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XZero771679666304

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Everything posted by XZero771679666304

  1. If Dusty hadn't done that, there wouldn't have been a game 6 or 7, and no one would be having this conversation.
  2. That means Marshall, Williams and Rusch are our starters this weekend. Umm...let's get some runs! Just the same, if Dusty is having heart to hearts, he's also having some doubts. I'd say Rusch probably has a short leash. That's how I took it. The fact that there was a conversation at all says something, especially with Dusty.
  3. What would you rather see with the players we have available? Jones and Aramis are not able to play at present. I'd wait and use Blanco on a day when Ramirez was available. I'd have Walker in there too. He's hit Milton fairly well. That's what gets my goat. Playing Blanco is fine, but why do when the rest of the lineup is already weak? It's like Dusty planned on this a few days ago and won't adjust to the circumstances.
  4. Not good. Z better be on. Hmmm...I'm I the only one that is optimistic about today's lineup. I like the speed and I think we are going to score some today. 6-3 Cubs win this game With an extreme fly ball and HR prone guy like Milton, I would have preferred to have more pop in the lineup.
  5. I think everyone who hits a home run the last couple of weeks is on your HR Derby list, XZero. :wink: True, but half of the people in that contest have Thome as well.
  6. In other news, Thome has gone deep again. Jeebus. And Barrett and Walker will sit because when Dusty goes sucky, he goes all out.
  7. What would you rather see with the players we have available? Jones and Aramis are not able to play at present. Barrett should be starting, and maybe Walker. Without either of them, and with Ramirez and Jones out, the lineup is pretty weak. Mabry at third would be nice. Not sure how Mabry does against lefties, but I don't have a problem loading up the line up with RH hitters against a LH starter. Which is why I wouldn't mind seeing Barrett over at 3b. When was the last time he played 3B?
  8. What would you rather see with the players we have available? Jones and Aramis are not able to play at present. Barrett should be starting, and maybe Walker. Without either of them, and with Ramirez and Jones out, the lineup is pretty weak. Mabry at third would be nice.
  9. True, but that depends on the pitcher. When you see a pitcher throwing to first between every pitch or speeding up his delivery, they simply cannot be pitching as effectively as they would be with no one on. And with few exceptions, that is what you see when base stealers get on.
  10. I for one wasn't trying to say Pierre has been successful, just that there is something to the notion that speedy baserunners can influence the pitcher's performance. You can argue about degrees, but I think it is common sense that something that distracts and divides your focus will likely impact your performance negatively. And clearly a speedy guy will be more of a distraction than a slow guy. It is simple logic. But of course OBP is far more important than the speed consideration.
  11. Not entirely true. Pierre clearly distracts pitchers when he is on base. The less focussed a pitcher is on the hitter, the better the hitter's chances of getting a pitch he can hit, including homeruns. Those stolen bases may have affected the pitcher, the pitches that are thrown (don't want to throw a slider in the dirt with Pierre on third), etc... Can you prove this? Look at each time Pierre has been on base and see what the results are. It shouldn't be that hard since he's only been on base 8 times this year. I can't speak for others, but when I pitched I hated having basestealers on the basepaths. It was definitely disctracting because anything that draws even an iota of your attention from the batter has an effect. You know that the batter in the box is the most important, but at the same time you don't want to let the guy on first advance himself to second or third, especially if there are less than 2 outs. You also don't worry as much with someone you know is going to be anchored to the bag. You can't quantify it statistically, but having a speedster on the bases has to have an effect on the pitcher more often than not. Unless you are Greg Maddux, that is. Having said that, OBP trumps speed. But I think Pierre will be fine.
  12. Unfortunately, you're right. Rusch isn't getting bumped unless Wood, Prior and Miller are all healthy at the same time.
  13. That is true. However, some Card fans refuse to acknowledge that Rolen's 2004 was a aberration, in probability. He is 31, exiting his prime. In his prime (and for his career overall), Rolen averaged around .275-.280, 25-30 homers. I know he was injured last year, but like Derrek Lee, Rolen is going to have to prove his best year wasn't a fluke. Aramis is just entering his prime, and looks every bit of a .300-.310, 35-40 home run guy. ARam had his first .300 AVG, 30+ HR season at age 21, the same age Rolen was when he broke into the majors. Since then, Aramis has had 2 more such season (even though one was significantly shortened by injury). I think when you factor in defense, Rolen is more valuable overall right now. But Ramirez is the better offensive player. Having said that, David Wright may well end up being better than both of them, perhaps as soon as this year.
  14. Yeah, if this had waited until the offseason, Hendry would have had to pay a lot more. In fact, I think he would have been blown out of the water by the Yanks, Dodgers or Red Sox.
  15. Rolen may have lost a step, but he is still the best defensive 3B in the league. Ramirez is clearly the better offensive player, is improving defensively (though he will never be Rolen with the glove), and is younger. They both have a history in injuries, but as it was pointed out Rolen's injuries are structural and somewhat chronic. Ramirez's injuries have been muscular. It's a tough call, but if I were building a team I'd go with Ramirez. If I needed to win right now I might go with Rolen. 2 or 3 years from now this would be a no brainer for Aramis.
  16. http://www.northsidebaseball.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=30473 I'm not saying everybody hates Dusty. I'm just saying some people do. And for the record, I don't hate Dusty. I actually like the guy, and I would like nothing better than for him to get his crap together so I could like his managing as well.
  17. No you don't. It's his job to make correct moves. Exactly. A mager's job is to make the moves that give your team the best chance to win in a given situation based on the infromation available at the time. Doing things like PH'ing Barrett make sense, and are not praise worthy occurences. Not PH'ing Barret would have been something worth criticizing. Good managers don't stand out because of their in game decisions. They stand out because they consistently do the right things and that leads to cinsistent winning. Baker has made a name for himself by making stupid decisions that do not agree with common sense. Bringing in Remlinger to face lefties when there is a plethora of information telling you that is the wrong move. Or making Hawkins a closer when there is an abundance of information that tells you it is the wrong thing to do. Batting guys with historically abysmal OBP on top of your lineup when you are already struggling to score runs, etc, etc. So we should praise Dusty for doing a thing 95% of competent managers would do? Making the correct move only seems like a praise worthy occurence in the context of the rest of Dusty's managerial tomfoolery.
  18. Edmonds is a better hitter than Rolen. The Rolen we saw in 2004 was not really what you should expect. Rolen is more of a .280/.370/.870 guy. Edmonds is along the lines of a .290/.380/.920 guy. Both are good, but Edmonds is better. Though if I were Albert I would be disconcerted having Jim behind me in the lineup.
  19. That doesn't look much like a cookie cutter to me.
  20. :shock: That might have made a difference in the longrun... :lol: I have a bad feeling Helton is going to let me down though.
  21. Not to nitpick, but I have at least 17 after a quick tally.
  22. He was third in the entire league in GIDP last year. He puts the ball in play, but never in the right place. He doesn't advance runners, he erases them.
  23. It's hard to get it done in 5 minutes when you keep dropping the soap. And hoping that the next drop will be more productive then the last.....until he realizes he is alone in a cold shower. So tragic.
  24. As far as just releasing tension, I recommend a driving range or batting cage. Also, I simply can't play baseball video games in season. All they do is remind me of the Cubs.
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