Fred Hornkohl

Sheesh.... I leave for one game and Modzilla is in here kicking troll butt..... what's going on in this place ????

I'll bet you a cyber-nickel that Blanco is starting tonight. He's cuaght Prior's last 4 starts..... 6 out of his last 7..... and 9 out of 14 overall. In fact, with Suppan being a righty, I'll bet you another cyber-nickel that your starting lineup is as follows..... Hairston Walker Lee Burnitz Ramirez Hollandsworth Perez Blanco Prior Any takers ?

Ouch !!

How many games could you win with this roster ? 07/12 team AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB K SB BA OBP SLG OPS M. Alou S.F. 256 43 81 11 0 12 128 41 40 25 2 0.316 0.409 0.500 0.909 K. Lofton Phil 175 29 60 5 3 1 74 15 18 24 10 0.343 0.407 0.423 0.830 L. Gonzalez Ariz 325 53 92 19 0 12 147 51 45 52 2 0.283 0.376 0.452 0.828 R. White Detr 287 37 88 16 3 9 137 42 11 37 1 0.307 0.334 0.477 0.812 R. Palmeiro Balt 283 38 76 10 0 15 131 50 31 31 2 0.269 0.337 0.463 0.800 B. Mueller Bost 256 38 73 15 2 4 104 35 39 41 0 0.285 0.389 0.406 0.796 M. Stairs K.C. 214 32 54 10 1 8 90 27 37 39 1 0.252 0.369 0.421 0.789 H. Choi L.A. 216 26 51 7 1 13 99 32 22 51 1 0.236 0.318 0.458 0.777 D. Jackson S.D. 161 28 47 6 0 4 65 15 16 22 11 0.292 0.365 0.404 0.768 D. Miller Milw 204 26 54 14 0 4 80 20 19 45 0 0.265 0.336 0.392 0.728 E. Hinske Toro 276 51 66 19 1 7 108 38 31 79 6 0.239 0.321 0.391 0.712 M. Grudzielanek St.L 313 39 87 16 2 4 119 29 16 40 6 0.278 0.324 0.380 0.705 A. Gonzalez Tamp 149 20 39 6 0 4 57 17 13 36 2 0.262 0.321 0.383 0.704 T. Pratt Phil 89 9 21 2 0 4 35 17 9 25 0 0.236 0.306 0.393 0.699 07/12 team G GS W L S H IP H ER HR BB SO ERA K. Farnsworth Detr 40 0 1 1 1 15 37.0 27 8 1 15 46 1.95 J. Tavarez St.L 41 0 1 1 3 20 39.1 36 10 4 8 35 2.29 D. Willis Flor 18 18 13 4 0 0 128.0 120 34 4 26 95 2.39 K. Mercker Cinc 46 0 2 1 2 10 37.2 39 11 3 12 24 2.63 A. Sisco K.C. 37 0 1 2 0 9 43.0 33 13 3 26 45 2.72 T. Gordon NYY 41 0 2 3 0 15 42.0 28 13 3 19 44 2.79 M. Batista Toro 37 0 4 2 15 0 39.1 37 13 3 10 25 2.97 J. Garland CWS 17 17 13 4 0 0 120.0 109 45 11 21 56 3.38 M. Clement Bost 18 18 10 2 0 0 117.0 113 50 9 35 97 3.85 K. Lohse Minn 16 15 7 7 0 0 91.2 109 45 10 20 47 4.42 J. Moyer Seat 18 18 8 3 0 0 104.2 120 54 10 34 56 4.64

And Walker should have a better game, too. Is it possible for Walker to be any worse than he has been the past 2 days? I am seriously beginning to wonder if he is on the Cardinals payroll too. He wasn't worth much in the last 2 games against the Reds, either..... Walker AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 07/20 - 07/23 18 2 3 0 0 1 6 3 0 3 0.167 0.167 0.333 0.500 We just gotta find a way to get Hairston and Walker both hot at the same time !! It's been one hot and the other cold for quite a while now.

Looking further into the question of who should bat cleanup, I did some checking, and here's what I came up with....... Team record by cleanup hitter W L pct 1. Ramirez 23 21 0.523 2. Lee 3 5 0.375 3. Burnitz 22 21 0.512 4. Dubois 0 1 0.000 5. Barrett 1 0 1.000 Totals 49 48 0.505 04/04 - 07/23 AB R H 2b 3b HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS CUBS w/Ramirez 1538 218 425 100 5 64 727 210 121 271 0.276 0.334 0.473 0.807 CUBS w/Lee 278 36 78 17 1 11 130 34 20 48 0.281 0.333 0.468 0.801 CUBS w/Burnitz 1487 187 407 80 9 53 664 179 106 234 0.274 0.324 0.447 0.771 CUBS w/Dubois 30 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 0.100 0.129 0.100 0.229 CUBS w/Barrett 35 9 13 5 0 1 21 9 3 6 0.371 0.415 0.600 1.015 1st inn #4 hitter R/G R/G Ramirez 4.95 0.45 Lee 4.50 0.50 Burnitz 4.35 0.30 Dubois 0.00 0.00 Barrett 9.00 1.00 I don't suggest that these numbers are conclusive; not only are the sample sizes fairly small, but the condition of "all other things being equal" is surely not met. On the face of it, the offense does seem to perform better with Ramirez in the cleanup spot. A lot of food for thought.

Posted this in another thread yesterday, but I'll repeat it here. I wouldn't try to suggest for a minute that Burnitz is a better hitter than Ramirez, because he's not. But look at these splits, and there's 2 things that jump out at me. 1.) Burnitz is a very very patient hitter when he's inserted in between Lee and Ramirez. I love his walk rate of 0.153 and his OBP of 0.378. 2.) Ramirez is driving in runs at the same rate, whether he's hitting 4th beind Lee or 5th behind Burnitz. I just don't see Burnitz in the 4 spot against right handers as being a problem. Burnitz AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS batting 4th 163 31 46 9 0 7 76 20 25 23 0.282 0.378 0.466 0.844 batting 5th 106 18 32 6 1 5 55 17 6 19 0.302 0.333 0.519 0.852 Ramirez AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS batting 4th 168 28 52 16 0 13 107 34 17 22 0.310 0.373 0.637 1.010 batting 5th 160 25 54 6 0 12 96 34 11 17 0.338 0.384 0.600 0.984 Using a slightly longer sample than you did..... both players are hitting very well over the last 2 weeks..... 07/10 - 07/23 AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS Ramirez 48 10 20 5 0 7 46 15 2 4 0.417 0.440 0.958 1.398 Burnitz 43 9 14 3 0 2 23 5 7 5 0.326 0.420 0.535 0.955

Thank you kindly.

Worthless stats of the day for Sunday..... CUBS are 10-5 on Sundays CUBS are 2-2 vs. St. Louis CUBS are 26-25 in the day time. CUBS are 25-26 on the road. CUBS are 17-14 in games that end a series CUBS are 4-3 in games ending a road trip CUBS are 18-8 when Derrek Lee hits at least 1 HR.... 31-40 when he doesn't CUBS are 20-14 when their pitchers' get at least 1 hit.... 29-34 when they don't CUBS are 29-19 when they've won the previous game.... 19-29 after a loss CUBS are 6-9 when attendance is greater than 42,000 CUBS are 12-5 when the temperature is 85 degree or above CUBS are 39-14 when they get a quality start,... 10-34 when they don't CUBS are 14-13 in one run games, 8-5 in two run games. CUBS are 31-14 when they score first,.... 18-34 when they don't CUBS are 15-5 when they score in the first inning,... 34-43 when they don't CUBS are 10-4 when Prior starts Prior is 10 of 14 in quality starts Prior's ERA pitching to Barrett is 3.77.... pitching to Blanco it's 2.81 CUBS score 4.64 R/G overall.... 4.83 R/G when Prior pitches CUBS hit 1.33 HR/G overall.... 1.57 HR/G when Prior pitches CUBS' offensive support of Prior..... 04/04 - 07/22 AB R H 2b 3b HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS CUBS w/Prior 466 69 127 30 2 22 227 65 43 65 0.273 0.342 0.487 0.829 CUBS overall 3368 450 926 202 15 129 1545 432 251 563 0.275 0.329 0.459 0.788 Prior's last 5 starts..... Prior IP H R ER BB K HR PC BB/9 K/9 HR/9 WHIP ERA 07/19 vs. Cincy 6.7 7 3 3 2 8 0 108 2.70 10.80 0.00 1.35 4.05 07/14 vs. Pitts 8.0 2 1 0 3 10 0 115 3.38 11.25 0.00 0.63 0.00 07/07 vs. Atla 4.7 7 6 6 4 5 1 102 7.71 9.64 1.93 2.36 11.57 07/01 vs. Wash 5.0 6 3 3 0 7 1 82 0.00 12.60 1.80 1.20 5.40 06/26 vs. CWS 6.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 71 0.00 4.50 0.00 0.17 0.00 5 game totals 30.3 23 13 12 9 33 2 478 2.67 9.79 0.59 1.05 3.56 Prior's splits..... Prior IP H R ER BB K HR PC BB/9 K/9 HR/9 WHIP ERA Home 52.3 32 13 11 15 60 6 791 2.58 10.32 1.03 0.90 1.89 Road 36.3 33 21 20 12 35 5 587 2.97 8.67 1.24 1.24 4.95 Day 62.0 41 25 23 20 65 8 965 2.90 9.44 1.16 0.98 3.34 Nite 26.7 24 9 8 7 30 3 413 2.36 10.13 1.01 1.16 2.70 season totals 88.7 65 34 31 27 95 11 1378 2.74 9.64 1.12 1.04 3.15 CUBS' season series with St. Louis..... Gm# Date Opponent Score Starter 15 Wed 04/20 @ St. Louis N 3- 1 Zambrano 16 Thu 04/21 @ St. Louis 0- 4 Dempster 96 Fri 07/22 @ St. Louis N 1- 2 Zambrano 97 Sat 07/23 @ St. Louis 6- 5 Williams 98 Sun 07/24 @ St. Louis N - Prior 115 Thu 08/11 St. Louis - Maddux 116 Fri 08/12 St. Louis - Zambrano 117 Sat 08/13 St. Louis - Williams 118 Sun 08/14 St. Louis N - Prior 137 Mon 09/05 @ St. Louis - Williams 138 Tue 09/06 @ St. Louis N - Prior 139 Wed 09/07 @ St. Louis N - Wood 147 Thu 09/15 St. Louis N - Williams 148 Fri 09/16 St. Louis - Prior 149 Sat 09/17 St. Louis - Wood 150 Sun 09/18 St. Louis - Maddux CUBS' hitters vs. St. Louis..... CUBS AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS Lee 15 3 7 3 0 1 13 3 3 1 0.467 0.556 0.867 1.422 Ramirez 16 2 5 1 0 1 9 2 2 1 0.313 0.389 0.563 0.951 Hollandsworth 16 1 4 2 0 0 6 0 2 1 0.250 0.333 0.375 0.708 Blanco 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667 Burnitz 16 1 3 0 0 1 6 2 2 3 0.188 0.278 0.375 0.653 Hairston 16 1 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 4 0.313 0.313 0.313 0.625 Barrett 12 1 3 0 0 0 3 1 2 2 0.250 0.357 0.250 0.607 Perez 18 0 3 0 0 0 3 1 0 2 0.167 0.167 0.167 0.333 Patterson 8 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.250 Walker 9 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.111 0.111 0.111 0.222 Garciaparra 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Murton 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Gerut 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 Fontenot 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 vs. St. L. 146 10 36 7 1 3 54 10 11 24 0.247 0.299 0.370 0.669 overall 3368 450 926 201 15 127 1538 432 251 562 0.275 0.329 0.457 0.785 CUBS' pitchers ws. St. Louis..... CUBS IP H R ER BB K HR PC BB/9 K/9 HR/9 WHIP ERA Novoa 1.3 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 6.75 0.00 0.00 1.50 0.00 Rusch 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 11 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 Hawkins 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ohman 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Remlinger 0.0 1 1 1 0 0 1 4 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Zambrano 17.7 8 2 2 1 15 2 236 0.51 7.64 1.02 0.51 1.02 Dempster 7.0 5 1 1 4 4 0 109 5.14 5.14 0.00 1.29 1.29 Wuertz 1.7 0 1 1 0 2 0 25 0.00 10.80 0.00 0.00 5.40 Fox 0.7 2 2 2 0 1 1 15 0.00 13.50 13.50 3.00 27.00 Mitre 0.3 2 1 1 0 0 0 10 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00 27.00 vs. St. L. 36.3 27 12 11 9 25 4 542 2.23 6.19 0.99 0.99 2.72 overall 861.7 806 433 410 347 746 117 14120 3.62 7.79 1.22 1.34 4.28 Go CUBS !!

TOP OF THE NINTH INNING Reyes in to pitch for St. Louis Perez flied out to left field Barrett popped out (foul) to first base Murton, pinch hitting for Novoa, struck out (called) 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base BOTTOM OF THE NINTH INNING Dempster in to pitch for the CUBS Nunez singled to right center field Luna sacrificed, 1-4, Nunez to second Edmonds walked Pujols lined into a DP, 6-4, Nunez doubled off second 0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 6 8 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 5 9 0 CUBS WIN !! CUBS WIN !! CUBS WIN !! W: Williams (3-2) S: Dempster (14) L: Morris (11-3) T: 2:47 A: 49,942 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 6.0 7 4 3 3 2 0 105 Wuertz 0.3 0 1 1 0 1 0 06 Ohman 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 06 Novoa 1.3 1 0 0 1 0 0 19 Dempster 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 14

BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH INNING Mahoney popped out to shortstop Seabol, pinch hitting for Eldred, popped out (foul) to first base Eckstein flied out to right field 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 6 8 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 5 8 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 6.0 7 4 3 3 2 0 105 Wuertz 0.3 0 1 1 0 1 0 06 Ohman 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 06 Novoa 1.3 1 0 0 1 0 0 19

TOP OF THE EIGHTH INNING Lee grounded out to short, 6-3 Burnitz grounded out to the pitcher, 1-3 Ramirez grounded an IF single to third base Hollandsworth grounded out to third, 5-3 0 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 1 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 6 8 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 5 8 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26)

BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH INNING Wuertz in to pitch for the CUBS Nunez struck out swinging, safe at first on a wild pitch Rodriguez grounded out to short, 6-3, Nunez to second Ohman in to pitch for the CUBS Edmonds popped out to shortstop Novoa in to pitch for the CUBS Pujols, pinch hitting for Mabry, walked (intentionally) Grudzielanek singled to left field, Nunez scored, Pujols to third Taguchi flied out to right field 1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 2 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 6 7 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 5 8 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 6.0 7 4 3 3 2 0 105 Wuertz 0.3 0 1 1 0 1 0 06 Ohman 0.3 0 0 0 0 0 0 06 Novoa 0.3 1 0 0 1 0 0 12

yeah.... 'bout as much fun as root canal work !! :wink:

TOP OF THE SEVENTH INNING Eldred in to pitch for St. Louis Gerut, pinch hitting for Williams, flied out to right field Hairston flied out to right field Walker struck out swinging 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 6 7 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 4 7 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26)

I really really really hope he was just talking about April. He'd better not be talking about my wife..... I'll kill him !!!!!

BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH INNING Mahoney flied out to center field Marquis, pinch hitting for Morris, struck out swinging Eckstein flied out to center field 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 6 7 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 0 4 7 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 6.0 7 4 3 3 2 0 105

CUBS are 17-8 when Derrek Lee hits at least 1 HR.... 31-40 when he doesn't Go CUBS !! Shhhh !! I posted it already right after he hit it !!

CUBS are 11-3 when they hit 3 or more home runs. Go CUBS !!

TOP OF THE SIXTH INNING Ramirez homered to right field Hollandsworth grounded out to first, 3-1 Perez popped out to second base Barrett popped out to shortstop 1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 1 6 7 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 4 7 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32), Ramirez (26)

BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH INNING Edmonds walked Mabry singled to right field, Edmonds to third Grudzielanek flied out to right field, Edmonds scored Taguchi grounded into a DP, 6-4-3, Grudzielanek out at second 1 runs, 1 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 5 6 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 1 4 7 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 5.0 7 4 3 3 2 0 92

CUBS are 17-8 when Derrek Lee hits at least 1 HR.... 31-40 when he doesn't Go CUBS !!

TOP OF THE FIFTH INNING Williams grounded out to the catcher, 2-3 Hairston grounded out to second, 4-3 Walker singled to center field Lee homered to left field, Walker scored Burnitz flied out to center field 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 2 5 6 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 3 6 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17), Lee (32)

CUBS are 24-12 when they hit at least 2 HRs, 24-36 when they don't Go CUBS !!!

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH INNING Mahoney doubled down the left field line Morris sacrificed, 1-4, Mahoney to third Eckstein doubled (ground rule) to left center field, Mahoney scored Nunez flied out to center field Luna struck out (called) 1 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 men left on base 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CUBS 0 2 1 0 3 4 1 St. Louis 0 0 2 1 3 6 0 Home runs: CUBS: Burnitz (17) pitcher IP H R ER BB K HR PIT Williams 4.0 6 3 2 2 2 0 80