Transmogrified Tiger

This is how I understand it. Patterson got a late jump on what I can only assume was a suicide squeeze. Someone missed a sign, because Prior swang away and hit a foul ball. Later in the AB, Prior hit a ground ball to second, Patterson tried to score, but a bad slide prevented him from scoring when he should have scored relatively easily. Again, I didn't see it, but that's how I understand it.

Iowa now down 6-2, all runs charged to Mitre. Cedeno has a hit in his only AB, and Murton has a BB in his.

Erik, I think you are being too generous. I don't think he's in a Cub uniform after the 2005 season. I have it on good authority that Hendry will do everything he can to trade Patterson during the offseason, low value or not. Hendry is absolutely pissed off at Corey's play and attitude since he has returned. And, seeing 5 pitches in 4 at bats last night was just the icing on the cake. Although he probably won't play with the major league team this year, I get the strong sense that the Felix Pie in CF era is set to start in March. Hoops Whether or not Patterson is on the team next year, Pie needs to be in AAA. Looks like we're doomed to see the same mistakes the organization made with Patterson.

Yes, yes you could. Name some better back-up SS in MLB. Please back it up with stats. You may think Cedeno could perform better than Neifi, but you don't know that for certain. AAA stats don't compare to ML stats. Please include defense. Not to mention intagibles like leadership can't be ignored either. Only 4 SS's in baseball have worse OBP's than Perez. In order for Cedeno to NOT outproduce Perez offensively, his average would have to drop over 80 points, his OBP over 105 points, and his SLG over 135 points from his AAA numbers. Cedeno has a reputation for being a fine defensive player, far from a liability defensively. Technically, Cedeno has outproduced Perez in his short time here, when you combine their fielding and batting runs above average. I'd appreciate it if you would explain why Neifi has been a good backup SS.

yeah, they're going to let dubois take that "hafner" guy's spot...he sucks anyway, right? :roll: Hafner was off the DL when Dubois was traded? #-o I'm not sure if he was on the DL, but the deal coincided in some fashion with Hafner's concussion. Hafner didn't play for close to a week before being put on the DL.

He's a decent 25th man, probably best suited for a defensive replacement. Anything more than that is a mistake. . And that's what he was signed to be Then why are you arguing over him starting a game?

Yes, yes you could.

I doubt it, I think I saw a thread at WSI about the site, and many Sox fans were less than pleased with it.

It works for me... The hyperlink in the sidebar? They included a comma, so it doesn't work for me.

But we're not talking about either of them playing SS. The fact is that Walker has been a better 2B in every aspect of the game this year, and in most aspects his entire career. I understand the Fantasy baseball comment was a generalization. An unnecessary and inflammatory one at that. Oh well, I guess you don't understand the difference between a sm.. & lg. sample size. How is the fantasy baseball comment inflammatory? People don't watch baseball to root for players on their fantasy team who only generate offensive stats, not defensive ones? This will tend a fan to overanalyze the offensive stat over the defensive. Not inflammatory, probably fact! I understand sample sizes. Over their careers, Neifi has been a better defender at 2B. Over their careers, Neifi has been 10 runs above average defensively while Walker is 48 runs below average. Offensively, Neifi is 218 runs below average, while Walker is 9 runs above average. That's what everyone is talking about when they say that the offensive difference makes up for a lack of defense.

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's Walker at 2B in 2005 94 Rate, 11 runs above Replacement level Neifi at 2B in 2005 86 Rate, 1 run above replacement level. The fantasy baseball comment is uncalled for. I hate, and am horrible at fantasy baseball, not that it matters. I didn't say you play too much fantasy baseball. I said maybe people on this board play to much fantasy baseball. That was meant as a generalization, not to personally single you or anyone out. Your comment about Walker has been better defensively @ 2nd LY over Neifi is accurate but not entirely fair. It's a large sample size (Walker) compared to a small sample size (Neifi). Neifi 14 GS, 2 E, .967 FPCT. Walker 67 GS, 4 E, .987 FPCT Also Neifi natural position is SS & Walker's is 2nd. I bet you would see a larger desparity in fielding if Walker ever played SS, which probably will never happen, b/c everyone knows he is a liability defensively. But we're not talking about either of them playing SS. The fact is that Walker has been a better 2B in every aspect of the game this year, and in most aspects his entire career. I understand the Fantasy baseball comment was a generalization. An unnecessary and inflammatory one at that.

Because then he's forced to play Lawton or Hollandsworth in LF, who are awful against LH.

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument. Walker is a defensive hack! People on this board tend to favor the offensive skill over the defensive one. Maybe they are playing too much fantasy baseball. Defense is very important. I wouldn't mind seeing the Cubs acquire some more defensive skilled players in 06, especially in the infield. Imagine a MI of Hudson(Tor) & A.Gonzo(Fl)! IIRC, both are FA's Walker at 2B in 2005 94 Rate, 11 runs above Replacement level Neifi at 2B in 2005 86 Rate, 1 run above replacement level. The fantasy baseball comment is uncalled for. I hate, and am horrible at fantasy baseball, not that it matters. EDIT: Florida's Alex Gonzalez is around average defensively. Hudson on the other hand is amazing defensively, but is not a free agent until after the 2008 season.

Walker is a very good hitter, but very below avg. defensively. Neifi is a defensive upgrade over Walker. The problem here is batting Neifi 2nd. This year, Walker has been better than Neifi defensively at second base. Walker is a better hitter against LH than Neifi, this year, the last three years, etc. There's no justification for him to be out there besides the inane L/R argument.

For the love of... Stop taking Walker out of the lineup for Neifi!

Rusch pitched poorly on Saturday?? Did you watch the game and see the defense behind Rusch?? If Rusch doesn't keep his composure, the game could have been 12-0 by the 5th. The defense was crummy behind Hill against the Mets, but then you insisted it was on him. Can't have it both ways.

But he'll be back in September to pick up that time. September time doesn't count. If he has less than 130 at bats he will still be considered a rookie next year. I don't know about for Rookie of the Year consideration, but September still counts toward service time towards arbitration and free agency. I'd be very very upset if the Cubs demoted Murton just so he'd be in contention for an award next year. From the MLB rulebook: Determining rookie status: A player shall be considered a rookie unless, during a previous season or seasons, he has (a) exceeded 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched in the Major Leagues; or (b) accumulated more than 45 days on the active roster of a Major League club or clubs during the period of 25-player limit (excluding time in the military service and time on the disabled list). Okay, but Murton will still accrue service time towards arbitration in September. Like I said before, demoting him just so he can keep his "rookie" status doesn't make any sense. There's no benefit to him keeping that except for frill awards. He'll be a rookie next year.

I think this is where statistics can mislead. I personally think that Dubois is a much worse fielder than almost anyone I've seen in left. He is at the Manny Ramirez level as far as I'm concerned. I love the kid and I hope that he does well, but I'll never stick up for his defense. That may be true, but IMO someone's eyes/perceptions are much more likely to deceive them than a statistic.

With the 46th pick, Cut for Cap Space selects, Darrell Jackson, Wide Receiver, Seattle

Going by Rate and RAA, Dubois is as good if not a better fielder than Hollandsworth, only slightly below average. True story.

We've already got Neifi. :roll: I'm guessing Grissom would have to be part of that deal to appease Dr. Dusty. We're in luck, he's a free agent!

I really doubt it will happen. Apparently their payroll isn't going up at all until more fans start showing up. That means there's virtually no chance of retaining Millwood, never mind AJB. I think the mid to late 90's is strong evidence that if they put out a team that should win 90-100 games, the fans will show up in mass numbers. That's true, but the new owner is waiting for the fans to come to raise the payroll. That's not going to happen before Millwood and AJB are long gone.

I really doubt it will happen. Apparently their payroll isn't going up at all until more fans start showing up. That means there's virtually no chance of retaining Millwood, never mind AJB.

Reading comprehension is your friend.

I only saw the 9th, what are you referring to?