Transmogrified Tiger

0-2 and a LHP, Jacque should forfeit

Really? He entered today at .301 according to ESPN. I could live with .375. Whoops, looks like it's .360, 18 times on base in 50 PA's.

Izturis now has a .375 OBP as a Cub.

CRAWFORD BOXES BABY

It's really become apparent Wuertz doesn't do well when he enters with runners on or in the middle of inning. Why does he keep getting put in that situation?

I don't think Mike Lamb has the wheels to score from second on that play.

Pie and Restovich :shock: both have triples for Iowa's only hits.

I'm curious on why that would happen? I wonder how much of it would have to do with stretching or lack of. I would think it would be a lack of actual game action, in which case there wouldn't be a whole lot that could be done to prevent it.

Maybe it's perception, but is there a higher rate of injuries (particularly season ending ones like ACLs) in the preseason than the regular season?

It wouldn't be about obp with Cantu. He would be a player you look to for SLG%. He would hit down in the order and provide some power numbers. We already have Jacque Jones. Cantu doesn't hit for that much power that his terrible OBP is made up for. Add in the fact that this team needs OBP more than slugging, that he'd cost more than his worth to acquire, and it's not worth it to pursue him.

Fontenot, in my opinion, is not a leadoff type. He has a lot more pop than Theriot, and tends to get a little "homer happy." Theriot and Fontenot are both pretty good prospects, which means we will never know their potential with Dusty Baker running the team. I was disgusted to once again see Neifi Perez in the 2-hole tonight, despite his success against the Astros. Would have been nice to see Theriot get a little consistant action. Fontenot also gets on base at a better clip, which is why he's better for any role in the lineup. That said, neither are great prospects considering their age and other shortcomings(Theriot's complete lack of power, Fontenot's defensive shortfalls/inflexibility), ideally they should be bench players on a good team. Fontenot probably is a better overall prospect, and he does get on base at a better clip, but he strikes out a lot for a would-be leadoff man. He has good power for a guy his size - but I just don't think he is the leadoff type. The Cubs need a leadoff hitter in 2007 (assuming they do not sign Pierre - who will cost them $5-10 million a year), and could stand to give Theriot a consistant shot at 2nd Base the rest of the way in 06. I just think that Theriot is a better fit than Fontenot for what the Cubs need. He can play SS and 2B, and most likely would be an average or better leadoff man. Why does it really matter how many times a leadoff man strikes out as long as he's getting on base consistently? Really? Contact is always a better option. Well, nearly always. It allows the defense to make errors, and it can sometimes result in moving a runner over into scoring postion. It can also mean a double-play, but a strikeout is an out 97% of the time. Contact makes things happen. Besides, if you look at Theriot's statistics, it is hard not to see how much he has improved offensively as he was bumped up to higher levels. More often than not, the leadoff hitter will come up with nobody on base because they are either hitting behind the lowest OBP guys on the team or they are leading off the game. So, making contact in order to advance a runner is not as big of a deal as you make it seem in that case. As for your argument about contact allowing the defense to make errors, I know this has been discussed many times on this board in the past, and it has been shown that errors just aren't a big enough part of the game where it even makes a difference. I don't have the stats to back that up, but I'm sure somebody on here can provide a source to corroborate this argument. Correct. You won't see a guy who makes more contact suddenly jump more in OBP because of errors. In fact, the opposite is true since often times guys who strike out a good bit are also the most patient and walk more.

Exactly. Pierre v. Furcal isn't a choice between right and wrong, it's a choice between bad and worse. Since the all star break Furcal has been one of the hottest hitters in the National League. His OBP has always been solid even when his average was down to start the year IMO that is so important...a guy who's OBP isn't tied to avg. That means they are doing other things even when they are not hitting. Furcal at his best is still not worth the contract he got, and especially not one greater than that which is what Hendry needed to offer. In the same way, Pierre at his best was not worth what we gave to get him.

Exactly. Pierre v. Furcal isn't a choice between right and wrong, it's a choice between bad and worse.

Pie needs another year at AAA. No way is he ready for the bigs yet. Why do you think that Pie has hit his stride at AAA, and has been hitting very well for the better part of 2 months. He's shown he's not overmatched there and is starting to thrive. It wouldn't hurt his development to start in Iowa in '07, but in the same way he won't be damaged by starting and hitting near the bottom of the order in the bigs. I wouldn't bring Pie up to a Cubs team that is middling or worse like this one. I don't want to put pressure on him to produce immediately. If you put him in an OF populated by Murton and Jones and make no other significant changes, then he is under pressure to put up nos. right away. On the other hand, if we sign / trade for impact guys to "protect" him and allowhim to hit in the lower-third of the order, I wouldn't object to bringing him up. Again, platooning Murton and Jones with people who are capable is going to have quite an impact. A Catalanotto/Murton LF will likely put up a .850+ OPS, and a Jones/Restovich(or other RH stick) will likely approach .900. I don't think there's too much pressure to produce if you just stick him down in the 7 spot. You don't have to worry about any effects of only having the pitcher behind him, and he's not in a run producing spot in the order.

Pie needs another year at AAA. No way is he ready for the bigs yet. Why do you think that Pie has hit his stride at AAA, and has been hitting very well for the better part of 2 months. He's shown he's not overmatched there and is starting to thrive. It wouldn't hurt his development to start in Iowa in '07, but in the same way he won't be damaged by starting and hitting near the bottom of the order in the bigs.

Z can throw over 100 pitches as many times as he wants as far as I'm concerned. It's the amount of times he gets to 115 and 120 that concern me.

You didn't predict it would be earned though, so I think he'll forgive you.

McGwire had a HOF caliber career well before he hit 70 and was accused of using performance enhancers.

No, in 2005 is when people started to question Hendry. In 2003-04 he was considered gold from everything I read. And what do Dusty pitch counts have to do with Hendry? I'm not going to argue about this, because obvisouly we have vastly different views and/or memories about Hendry in first couple of years as the Cubs GM. Hey, if you saw Hendry faults from 2003 and on, you deserve Kudos! Because I sure didn't... As someone who really didn't jump on the anti-Hendry bandwagon until around 2005, you're wrong. There were plenty of people up in arms with him prior to then.

Hendry needs to add another POWER bat in the OF. Basically that is the same team they are rolling out this year. I think you're underestimating the benefit of the platoon. By getting capable hitters in LF v. RHP and RF v. LHP, it probably boosts the combined output of the two spots by 75-100 points in OPS. Basically, the same as going to get the "POWER bat" and leaving the other spot the same, except without paying a heinous amount of money and/or prospects.

WALROND! Why are we shouting?

Schmidt, Catalanotto, and a second baseman that can hit in the top 2 in the order. Maybe a platoon partner for Jones if you hate Restovich. Cat/Murton/2B 2B/Cat/Murton Lee Ramirez Barrett Jones/Restovich Pie Izturis

Wow, I didn't realize how craptacular Cantu's Minor League career was.

Congrats Fred!

Fontenot, in my opinion, is not a leadoff type. He has a lot more pop than Theriot, and tends to get a little "homer happy." Theriot and Fontenot are both pretty good prospects, which means we will never know their potential with Dusty Baker running the team. I was disgusted to once again see Neifi Perez in the 2-hole tonight, despite his success against the Astros. Would have been nice to see Theriot get a little consistant action. Fontenot also gets on base at a better clip, which is why he's better for any role in the lineup. That said, neither are great prospects considering their age and other shortcomings(Theriot's complete lack of power, Fontenot's defensive shortfalls/inflexibility), ideally they should be bench players on a good team.