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UK1679666180

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Everything posted by UK1679666180

  1. UK1679666180
    That was a terrible game tonight, the only highlight was the Packer fans rejecting Smoot's leap after the INT TD.
  2. UK1679666180
    http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-061220cubsgm,1,3194241.story?coll=cs-home-headlines
  3. UK1679666180
    Better FB, better change, better command, better control. Hill has the better breaking pitch and will get more Ks and less hits b/c of it but Reyes can make up for that by walking fewer.
  4. UK1679666180
    Was he part of the Cowboy Up thing while he was in Boston? Nope, Todd Walker was still in Boston.
  5. UK1679666180
    Yeah, I think Carpenter will be slightly better than Z, nothing that would give either side a sign advantage. Reyes like Hill had to do when thru his rookie struggles, I definitely think his ceiling is higher than Hill's and production will be similar. I think his sinker will be more crisp than it was last year for Reyes. I think he'll learn to use his changeup more and take advantage of it more. As far as Wainwright, I expect him to outperform Lilly. I think Wainwright will be in the low 4s with Lilly in the low to mid 4s. His endurance will be key as well as his ability to locate pitches to LH'ers.
  6. UK1679666180
    I have them scoring 795 runs and allowing 772 runs. They'll likely have a poor scoring variation on offense and a good one as far as pitching. Probably be slightly below their pythag. record and finish at 85 wins. Obviously, how they settle the OF will impact this as well as Prior.
  7. UK1679666180
    I'd go with STL over the Cubs. If StL does bring back Weaver, the Cubs would need a healthy Prior to have the best rotation in the NL Central. I would take Carpenter, Reyes, and Wainwright over Z, Lilly, and Hill both in cost and production.
  8. UK1679666180
    Is that stopgap enough though? Also, Kotsay is the only CF'er they have, unless they shifted Bradley to CF, which leaves them needing a RF'er. The only FA option out there is P. Wilson for CF.
  9. UK1679666180
    If they trade Jones, I can't imagine what stopgap CF'er is out there that would be an asset as a starting Cf'er.
  10. UK1679666180
    Tim Wilken was an outsider. Yes, so was Lou. I guess I shouldn't have said "start bringing", rather, keep bringing. I just don't see the point in promoting a special assistant to the GM to assistant GM. I'd rather they get people from outside the organization for such an important position. I wasn't expecting much, but it would have been nice to see them try out some opposing viewpoints, instead of going down the same road that's led them nowhere. He has only been in the organization since '05, it's not like he has been brainwashed to think the same. The Cubs value work ethic from their scouts (Hendry, Hughes, etc), I'm sure they respect his intelligence and work ethic for the game.
  11. UK1679666180
    Let's hope he figured it out. Typically, to re-program the slightest mechanical flaw takes 6 weeks to correct and then it becomes a wait and see if he fully processed it. Throwing BP in the Fall/Winter won't give you an idea that he won't go back to what he was comfortable with in '06. The 1st test will during one of his 1st starts and he becomes fatigued on the mound, struggles and gets himself into jams, how he responds to that adversity will determine the 1st test. Some pitchers will go back to what got them there. The 2nd test (depending on if he passes the 1st test) will be during the season probably around the AS break or August when the daily grind of every 5 days drains the pitcher physically and more importantly mentally. You'll never be as fresh as you were at the start of the season. Then if he does pass those tests, whose to say the correction of his mechanics doesn't lead to tipping? For years everyone has been commentiong on Wood's mechanics. He's throwing across his body, he's rushing, he's off balance and it's causing him to fall to the 1st base side, etc. It's not easy to correct mechanics, this article simplifies to overall process too much.
  12. UK1679666180
    I think it's because he's so anxious to get rid of Jones entirely. Every report has them looking to unload Jones, pick-up a stopgap CF (?), and platoon Floyd/Murton in LF with Soriano in RF.
  13. UK1679666180
    The Cubs look like they'll have avg. starting rotation (depending on Prior), they'll score probably around the 5th most runs in the NL, bullpen (depending on closer) will be avg. to good. Likely put them in the low to mid 80s as far as wins. Definitely better for the team having someone that will be out there 33 times and 200IP, but is his production worth the area where his salary could've been allocated elsewhere? Marquis will have to prove that, pitchers can't get smarter overnight and Rothschild can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do.
  14. UK1679666180
    All depends on how hard they hit the ball, moreso than any diff. in defenses between the Cubs and STL. You could field an entire IF of Ozzie Smiths last year and he would've been terrible. He's never going to be a good BB/K ratio pitcher, he can be good enough for what is req'd from him to still be in the 70BB/100K ratio as far as long it doesn't look like the Bugs Bunny cartoon where it's a pinball machine. He'll need to find the arm angle and release point on that sinker as well learn to pitcher smarter. He still has to learn and try to be a poor man's Brandon Webb rather than overpowering hitters.
  15. UK1679666180
    http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/features/262963.html Definitely good to see him doing well in Florida after his many years with the Cubs.
  16. UK1679666180
    I doubt it. His defensive reputation will probably be enough to make most fans accept his crappiness, especially if he keeps the K totals low and doesn't bitch about the fans being better in LA. Not counting Jones, the early favorite has to be Dempster. Although a slow start by either Ramirez or Soriano could give them a shot. I'd have to go with Marquis, if he starts slow, they'll give him hell. That contract and season last year will be a poor mix to start slowly.
  17. UK1679666180
    The further up you the ladder go, the less likely that will happen. Then it leaves it to opinion as to whether or not that bad pitch was caused by the baserunner, I think it was more b/c of the pitcher throwing a bad pitch regardless of the runner on base. Even the great pitchers on their best days will throw bad pitches at various points during a game. A hitter's job is to wait and react aggressively for those bad pitches. As far as stats. "Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital."
  18. UK1679666180
    http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/majors/features/262959.html Basic yet interesting article.
  19. UK1679666180
    I'm going to use Murton, Lee, and Jones (assume Ramirez is on the DL just for effect) as the 2-3-4 hitters. If Murton is on 1B, the odds of Lee being pitched around (espec. one with a good approach that Lee has) and more likely to BB are reduced b/c usually the lesser hitter (Jones) on deck will have a greater chance of driving in a run w/Murton in scoring position than Lee would of driving in Murton from 1B. The pitcher isn't going to risk putting a runner into scoring position by working around the quality hitter to face a less productive hitter w/RISP.
  20. UK1679666180
    He signed the best player in Cubs history (Banks) as well as countless others in his 30+ years within the organization as important as his efforts with the Cubs were, what he did with the Negro leagues was just as impressive.
  21. UK1679666180
    For me it's about best fit... Using the standard 20-80 scale. I'm comparing each player's hitting and speed to their overall spot in the order and defense with their position. Murton as a #2 hitter and LF. Hitting-55 Power-55 Speed-40 Arm/Defense-50 Izturis as a #2 hitter and SS. Hitting-35 Power-40 Speed-50 Arm/Defense-60 Murton as a #5 hitter. Hitting-50 Power-45 Izturis as a #8 hitter. Hitting-40 Power-40 If the Cubs switch to a platoon w/Jones and Murton and whomever they fill CF with it obviously changes as far how it'll be constructed, but to maximize it in its current state, the Cubs, IMO would be best off going with Soriano/Murton.
  22. UK1679666180
    yup you're right, if the cubs don't win the world series in the next two years, they'll be the worst team in baseball (Craig, this might sound like a paraphrase from one of your other posts today but...) I think that'll depend on who they sign on the cheap in the near future (lightning in a bottle) and how well the top prospects do... Positionwise, the two best prospects (Pie and Patterson) have the assets the Cubs need to round out the current roster if the perform as expected (hitting, speed, and defense). If they can improve the defense up the middle, add some speed, and provide offense on the cheap that'll impact this team more than DeRosa and if he doesn't perform up to expections until Patterson is ready. From a pitching standpoint, you can say the same thing from either Guzman, Veal, Gallagher as well the progression of Wuertz, Ohman, and Marmol from the pen. Scatter some well timed scrap heap signings and the Cubs could do well with this FA class, even if they fall short.
  23. UK1679666180
    Actually, the theory is lineup protection, when the facts have indicated that it really makes no difference. Where are these facts? I'm sure the links to the studies have been posted numerous times. You could probably find the articles using google. Whatever. You think batting Izturis behind DLee won't affect Lee's numbers? Of course lineup protection matters. It doesn't take a statistical study to figure out something that obvious. I think Lee's numbers would be worse having Izturis hitting in front of him rather than behind him. But going from Jones to Murton to Jones to Barrett is minimal, if the Cubs were undecided about where to put Murton.
  24. UK1679666180
    He re-established himself with both feet in the field of play, before touching the ball.
  25. UK1679666180
    Actually, the theory is lineup protection, when the facts have indicated that it really makes no difference. Where are these facts? The best way to protect a hitter is to have a runner on in front of him.
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