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champaignchris

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Everything posted by champaignchris

  1. champaignchris
    Of the six players they got for Cabrera and Willis, not one of them is still with Florida, and only three of them have appeared in MLB games this season. They did trade Cameron Maybin to the Padres for two not horrible middle relievers that are currently on the team, but those are basically the only assets on the team that are remnants of the Cabrera/Willis trade.
  2. champaignchris
    Coincidentally, I'm in the middle of a re-read of MoneyBall. I just read the introduction on Bill James. For him, it was the hitting stats that bothered him. For me, it was the pitching stats. I remember very clearly in middle school in about 1986-1987, I would have been 13-14 years old, reading the box scores and league leaders in the paper and just thinking that stats didn't tell you anything about the pitchers. "Joe Blow is 3-2 with a 3.57 ERA." What the heck are you supposed to make out of that? My solution to this "problem" was mainly to zone out any time a broadcaster started blabbing about stats. It wasn't until much later, maybe about 2005, where I learned that other people had similar issues with the stats that I did and had actually done something about it.
  3. champaignchris
    according to baseball-reference he's signed through 2015. Cot's has him as a free agent after this season. Maybe br is more up to date?
  4. champaignchris
    The comments in the Angels' section... "Scioscialism." Awesome!
  5. champaignchris
    ...because the Red Sox didn't win it all until they tore down Fenway?
  6. champaignchris
    Would Howie Kendrick be a good f.a. target at second base? He'd be 29 for the 2013 season.
  7. champaignchris
    With the improved defensive positioning and baserunning, I'll excuse a strange bunt call about once every 30 games.
  8. champaignchris
    So, is he hurt or is he "hurt?"
  9. champaignchris
    That and his aversion to bricks and ivy. And health or lack thereof at times.
  10. champaignchris
    Ryan Dempster: the living embodiment of why the win/loss stat for pitchers needs to be taken out back and shot. Since his last win on Aug 11, 2011, he's 0-7. 3.50 ERA in 90.1 innings pitched, 12 QS in the 14 games started. Pending tonight's game, 34 runs scored by the offense in those 14 games. The bullpen's blown all 4 save opportunities.
  11. champaignchris
    The obvious answer is to move Rizzo to left! :yahoo:
  12. champaignchris
    The Cubs' first 28 games can be neatly divided in half... First fourteen games: 3-11 50 runs scored 76 runs given up Last fourteen games: 8-6 48 runs scored 44 runs given up
  13. champaignchris
    I think it's a good sign that the Cubs' baserunning has improved so dramatically. I think that's a reflection on the coaching because I don't think we're a markedly faster team. It was so gawdawful last year. It wasn't just the (lack of) stolen bases and boneheaded plays. There was a BP article from last year that showed how the Cubs were the worst in the league at scoring from second on a base hit. What's amazing about the Cubs' offense this year is that they are just below league average in runs scored while essentially getting no production at all out of Soriano, Soto, and Stewart (and Byrd before he was shipped) and only Lahair is hitting above expectations. I'm not sure how to account for that. They seem to be scoring more runs than the peripherals would seem to indicate. It can't all be the better baserunning. That said, Lahair eventually regressing back to the mean should be more than made up for by Soriano, Soto, and Stewart eventually producing more like what their career norms would indicate (or being replaced by someone who can at least give replacement value numbers). The OP didn't post any fielding stats, but to my eyes it seems better than last year. I don't have any stats to back that up though.
  14. champaignchris
    I've melded Iowa City and Des Moines into one place in my mind. And really, can you blame me? Next thing you guys are going to try to convince me that Burlington and Davenport aren't the same place.
  15. champaignchris
    The Rizzo issue is tied up with the LaHair issue. If Rizzo weren't destroying it down on the farm, there'd be no reason at all not to just let LaHair play it out and see what he can do. But as it is, sooner or later, there's simply not going to be any point in having the guy you envision being your first baseman for the next 10 years still down in Iowa City. Now, the Cubs did play LaHair 14 games at right or left field last year. I neither remember him embarrassing nor distinguishing himself. If the Cubs think he can hack it in left, it'd make the most sense to play him and let Soriano sit. If the Cubs don't think he can hack it in left, you have to decide if trading him gives you more value than using him as a left handed ph. Given that the Cubs apparently weren't able to trade Pena for a box of used balls last year, the later might be the case.
  16. champaignchris
    ChEcking in from Busch. A little hazy but doesn't look like rain yet. Hopefully it can stay that way. Go Cubs!!!
  17. champaignchris
    I'm glad you said that because I was thinking the same thing. I was wondering if he spent a season as one of the scoreboard guys that would fill in for Pat during the fifth inning or something like that, but can't find anything on the Google to confirm or deny. But judging from his bio here (dating back to 2010) he's been working constantly in not-Chicago-land since he retired from playing. Maybe someone at WGN had a similar name a few years back?
  18. champaignchris
    Funny how many ex-Cubs broadcasters there are calling games... Thom Brennaman, Dewayne Staats, and of course Chip ("Fisted!") and Stone. And, yes, Pat is awesome. Oddly, I still think of him as the "new guy" even though I think this is his 16th year on the job. Guess that makes me freaking old. Still not used to Moreland. Don't know what I think of him yet.
  19. champaignchris
    When you spend $130-ish million to garner 71 wins, dropping payroll seems to be the inevitable conclusion.
  20. champaignchris
    The Cubs' starting pitching ERA will be at least a half run lower than last years' (4.79).
  21. champaignchris
    It was a joke. Apparently not a good one. Reference here.
  22. champaignchris
    These people probably all love Brian Wilson's shenanigans That's because Brian Wilson's shenanigans are cheeky and fun. Bryce Harper's shenanigans are cruel and tragic. Which makes them not shenanigans at all, really. Evil shenanigans.
  23. champaignchris
    For what it's worth, Boers and Bernstein just had on the guy from Baseball Prospectus who does the PECOTA projections. He said that their preliminary projections for the Cubs was about a .460 winning percentage, which comes out to 74.5 wins.
  24. champaignchris
    Right. I don't think the offense will be better. I don't think it will be THAT much worse though. I also don't think we'll have the worst starting pitching in the league again.
  25. champaignchris
    I voted with the plurality -- 71-75. Even with the offensive losses, I think the starting pitching will be significantly better (even if Garza is traded) and I think the defense will be marginally improved.
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