hawkeyecub

Rightly or wrongly (mostly wrongly) I think they are dead set that they need an experienced catcher behind the plate as we come down the stretch. Once we acquired Kendall and it was clear that he would be the primary catcher, my hope is that they just felt long-term it would be better for Soto to play everyday at AAA instead of once a week in Chicago. If that's the case and they have big plans for him next year, I don't mind it so much.

yep - he knows like the rest of us, this game is over You keep saying this but you're wrong. Look at the radar.

This may work out well. Looking at the radar there's no reason they can't finish this game. But they might not be able to have Franklin return in the 7th.

Seriously just stop it now. It won't take that long to clear judging by the radar and my amateur opinion.

Nah, if this gets too heavy it shouldn't take too long to blow over.

Alright let's get the lead here, shut them down in the 7th and let the rain come.

That strategy could hurt the Cubs doubly if it jacks up their travel times. Eh, I'd rather have the shot at a potential win. We don't play until tomorrow night in San Francisco.

It looks to me like when the heavier stuff hits, they should be able to wait through it and finish the game, but I really have no clue.

Why did Murton even chase after that ball? Wow

Nevermind, Handlebar beat me to the punch.

So who was the first player born in the 80's to play for the Cubs? Was it Z?

I want a game tonight but a day world benefit our pitching staff and Ram... Not really. The pitchers don't need an off day, they just had one five days ago. Having tonight rained out would just eliminate one of our few remaining off days and change two stretches of 10 games in a row into one stretch of 21 days in a row. There are only two more days where both the Cubs and Cardinals are off on the same day giving only three options: 1) Doubleheader tomorrow which seems extremely unlikely given the forecast. 2) Make up the game Monday August 27th. Not ideal for us because it's the off day we would have after returning from a west coast road trip and before our final series with the Brewers the following day. It would also mean we would have another stretch of 21 days in a row without an off day. 3) Make up the game Monday September 10th between trips to PIT and HOU. It would create a stretch of 24 games in 23 days for us while eliminating the only off day the Cardinals have after Aug. 27th. It would be the absolute last option considered because it would make the Cards play 36 games in 35 days to end the year. So basically it's get these games in today and tomorrow or make them up next Monday which no one wants. They will do everything they can to get these games in before St. Louis leaves town.

Hendry has made a lot of mistakes and the results show that. However all GM's make bad decisisons and give bad contracts or starting roles/contracts to players undeserving. It's like when people complain about our manager's having a veteran fetish. Well I haven't seen many managers in baseball who don't prefer veterans to young guys. It doesn't excuse it, but I think you have to put it in perspective. He's a mixed bag in my opinion. I think he's done some really good things and has his strengths. He's also made some boneheaded moves and has plenty of weaknesses. I do think that he gave Dusty WAY too much authority with assembling the roster and I think he's done a better job since it was clear that Dusty was out the door.

Alex Rodriguez says hello. What am I missing here?

if the worst case scenario has him putting up a .786 ops during a slump, where do i sign up? Combined with being one of the worst regular OF's in the game? I guess I have higher standards for $14M. I'm not saying I wouldn't want him under any circumstances and he is a pretty good bet to get you around an .850 OPS. However there are things that make me hesitant and I would want them to eat some of that money. If not, I'd rather go with Murton (and Jones if necessary) and allocate that $10-$13M to Z and a possible shot at A-Rod. again, defense is not our problem, our problem is OPS. burrell provides that. i'd take him in a second. You're right, defense isn't our problem. But awful defense changes a player's worth. I think there's a very reasonable chance that we can come up with an in-house option(s) that provides an .800 OPS for a low cost. Is Burrell going to be able to produce enough offensively to make up that $10-$13M AND the defensive drop off? yes, because +.800 ops right fielders odn't grow on trees, and burrell is good. They aren't rare or elite either. There are 17 qualified outfielders in the NL alone with an .800+ OPS. 21 in the NL have an .800+ OPS in 300 plate appearances. The number increases to 25 when PA's are reduced to 250 currently which is more than a straight platoon. I don't really think it's much of a leap to think that we can get an .800 OPS out of in-house options next year in RF and definitely get better defense out of them. Maybe not highly probable, but a good enough chance that I'd rather save the $10-12M and invest that on Z or an unlikely push for A-Rod. in the NL: 1.bonds 2.holliday 3.hawpe 4.dunn 5.griffey 6.rowand 7.c lee 8.burrell the closest cub, soriano trails burrell by over 40 points. in either league, there are 13 current everyday of'ers that qualify who have better OPS's than burrell--that's not that many. he'd be worth the money, even with his less than stellar defense--which, and i repeat for the thousandth time, is not our problem. we've tried driving in runs with the glove in the past, and it just doesn't work as well as with a bat. mo OPS plz. I think you're missing what I'm trying to say. It's not that I dislike Burrell completely or don't think he has value. First of all I get so tired of the "driving in runs with the glove" remark or people saying defense isn't our problem. You're right it's not. But it changes what a player is worth. We're going to be on a budget next year. I think we can get an .800 OPS out of what we have for next year. They won't be as good as Burrell offensively and I concede that. But I don't think the difference in OPS is enough to offset paying $10M and taking a major hit defensively. 50 points of OPS just isn't worth that much money in my opinion when it also comes with a downgrade in the field.

if the worst case scenario has him putting up a .786 ops during a slump, where do i sign up? Combined with being one of the worst regular OF's in the game? I guess I have higher standards for $14M. I'm not saying I wouldn't want him under any circumstances and he is a pretty good bet to get you around an .850 OPS. However there are things that make me hesitant and I would want them to eat some of that money. If not, I'd rather go with Murton (and Jones if necessary) and allocate that $10-$13M to Z and a possible shot at A-Rod. again, defense is not our problem, our problem is OPS. burrell provides that. i'd take him in a second. You're right, defense isn't our problem. But awful defense changes a player's worth. I think there's a very reasonable chance that we can come up with an in-house option(s) that provides an .800 OPS for a low cost. Is Burrell going to be able to produce enough offensively to make up that $10-$13M AND the defensive drop off? yes, because +.800 ops right fielders odn't grow on trees, and burrell is good. They aren't rare or elite either. There are 17 qualified outfielders in the NL alone with an .800+ OPS. 21 in the NL have an .800+ OPS in 300 plate appearances. The number increases to 25 when PA's are reduced to 250 currently which is more than a straight platoon. I don't really think it's much of a leap to think that we can get an .800 OPS out of in-house options next year in RF and definitely get better defense out of them. Maybe not highly probable, but a good enough chance that I'd rather save the $10-12M and invest that on Z or an unlikely push for A-Rod.

with the help of his manager leaving him in way to long. agreed. he yanks hill or marshall w/o hesitation in the fifth/sixth inning, but for some reason he feels like z deserves to continue pitching when it's clear he's got nothing. True but he only gave up 1 run after the 5th and his pitch count was relatively low. If we pull him in the 5th it's not all that likely taht the bullpen goes 4 or more scoreless innings.

Hoping he could score from 1st on a double. Of course he probably could have just put Pie in to run and had him stay in the outfield and bat in the 9 spot.

He does, doesn't he? Is there a site that tracks that stat? It's merely an observation but you're more than welcome to look it up if you're that interested.

This guy has almost a walk per inning, should be a good fit for Riot.

Here we go. Riot always seems to hit well in his last AB. Cards now up 7-3.

Attaboy Carlos! Who leads off the 8th, Fotnenot or Felix?

We should have taken him out after the 4th?

Come on Murt, make it hurt.

And who is replacing the best bullpen arm we have and have produced in a while? I think it's a lost cause. I feel like I'm arguing with Dusty. "Hey dude, gotta give up horses to get horses. It's like fishing. If you want to catch the biggest walleye, gotta use all your best bait so when you go down, you go down swinging." And I'll stop there.