Transmogrified Tiger
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Everything posted by Transmogrified Tiger
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I'm not going to turn this into semantics. No other catcher in baseball is even close when it comes to giving up SB, especially Kendall's performance as a Cub. He gets run on the most often, he throws out the fewest, and it's because everyone knows he simply doesn't have the arm to do it any more. To ignore the very tangible effect that will have over Soto, who's done everything you could possibly ask out of a catcher, is insanity. Bonus fun fact: Kendall's also in the bottom 5 in passed balls.
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For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations. I actually think Kendall is a better "receiver" than Barrett. I also trust his leadership more, which is crucial in a catcher. He'd better have leadership coming out of his ears for it to be worth turning every walk and base hit into a double for our pitchers. Don't be ridiculous. That may be the worst exaggeration on this board all week. I will apologize if someone can produce the stat which backs this up. You don't make your case very well when you make silly statements like this. His CS% as a Cub is pretty easily the worst of any catcher who's gotten regular time(save Josh Bard, and he's catching several of the most notoriously "slow to the plate" SP in baseball). He's given up 50 steals in 47 starts. More than once a game teams are taking a free base off of him, and he throws out a pathetic < 10% of them. It's not an exaggeration to say that Kendall's presence compared to Soto is going to cost the team multiple bases, considering in his short stint Soto has been 3 times more effective throwing people out.
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For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations. I actually think Kendall is a better "receiver" than Barrett. I also trust his leadership more, which is crucial in a catcher. He'd better have leadership coming out of his ears for it to be worth turning every walk and base hit into a double for our pitchers.
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Even if the experience tells you definitively that you are playing one of the weakest defensive catchers in the league? I'm not with you [-( This year Barrett did worse than Kendall and I didn't see too many people yell about that and Barrett may be worse defensively than Kendall too. the switch-a-roo so many have done on the need for defense out of catcher has been rather nauseating. the benefit of defense out of a catcher was one of the most intense debates on this board in May, June, and July. Hendry acquires a catcher who's not too handy with the glove and arm, and suddenly there is no debate. suddenly everyone seems to agree that we need good defense out of our catcher. For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations.
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Amazing. At a road game nonetheless.
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2008 Schedule Thread (FULL SCHEDULE RELEASED)
Transmogrified Tiger replied to UMFan83's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Please please please send the Cubs to Kaufmann. -
Mets, D-Backs, Padres, or Phillies
Transmogrified Tiger replied to killthegoat06's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
In order: Phillies D-Backs Padres Mets -
That would've been right in my backyard had I not moved away. I remember reading a Plain Dealer article about it when it was announced/began building. Very cool of Friedel.
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Wasn't Cabrera a young (for MiLB) teenager for most of those AB's, though? It's a little more understandable there. Not that I have any doubts about Soto, I'm just saying. Yes, Cabrera was a young teenager for most of those at bats. And going back to my original comment, players develop at different stages. Soto just got it going later. No disrespect intended, but you have no more idea if this is true than I do if the juice is true. In modern day baseball, when a guy's numbers change as dramatically as this, esp at his age, it brings suspicion. Especially at his age? This whole conversation is a brutal oversimplification. Soto isn't 31, he's 24. Players at his age in the minors make adjustments in their swings to add power, they add muscle (see the comment about him getting into shape this offseason), or they finally start facing age appropriate competition and take off. All of these are possible if not probable factors in Soto's case. He was always young for his league, and showed the discipline throughout his minor league career to be a discriminating enough hitter. Add in the fact that catchers are often have a later offensive development due to the physical demands of fielding their position, and there's plenty of reason to think Soto is legit. Jumping straight to "Soto hit a bunch of HR that he never hit before, he could be on steroids" is simply a lazy intellectual response.
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We'd be pretty deep at keeper. Marco laid claim to the spot, Brinoch's a keeper, and I could do it as well. I don't have the creativity to play up top or the endurance to play midfield, so I'll play stopper or something. I say we go with Seth on the other defensive flank because he'll play dirty and such. Brinoch would make a good sweeper. USS is a target player, Soccer10k is an attacking mid, Raisin with his endurance makes an outside winger, and that's all I got. We need what, 3 more midfielders?
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Name Your 5 Favorite Cubs
Transmogrified Tiger replied to TruffleShuffle's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
In no order: Marmol Hill Ramirez Zambrano Lee -
1 TD and 2 picks, Palmer? Really?
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How's everyone doing? I need Palmer to throw another TD to a non-Chad Johnson player to get a lead on Outshined.
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Mizzou jumps to #20 in both polls. Nice. Hopefully a win against Nebraska can propel us past the likes of Hawaii and the one-loss SEC teams.
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Mizzou's off next week, so it'll be the following Monday.
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plz keep winning games
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That's exactly what should happen if we get Bonds. It won't happen, but putting Bonds at 1B will be as successful as putting Frank Thomas at 1B. Umm... Double ummm There were times where Thomas's double play throws went into LF. I can't imagine Bonds, with the shape he's in, playing 1B. Keep Lee where he belongs. When did anyone say anything about Bonds playing 1B?
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Performance with RISP (Discussion from Game Thread)
Transmogrified Tiger replied to Jazz's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Williams Career: .853 OPS w/ RISP: .895 (+ 42 from career) Close and Late: .891 (+38 from career) Santo Career: .826 OPS w/ RISP: .863 (+37 from career) Close and Late: .856 (+30 from career) I wouldn't say I'd "much, much rather" have Williams up, but I'd prefer him simply because he was a better hitter. -
Graham Harrell has over 600 yards passing and no picks, and OK State has 3 different players with at least 115 yards rushing. And one of them has to lose.
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Yeah, the best part of today was Ole Miss and Illinois making our wins over them look better. Maclin is ridiculous, and Nebraska's defensive showing the last two weeks has me optimistic that we can put up about 90 points on them even if we can't stop their offense. I can't wait for October 5.
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So was Barrett yet most people on this board looked past it in favor of his offensive strengths. It's a matter of degrees. Barrett was one of the best offensive catchers in the game, and so people were forgiving of his below average CS% and occasional braindead decision. Kendall is doing one thing well on offense(a very important thing, but it's important to know that his offense isn't all roses) while other teams have a permanent green light because he's physically incapable of throwing anyone out who doesn't trip and fall on their way to 2nd. It's a much different trade off and easy to see why people would be comfortable with one and not the other.
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New Tampa Bay Uniforms / Logo
Transmogrified Tiger replied to Illini Iceman's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Yes, and please no repeating what the White Sox did and having a graphic about the championship in every spot of every WGN telecast during the following year. -
I think he has one. Maybe not with the MLB clout, but I'm pretty sure his partner was a local guy.
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Ned Yost Appreciation Thread
Transmogrified Tiger replied to XZero771679666304's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I thought they were just rolling over on purpose for the Brewers. Weird. Well, he did eat the wall chasing a ball that went over the fence, so he did fail miserably. Had I not been angry at the result I may have fell over laughing at him. -
More signs LaRussa of leaving Cards?
Transmogrified Tiger replied to mjohnson71's topic in General Baseball Talk
LaRussa doesn't matter as much as Duncan. If Duncan follows LaRussa somewhere, that rotation is going to feel the pain.
