MWV

Maybe DeWitt can hit against righties a bit more...

Ladies and gentlemen, your #8 hitter!

2010 Batting order splits, sorted by OPS: Split BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ Batting 6th .277 .341 .491 .832 .330 129 122 Batting 8th .276 .355 .428 .783 .343 118 129 Batting 7th .259 .328 .427 .755 .302 109 116 Batting 4th .251 .313 .440 .753 .274 108 86 Batting 5th .268 .326 .417 .743 .308 106 92 Batting 2nd .286 .329 .403 .731 .321 103 100 Batting 3rd .256 .331 .390 .721 .307 101 77 Batting 1st .251 .316 .363 .679 .287 89 91 Batting 9th .172 .224 .241 .465 .255 30 68 2011 so far, sorted by OPS: Split BA OBP SLG OPS BAbip tOPS+ sOPS+ Batting 1st .421 .470 .554 1.023 .476 184 186 Batting 6th .269 .316 .491 .807 .288 120 126 Batting 8th .263 .342 .424 .767 .288 112 115 Batting 4th .297 .358 .396 .754 .333 110 92 Batting 2nd .306 .336 .413 .749 .330 107 114 Batting 5th .255 .356 .382 .738 .324 106 103 Batting 7th .212 .252 .394 .646 .208 76 90 Batting 3rd .238 .262 .303 .565 .287 57 44 Batting 9th .153 .176 .224 .401 .233 10 46 I compare this year to last only because it seems like last year (at least the beginning of last year) a complete lack of middle-order production torpedoed the season. I know the bullpen sucked as well (this year the starting pitching), but the 3 hole is again among the worst spots in the lineup. Meanwhile, the 6 and 7 spots are the only ones consistently above league average. The fact that the 1 spot and 2 spots look better this year is due to Starlin, Barney and Fukudome having hot starts (i.e. a .476 BAbip in the leadoff slot). So how much of this problem is lineup construction, how much is personnel related, and how much is bad luck? Several new players, a new manager, and similarly frustrating results. I realize this isn't a very well constructed post, but whatever. The beginnings of the last two seasons have been pretty tough to watch. Thoughts?

'Topes lose.

Cub's 3 hole is OPSing .567. Only the 9 spot is hitting worse.

Having the worst pitcher on our roster start every five days might not be a good idea.

Ducked in to catch up on the game (busy working) and MY GOD does Russell give up homers. 2 to a lefty, no less. I thought retiring lefties was the one thing Russell was decent at. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to give a damn about this team.

Remember when Baker used to do this as a sort of "reward"? Seriously, though, what has Byrd done to deserve even momentary consideration as a 3 hitter?

Or change the thread name to "Wow Castro Sucks at defense".... Only kidding but damn I hate when Castro does this... Now idiotic Cubs fans will be in Steve Stones corner as the next GM of the Cubs and want to move Castro to LF. we need him to be a better fielder just because I'm put off by Keith Moreland pronouncing error as "era." Moreland at times sounds disturbingly similar to Phil Simms.

It seems like every time I turn the radio on, it is during the 5th inning. What exactly does Pat do during the 5th inning? Pat simply hates 5/3 bank and refuses to shill for them.

Speaking of pictures of Tony La Russa, what is wrong with his face? One article said he has pink eye. No way is that pink eye.

In particular after watching him suck for 150 plus PAs as a Cub, I really can't stand aaron miles.

I find it kinda funny that there is a Phillips-Twitter thread on GRB that has similarly devolved into a discussion of the merits of Cincinnati chili.

Other than Soto hitting 8th, that's a pretty good lineup. Go Cubs.

Dodgers vs. Z: PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP Aaron Miles 34 31 8 1 0 0 0 2 2 .258 .324 .290 .614 0 0 1 1 Juan Uribe 32 28 6 1 0 1 5 2 8 .214 .290 .357 .647 1 0 0 1 Andre Ethier 17 15 7 1 0 0 0 2 2 .467 .529 .533 1.063 0 0 0 0 James Loney 16 14 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286 .375 .286 .661 0 0 0 1 Tony Gwynn 13 12 5 1 0 0 1 1 1 .417 .462 .500 .962 0 0 0 0 Matt Kemp 11 9 3 0 0 1 3 1 5 .333 .455 .667 1.121 0 0 0 1 Jamey Carroll 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 1 0 0 0 Rod Barajas 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 Chad Billingsley 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 Casey Blake 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .333 .000 .333 0 0 0 1 Marcus Thames 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 0 Vicente Padilla 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000 .500 .000 .500 0 0 0 0 Total 144 127 33 4 0 2 9 10 22 .260 .338 .339 .677 2 0 1 5 Cubs vs. Kuroda: PA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SH SF IBB HBP Alfonso Soriano 11 10 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .300 .364 .300 .664 0 0 1 0 Aramis Ramirez 9 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .125 .222 .125 .347 0 0 0 0 Kosuke Fukudome 7 6 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 .429 .333 .762 0 0 0 0 Geovany Soto 6 6 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 .333 .333 .667 1.000 0 0 0 0 Jeff Baker 4 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 2 .500 .500 1.000 1.500 0 0 0 0 Marlon Byrd 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .667 .667 1.333 2.000 0 0 0 0 Total 40 37 12 2 2 0 0 3 8 .324 .375 .486 .861 0 0 1 0

With today's outing Samardzija has raised his K/BB to 1.0 (14/14).

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

All that remains to be seen is if the Hawks can withstand 20 more minutes of shameless Vancouver goonery.

Victory is not enough. I want a Keith hat-trick.

Devastate them, Hawks.

Soupy erased Sedin there.

Watching Luongo cave under pressure is one of my favorite rites of spring.

THESE ARE MY GOD DAMN HAWKS!

...and the Canucks are on a power play. I can't stand the Canucks, but I love the Canadian national anthem.

Per Phillip's Twitter account: