Peoriaman

see my other posts about my argument on catcher. Close call, I trust Lou's judgment. I realize it is heresy to trust the judgment of someone more knowledgable than you, but so be it.

I'm not going to turn this into semantics. No other catcher in baseball is even close when it comes to giving up SB, especially Kendall's performance as a Cub. He gets run on the most often, he throws out the fewest, and it's because everyone knows he simply doesn't have the arm to do it any more. To ignore the very tangible effect that will have over Soto, who's done everything you could possibly ask out of a catcher, is insanity. Bonus fun fact: Kendall's also in the bottom 5 in passed balls. Nice laydown. That isn't "semantics", but a gross exaggeration. Good grief, did you really think I meant that every single baserunner we allow with Kendall catching gets to second? I've reiterated the point several times now. He's the worst catcher in baseball at throwing out runners, teams know this, and they are running on him more than any other catcher in baseball because of it. This leads to a lot of people getting free trips to second base. A lot more than Soto, who's shown an ability to throw more than 1 out of every 11 baserunners out, and who's also pounded the crap out of the ball for the last 6 months. It's a very easy decision on who should be catching. Nope, I didn't believe it because it wasn't true. It was a gross exaggeration and those kind of statements don't help your arguments. it just makes you seem overly emotional and less rational. The idea that me using a hyperbolic statement to help illustrate(with statistics and comparisons to other players) the nature of just how awful Kendall is at throwing out baserunners makes me look overemotional and irrational is hilarious. You're making strawman arguments and when prodded to the point you don't have an argument other than "Lou made the decision and I trust him". Simply admit you made a gross exaggeration and move on. Or don't, whatever. But stop being silly about your statement.

But you dismiss rational arguments because "Lou knows best." I don't "dismiss" any arguments. I just think it is a close enough call that I trust Lou on this one. Lou has played Soto quite a bit and I suspect will play him some more. As an aside, with what little I know, I would play Soto at least 2 of the remaining games, but I don't think Lou is a flaming idiot for playing Kendall.

Very well said.

I'm not going to turn this into semantics. No other catcher in baseball is even close when it comes to giving up SB, especially Kendall's performance as a Cub. He gets run on the most often, he throws out the fewest, and it's because everyone knows he simply doesn't have the arm to do it any more. To ignore the very tangible effect that will have over Soto, who's done everything you could possibly ask out of a catcher, is insanity. Bonus fun fact: Kendall's also in the bottom 5 in passed balls. Nice laydown. That isn't "semantics", but a gross exaggeration. Good grief, did you really think I meant that every single baserunner we allow with Kendall catching gets to second? I've reiterated the point several times now. He's the worst catcher in baseball at throwing out runners, teams know this, and they are running on him more than any other catcher in baseball because of it. This leads to a lot of people getting free trips to second base. A lot more than Soto, who's shown an ability to throw more than 1 out of every 11 baserunners out, and who's also pounded the crap out of the ball for the last 6 months. It's a very easy decision on who should be catching. Nope, I didn't believe it because it wasn't true. It was a gross exaggeration and those kind of statements don't help your arguments. it just makes you seem overly emotional and less rational.

I'm not going to turn this into semantics. No other catcher in baseball is even close when it comes to giving up SB, especially Kendall's performance as a Cub. He gets run on the most often, he throws out the fewest, and it's because everyone knows he simply doesn't have the arm to do it any more. To ignore the very tangible effect that will have over Soto, who's done everything you could possibly ask out of a catcher, is insanity. Bonus fun fact: Kendall's also in the bottom 5 in passed balls. Nice laydown. That isn't "semantics", but a gross exaggeration.

froeming thought they were balls. That is how he called them. 95% of baseball fans have no idea he was behind the plate in that game.

For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations. I actually think Kendall is a better "receiver" than Barrett. I also trust his leadership more, which is crucial in a catcher. He'd better have leadership coming out of his ears for it to be worth turning every walk and base hit into a double for our pitchers. Don't be ridiculous. That may be the worst exaggeration on this board all week. I will apologize if someone can produce the stat which backs this up. You don't make your case very well when you make silly statements like this. His CS% as a Cub is pretty easily the worst of any catcher who's gotten regular time(save Josh Bard, and he's catching several of the most notoriously "slow to the plate" SP in baseball). He's given up 50 steals in 47 starts. More than once a game teams are taking a free base off of him, and he throws out a pathetic < 10% of them. It's not an exaggeration to say that Kendall's presence compared to Soto is going to cost the team multiple bases, considering in his short stint Soto has been 3 times more effective throwing people out. Giving up some stolen bases hardly turns "every base hit and walk" into a double. I never said he was anything but a bad thrower, but the exaggeration there had to be pointed out.

i don't care how many games they lost last year, and i refuse to use that as a measuring stick. that sounds like something jim hendry would do. being happy with an improvement from one of most pathetic cub seasons ever isn't enough for me...and 85 wins for a team with a $100 mil payroll is not good. Agreed. Last year means nothing to me at this point. I don't use But if I'm going to lay blame somewhere for the Cubs not having a better record and not being more than two games up right now, it'll be on the first two months of the season where the Cubs played like crap (and also got unlucky). I'm not going to go all "OMGZ THE CUBS SUCK" after two losses. And at this point, I've accepted the first two months of the season and I'm not going to go off about it. Bottom line is that we're up 2 games right now, and 3 Cubs wins + Brewer losses away from a clean slate in the playoffs. Also, people like to say we're playing tight or choking and crap like that, but what does all that really even mean? Baseball is a game with a lot of variance, and while usually the better team wins, a good amount of the time, good teams lose to bad teams. It just happens. Monday's game came down to some bloop hits and Dontrelle Willis just being on. Last night, the Cubs barely missed some big HR's that would've made up for Marquis's suckiness. These things just happen. I can't go from thinking we're a good team 3 days ago to thinking we suck because we lost two games. well said.

well said. does Kendall1 or Kendall2 play?

For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations. I actually think Kendall is a better "receiver" than Barrett. I also trust his leadership more, which is crucial in a catcher. He'd better have leadership coming out of his ears for it to be worth turning every walk and base hit into a double for our pitchers. Don't be ridiculous. That may be the worst exaggeration on this board all week. I will apologize if someone can produce the stat which backs this up. You don't make your case very well when you make silly statements like this.

agree. You don't change the way you call them based upon a pitcher's no-hitter. If the pitches were clearly balls, then yes, I agree. However, two of those pitches were borderline....and IMO, you give the benefit of the doubt to the pitcher. In today's game, it happens all the time. Don't tell me that Greg Maddux doesn't get a more liberal zone simply because he's Greg Maddux. I suppose you can argue whether that's right or wrong, but it happens all the time. In the NBA, certain stars are given more leniency when it comes to fouls. I'm sure 35 years ago was no different. Each ump had his own strike zone and calls were just as subjective as today. Probably 75% of umps today would have given Pappas a strikeout. maybe so, maybe not. That doesn't make it right.

Even if the experience tells you definitively that you are playing one of the weakest defensive catchers in the league? I'm not with you [-( This year Barrett did worse than Kendall and I didn't see too many people yell about that and Barrett may be worse defensively than Kendall too. the switch-a-roo so many have done on the need for defense out of catcher has been rather nauseating. the benefit of defense out of a catcher was one of the most intense debates on this board in May, June, and July. Hendry acquires a catcher who's not too handy with the glove and arm, and suddenly there is no debate. suddenly everyone seems to agree that we need good defense out of our catcher. For the millionth time, it's a matter of degrees. Barrett was below average in most defensive aspects and occasionally made some dumb decisions. He was also one of the best offensive catchers in baseball. Kendall is physically incapable of throwing anyone, anyone, out on the basepaths, and at his best he provides plus OBP with zero XBH. They are different situations. I actually think Kendall is a better "receiver" than Barrett. I also trust his leadership more, which is crucial in a catcher.

Bah just cave in and admit it's stupid. :lol: Whispers OK. :)

agree. You don't change the way you call them based upon a pitcher's no-hitter.

i don't care how many games they lost last year, and i refuse to use that as a measuring stick. that sounds like something jim hendry would do. being happy with an improvement from one of most pathetic cub seasons ever isn't enough for me...and 85 wins for a team with a $100 mil payroll is not good. I would expect nothing less from you. Holding his team to high standards? I'd expect nothing less either. I don't think anybody cares what "standards you hold your team to". Are you a general manager or an owner? :)

Yost showed him!

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith. And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old. If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said. Not BLIND faith, but faith in an expert. If I relied on yyour analysis, that would be blind faith. No disrespect intended. None taken, but I still disagree with your definition. Main Entry: blind faith Part of Speech: n Definition: belief without true understanding, perception, or discrimination It says nothing about expert opinion. The fact is that you're taking what Lou believes at face value without any kind of discrimination. That's blind faith. Lawyer, Musician, Doctor, Insurance guy...whoever you consider an expert in their field...they make mistakes too. If I didn't do a critical analysis of advice that one of them gave me, I feel like I'd be making a mistake then. I want to know how lou is an expert? Is it because he gets paid? Or is it becuase he played baseball? No, because he is an expert. How is anybody an expert? A mix of experience, judgment, past success, smarts, etc. Believe me, I have played and watched a lot of baseball, I don't know as much as these fellows. I have a buddy who was a MLB scouting director and is now an advance scout. Every time I think I become a baseball know it all, I sit down with him and realize how stupid I am. :) I am not saying you can't have an opinion, I am just saying I trust those who are more knowledgable than I am. Internet fans in particular need a little more humility. :)

You always analyze what a expert tells you, but I think the call is close enough that I would side with the expert. It isn't like Lou is saying K Hill should be starting over Kendall or Soto. I just tend to trust what a extremely successful manager decides in this case. He simply knows a lot more than I do. A caveat here is that I don't worship the numbers. I know some do. I trust this manager's baseball judgment.

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith. And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old. If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said. This is America, you can always disagree, just admit to yourself that the doctor is an expert and you don't know as much as he does. I think the call between Soto and Kendall is close, which is why he has been playing both quite a bit recently. I also suspect Soto will play some in our last 4 games.

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith. And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old. If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said. Not BLIND faith, but faith in an expert. If I relied on your analysis, that would be blind faith. No disrespect intended.

Pujols is one the best baseball players in recent baseball history too. But sometimes he strikes out, and sometimes he make an error. I will let Pujols go to bat for me anytime and gladly accept the results. I genuinely don't understand how you can look at the numbers that I posted, and dismiss them out of hand because of a blind faith in Lou. Sincerely, I don't understand it. Not blind faith, but faith in a lifelong and very successfull baseball man. I am an anomaly of a fan---I generally believe that experts in their field--baseball managers--know more about the game than the casual fan--me. One thing I have learned about the internet fan---their arrogance re: their knowledge of sports is generally not justified. It is no different here than in business---I trust my attorney and insurance guy to give me good advice. I simply don't know as much about these field as they do. I rely on them when I make decisions. My wife is a highly educated and accomplished musician, and I would never question her judgment when it comes to classical music or vocal performance. I trust the experts, because I realize they know more than I do. I would add that you are looking at a very small sample size when you assume Soto will be the guy the last few games. If Soto had been doing this for longer at the MLB level, I think Lou would go with him.

Being a Cub fan in September brings out the woman in you. I think they might be the most mature posters on this site so this would be a good thing. Probably right. The female sports fans I know are not obsessed, constantly angry and know it alls. :)

Pujols is one the best baseball players in recent baseball history too. But sometimes he strikes out, and sometimes he make an error. I will let Pujols go to bat for me anytime and gladly accept the results.

Being a Cub fan in September brings out the woman in you. laugh :)