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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. Ryan Baltimore Orioles Bob Brenly Bobby Scales Bonehead Booing Boston Red Sox Brett Jackson Bullpen Canadian Concoction Captain Kneejerk Cardinals Carlos Marmol Carlos Silva Carlos Zambrano Chad Fox Chad Tracy Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Cincinnati Reds Cleveland Indians Cold War Colorado Rockies Contracts Cubs-Cardinals Rivalry Cubs sale Cubs Curtis Granderson Daniel Herrera David Patton Derrek Lee Designated Hitter Detroit Tigers Disabled list Dominance ERA+ ERROR Esmailin Caridad ESPN Sucks Eternal frustration Eternal Optimism Farewell Farney Florida Marlins Free Agency Future Gatorade Geovanny Soto Geovany Soto Gerald Perry Grades Houston Astros I-Cubs Injuries Jake Fox Jason Marquis Jason Waddell Jeff Gray Jeff Samardzija Jim Hendry Jim Wolf Joey Gathright John Grabow Jose Ascanio Kansas City Royals Kerry Wood Kevin Gregg Kevin Hart Kevin Millar Koyie Hill LaTroy Hawkins Legendary Lineup Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Lou Piniella Luis Vizcaino Man Crush Mark DeRosa Marlon Byrd Micah Hoffpauir Middle Infield Midwestern Bias Milton Bradley Milwaukee Brewers Minnesota Twins Minor Leagues MLB 2K9 Neal Cotts New York Mets New York Yankees Oakland Athletics October Offseason Opening Day OPS+ Payroll Philadelphia Phillies Pittsburgh Pirates Playoffs Randy Wells Rant Rich Harden Ryan Dempster Ryan Freel Ryan Theriot Sam Fuld Sam Zell Sammy Sosa San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Sandy Alderson Sean Marshall Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Steroids Strikeouts Suckiness Tampa Bay Rays TBS Texas Rangers Tom Gorzelanny Tom Ricketts Toronto Blue Jays Trade Tribune Company Tyler Colvin Von Joshua Waivers Walks Washington Nationals WTF Xavier Nady RSS Feed Today I thought I would throw some numbers out there about this here Cubs team. I have 6 numbers (3 good, 3 bad) which will be classified as the good, the bad, the ugly... um... the uglier, the better and the best. How's that? We will start with the worst number and move up to the best number so this post will finish on a positive note. After today's game, the Cubs deserve it. Here we go...
Oh, and congrats to Brett Jackson- the Cubs first round draft pick tonight. I put up the list of busts a couple weeks ago, and I am begging whoever is charged with developing this guy: whatever you did with Ryan Harvey, DO NOT do that with Brett Jackson. If you don't, I'm sure thing will work out great. Posted in: Payroll, Bullpen, Derrek Lee, Randy Wells, Brett Jackson Been a bit since I've posted. Since we have a quick two-gamer against San Francisco, and I live in that area, I figure I'll give you a bit of knowledge as to what I know/heard about them. San Francisco is definitely a sleeper-type team. They have really good pitching. The man going tonight (and currently having trouble) is Jonathan Sanchez. He is a bit of a Sean Marshall type. Pretty serviceable lefty. Tomorrow's starter, Tim Lincecum, is in a couple words, a freak. The dude is about my size, but can really throw heat. He won the Cy Young last year, and deservedly so. You have to wonder how he gets that much power without killing his arm. Some out here wonder, too, but people have said it is the use of his hips and lower body that take the pressure off his arm. He uses his lower body as good as any pitcher in the game. Time will tell if that is enough to not destroy his arm. Offensively, San Francisco is a work in progress. They have a pretty veteran outfield, with nothing to fear too much. Aaron Rowand is coming off a down year after (you guessed it) a contract year. Randy Winn is decent, and Fred Lewis is one of those guys who could be a good leadoff man if he took more walks. The infield is still finding their way. Emmanuel Burriss beat out another youngster, Kevin Frandsen, for the second base job, and has yet to find his stroke. Travis Ishikawa is also trying to find his stroke. A man to look out for is Pablo Sandoval (nicknamed Panda by some). He is a very aggressive hitter, but people are talking up this man's hitting stroke. He had good numbers at the end of last season. He appears to be a switch-hitting Randall Simon. He won't walk much (4 walks so far, 3 intentional) but he can be dangerous. Benji Molina is their best hitter, but may be slower than Brad Miller speed-wise. Meanwhile the Cubs have found a new power source: Ryan friggin' Theriot. Let me set the scene for you. More home runs than Soto and Bradley combined. As many home runs as Lee and Ramirez. For a couple innings there, he was outslugging Mr. Lee. It is nice to see Ryan showing some power. Seriously though, Derrek Lee has me wondering what is going on with him. He hit two home runs, including one grand slam, against his old team, the Florida Marlins. The thing about those home runs, though, is that neither one were cheap. One overshot the bleachers. So what is the deal with Derrek Lee? Since July '08, he has shown mostly warning track power, and now all of a sudden he has shown that he has a lot more than just that. Maybe some nagging injuries are clearing up. Maybe he has heard Dan's pleas. But more than anything, it looks like he hit the ball where it was pitched. He finally pulled a ball that he should pull, and he went to center with a ball he should have hit to center. It is clear the dude still has power. If he can stay on this path, and Milton Bradley can get to form, the Cubs have a video game lineup. One can only hope. Finally, Carlos Zambrano. The Cubs have finally been informed of the magical DL so many of these kids are using these days. Unfortunately, Carlos has to be the one to go. The Cubs lose thier most durable pitcher, and maybe their best pinch hitter, all in one swipe. I can't fault him for doing what he did. Look, he's an athlete. He should be able to run out a bunt ground ball, especially one that well placed, without injury. Bottom line, the team shouldn't need to rely on him to do something like that. The slumps of Soto, Bradley, Lee and Miles forced us to rely on some offense from our scary pitcher man. We are paying the price now, but he will be back shortly. And maybe by then, our video game lineup will live up to its billing and live will be peaches again. Because, let's face it, the Cardinals are *not* that good. They will realize it, and it will be on the Cubs to get straight and reclaim what they should have. As I post this, Sandoval hits a double. Told you to watch out for him. Posted in: San Francisco Giants, Ryan Theriot, Derrek Lee, Carlos Zambrano This may admittedly be a Captain Kneejerk type thread, and I hope by the end of the year I am eating these words. But to be honest, I sang this refrain for a while now, and so far it always ends up true. This isn't a problem that is exclusive to the Cubs (see: New York Yankees) but man, Jim Hendry seems to fall for this a lot. And in the end, I say the same thing: BEWARE THE CONTRACT YEAR. Let's look at the evidence.
I don't believe in curses. I believe in bad management. Jim Hendry has made good trades, don't get me wrong. But I think he is below average when it comes to free agents and contracts. Anyone can throw a bunch of money at the guy who just had a good year, and tie up the organization in a bad contract. It takes a good scouting staff and a keen GM to find guys like Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin (who I do believe was traded for admittedly) and Jason Werth. Heck, David Ortiz was initially signed as a Twins castoff for 1 year and $1.25 million. I have a few other bones to pick with the way the Cubs are run. (Hint: one of the issues rhymes with the word Blinors.) I will talk about those later. Posted in: Free Agency, Contracts, Ryan Dempster, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Jim Hendry, Captain Kneejerk Lou did what no one thought he would do. He moved Soriano out of the leadoff spot. What's this? He also moved Derrek Lee out of the three hole? Funny how it takes a slump to do something that should have been done long, long ago (more referring to the Lee thing, but the Soriano thing also fits that bill). Well so far, through 3 innings, the new, improved lineup has 1 hit through 3 innings. Make that 2 in 3+. A slump is a slump no matter how you shuffle it. The nice thing about a potent lineup like the Cubs have is they, much like Milton Bradley, can erupt at any time. Speaking of Milton Bradley, that'll be a fun post upcoming on that debacle. Posted in: Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, Lineup | ||