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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 Yesterday's post was quite negative on the whole. Today I will try to be more balanced, but I still have two negatives to get out. I am a hard man to please. A day later and I am still angry about the Chad Fox thing. Mostly because I feel that the Cubs were dumb and irresponsible for bringing him in to begin with. It is clear his elbow is shot, and has been shot for 4 years now. Yet the Cubs keep giving him an opportunity to ruin it for good. Sure from the Cubs end it is a low risk investment, but I feel like for Chad Fox it is way too dangerous. Yet the Cubs keep giving him an opportunity to do serious damage. If you want to keep him aboard, hire him as a coach or a consultant. It is time to quit, because it is irresponsible as an organization to give this guy the ball anymore. It's like giving the guy who had one too many margaritas his car keys. You are just as guilty for any damage done. So, again, Jim Hendry, STOP IT! Ryan Freel, maybe you are still coming off that head injury. Maybe you are rusty after a couple weeks off. Maybe you and Farney were discussing where to eat after the game. But getting picked off second like that is unacceptable. Shape up fast, I beg of you, or things will not be fun in Chicago. (We have very, very angry fans now-a-days.) I feel I should be positive a bit though... so I will run through it quickly:
Posted in: Chad Fox, Sean Marshall, Angel Guzman, Bobby Scales, Milton Bradley Quick post tonight. I should really take the day off like most of the Cubs lineup. Too bad Sean Marshall gave it up at the end, because he was doing a pretty good job of matching Timmy Lincecum. Ah well, can't win them all. Congrats to Bobby Scales on his first big league hit, though. For someone to stick with it to the age of 31 in the minor leagues is pretty dang crazy. Maybe Scales is a late bloomer and will have a long major league career, culminating with his 800th home run at the spry age of 58. Or maybe not. What do I know? Tomorrow, back to Houston. Maybe someone can convince Milton Bradley that this series is opening day, so he can finally show up this season. Posted in: Sean Marshall, Bobby Scales One of the habits Cubs fans have adopted in recent years is quick and merciless booing. It can be directed at the Cubbies, their opponents, the umpires, and even Jeff Gordon. But today's game was one that made me chuckle. Apparently Jason Marquis was the target of today's boo birds. That darn Jason Marquis and all the damage he did to those Cubs teams. And on top of that, he ran over puppies with his car. Oh, and he's a communist. I still have to figure out how to use a sarcasm font. Now, I am not saying Marquis was great for the Cubs. He wasn't a 20-game winner, and he never got any Cy Young consideration. And while, granted, he was quite overpaid for a #5 starter, he was a really good #5 starter to have. One stat I do want to introduce here just to back this up is Jason Marquis' ERA+. (Basically ERA+ is a normalization of a pitcher's ERA vs. the league average, as well as the ballparks he pitches in, to see how he stacks up to the league. 100 is the exact average.) Jason Marquis posted ERA+s of 101 and 99. I'll take an average pitcher as my #5 pitcher any day. Not to mention the fact the dude treated innings like Pacman treats little white dots. (I also still have to figure out good figurative language.) On the flip side, I am happy we were able to trade him, and that is mainly because of the guy we have in that #5 spot this year, Sean Marshall. While I wouldn't call Sean Marshall a future ace, this guy can fill Jason Marquis' shoes. Heck I think he can easily be better than Marquis was. In 2007 (the last year he started regularly), Marshall's ERA+ was actually 116. Granted, this was in a smaller sample size, but it was still over 19 starts. He would find a spot in any major league rotation. And here's the kicker, he's making a grand total of $450K vs. Marquis' $9.875M. A #5 starter should never cost you around $10M. As for today's game, Captain Kneejerk (my alter ego) thinks maybe Rich Harden should have been traded to Colorado. Stupid bum. In all seriousness, it was nice to see Lee finally get going. It wasn't as nice to see Soriano reverting to his usual left field chicanery. Hopefully today was just a blip for Harden because he is such a devastating weapon to have when he is working. When he isn't, it is devastating to the bullpen, and I don't think Marmol can work 130 games this year. Just a hunch. Alright, that's all I got for now. Hopefully you enjoyed this, and hopefully Comrade Marquis stops punting infants. (Credit to baseball-reference.com for the stats, and foxsports.com for the salary figures.) Posted in: Jason Marquis, ERA+, Booing, Sean Marshall | ||