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champaignchris

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Everything posted by champaignchris

  1. champaignchris
    The guy's had two good seasons, six years apart. How can you throw all those years at him?
  2. champaignchris
    But then, there's a two game difference in WAR over 19 and 20 season careers in one case and a nearly 50 game difference in WAR in the other.
  3. champaignchris
    I need someone to explain to me why Larkin got 38% more votes than Trammell. They had nearly identical careers. Player A 20 years, 8288 AB, 2365 hits, 185 HR, 1003 RBI, .285/.352/.415, 66.9 WAR, 4 GG Player B 19 years, 7937 AB, 2340 hits, 198 HR, 960 RBI, .295/.371/.444, 68.9 WAR, 3 GG Played the same position. They even played in about the same era - 11 of their seasons overlap. One got an MVP, the other a runner up. Both were on one WS winning team. Which is Trammell? Which is Larkin? Why is one so much better than the other? How does Kevin Brown fall off on the first ballot? How did John Franco get more votes than he did? I don't think that he deserves to be in, but he was as good a pitcher as there was in the game from about 1996 to 2001. His career numbers compare favorably to Smoltz and Schilling, two guys you know will get a lot more consideration. Raines and Bagwell are criminally under appreciated players. Palmeiro at 11%. 3000 hits and 500 HRs. Clearly, the writers aren't over the whole steroid thing yet. (A is Trammell, B is Larkin.)
  4. champaignchris
    DeWitt and Baker should platoon righty/lefty. I think the Cubs are smart enough to make that happen. Colvin and Byrd should also platoon righty/lefty, with Fukudome shifting to center for games when Colvin is playing. Not sure the Cubs will figure that one out.
  5. champaignchris
    The guy's rate stats are of course fantastic. But consider his aggregate stats and the fact that he missed all but 9 games of his 23, 24, 25, and 26 year old seasons in the War. Feller probably lost about 90 wins and more than 900 strike outs to the service. That would put him at 356 wins and close to 3,500 strike outs. Much the same can be said of Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial and others, of course.
  6. champaignchris
    After joining the Cardinals, didn't Theriot say something to the effect of the Cubs' clubhouse being bad because the guys didn't hang out together? So with regard to Soriano, which is it? Or is it that they're hanging out together in a bad way? Is that what "bad party habits" means? Are there good party habits Soriano is failing to pass on to our younger players? Stuff like, "Tip your server, use a designated driver," and that sort of thing? I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks the biggest difference between Aramis Ramirez and Scott Rolen is where they were born. (Baseball reference, most similar player to Ram through age 32: Scott Rolen (926).) If I were demoted to the bullpen after one bad start and a 9-year career ERA+ of 127, I'd probably need anger management, too.
  7. champaignchris
    I'm not adverse to trading Z, but I think the Cubs need to get a ton for him. He doesn't turn 30 until midway through this season. His worse ERA+ of his career as a regular player is 111. He gets you innings as long as you don't do anything stupid like put him in the bullpen or force him to take anger management classes. He walks too many guys, but otherwise his measurables are in the elite or near-elite range. He's slightly overpaid, but his contract is nowhere near the albatross some make it out to be. The guy can still pitch and pitch quite well. And most importantly, other than maybe Zach Greinke, a team like the Yankees or Angels will not find a better available option.
  8. champaignchris
    Just speculation on my part, but I figure the prospect of joining a 5th different team in three years simply wasn't something Lee wanted to do. When talking about the amount of money being thrown around here, what's the loss of a few million in exchange for being someplace where you know you're comfortable? That Phillies team is by and large the same team he was on two years ago, with the same manager. He just must have enjoyed his time there. This must feel like a real slap in the face to Texas. Lee certainly had a right to sign wherever he wanted and didn't at all engage in any sort of Lebron-esque dickery. Still, Texas has to be wondering, "Why them and not us?" The answer is probably which team has the easiest path back to the W.S. The Phillies were probably the NL favorite before Lee signed with them. Even with Lee, Texas may not have been the favorite to win its division. There was some fluky-ness to the Angels' down year (injury to Pineiro, Kazmir career worst year, etc.) and Texas' great year (Vlad's comeback year, C.J. Wilson suddenly a starter at age 30, etc.).
  9. champaignchris
    Portland has been brought up many times as a possible destination for a MLB team, but does it have the population to support a team? All they have are the Blazers in terms of professional sports. According to 2009 estimates, Portland and Sacramento are the largest metro areas without a baseball team. (Unless you count the Riverside-San Bernardino "Inland Empire" as a metro area separate from L.A. which the census bureau does.) Both have over two million and have grown in the 15-20% range in population over the last 10 years. Larger than Cleveland, K.C. and Milwaukee, and not a whole bunch smaller than Tampa-St. Pete. EDIT: I don't think baseball would actually want T.B. to move. Demographically speaking, you'd eventually have to move a team right back there. EDITx2: From the pure perspective of available eyeballs on TV sets and rear ends to be put in seats, a National League team in Boston might make more sense than all of the above.
  10. champaignchris
    I think the Portland Rays will be fine. They should be good for many years to come.
  11. champaignchris
    Who is Perez? 8-) Agreed with your 8 thought in a very much pull them out of the hat order. Castro/Dewitt are batting 1-2 or 7-8. I wouldn't mind seeing Soto up a bit higher this year especially if he keeps his OBP hovering around .400 Oh GEEZ!!! Obviously that's supposed to be Pena.
  12. champaignchris
    DeWitt 2B Castro SS Byrd CF Ramirez 3B Perez 1B Soriano LF Colvin RF Soto C Or something to that effect. Those are the starting 8. Not sure how the batting order shakes out as there is no obvious lead off man.
  13. champaignchris
    They think that they'll have to raise their offer for Prince Fielder.
  14. champaignchris
    We're talking Adam, not Andy, right? The OP doesn't say. Assuming it's Adam, I suppose it's better than shooting yourself in the foot.
  15. champaignchris
    I agree. As I wrote in the "A-Gon gone" thread:
  16. champaignchris
    I was going to say the same. Hawpe's played 18 career games at 1B. If we're going to convert an OF, why don't we just use the younger, cheaper one we already have. That's my criterion for the first base acquisition: Is it better than just moving Colvin to first?
  17. champaignchris
    You know that beer commercial that's out right now where the hostage takers make up a list of ridiculous demands. I imagine the Milwaukee Brewer front office is doing the same thing right now with the Cubs in their negotiations to "free" Prince Fielder.
  18. champaignchris
    4 years and $56M would have been near the upper limits, but I wouldn't have been upset had the Cubs signed him to that contract.
  19. champaignchris
    I think these guys should all go in, and, yes, I'm over the steroids thing... Roberto Alomar Jeff Bagwell Bert Blyleven Mark McGwire Rafael Palmeiro Tim Raines I'm on the fence about Barry Larkin and Alan Trammell, but either they both go or neither goes. They had extraordinarily similar careers. Kevin Brown - I don't think he deserve to be in. However, some are already making noise about Smoltz and Schilling making the HoF. If they make it, Brown should too. Fred McGriff and Larry Walker are two guys that I don't really think should be in, but who I think should get a lot more consideration than they probably will.
  20. champaignchris
    I had completely forgotten DeRosa was on the Cards in 09 before this. Jose Vizcaino: Cubs --> every other team in MLB --> Cardinals Miguel Cairo: Cubs --> Cardinals Cesar Izturis: Cubs --> Pirates --> Cardinals Tony Womack: Cubs --> Cardinals Mark Grudzielanek: Cubs --> Cardinals Shawon Dunston was on the Cardinals in 1999 and 2000. That means a former Cubs middle infielder has been on the Cardinals every single season since 1999. That's too bizarre to be a coincidence.
  21. champaignchris
    Do the Cubs not understand the old saying that a bird in hand's as good as two in the bush? If the Cubs think they will compete in 2011, they should sign Adam Dunn to a three year contract right now, as he is the best 1B option out there. If the Cubs think they will compete in 2012, they should sign Adam Dunn to a three year contract as he will be one of the best four 1B options and they can lock him up right now for quite a bit cheaper than the others. If the Cubs think they will compete in 2013, they should sign Adam Dunn to a three year contract as he will be one of the best four 1B options and they can lock him up right now for quite a bit cheaper than the others. If the Cubs really don't think they'll compete again until 2014, I'm not sure why I'm even paying attention any more.
  22. champaignchris
    This was quite literally my first thought. If Hudson has always been a Hendry favorite, why wasn't he pursued at all in the offseason leading up to 2009? Why were we saddled with Aaron Miles's multi-year contract? Hudson ended up signing for 1 year and 3.3 millions. A bargain.
  23. champaignchris
    I'm perfectly OK with Chris Davis as our starting first baseman... ...so long as we can somehow get Chase Utley to be our starting second baseman.
  24. champaignchris
    Ryne Sandberg. Anyone notice January 31? Nolan Ryan, Ernie Banks, and Jackie Robinson. That's a pretty good day to be born for baseball players. EDIT: I now notice I'm about 5 posts late.
  25. champaignchris
    Lee has been absolutely extraordinary over the last three years. I'd love to have seen that in a Cubs uniform. But I've got to admit, there's something about him that would make me a bit wary about signing him long term. Maybe it's because he was nothing but average until he was 29 years old. I'm not confident that he'll be able to keep doing what he's doing and that what I would have to pay to sign him would end up being significantly more than he's worth. Maybe I'm completely off base. Maybe Lee's the epitome of the late-blooming lefty and will still be dealing at 37, 38 years old. I'm just not sure I'd really want to gamble $20 million a year for six years to find out.
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