Josh Vitters went 2-4 with a double and raised his average to .302. Alberto Cabrera struck out 4 in 2.2 IP. Cabrera is getting some buzz as a future closer after moving to the pen this year. He was pretty awful as a starter and we only have 45 IP to work of but as a reliever he is posting excellent #'s across the board.
Trey McNutt had what I guess qualifies as a good start for him these days working 5 IP giving up 2 walks 1 ER and striking out 2 batters. Meh.
Matt Szczur drew 3 more walks and stole 2 more bases. Despite being in a 2-26 slump he has kept taking his walks and still provided value at the plate. I'm McLovin' this guy. Austin Kirk had a typical Kirk start working 6 IP and allowing 2 ER.
Javier Baez got on base once and promptly stole his 14th base. That's about all that happened.
Game ended early due to rain which is probably a good thing because it was awful for all Cub prospects involved.
Tim Saunders is batting over .500 which is good. He's also 22 years old and in rookie ball so that's not as good. Our 5th round pick from this years draft Anthony Prieto made his debut on and pitched a scoreless inning.
I didn’t get to comment on the last thread, but I think Castro is relatively safe for now. He plays on such a shitty team, which will help him in that regard. That could begin to change when the likes of Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters and maybe another prospect come up. That will give the fans several other players to cheer and Castro won’t have such an easy time escaping criticism. Some of it fair and some of it won’t be, but for now he’s barely criticized and he’s done the things fans absolutely HATE over and over (not paying attention). When the fans have a few others to root for Castro will be hit hard by the media and the fans. That could be ugly.
The most impressive thing about Vitters is that he has a .356 OBP. His strikeout rate is up compared to last year, but down compared to the year before. Overall it’s about the same, which is impressive in that he’s not striking out more even though he’s taking more walks and presumably seeing a lot more pitches.
As you say, small sample for Cabrera, but his K-BB% is 24.72%. That’s crazy good. K/9 of well over 11 between AA and AAA and a walk rate near 2.
berselius, you should really get this app to help you work on becoming a pro: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pole-dancer-pro/id530080116?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
mb21 wrote:
man, the futures game was fun last night. thats the real all star game for me
@ dylanj:
Same here. I actually watch the Future’s Game.
What’s up with the Homerun Derby? Do you have to be an all-star to participate? How come Adam Dunn’s not in it? Anybody know?
Mucker wrote:
It unfortunately exists?
@ Mish:
I like it. But only if they hit bombs. I don’t really care how many they hit, just how far they hit them. That’s why I was looking forward to see Stanton.
All-star games are so unappealing to me. I’m glad the NFL is taking out the Pro Bowl. I know it makes a little bit of money, but giving players awards is just as effective for historical purposes.
@ jtsunami:
Agreed.
@ jtsunami:
I agree. I don’t watch the All-star game but I like watching the HRD. When Sosa was killing the ball in Milwaukee that one year, that was pretty awesome to watch.
I forget baseball exists at this time every year.
Mercurial Outfielder wrote:
surely you don’t think he’s worse than phil rogers or rosenbloom? sullivan might be a pot-stirring hack but he is light years better than those two pieces of shit. if i read an article by rogers/rosenbloom, the odds of me punching the next person i see rise dramatically.
@ dylanj:
i unfortunately missed the futures game. any relevant highlights?
Jae Hoon Ha hit a oppo HR? That and I got to see Billy Hamilton run.
I actually enjoy the All-Star game. I fully acknowledge that there are many many flaws in the game (As every mainstream baseball blog gleefully points out every year) but for some reason I’m able to look past it and enjoy watching some good pitcher/batter matchups. Compared to most regular season games, you’re still more likely to see good/great batters square off against good/great hitters in the all-star game, regardless of who makes the team.
It was good before interleague play and cable tv yadda yadda
@ dylanj:
I heard the triple would’ve been an inside-the-parker had he gauged the ball accurately. Dude is fast.
Okay, new comic: http://www.obstructedview.net/comics/intentional-fallacy.html