's better suited for the bullpen And the Braves have what? James and Davies are certainly no more consistent than Hill or Marshall. Thorman's terrible. They have Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann, and Salty. In this they certainly have produced three fine young talents. I don't know if Kelly Johnson is the real deal or not. But the main point was that the Braves have bad contracts as well as the Cubs, and probably would have the same issues as Chicago with an equal budget.
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So what are Theriot, Fontenot, Marshall, Hill, Pagan, and Marmol? The Braves might have one or two more young guys than the Cubs, but it's hardly night and day. The Braves have 7 guys on the roster making $8 million+ (Renteria, Hampton, Jones, Jones, Wickman, Hudson, Smoltz), the Cubs have 4 such guys (Zambrano, Lee, Ramirez, Soriano). Of all the contracts, I would argue more of the Braves $8 million plus are "bad contracts" than the Cubs. The difference with the Cubs is that they needlessly overpay for mid-level players. Take away Jones, Izturis, Eyre, Howry, and you free up ~$19 million of bad mid-level contracts.
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Now It's Clear Why Hendry Traded for Kendall!
TheDude replied to HoopsCubs's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
It certainly was nice to see the Cubs put up excellent offensive numbers without Lee and Ramirez in the lineup. -
RUMOR: Dunn to the Brewers?
TheDude replied to reds44's topic in MLB Draft, International Signings, Amateur Baseball
Isn't Dunn a half-year rental? Why give up legitimate prospects for him then? -
One game among many in a terrible season for a catcher whose career began fading years ago and is probably very close to the end. yes, i just don't like pinning this loss solely on him. let's not make him the whipping day less than 24 hours after he's arrived Jim Hendry is the whipping boy on this one. How about attributing the loss to the dope that walked in the winning run? That's simply inexcusable.