Where It's 1, 2, 3 Strikes Yer Out!

Earth to Dusty

2005-02-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

There is a note on cubs.com about Clines and Mathews swapping their coaching duties this year(1st base and hitting coaches), but still both assisting the hitters. Here is a portion:

"They have basically the same ideas," Baker said. "We had some guys who had some good years last year -- Derrek Lee had his best year, Michael Barrett had his best year. Corey [Patterson] had his best year. Aramis [Ramirez] had his best year. We had some guys who improved. Geno will hopefully keep that improvement going."

Ummm Lee? Yes Ramirez and Barrett had their best years. Corey had a very hot/cold year and didn't pick up where he left off before the injury, but sadly it was his best full season. I'd say Aramis's improvement has more to do with him being 25 than anything else, but the coaches can take the credit for Aram and Barrett if they want to.

Lee, however, did not have his best year. This is the kind of information I would like the manager of my favorite team to know.

Year PA AVG OBP SLG SB
2002 688 .270 .378 .494 19
2003 643 .271 .379 .508 21
2004 688 .278 .356 .504 12

Lee's OBP was down 20 points from the previous 2 years with about the same SLG. 20 points!!! Can all of that have come from walkaphobic coaching? I certainly hope it was just a fluke and that our coaches can't hold down OBPs that much. Lee had stretches where he was incredible in 2004, but he also had very terrible stretches which the coaching staff shouldn't be bragging about. I don't see any way 2004 can be considered Lee's best season...can you?

If the manager of the team can't figure this out, how can we trust him to set proper goals for the players and team? Somehow it is not surprising that this is the same guy who lets Macias and Neifi play and abuses our starting pitchers.

Shortstop

2005-02-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

#5 Anthony Nomar Garciaparra

2004:
.308 AVG, .365 OBP, .477 SLG

When the Cubs aquired Nomar Garciaparra to man SS at the deadline last summer, they changed the team's worst offensive position into one of their best. Nomar is a high average contact hitter who could help any lineup, but replacing Alex Gonzalez in a high strikeout lineup makes Nomar especially appreciated in Chicago. I expect a droppoff in Nomar's power because he will no longer get doubles off the Green Monster but he is still a hitting machine. I just wish the Cubs had more OBP guys to go around him and Aramis.

A career .322 hitter, Nomar isn't a question mark with the bat and will be vital to the success of the offense. Health however is another story. Nomar missed half of the season last year and almost all of the 2001 season with an achilles and wrist injury, respectively. If you want to look on the bright side Nomar has averaged 607 ABs over his other 6 seasons. I am hopeful Nomar won't have any soccer accidents this year now that Mia is retired and he'll be good for 150 games.

Ignoring my suggestions, Hendry decided to play it safe with Nomar and only offer him a one-year deal. I was hoping the Cubs could buy low and get Nomar for a reasonable three-year deal because I expect him to come up big this year..which may lead to himnot being a Cub in 2006. He is 31 so I understand not wanting too much of a commitment, but I don't see the Cubs comming up with a better player at SS anytime soon. Hopefully Nomar will do well enough in 2005(lead the team deep into the playoffs?) that the Cubs won't be able to let him slip away.

3rd Base

2005-02-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

#16 Aramis Ramirez

2004:
.318 AVG, .373 OBP, .578 SLG

Aramis Ramirez is the luckiest thing that has happened to the Cubs in my lifetime. With the Pirates Ramirez had 3 seasons(98, 00, 02) with at least 250 ABs in which he put up an OBP under .300 and a SLG under .403. The Cubs couldn't have known that he would put it all together when they aquired Ramirez for the stretch run in 2003. In Ramirez's first full season with the Cubs he put up career highs in AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, R, and BB. Ramirez is a 26 year old offensive force and the Cubs got him for practically nothing! I would be very surprised to see Aramis regress significantly this year, he seems to have established a new level of performance.

Clearly Ramirez belongs in the heart of the order, I don't think it makes much difference whether he hits 3rd or 4th. Ramirez led the team in OBP and AVG and put up a 59.6 VORP in 2004 despite missing 17 games. Without a similar performance from Ramirez the Cubs have very little chance in 2005.

I believe Aramis will NOT be a FA after 2005...but I am not sure. Either way I'd like the Cubs to sign him to a 3-4 year deal, longer if necesary. At 26 years old Ramirez has a lot of good years in front of him and it would be smart to sign him before his perceived value gets much higher. It's time for the Cubs to lock up some talent and start adding to the core.

2nd Base

2005-02-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

#7 Todd Arthur Walker

2004:
.274 AVG, .352 OBP, .468 SLG

The players that are the most fun to root for are the ones who want to be on the Cubs, take the game seriously, and can help the Cubs win. With Todd Walker at 2nd base the Cubs not only have all of those things, but also a player who was willing to take less money to be on a good team with his buddy Nomar. What's not to like?

Todd was only granted 424 PAs from King Dusty in 2004 despite being one of the healthier Cubs and 1 of 6 to have an OBP over .350. Now Todd has been promised 2nd base all to himself and is a good offensive contributor for his position and salary. Walker has above average power for a 2nd baseman which is great, but what the Cubs need from Todd is for him to keep his OBP as high as possible...prefferably at the top of the order so the big boys can drive him in.

Generally regarded as a poor fielder, Walker is not going to help the team with his glove. Fortunately for the Cubs they are striking out as many batters as a team ever has...so Walker won't get as many chances as any other 2nd baseman. I don't think he is as bad as people say and I don't think he'll hurt the club at all, but I'm not too familiar with useful defensive stats so I can't prove it either way.

Will Jerry Hairston Jr. encroach on Walker's playing time at 2nd? I have a feeling he will, but only time will telll. The only way I want to see Hairston play over Walker is if Hairston can put up that .375 OBP he showed in limited ABs last season(which I don't think he can), and if Burnitz and Dubois/Hollandsworth were tearing the cover off the ball. In that case Hairston would be a legitimate leadoff man....otherwise Todd is our man in 2005.

1st Base

2005-01-25T01:07:00.000-08:00

#25 Derrek Leon Lee

2004:
.278 AVG, .356 OBP, .504 SLG

The Cubs need Lee to step up and be more than just an average offensive 1st baseman. Derrek had an amazing June 2004(.385/.444/.673) but the rest of his season did not quite meet expectations in his first year with the Cubs. He ended up with an OBP of .356, 20 points lower than the previous 2 years. Lee needs to get his OBP above .350 for more than 2 of the 6 months in 2005 to do his part in turning the Cub offense around.

Fortunately Lee is not grossly overpaid for his abilities, and is an overall positive for this Cubs team. With size and agility at 1st, Derrek's defensive presence seems to have helped cut down on throwing errors from the other infielders. On such a poor defensive team it is nice to have Lee as one of the high points in the field. If he can get his OBP back up Lee would be a good canidate for the #2 spot in the order.

Derrek is under contract through 2006 when he'll be 31, and I'd like to see him stay with Cubs if he can get a consistent OBP. If not, there will always be sluggers to be found for 1st base.

Catcher

2004-09-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

#8 Michael P. Barrett

2004:
.295 AVG, .344 OBP, .492 SLG

Barrett has been everything I hoped for this year and more. There aren't many things that excite me more than above average production from a catcher. Barrett has the highest slugging percentage among National League Catchers by 20 points, and the 4th best OBP. He has also been one of the Cubs more consistent performers, with only 1 poor month(June .598 OPS).

A good contact hitter with more than adequate defense and a strong consistent arm, Barrett is almost the perfect catcher for the Cubs. I like the attitude Barrett displayed in his feud with Oswalt, he's a tough guy and a leader. He is also campaigning for Nomar to re-sign, and enjoys being a Cub:

“This is a dream come true. I remember as a kid watching WGN and watching Cubs games, and now being a part of this and being here is a tremendous honor. I don’t feel I deserve to be here.” --Barrett

You ain't in Montreal anymore Michael. There is only 1 problem with Michael P. Barrett: he is a free agent at the end of this season. I am sure the Cubs will re-sign him because Hendry loves him, Barrett has fit in perfectly, and he's only 27, but a large salary increase(only $1.55M this year) may force the Cubs to cut corners elsewhere.

Of the countless problems that have plagued the Cubs this year, Barrett is one of the few innocent parties.

State of the Team

2004-09-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

The Cubs only have 2 problems: inconsistent hitting, and inconsistent pitching.

Since the Nomar aquisition, the offense has been considerably better despite the recent slump. I think the Cubs have a good chance at scoring 4-5 runs every time they take the field, which is exactly what this team needs to do. The Cubs cannot manufacture runs, don't do a good job with situational hitting(not many contact hitters), don't have ideal OBP, are incredibly right handed, and are absolutely horrible baserunners. How do we score ANY runs?! Well, say hello to my lil' friend. It's HIGH, it's DEEP, it's GONE. Backbackbackbackbackbackback...

Homers. Cubs lead the NL. Alou, Ramirez, Lee, and Sosa will all have 30. Nomar, Patterson, Walker, and Barrett can all take one out from time to time. Too many of the homers have been solo shots, due to the unspectacular OBPs, but there have been plenty of homers. I think the reliance on homers is most detremental to the Cubs on cold days at Wrigley when the wind is blowing in. Often the other team can scratch out a run or two with some combination of walks, our poor fielding, and a lucky hit from a contact hitter of theirs. The Cubs, on the other hand, have a hard time scratching out runs. With Patterson/Lee/Nomar at the top of the lineup I think the Cubs have improved somewhat in this area, with Patterson's blazing speed, Lee's OBP, and Nomar's frequent base hits. Nomar has truly solidified a lineup that desperately needed a high average contact hitter.

Most of the pitching problems have been the bullpen. I believe this is either due to bad luck or bad coaching, Hendry tried to piece together a decent pen and just hasn't had any luck. Borowski fell off the face of the earth, Hawkins decided to be less stud reliever and more batting practice pitcher, and Farnsworth is still Krazy Kyle. The bullpen has been fine at times, sometimes very good. But at all the wrong times the pen has been very, very poor. The starters are fine, Prior is the only one who hasn't proved he is ready for the stretch run. His 2 games before the latest "Oh Canada!" disaster were actually pretty good, I thought Prior was building up to a really solid performance. Maybe he still is, I hope he is close to figuring it out.

Even if Prior can't get it right this year, this rotation and somewhat flawed offense is good enough to win the Wild Card. There are two things to be won here: a playoff spot, and a Nomar contract. It is time to get to work boys.

ummmmm....somebody pinch me

2004-08-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

Wow. #1 problem fixed? I must be dreaming. These aren't the Yankees, it's my Cubs.

Welcome Nomar. Please stay. It will be fun. Good luck Greg.

300 Wins, 500 Home Runs

2004-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

There have been only 3 seasons in Major League Baseball history when a pitcher with 300 career wins and a hitter with 500 career home runs played together for the same team. There is about to be a 4th.

Lefty Grove and Jimmie Foxx were teammates for 15 years, 9 with the Philadelphia Athletics and 6 with the Boston Red Sox. On July 25th 1941, Grove won his 300th and final game for the Boston Red Sox. A season earlier Foxx had hit his 500th of 534 career home runs, making 1941 the first time a 300 game winner and a 500 home run hitter shared the field as teammates. Grove retired after 1941, Foxx played only 3 more seasons.

After being released by the New York Mets on July 22nd 1965 after only 20 games, 44 year old Warren Spahn took his 360 career wins to the San Francisco Giants. On September 13th 1965 Willie Mays blasted his 500th career home run for the Giants in a game at the Astrodome, making Spahn and Mays the second set of teammates with 300 wins and 500 homers. Spahn only played in 16 games for the San Francisco Giants and retired after that 1965 season with 363 wins, while Mays played 8 more seasons and ended his career with 660 home runs.

Though each played most of their careers for other teams, Don Sutton and Reggie Jackson were teammates with the California Angels in 1985 and 1986. Jackson had belted his 500th homer on September 17th 1984, so when Sutton won his 300th game on June 18th 1986 the two became just the third pair of 300 win, 500 home run teammates. After 1986 Reggie Jackson played 1 more season with the A's and then retired with 563 home runs, while Sutton played 2 more seasons with the Angels and Dodgers and finished with 324 career victories.

As of July 29th 2004, the Chicago Cubs roster includes Sammy Sosa who has hit 561 career home runs, and Greg Maddux who has won 299 games in his career. When Maddux wins his 300th game, he and Sosa will be the fourth pair of 300/500 teammates in major league history. Maddux has 2 more seasons on his contract and Sosa has 1 more and an option for '06, so it looks like this pair might be the first to play together for multiple seasons after achieving 300 wins and 500 homers.

Here are all of the other pairings of members of the 300 win club with members of the 500 home run club, when they had not yet both reached their milestones.

Pitchers who won 300 games while being teammates with future 500 homer hitters:

1939-1941 Lefty Grove and Ted Williams; Boston Red Sox
1952-1964 Warren Spahn and Eddie Mathews; Boston/Milwaukee Braves
1954-1964 Warren Spahn and Hank Aaron; Milwaukee Braves
1965 Warren Spahn and Willie McCovey; San Francisco Giants
1972-1986 Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt; Philadelphia Phillies
1989-1993 Nolan Ryan and Rafael Palmeiro; Texas Rangers

Hitters who hit 500 home runs while being teammates with future 300 win pitchers:

1962-1971 Willie Mays and Gaylord Perry; San Francisco Giants
1964-1974 Hank Aaron and Phil Niekro; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
1972 Frank Robinson and Don Sutton; Los Angeles Dodgers
1972-1973 Willie Mays and Tom Seaver; New York Mets
1973-1974 Frank Robinson and Nolan Ryan; California Angels
1974-75 Frank Robinson and Gaylord Perry; Cleveland Indians

Teammates who would reach 300 wins and 500 homers after being separated:

1989 Nolan Ryan and Sammy Sosa; Texas Rangers
1964-1966 Phil Niekro and Eddie Mathews; Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves
1962-1971 Gaylord Perry and Willie McCovey; San Francisco Giants
1980 Gaylord Perry and Reggie Jackson; New York Yankees
1986-1988 Greg Maddux and Rafael Palmeiro; Chicago Cubs (assuming Maddux wins 1 more game)

King Maddux

2004-07-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Greg Maddux had another beautifully pitched complete game today for his 298th career win.

Many believe that Greg Maddux will be the last pitcher to win 300 games. There are currently 21 pitchers in the 300 win club, and 81 pitchers between 200 and 300. The only active players (Wins, Age): Maddux(298, 38), Glavine(258, 38), Johnson(240, 41), Mussina(208, 36), Wells(205, 41), Brown(204, 39).

None of them really have a great chance to get to 300 except for Maddux. Of the younger players, Pedro Martinez(176, 33) and Pettitte(155, 32) are the only players with 150 wins close to a pace for 300. Neither have a very good shot at 300, Pedro is oft injured and Pettitte has only had an ERA under 4.00 in 4 of 10 seasons, and is no longer a Yankee.

Watch Maddux closely the next few starts, we may never see someone win 300 again.

30 Batters

2004-07-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

Maddux woke up this morning and looked at the calendar wrong...his schedule was off by about a decade. Maddux faced only 3 batters over the minimum today in a complete game shutout over the Milwaukee Brewers. Using only 103 pitches, Maddux limited the Brewers to 6 singles. Maddux enduced 3 double plays and only allowed one baserunner to get to 2nd base. All three Cubs outfielders homered(Patterson with Alou on after a walk) and Walker scored from 2nd after 2 wild pitches and the Cubs won 5-0. Good job Greg. Spend your 4 off days recruiting some run support.

5 runs? I know that seems like a lot. But we still didn't get on base much(8 hits, 2 walks), and we aren't going to get 3 homers and multiple wild pitches every day. And if we do get 3 homers, we sure as hell better score more than 4 runs. Offense, Offense, Offense! I hope Aramis is back soon and a SS follows him.

Rotation Together for First Time! Undone in 1.1 Innings

2004-07-15T22:49:00.000-07:00

Prior, Zambrano, Wood, Maddux, Clement....Whoaaaa, not so fast there son.

Prior's elbow has officially gone on strike. I thought Prior was just working out the kinks with his 8 un-Prioresque starts....but it appears there is a real problem and that it is the right elbow. We won't know for sure what the problem is until sometime between tomorrow and never. If they can't find a problem, they can't treat it and he'll never get better. If they do find a problem, it probably only has a long term solution. See you next year buddy!

Web Gemed

2004-07-15T00:55:00.000-07:00

Baseball Tonight gave midseason awards for the best plays of the first half at each position.

9 Midseason Web Gems were given out. The best plays at 3rd base, 1st base, and Catcher were ALL against the Chicago Cubs. 3 of the top 9, a full one third of the best defensive plays. Does that seem fair? I think not.

I think it is a sign that we have been unlucky. Very, very unlucky. The Cubs have lost 3 more games than they should have according to the Pythagorean Standings, have only gotten their 2 superstar pitchers for 7 starts each, and have had more than 10 players on the DL. One of the guys must have really pissed off Lady Luck.

Our luck has to get a little better, right? It's good to be so unlucky and still be in the Wild Card hunt. We'll need to catch a few breaks to get back in the running for the Division....but then again we are due for some. Let's get it done!

By the way, Todd Hollandsworth got the Web Gem for Right Field for slamming into the wall in Anaheim in the bottom of the 12th.

Halftime, 7 back

2004-07-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

7 games behind the Lucky Cards, 1 back in the Wild Card. Time to shuffle and re-deal.

Cubs got a good win today and the nice return of Wood and Remlinger. Hopefully we can start the second half strong and get right back in the race....if not the division will be out of reach.

We are 23rd in OBP...so the bats need to wake up or be replaced if the Cubs are going to make the playoffs.

Good luck in the Home Run Derby Sammy....don't hurt yourself, and try to get ready for a second half run!

5 runs

2004-07-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

5 runs in 5 games.

It's that simple.

Nomar for Clement.

Cubs v That Crappy Red Team

2004-07-09T01:07:00.000-07:00

Here goes nothing. This series will decide how much of a hole the Cubs have to dig themselves out of in the second half. How do you DIG out of a hole anyway? The Cubs are leading the Wild Card "race" today by half of a game, but lets not rule out the division quite yet.

The Cards are incredibly lucky. All their pitchers suck but are pitching well. I don't think they can keep it up....but I didn't think they could do it in the first place, so who knows? They haven't had injuries to any key players yet....the Cubs have had horrible injuries. But now is the time to step it up. If the Cubs win this series, we will have the momentum going into the second half.

If the Cubs prove we can beat the Cardinals they may realize how much they suck, and start playing like it. Win or Lose this series, the Cubs need to get it together. The team definitely has needs, but we could be winning more games with the current roster. A couple bullpen guys would be nice, but only if they are true upgrades and not the same crap we like to get (Mercker, Veres, Gutherie, Alfonseca). I still want Nomar....but the Cubs may just be hoping the rest of the hitters pick up the slack from SS.

There are still 2 quarters left to play, but it sure would be nice to close the gap heading into halftime.

8 Games Over .500

2004-07-08T00:53:00.000-07:00

Umm yeah....I don't want to talk about it. My prediction was right on the button...."With any kind of offense I think the Cubs can do really well."

2 runs in 3 games is not offense. 0 runs in 2 games is not offense.

Matt Clement for Anthony Nomar Garciaparra. It is that simple.

11 Games Over .500

2004-07-05T02:38:00.000-07:00

The title worked yesterday...let's ride it while we're hot.

The Brewers
At this point last year, the Brewers were 15 games under .500! They have lost 4 in a row, but are still 3 games over .500. Teams on losing streaks always scare me....I mean it takes a pretty bad run to go from a 4 game skid to an 8 game skid. The Cubs need to keep the weak hitters off base and pitch carefully to the 2-3 good hitters of the BrewCrew. With any kind of offense I think the Cubs can do really well against the 4th place team in the NL Central.

10 Games Over .500

2004-07-04T00:10:00.000-07:00

Cubs beat the Sox in a sogy, 6 inning, multiple-rain-delay game at Wrigley today. FOX is Satan, so I couldn't watch any of the game..but it was a big win. Sosa and Alou homered, Maddux slowed the Sox and got a clutch K of Frank Thomas, and there was miracle offense from Rey Ordoñez. And the Cubs are now 10 games over .500.

The Cubs are now 10 games over .500. 10 games!! Our two best players, Wood and Prior, have played in 13 games. THIRTEEN out of EIGHTY games!! 10 games over!!!!

No, we are not in first place. But we DO have the second best record in the National League, we have a 3 game winning streak, and we are 10 games over .500. Go Cubs!

Mad Dog Shreds Sox?

2004-07-03T02:24:00.000-07:00

Maddux has allowed at least one ER in every start so far this season, and is lugging around a 4.49 ERA. So if the Cubs are going to have a shot at beating the White Sux today, they better bring the big bats. That is not an easy task considering Bako will start, Aramis may be out with a "pulled groin"(though I think he just scrambled the huevos a little bit) which means Ordoñez may play SS and Martinez 3rd. Optimal Lineup:

Walker
Martinez
Sosa
Alou
Lee
Patterson
Maddux
Bako
Ordoñez

Hopefully Aramis will play. Barrett used to play 3rd and that would be better than getting Rey Ordoñez in the game. The White Sock rookie SP sucks...but he did pretty decent against us last time. Hopefully today will be another story.

Prediction: 7-5 Cubs

Cubs Win!

2004-07-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

The real Esteban Loaiza stood up today, allowing 8 hits and 2 walks in 6 innings. Every Cub starter had a hit and the Southside outfielders looked foolish trying to handle Northside winds...while Sosa and Patterson each made fine catches.

Zambrano picked up his 9th win but was again not at his best. He allowed only 2 hits in 6.1 IP, both in the first inning, but was throwing up in the zone, walked 4 batters, and hit 1. Carlos was not getting his groundball outs, and experienced cramps in his forearm in the 6th inning.

Z remained in the game but had to leave in the 7th when the cramps reappeared. I don't think Dusty should have let Zambrano bat in the bottom of the 6th. Carlos was already having arm trouble, and the Cubs had runners on the corners with 1 out.

Wood, Prior, and Zambrano, the three horses Dusty rode last season, have now all had arm problems this season. Will Dusty ever learn?

And the Hooooome of the Braaaaave

2004-07-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Play Ball!