champaignchris

In the three games since the offensive outburst last Friday, they're 4 for their last 28 (.143) with RISP. That's .231 for the year w/ RISP. They hit .292 in all other at bats. Not sure why the lack of power matters when discussing the discrepancy between the batting average with runners in scoring position versus other situations. A guy will generally score from second or third on a single (hence "scoring position") and even if he doesn't it won't effect the batting average. The issue isn't the Cubs' lack of power. The Cubs lead the league with a BABIP of .324 overall. It's .351 with nobody on and .336 with a runner on first. Their BAPIP with runners in scoring position is .262. So, the issue seems to be that when runners aren't on, the balls they hit find holes, and when runners are on, the balls they hit don't. So, I think the answer to my original question might be, "luck."

So the game after I start this thread griping about the inability to hit with runners in scoring position, the Cubs go 7 for 14. The next day, I neglect to comment on the subject, and they go 0 for 6. Noticing the obvious causality, I am here again prior to tonight's game wondering why we can't hit with runners in scoring position. It may be just a coincidence, but without adequate scientific testing, I'm not sure we can rule it out yet.

I know, I know, I know. There's no such thing as clutch. It's early in the season. Etc., etc. But how do we explain the Cubs through 36 games 70 H in 309 AB, .227 w/ RISP 277 H in 950 AB, .292 w/o RISP ? That's just bizarre.

I want to see Doug Davis throw an eephus pitch. I don't think he's ever thrown an eephus before, but he just seems like the type of pitcher that should.

Is Hendry whispering the proverbial offer you can't refuse in Albert's ear? "Don Ricketts requests the honor of your presence at his training camp in Arizona next February." Is he begging him to sign with the Cubs? "I'll do anything to get you to play for us next year... ANY-THING."

The Cubs have one gigantic goal this next offseason, and we all know what it is. Whatever is to be done with the GM position should be made with signing Albert Pujols in mind, and it needs to be done before the offseason begins. I don't want the press conference announcing our new GM on the same day the Angels are introducing their new super-star first baseman. I'm not a big fan of Hendry and would have liked to see him go last year. However, as things seem to be playing out right now, unless Ricketts' choice to replace him is out of baseball or already in the organization, it might be best to extend Hendry a couple years and then open the vaults for Albert.

Lance Berkman is 35 (two years older than Pena), nowhere near the defensive first baseman Pena is, and has not been that much of a better hitter than Pena has been over the last 3 years (140 OPS+ vs. 122 OPS+). Berkman might end up being a much better player than Pena all year. He also might breakdown mid-season and be a non-factor during the last stretch of the season. It's just way too early to judge this now, but at the time of the signing I thought Pena was a better bet than Berkman.

or the Saberhagen one I presume they were large deals that Bonilla and Saberhagen elected to spread out over the long haul after the fact...but still. Even better. Bonilla had 5.9m and 1 year left on his deal that Steve Phillips didn't want to pay, so of course he agreed to this beaut of an arrangement.. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703426004575339013108198050.html "After Florida traded Mr. Bonilla to the Los Angeles Dodgers in May 1998, the Mets then re-acquired him that following off-season, sending relief pitcher Mel Rojas to the Dodgers for Mr. Bonilla on Nov. 11, 1998." ...and the Mets originally got Mel Rojas from the Cubs in a trade that also sent Brian McRae and Turk Wendell to the Mets, with the Cubs getting Lance Johnson, Mark Clark, and Manny Alexander. So, in the end, it's all the Cubs fault. Revenge is sweet. :D

Montreal Expos type of situation = being owned by Satan A good owner could have made Montreal work. A bad owner, well... we know the end of that story. It shouldn't matter whether the Dodgers have a good or bad owner. They should be making money hand over fist regardless. It's the freakin' Dodgers! An iconic team in the second biggest market in the country.

It's really amazing that it's come to this. It's not a Montreal Expos type of situation. There's no reason why the Dodgers shouldn't be a highly successful major league baseball organization.

This has been speculated on for a long time. The Cubs weren't the first to do it either.

He and Chip Caray were let go for being too critical of the team. I think it was a situation where the contracts were not renewed. At least that is how I remember it. Am I wrong? According to wikipedia Stone refused to renew his contract after the 2004 season during which he was confronted by several players who thought he was overly critical. My bad. I think it was Chip Caray whose contact was not renewed. If I recall correctly, Stone's refusal to renew was in part because he thought that Chip was getting a raw deal.

So what happens if a live ball hits a batter who hasn't hit the ball into play? A more likely situation than the Verlander incident would be if there's a wild throw on a pick-off attempt and a baserunner tries to score. Let's say there's another wild throw home that hits the batter as he's furiously trying to get out of the way. What happens then? Is it a dead ball situation and the runner has to stay at the base he's at, or is it a live ball and the runner can keep going?

It's not just power-hitting outfielders. Between Girardi debuting during the tail end of 1989 and Soto playing a game in 2005, who was the best position player to come up through the Cubs' system to actually play for the Cubs? Doug Glanville? Corey Patterson? Ryan Theriot?

Classic, from the confused looks in the A's dugout to the Tigers' Catcher trying not to laugh.

Good. Nothing should mitigate the Ryan Braun hate around here. Yes. Now, we can all go back to full-on believing Braun is the douchiest douche to ever douche a douche-hole.

Other than Jeff Samardzija - who seems to have cured his inability to miss bats by simply not throwing the ball anywhere near the plate - the bullpen has been pretty good through the first nine games. If the bullpen has a collective 3.70 ERA at the end of the season, we'll consider it a team strength.

To his credit, in 6 games he already has 4 walks. He only had 41 last season. Of course, he's posting identical BA and SLG.

I was really hoping that Musial article was going to have some substance to it, because I'm always down for some Cardinal idol bashing, but instead, we get this: 1. Some Black baseball players were refused seating at his restaurant by the maitre'de back in 1963, and by third-hand account Musial may have had something to do with it. 2. Musial may have suggested a protest against Jackie Robinson coming into the league despite the fact that a number of other sources say that Musial was not among the racists with the Cardinals at the time of integration, that he was generally friendly with his Black teammates and opponents, and that they doubt Musial would have had anything to do with the protest. 3. Musial, an established star in the Majors, decided not to join a fledgling Mexican baseball league. 4. Musial may have leaned towards the owners instead of players in some pension negotiations. Is this what he's arguing? Because nothing in that article makes me think that Musial was anything worse than a fairly typical White American of his generation, and may have actually been quite a bit more tolerant than your typical White American of his generation. Also, the most recent alleged incident listed in the article occurred in 1963, and Stan Musial has lived a very long life since then. If a smear article can't find anything to smear a guy with that's occurred in the last 48 years, what does that say?

Bench him. When he has an 0-4 four game after not starting for 10 days, send him to anger management therapy.

Barring a major injury this year, I'd be willing to bet that A-Ram is our starting 3B in 2012.

That's the one that stood out to me. His ERA has gone down in each of the last three seasons (as have his IP) and their projected ERA would be almost a full run more than he gave up last year. I know ERA is flawed - but still, a jump of that magnitude...

If Quenneville of the Blackhawks is the Q-stache, does that make Quade the Q-ball? Will I get any credit for that when it's all over 670 The Score and the Trib next summer?

That would be awesome! Pat: "Shouldn't they be getting you up in the bullpen about now." Kerry: "Naw, this guy kills me. I suspect they'll bring in a lefty this inning, and I'll go in the 8th." Kerry: "That'll have to be it for me today, folks. Just got the call from the dugout. Gotta go start warming up. See ya tomorrow, Pat." Pat: "Since blowing the lead and sending us into extra-innings, Kerry will be re-joining us as soon as he's had a chance to take a shower..."

I just don't understand the Jack Morris thing. The following HoF eligible pitchers were all as good or better than Morris: Vida Blue Kevin Brown David Cone Dwight Gooden Ron Guidry Orel Hershiser Tommy John Jim Kaat Dennis Marinez Rick Reuschel Bret Saberhagen Dave Stieb Frank Tanana Louis Tiant Frank Viola Note: I do not believe any of the above deserve to be in the HoF either.