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The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Posted by: partyvancaptain on June 9, 2009 at 8:51 pm
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...

The Ugliest: 119,958,000. That is the amount of money the Cubs already have committed to next year's team. That doesn't even include arbitration eligible players, such as Ryan Theriot and Carlos Marmol who will probably get nice little raises. I think this number accounts for the salaries of like 8 or 9 guys. Outside of the Yankees, that is by far the biggest amount committed next year, and dwarfs the ENTIRE 2009 payroll for almost 2/3rds of the other teams. With the ownership situation in limbo, don't expect much more spending. And the best part? Hendry topped off the contracts for Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Zambrano, Dempster and Bradley with No Trade Clauses. We're stuck. Again, Hendry is overrated. (credit to http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/)
The Ugly: 88. If Lou continues using Marmol at the pace he has so far (in 55 games, including tonight), that is how many games Marmol will pitch in. Combine that with the World Baseball Classic, are you surprised he is struggling? Putting him in games where the game is not close doesn't help. Lou might finally be getting the hint though. One can only hope.
The Bad: 10. The amount of men left on base tonight by our big signing, Milton Bradley. What an awful display, especially that last at bat, where he appeared to have given up on it once the count got to 1-2. Now this isn't horrible, because having 10 men on base means that the Cubs offense was cracking tonight (except for Milton and Theriot). But come on, in 6 at bats you think you would at least stumble ass backwards into an RBI. Yeesh.
The Good: .342. Derrek Lee's on-base percentage coming into play today. Now on the surface, that is not a very great OBP. But when you look at Lee's April OBP, which was a disgusting .253, you can see that this is moving in a very good direction. In May, and so far in June, Lee has been over .400 in OBP, which is a much better indicator of hitting than batting average, in my opinion. Derrek Lee is showing a discerning eye at the plate, and that is ultimately giving him more pitches to hit. Looks like Lee might not be finished after all.
The Better: 1.01. Randy Wells' WHIP in 6 starts this year. Anything around 1 is pretty good, especially for a guy like Randy, who was in no way, shape or form part of this year's plans. Randy is a great indicator why wins are a terrible metric for determining a pitcher's worth. That and Jason Marquis, who leads the NL in wins. He will get his win as long as he pitches the way he has been. The big part of that is right there in the WHIP, though. If you are only averaging one baserunner per inning, you are not going to get in very many jams, and your pitch count won't jump on you.
The Best: 1.91. That is the bullpen ERA since Neal Cotts was exiled to Iowa on 5/27. This is also over 37.2 innings, including tonight, which means this is no small sample size. The bullpen has really brought it together, minus one big exception, and that has lead to a pretty good road trip so far. Much better than the last one. They are still walking way too many people (25 in those 37.2 innings), but they aren't giving up too many hits. The pitchers leading the charge? Angel Guzman, and Aaron Heilman. Just goes to show you the impact this blog can have on a pitcher. Heilman, since Cotts left (because that's clearly what held Heilman back), has only walked 2 batters in 6.2 innings, and given up 1 run for a 1.35 ERA. This is very encouraging. On the flip side, Marmol has walked 9 in 7 innings (YIKES), which may or may not be related to the blatant overuse Lou is putting him through. Either way, if the other bullpen options keep up this kind of work, we are in good shape.

If you look up, you will see 25 Cardinals plummetting back to Earth. They are starting to realize exactly what kind of team they are, and hopefully Milwaukee will follow suit. Bottom line, this Cubs team is also playing over its head, but there are two major reinforcements, Harden and Ramirez, that will make this team pretty darn good.

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
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Authors 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 The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Posted by: partyvancaptain on June 9, 2009 at 8:51 pm 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... The Ugliest: 119,958,000. That is the amount of money the Cubs already have committed to next year's team. That doesn't even include arbitration eligible players, such as Ryan Theriot and Carlos Marmol who will probably get nice little raises. I think this number accounts for the salaries of like 8 or 9 guys. Outside of the Yankees, that is by far the biggest amount committed next year, and dwarfs the ENTIRE 2009 payroll for almost 2/3rds of the other teams. With the ownership situation in limbo, don't expect much more spending. And the best part? Hendry topped off the contracts for Lee, Ramirez, Soriano, Zambrano, Dempster and Bradley with No Trade Clauses. We're stuck. Again, Hendry is overrated. (credit to http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/) The Ugly: 88. If Lou continues using Marmol at the pace he has so far (in 55 games, including tonight), that is how many games Marmol will pitch in. Combine that with the World Baseball Classic, are you surprised he is struggling? Putting him in games where the game is not close doesn't help. Lou might finally be getting the hint though. One can only hope. The Bad: 10. The amount of men left on base tonight by our big signing, Milton Bradley. What an awful display, especially that last at bat, where he appeared to have given up on it once the count got to 1-2. Now this isn't horrible, because having 10 men on base means that the Cubs offense was cracking tonight (except for Milton and Theriot). But come on, in 6 at bats you think you would at least stumble ass backwards into an RBI. Yeesh. The Good: .342. Derrek Lee's on-base percentage coming into play today. Now on the surface, that is not a very great OBP. But when you look at Lee's April OBP, which was a disgusting .253, you can see that this is moving in a very good direction. In May, and so far in June, Lee has been over .400 in OBP, which is a much better indicator of hitting than batting average, in my opinion. Derrek Lee is showing a discerning eye at the plate, and that is ultimately giving him more pitches to hit. Looks like Lee might not be finished after all. The Better: 1.01. Randy Wells' WHIP in 6 starts this year. Anything around 1 is pretty good, especially for a guy like Randy, who was in no way, shape or form part of this year's plans. Randy is a great indicator why wins are a terrible metric for determining a pitcher's worth. That and Jason Marquis, who leads the NL in wins. He will get his win as long as he pitches the way he has been. The big part of that is right there in the WHIP, though. If you are only averaging one baserunner per inning, you are not going to get in very many jams, and your pitch count won't jump on you. The Best: 1.91. That is the bullpen ERA since Neal Cotts was exiled to Iowa on 5/27. This is also over 37.2 innings, including tonight, which means this is no small sample size. The bullpen has really brought it together, minus one big exception, and that has lead to a pretty good road trip so far. Much better than the last one. They are still walking way too many people (25 in those 37.2 innings), but they aren't giving up too many hits. The pitchers leading the charge? Angel Guzman, and Aaron Heilman. Just goes to show you the impact this blog can have on a pitcher. Heilman, since Cotts left (because that's clearly what held Heilman back), has only walked 2 batters in 6.2 innings, and given up 1 run for a 1.35 ERA. This is very encouraging. On the flip side, Marmol has walked 9 in 7 innings (YIKES), which may or may not be related to the blatant overuse Lou is putting him through. Either way, if the other bullpen options keep up this kind of work, we are in good shape. If you look up, you will see 25 Cardinals plummetting back to Earth. They are starting to realize exactly what kind of team they are, and hopefully Milwaukee will follow suit. Bottom line, this Cubs team is also playing over its head, but there are two major reinforcements, Harden and Ramirez, that will make this team pretty darn good. 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 Add or View Comments (0) © 2007-2009, Partyvan User Name: Password: Forgot your password?