With Jeff Samardzija's "transformation" I thought it would be fun to find other Cubs player who have transformed this spring.
Joe Mather: With a .412/.455/.745 batting line through today, he's established himself as a completely different ballplayer. We know this because he's had 55 plate appearances and that's absolutely enough to know whether or not a transformation has taken place. Some of you are saying right now that he has a career .228/.283/.384 line so we should be cautious. Fuck. That. Now is a time to be optimistic about this young stud the Cubs have for the middle of the order for years to come.
Blake DeWitt: .289/.373/.422. With 51 plate appearance we can safely say there is a 100% chance that DeWitt is now an on-base machine. The type of hitter that the more intelligent teams put atop their batting order so the big guys like Mather can knock them in. Forget about DeWitt's .329 career OBP. That's in the past. New player.
Darwin Barney: He's slugged .639 and has an OPS over 1.000 and while the sample isn't quite as reliable as 50 PA, he's still come to the plate a whopping 40 times. We can see the top of the order taking shape for the Cubs of the future. DeWitt and his on-base skills leading off with Joe Mater and Darwin Barney hitting in the middle of the order. It's gonna be rough on pitchers with all these transformations going on.
Alfredo Amezaga: best Cubs number 2 hitter since Ryne Sandberg. That's what we'll remember Amezaga for. In 40 spring PA he's batted .306/.375/.361. He's young so he should slug more in about 5 or 7 more years. Still, that .375 OBP will fit nicely in the 2-hole and can leadoff when DeWitt is getting the day off.
Rodrigo Lopez: No pitcher in Cubs camp who started more than 1 game held hitters to a lower batting average than Lopez's .213. Among all pitchers who started a game only Randy Wells help opponents to a lower batting average, but he started only 1 game. Paul Mahol, Chris Volstad and Randy Wells were the only 3 who started a game who had a lower ERA than Lopez. We know this is for real because he's thrown 16+ innings.
Transformations don't always work in a way that leads to better production. Take Starlin Castro for example. He's transformed himself into a batter with a .283 OBP. That's in 60 plate appearances so you definitely don't need more information than that. Safe to say, Starlin Castro is the new Alfonso Soriano with less power.
David DeJesus. The following players have a higher slugging percentage than DeJesus's OPS: there's too many to list. Seriously. DeJesus has a sub .600 OPS in a league that has an average OPS of 27.000.
Matt Garza: he allowed 27 baserunners in 16 innings of work. I'd say he's probably going to struggle to remain in the rotation, but then I thought about the rest of the rotation.
There have been other transformations, but none worth commenting on.
(dying laughing), well done.
On a serious note, didn’t Amezaga have some otherwordly streak to start the season a couple years back?
(dying laughing)
Real baseball (in America) can’t start soon enough.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
False. Brenly would have put Counsel on the team.
Makes Suggestion that mistake was not trying to option Wells/Volstead –> Chicago Options Randy Wells
Any word on if Fat Tony Campana makes the team? I’m the one guy who bravely chose that he would hit exactly one outside-the-park home run due apparent steriod use. But apparently he instead ate too much McDonalds.
@ josh:
And brought Theriot because Ryan wears scabs like a badge of honor.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Are you thinking of Roger Bernardina?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bernaro01.shtml
Maybe I’m thinking of the wrong hot-starting player (dying laughing)
@ Pezcore:
Actually, that was also my guess, so we’d have to split the $20.
http://jezebel.com/5897447/rick-santorum-gravely-warns-young-man-against-dangers-of-pink-bowling-ball
Red Sox send 19-yo 1B Jair Bogaerts to Cubs for their part of compensation trade
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
There’s a thread about this over at Tango’s blog. Tango said something in the comments that always greatly pisses me off, namely, referencing Canada while asserting that all Canadians shit rainbows and are inherently better than everyone. Drives me fucking nuts, and I love Canada.
Hrm. Not Amezaga, but he does have a weird element to his splits: his July numbers are routinely very good.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
…is that site like The Onion?
@ Berselius:
Tango loves America’s Hat?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
It’s some Marlin or National, just can’t remember whom. Could have sworn it was Bernardina.
@ josh:
No, more like a gossip site. There’s a link in the post to the Rueters reporters tweet with the quote.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
He might have, but he then transformed back into the same ballplayer he had always been.
I think it was Emilio Bonifacio in 2009
@ Berselius:
Not him, it was a Marlin, for sure, though.
@ Berselius:
Yeah, I think that’s right. Bonifacio did the same thing last season, too.
Matt (Chicago)
Are you at least intrigued by the possibilities of Samardizja as a starter?
Klaw (1:17 PM)
Blog post filed. Yes, there’s potential.
@ bubblesdachimp:
Matt (Chicago)
Are you at least intrigued by the possibilities of Mercurial Outfielder as a GOP Presidential Candidate?
Klaw (1:17 PM)
Blog post filed. Yes, there’s potential.
And it would be just as worth paying attention to.
F7 sucks.
@ jtsunami:
I don’t think he sucks. I think he’s just a guy with a live fastball, ordinary secondary stuff, who lacks the ability to control his fastball enough to keep people honest. Maybe he has changed something significant. But like I said yesterday, we’ve got no reliable data set that indicates such is the case and the reliable data set we do have for him says that it isn’t very likely. Personally, I’d look to trade Marmol and groom F7 for the closer role. You want to limit F7′s innings, not maximize them.
Gah. F7 is my fucking kryptonite. Or catnip. Or something. Brad is trying to argue F7 > Wells using statistics on twitter
@ Berselius:
What stats?
Keiths writeup on Shark
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/law_keith/id/7751579/chicago-cubs-wise-take-chance-jeff-samardzija-rotation
It amazes me how willingly people restrict samples to “prove” F7 has changed.
@ bubblesdachimp:
A few quotes for those who refuse to be extorted by ESPN?
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
SIERA for F7, taking jabs at Wells’s FIP.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
(dying laughing)
SIERA? Really? Do people just ignore the stuff Colin writes?
@ Berselius:
From last year? I don’t get the sudden interest in small samples. I really don’t, but it’s not worth arguing about either. Maybe he’s change. Maybe not. But you know what? It ain’t going to do jack shit for the Cubs anyway because by the time they can contend he’ll be a free agent. So whatever. Play the best players. Don’t. Whatever.
@ mb21:
We just need to sit back and let the Cubs happen to us
If SIERA is the metric to use, it still shows F7 is shittier than Wells.
As I’ve said before, the only argument in favor of F7 in the rotation is this: maybe he’s changed. Anything else is either misusing stats or making shit up. I don’t like the decision, but I can’t argue with “maybe he’s changed.” Maybe Rick Santorum will start allowing kids to use pink bowling balls. Fuck knows.
@ Berselius:
2012 Cubs: Just let it happen
We need images with that slogan. Now, please.
I don’t mind the Cubs taking a flier on F7. The season is lost, the team is bad, might as well tke a shot. BUt don’t pretend that decision has any basis in F7′s career numbers, because they don’t back it up unless you get selective with your endpoints and completely ignore 90% of his peripheral numbers, and that includes his peripheral stats from the 50-60-inning sample the “F7 Is A New Pitcher” are hanging their hats on.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
The last paragraph gets to the heart of the matter
@ bubblesdachimp:
Thanks, Bubs.
See, now that’s an argument for F7——-> rotation I can accept. Nice take by KLaw here. “Found money” is a nice way of putting it.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Agreed. I’ve come around on F7 to the rotation, I’m more annoyed by using stats to justify it, as well as the effect on Randy Wells (who I think has more upside anyway).
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
No problem MO. Regardless of what the manager says if theo/Hoyer didnt agree with the decision he would have gone to the pen. They obviously are looking at this as a powerball ticket as well. While smartly not bullpenning wood and Wells. I have no problems with this move.
@ Berselius:
Exactly. And like others have said here, the fact that Wood and Wells will both be getting starts at AAA rather than languishing in the ‘pen makes the move a lot more palatable.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
I only saw the end of the link with the title, so I clicked on it thinking it was an Onion article.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Assuming Wells makes it to AAA
I can’t wait until Samardzija punks the shit out of you fagets. (dying laughing)
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
Even if it is only a penny. Hopefully it is face-up for good luck!
@ Berselius:
i assume he’s not the same person as xander bogaerts
@ GW:
I think it’s his brother.
De La Cruz ——–> waiver’d
@ bubblesdachimp:
Pretty much the way I feel. Also, I’m really disliking spring training. I’ve never paid this much attention to it before, and I’m regretting it. Just wake me up when all this bullshit is settled, so I can let the Cubs happen to me.
apparently they are twins
@ Aisle424:
Same here.
@ Berselius:
You guys haven’t figured this out yet? (dying laughing)
I thought Josh said the waivers were revocable so he can stay a Cub.
@ GBTS:
And then he’ll be traded to the New York Jets.
@ Berselius:
We should be devoting stats to proving how awesome communism is. Am I right, comrades?
@ Aisle424:
Sadly it’s all too true.
@ Rice Cube:
He’d stay a Cub, but they couldn’t assign him to AAA if they revoke it. At least that’s how I think it works. He’d be bullpened instead with the mlb club.
(dying laughing) at xander’s myspace
@ Rice Cube:
Well, they could trade him, if someone claims him. That’s still an option.
@ Berselius:
Baseball transaction rules are weird. I wonder which team will be the dick to make the Cubs put him in the bullpen then (dying laughing)
jair’s is good too
@ GW:
In Dominican Republic, myspace is hot new website?
@ josh:
Yeah. And he’ll be traded when his value is at it’s lowest point.
@ Rice Cube:
I gather, though, that there’s a risk involved for the team that does that. Like they can be blocked on a future transaction, to keep everyone from being dicks.
who’s going to break the news to him about the cubs way manual?
@ josh:
If the original waiver claim is revoked, the claiming team can no longer claim in the future for that season? Is that how that works?
@ josh:
they might not have updated in a while…
@ Berselius:
It’s a Way of Life.
what do you think, josh?
@ Rice Cube:
Not sure exactly.
@ GW:
I’d say he’s too young for you, but who am I to interfere with love? Follow your heart.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
(dying laughing)
Memory Lane: http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/20-supporting-actors-from-90s-tv-shows-then-and-n
After 1 Week In New York Tim Tebow Already A Gay, Homeless Crack Addict
http://muskat.mlblogs.com/2012/03/29/329-cubs-complete-theo-comp/
Hoyer sez “Not our fault.”
mb21 wrote:
2012 Cubs: (Sh)it’s Gonna Happen!
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
A meme is born.
Long live the meme.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
The typo makes this one. (dying laughing)
Faith Hilling
Get More: SOUTH
PARKEric Cartman,Leopold “Butters” Stotch,more…
Bringing the forums down to the level of the rest of the internets:
http://www.obstructedview.net/forum.html?mingleforumaction=viewtopic&t=23.0
Reliable poster at PSD says to look for Wells and Byrd to be traded. He hears the Indians are in on Byrd and Twins/others in on Wells. Not worth much, but could be an explanation why Campana hasn’t been sent down yet.
@ jtsunami:
The time to trade Wells was probably just before they demoted him.
I could see both happening, for sure.
What’s PSD?
Peoria must be one of the stadiums in AZ with Pitchf/x installed.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
It’s possible the other team wanted the Cubs to demote him so they wouldn’t look like the bad guy. I wouldn’t say that’s likely, but it’s possible.
@ mb21:
Pro Sports Daily. It’s a forum.
Cubs released Jason Jaramillo, signs with Brewers.
Daily TOOTBLAN!
2-to-1 groundout-to-flyout in first inning. All sinkers.
I like games with Pitchf/x.
/cool story bro
@ Rice Cube:
Just Let It Happen To You
Chris Volstad —> batting 1.000
Chris Volstad —> cleanup hitter
Clayton Richard —> batting practice
Pitchf/x showed that Volstad was hanging his pitches and that one made him pay for it.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/yoenes-cespedes-and-the-cuban-tradition/
Chris Volstad —> batting practice
Randy Wells —> (dying laughing)
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/7747848/economist-2b-los-angeles-dodgers-makes-no-sense
You guys are awesome.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
I’d say it was a year ago. Or a year from now. Cubs would be trading him near his lowest value at this point.
(dying laughing) @ pitching fail today
@ GW:
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
(dying laughing)
Well done, fake Mish…
Holy shit, the Cubs lost that game?
did anyone figure out what happened to manny corpas? i kind of poked around for a while and then figured it would be easier to just ask here…
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I think he’s still on the roster. Latest story I could find said they’re considering him for the bullpen.
@ josh:
Yeah, some guys who probably won’t make the team kinda fucked it up.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/dallas-braden-rollie-fingers-tattoo-commercial-finally-hits-224544967.html
@ Rice Cube:
What do you mean?
This shit will never fucking end
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/red_sox/index.php/2012/03/29/red-sox-not-ready-to-declare-theo-epstein-compensation-talks-over-weighing-options/
@ josh:
I don’t think Alberto Cabrera is going to make the team. When the Padres scrubs made their comeback the Cubs starters were pretty much already out of the game. Their scrubs > our scrubs.
@ Berselius:
*sigh*
@ Berselius:
Larry Lucchino is the red gaping asshole of the universe.
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Is that like a galactic goatse?
@ Rice Cube:
Oh I get it. I thought you were responding to the Manny Corpas issue. Ha!
To hell with you naysayers. The I-Cubs rotation looks great this year.
@ ACT:
The ’27 Yankees of the PCL.
@ ACT:
It will look even better once Jeff Samarzija gets there.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/20th-anniversary-sosa-bell-trade/
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/cats-vs-dinosaurs
New shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/ov-2012-predictions-an-attempt-at-unrediscreditation.html