Warpticon

Last year's RBI champ hit .207 with runners in scoring position. I'm going to keep repeating this until somebody in power recognizes how stupid this "let's buy some clutch" philosophy is.

Yeah, I just found out about this. I swear, it's like rooting for cancer against AIDS here.

Come on, I know he's fat, but I doubt his back is made of spam.

i'm sorry, but we aren't better than the royals. if the royals had the same payroll as the cubs they would have a better record than us. But they don't, so what does that have to do with it?

Haha, I love that Len calls him Hank White.

What the hell has gotten into Blanco?

so you'd rather they lose? that makes a lot sense. Why even have Low A and High A then if you are just gonna discount everything the players do here and just go off potential? Wins are a poor metric to rate a pitcher by anywhere, but especially in the low minors where pitchers don't go as long and relievers aren't always the best. Kc wasn't talking about wins or losses as a team stat but just that they are an incomplete and poor stat to judge a pitcher with. I'd rather judge a pitcher based on peripheral stats involving walk and strikeout rates, WHIP, BAA, etc. At the lower levels of the minor leagues, scouting and "potential" is still very important since the players haven't played professionally for long and have a ways to reach a finished product. Also at the lower levels, prospects can be playing against far less advanced competition which will allow them to rack up the stats. I completely disagree. You pay a pitcher to win. While it shouldnt be the only stat used to judge it MUST be used. Especially in this league. It shows that a pitcher has the ability to go 5 innings and pick up a win. More importantly it shows the ability to keep a team in the game and get a win. Look out, here it comes... Wins don't tell you anything that can't be derived from other numbers. I can look at a 5 IP, 3 ER line and tell that a guy kept the team in the game without factoring in the quality of the bullpen or his team's offense in the won/lost column. I can look at a 6 IP, 1 ER line and tell he did a better job, but he may easily have gotten the win in the first game and not in the second. And wins absolutely don't project. A pitcher isn't going to get to take his bullpen, offense, and opposition with him to the majors, so why should they make a difference in how quickly he gets there? A starting pitcher's job is to go as many innings as possible while giving up as few runs as possible. If he's doing that, his job is done. There's no need to incorporate a team stat to determine that.

lol what is that from? Treach = leader of old rap group Naughty by Nature, most popular for thier song "O.P.P." J. Hendry. Statistically disinclined general manager of the Chicago Cubs.

Hey, Jim! Ya down with OBP? What nonsense are you talking?

"Bruce hits it on the head again..." I wonder if Bruce should be batting cleanup in Lee's absence.

Your comfort level isn't important to the Cubs. Not to sound mean, but I don't think Hendry goes around claims that he needs MPrior--a Cubs fan on the MB---to be comfortable with the decision on KW. My guess is, if they are going to make the move, somehow your "comfort" level won't be a part of the decision. Your really could have saved this. It's pretty unnecessary. I don't think the Cubs are consulting you for your opinion on the matter, either, but that didn't stop you from expressing it, did it?

It stands to reason that if you suck in general, you will also suck in specific situations most likely. Andruw Jones hit .207 last year with RISP. He lead the NL in RBI.

No, this shouldn't be a sub .400 W% team (and thankfully, now it's not), but it would have to be about a .656 W% team to get over .500 by the ASB. I think the trading deadline is a more realistic option, and even that will take a lot of work. Yeah, but we're talking over about a 30-40 game stretch. Any decent team is capable of playing at that level for less than a quarter of a season. That's just winning 25 out of 40 games.

Yeah, it's hard to imagine if you look at it that way, but what they really need to do is have a month as hyperbolically good as May was exaggeratively bad, and they'll be in position to just play moderate, good baseball for the remainder of the year. It's no given by any stretch of the imagination, but it's certainly possible.

I don't see any reason this team can't get back to .500 relatively quickly--by the ASB or soon thereafter. This team is definitely undertalented for the money, but there's no way it's a 10-15 games below .500 team. There are loads of players underperforming, and not a single one overperforming but Jones of late. There's no way that lasts, especially with the players that are coming back. Barring more serious injury setbacks, the team has almost no choice but to get significantly better.

Everyone remember when the Cubs tried to make him a closer at AAA?

It's even funnier when you consider how relatively little the Cubs went to steal with Patterson even as they were trying to make him a leadoff hitter because he's fast.

8 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 8 K. ERA down to 3.09. The walks on the season are way too high, bt tonight dropped his WHIP from 1.35 to 1.26.

Well, let's see if the pattern continues. 6 2/3 no-hit last time, 7 1/3 this time. I expect 8 next time out. :D

84 at the end of 6 likely no to make it all 9, if he does, it'll be 120 pitch game NO way he comes out with a no-hitter because of pitch count unless it's 130+.

That was a lot of balls. Luckily the Astros bailed him out of a lot of bad counts. :lol:

Murton Walker Lee Zambrano Ramirez Jones Barrett Cedeno Pierre

70 pitches through 5? I'll take that.

Cedeno with a triple. Man, when I'm right, I'm right. Zambrano with his fourth RBI. Awesome.

I know it won't happen, but it would be hilarious if they traded Soriano for A-Rod.