Now that the winning streak is over, time to get started on a new losing streak. Not only did the Cubs gain no meaningful ground on the Brewers, who were also playing quite well in that stretch, but the Cubs are still 6 games back of the Pirates despite their losing ten games in a row. This should be familiar territory for this series’ rivals, the Nationals, but they have a surprisingly decent record this year. They were actually looking to add a piece or two at the trade deadline, despite the fact that they’re even deeper in the hole division-title-wise than the Cubs, just because a winning record would be a relative marketing bonanza for that team. They did end up shipping out Jason Marquis, who’s had a few decent seasons in Washington. Here’s how the teams shake out on the season:
Team overview
| Nats | Cubs | |
| wOBA | .307 (11th) | .317 (8th) |
| UBR | 3.7 (4th) | -14.1 (16th) |
| UZR | -8.2 (10th) | -20.1 (13th) |
| SP FIP | 3.99 (8th) | 4.16 (12th) |
| RP FIP | 4.10 (14th) | 4.19 (15th) |
Eh, so maybe not as good as their record. But kudos to them for posting such a great record in a tough division. They’ve received great production from Jordan Zimmermann, now returned from TJS, and have received solid production from most of the rest of their forgettable rotation. On the offensive side, 2B Danny Espinosa has provided the most value and largely lived up to his top prospect status, while Jayson Werth has been largely disappointing, both with the bat and with the glove. 3B Ryan Zimmerman, probably their best overall player, has had a down year due to an ab injury in April that caused him to miss two months.
Stephen Strasburg is on his way back from his TJS, and reportedly hit the high 90s with his fastball in his rehab start tonight. The Nats are hoping to call him up in September to give their fans a taste of what’s to come. With Strasburg and Zimmermann fronting the rotation, Espinosa, a healthy Zimmerman at 3b, a Werth rebound, and Bryce Harper tearing his way up to the majors, they’re going to be a legit team in the NL east as soon as next year.
Pitching Matchups
Monday: Chien-Ming Wang, RHP (6.00, 4.68, 4.42, 3.87) vs Matt Garza, RHP (3.78, 3.03, 3.15, 3.65), 7:05 PM CT
Wang was a worm-killing machine in his first few years with the Yankees, but from about 2008 on he’s had a string of injuries. He suffered a foot injury in 2008, and it affected his mechanics in 2009. After being sent down he was diagonsed with weakness in his hips, and he eventually underwent shoulder surgery. The Nationals signed him in 2010 hoping to get a half-season out of him but he ended up missing the season. He was non-tendered and re-signed with Washington to an incentive-laden contract. He’s made two starts with the Nationals, going four innings against the Mets and five against the Braves. His velocity is down but his groundball rate looks to be right in line with his rates earlier in his career, so provided nothing else breaks he should be able to provide some good value for the Nats.
Garza had a great outing against the crappy Pirates offense, striking out seven in seven innings. The only players on this team that are less likely to be traded than Garza are Starlin Castro and Koyie Hill.
Tuesday: Ross Detwiler, RHP (2.66, 4.04, 4.34, 4.27) vs Rodrigo Lopez, RHP (5.17, 4.82, 4.66, 4.91), 7:05 PM CT
Detwiler spent most of the year in AAA, but has pitched well enough in his 20 innings of work this season for the Nats to give him Tom Gorzellany’s rotation spot. He was the Nats first round pick in the 2007 draft and should be a decent enough back end of the rotation guy for them down the road.
Wednesday: Jordan Zimmermann, RHP (3.14, 2.74, 3.54, 3.20) vs Ryan Dempster, RHP (4.87, 3.64, 3.44, 3.71), 7:05 PM CT
Zimmermann is the real deal, and was putting up great numbers in 2009 before going down with an elbow injury. He recovered relatively quickly, making seven starts for the Nationals at the end of last season. The most surprising component of his FIP this year is his 1.56 BB/9. From what I remember the conventional wisdom with guys coming back from TJS is that their velocity comes back but it takes a while to find their control.
Dempster walked six in his last start and his GB rate is starting to tick down again. He’s only had one start in his last eight where he gave up more ground balls than LD/FB. He walked six Reds in his last start but managed to skate by only allowing two runs in six innings.
Prediction
Two out of three to the Nationals
Although, Jayson did cut a guy down at the plate with an awesome throw yesterday. He still has a gun.
I’m concerned about Dempster. I know I’m going to ripped up yet again for saying so, but I think we’ve already seen the best of him.
Thankfully his K numbers have stayed up. But if/when he stops missing bats…it’s going to get real ugly.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Thankfully his K numbers have stayed up. But if/when he stops missing bats…it’s going to get real ugly.[/quote]Yeah, I was worried he’d be bad this year. He has pulled it up a little. He’ll probably exercise his option, so we’ll have another year of him. Maybe back to the bullpen?
[quote name=josh]Yeah, I was worried he’d be bad this year. He has pulled it up a little. He’ll probably exercise his option, so we’ll have another year of him. Maybe back to the bullpen?[/quote]His peripherals are at or near his his career norms. He hasn’t been bad, but, to my mind, he’s definitely showing signs of decline. However, a move the bullpen would be foolish. Even in decline, Dempster will provide far more value in the rotation that in the bullpen.
WE GOT A WEATHER BALLOON WITH POINTS
Is there any chance Strasburg is back by Labor Day? I’m in D.C. that weekend and I’m thinking of buying tickets to each game just to be safe.
It’s been a while since I’ve made a variation of this gif:
Hellickson is dealing tonight.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I’m concerned about Dempster. I know I’m going to ripped up yet again for saying so, but I think we’ve already seen the best of him.[/quote]
You’re really going out on a limb saying that we’ve seen the best of a 34-year old pitcher, MO (dying laughing). I think he’s just moved from great to merely good.
[quote name=GBTS]Is there any chance Strasburg is back by Labor Day? I’m in D.C. that weekend and I’m thinking of buying tickets to each game just to be safe.[/quote]
I think he’ll be up by then. Too bad you won’t be around the previous weekend, I’ll be back in DC around then.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]His peripherals are at or near his his career norms. He hasn’t been bad, but, to my mind, he’s definitely showing signs of decline. However, a move the bullpen would be foolish. Even in decline, Dempster will provide far more value in the rotation that in the bullpen.[/quote]
You gotta make room for Rodrigo Lopez somehow, MO.
B not to be creepy but what part of dc do u live by? I am in arlington
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]B not to be creepy but what part of dc do u live by? I am in arlington[/quote]
I live in TX but I grew up in Loudoun county. We’re visiting family for a week or so in late August.
[quote name=Berselius]Too bad you won’t be around the previous weekend, I’ll be back in DC around then.[/quote]I’ve been looking for the creepiest picture I could use to respond to this, here’s your winner.
[quote name=Berselius]I live in TX but I grew up in Loudoun county. We’re visiting family for a week or so in late August.[/quote]
Word thats whats up. Nats going to be in town?
I cant wait to see
stras throw again. It was epic
[quote name=Berselius]You’re really going out on a limb saying that we’ve seen the best of a 34-year old pitcher, MO (dying laughing). I think he’s just moved from great to merely good.[/quote]I was going to say the same thing. We’ve almost certainly seen the best of Ryan Dempster unless he has a Roger Clemens extended career. Even if we reduce his strikeout rate to 7 per 9 and his walks to 4 per 9. ZiPS projects he strikes out 8.2 per 9 so we’re lowering it by a lot and his walk rate has been pretty solid this year. It’s unlikely it would be at 4. Let’s also say he gives up 22 home runs and walks 8 batters. His FIP would still be 4.36 over 200 innings. Even in this run environment he’d be ranked right about where Carlos Zambrano is this season. Certainly not good, but not terrible either and we’ve just looked at what is close to the worst case scenario.
If we go to 7.5 per 9 K and 3.8 per 9 BB keeping HR and HBP the same, we get 4.17 FIP.
There’s always a chance shit just goes south, but I don’t see anything in his numbers other than a .330 BABIP that would suggest he’s declining that much.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]
I cant wait to see
stras throw again. It was epic[/quote]
What’s interesting about that pitch is how awful it was. Catcher has the target outside the strike zone and Strasburg misses it by about 24 inches. You won’t see too many pitchers miss their target by that much. Strasburg got away with a horrible pitch that was actually just as far out of the zone as the catcher set up because the movement on it is insane.
He did stupid shit with a baseball..
[quote name=Berselius]You gotta make room for Rodrigo Lopez somehow, MO.[/quote]I forgot for a minute that we’re trying to win games here.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]He did stupid shit with a baseball..[/quote]I hope he’s as good when he comes back, but Tango pointed to Liriano who was just as good in his rookie season (maybe better) in just as many innings and how he’s done since coming back.
http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/strasburg_v_liriano_as_rookies/
Sounds like no game tonight
All London EPL matches canceled because of the riots there, or so it seems.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]All London EPL matches canceled because of the riots there, or so it seems.[/quote]
Some terrible stuff going on there. I think they smashed up the Spurs ticket office.
[quote name=Berselius]Some terrible stuff going on there. I think they smashed up the Spurs ticket office.[/quote]Yeah, and much more. It’s really bad.
[quote name=mb21]I hope he’s as good when he comes back, but Tango pointed to Liriano who was just as good in his rookie season (maybe better) in just as many innings and how he’s done since coming back.[/quote]
I dont know how to quantify this or if it can be. But when he pitched the park was on fire. Shit was packed for day games on a weekday even when he started.
This is the same fanbase that had about 500 people there for randy johnsons 300th win (i was there)
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]I dont know how to quantify this or if it can be. But when he pitched the park was on fire. Shit was packed for day games on a weekday even when he started.
This is the same fanbase that had about 500 people there for randy johnsons 300th win (i was there)[/quote]I don’t know what that has to do with whether or not Strasburg will be as good as he was last year or more similar to what Liriano has been. The place was electric when Strasburg pitched, but if he doesn’t pitch as well as he did last year it won’t be.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=17785643
Brett has some serious power.. I think he is gonna be a beast in the Curtis granderson range
[quote name=mb21]I don’t know what that has to do with whether or not Strasburg will be as good as he was last year or more similar to what Liriano has been. The place was electric when Strasburg pitched, but if he doesn’t pitch as well as he did last year it won’t be.[/quote]
he killed it last night. I mean i know he gave up a hit and it was a homerun but 25 strikes in 31 pitches while K’n 4 and hitting 98. I hope he comes back. If he does its fun to watch.
I hope he does, too, bubbles, but you never know what he’s going to be like when does come back. And I don’t care what he does in the minor leagues. Let me know when he faces a Major League hitter.
chris rusin with a good start so far tonight
Game will be made up on Thu at 1:20
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=17785643
Brett has some serious power.. I think he is gonna be a beast in the
Curtis grandersonGrady Sizemore range[/quote]You’re not allowed to make trans-racial comparisons in sports. You’ve been warned.[quote name=mb21]I hope he does, too, bubbles, but you never know what he’s going to be like when does come back. And I don’t care what he does in the minor leagues. Let me know when he faces a Major League hitter.[/quote]
It looks like the stuff is still there which is positive
[quote name=GBTS]You’re not allowed to make trans-racial comparisons in sports. You’ve been warned.[/quote]
Isnt Grady sizemore black?
(dying laughing)
Cubs forced the wussout
BJax 1-2 with a k
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]Isnt Grady sizemore black?
[/quote]That’s Grady Sizemo’.
/thatsracist
Greg rohan is having a solid year
Sizemore’s actually mixed-race. His father is African-American.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/multimedia/vpp.jsp?content_id=17785643
Brett has some serious power.. I think he is gonna be a beast in the Curtis granderson range[/quote]Keep in mind that his K-Rate is 5% higher (23%) than Granderson’s was in the minors (18%) and Granderson’s jumped ~9% in the majors. And their MiLB walk rates are similar (11% for Granderson, 13% for Jackson).
That said, I think Granderson’s DET years are about what we should expect as Jackson’s ceiling. And that’s fine by me. You can win with a guy like that in CF.
Rasmus is another good comp I’ve seen floated here, by Dooglas or ACT.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]Sizemore’s actually mixed-race. His father is African-American.[/quote]
It’s enough. Trust me on this.
i would love i mean love if he turns in comparable stats to granderson or rasmus.
[quote name=Barack Obama and Tiger Woods]It’s enough. Trust me on this.[/quote]
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
Rusin is straight dealing tn. 6ip 8 ks 6 hits i think.
I mean he has to be better than lopez right?
[quote name=Barack Obama and Tiger Woods]It’s enough. Trust me on this.[/quote]
*nodding*
BTW just watched curb from last night. Amazing shit.. Just amazing
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]Rusin is straight dealing tn. 6ip 8 ks 6 hits i think.
I mean he has to be better than lopez right?[/quote]Great command, but he doesn’t strike too many guys out. If his command remains as good as it’s been he has a chance to be useful, but I’m guessing he’s a reliever in the future.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]i would love i mean love if he turns in comparable stats to granderson or rasmus.[/quote]I think most fans will balk at the low-ish BA, but Jackson could be a very valuable player with those numbers. I just think he’ll strike out too much to be a superstar. His ceiling is very good, but that K-rate really scares me.
i think i am the least concerned about bjax’s k’s than anyone here.
I jsut dont see it as being an issue since he gets on base at such a prolific pace. Shit even when he was sucking in AAA he was still getting on base. And the power looks legit. And he can steal a base
My thoughts exactly, MO. He has a chance to be really good, but he’s going to strikeout a ton and unless he has a ridiculously high BABIP he’s going to be hitting for a low batting average. I’m thinking .250/.340/.420 or so. That’s above average hitting and he plays CF.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]i think i am the least concerned about bjax’s k’s than anyone here.
I jsut dont see it as being an issue since he gets on base at such a prolific pace. Shit even when he was sucking in AAA he was still getting on base. And the power looks legit. And he can steal a base[/quote]Getting on base in the minors is a lot easier than the big leagues, bubbles. You’re going to have a higher BABIP in the minors than you will at the big league level. Look at any player who has struckout as much as he’s likely to and they’ve had low averages. Unless we’re to believe that Jackson is a .380ish BABIP guy (he’s not) then the average will be quite low.
I honestly don’t think there’s anything to debate here. It’s really common sense.
[quote name=mb21]My thoughts exactly, MO. He has a chance to be really good, but he’s going to strikeout a ton and unless he has a ridiculously high BABIP he’s going to be hitting for a low batting average. I’m thinking .250/.340/.420 or so. That’s above average hitting and he plays CF.[/quote]
I think your OBP is way too low
Did the Braves kill Jason Heyward or what? That guy was wailing last year, now they’re benching him.
The guys with the most strikeouts this season and their batting averages
Stubbs: .253
Dunn: .163
Howard: .250
Reynolds: .222
Austin Jackson: .247
Stanton; .260
Kelly Johnson: .215
Granderson: .273
Pena: .222
Werth: .223
Espinosa: .228
Upton: .227
Freeman is next at .296.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]i think i am the least concerned about bjax’s k’s than anyone here.
I jsut dont see it as being an issue since he gets on base at such a prolific pace. Shit even when he was sucking in AAA he was still getting on base. And the power looks legit. And he can steal a base[/quote]If his K-rate jumps like Granderson’s did, he’s going to be closer to Drew Stubbs than Curtis Granderson.
Stubbs has a 33% K-rate. (dying laughing)
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]I think your OBP is way too low[/quote]How? His OBP has been about 100 to 110 points higher than average in the minors. It will be less than that. I have it 90. It will probably be even lower than that.
[quote name=josh]Did the Braves kill Jason Heyward or what? That guy was wailing last year, now they’re benching him.[/quote]
hes hurt i think
[quote name=mb21]How? His OBP has been about 100 to 110 points higher than average in the minors. It will be less than that. I have it 90. It will probably be even lower than that.[/quote]
you could be correct.. i think he hits around 260 or 270
Jackson will be up there with Stubbs in strikeouts. Those guys listed above have an average OBP of around .325. That’s probably what Brett Jackson is looking at.
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]If his K-rate jumps like Granderson’s did, he’s going to be closer to Drew Stubbs than Curtis Granderson.[/quote]
am i crazy in that i like drew stubbs?
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]you could be correct.. i think he hits around 260 or 270[/quote]Again, how? Let’s say he gets 500 plate appearances and strikes out 150 times. He hits 15 home runs. He takes 50 walks. We’re down to under 300 balls in play. Even if we say he can have a .330 BABIP…
That’s 109 hits and a .242 batting average. i wouldn’t bet on him having a .330 BABIP.
He’s going to have to have an exceptionally high BABIP to hit even .250, bubbles.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]am i crazy in that i like drew stubbs?[/quote]Not at all and I think that’s probably a fair comparison for jackson. Stubbs probably plays better defense and is better right now, but he strikes out so much that he has a very low average. It makes his OBP about league average. That’s what we’ll see with Jackson, too.
7 innings 6 hits 11 ks for rusin
B Jax 2-4 with a double and rbi
[quote name=mb21]Again, how? Let’s say he gets 500 plate appearances and strikes out 150 times. He hits 15 home runs. He takes 50 walks. We’re down to under 300 balls in play. Even if we say he can have a .330 BABIP…
That’s 109 hits and a .242 batting average. i wouldn’t bet on him having a .330 BABIP.
He’s going to have to have an exceptionally high BABIP to hit even .250, bubbles.[/quote]
Yea when you say it like that it seems hard. i mean really hard. But he has been doing it at the minor league level and i know the majors is a lot harder but i cant see him stop hitting.
So is B Jax more valuable as a trade chip than as a player?
It’s probably hoping too much to have a team of superstars.
In reality i really really need something to hang onto with this frickin team
Hey, Derrek Lee is playing again. Unfortunately, his team nosedived while he was riding the pine.
[quote name=josh]So is B Jax more valuable as a trade chip than as a player?
It’s probably hoping too much to have a team of superstars.[/quote]
He’s equally valuable unless you think the Cubs have no shot at contending in the 6 years of team control that the Cubs will have.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]In reality i really really need something to hang onto with this frickin team[/quote]I’m with you there.
b and mb i am in the process of watching breaking bad.. will have some thoughts after i am done
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]am i crazy in that i like drew stubbs?[/quote]Well, I’d like more than a .719 OPS from my CF, but Stubbs isn’t a bad player. Decent pop, and outstanding defense. Good enough on the bases. Not bad. I’m hoping for more from Jackson, but if all he is is Stubbs, I wouldn’t consider him a bust.
So just out of curiosity, what did Pujols look like in AAA? Did he hit like .450 with a .700 OBP?
[quote name=josh]So just out of curiosity, what did Pujols look like in AAA? Did he hit like .450 with a .700 OBP?[/quote]He only played 15 games at AAA after jumping straight from A+, but in his MiLB career, he carried a .920 OPS and had 266 TB in 544 PA. He was only in the minors one season. (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]He only played 15 games at AAA after jumping straight from A+, but in his MiLB career, he carried a .920 OPS and had 266 TB in 544 PA. He was only in the minors one season. (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing)[/quote]His one full season of minor league ball he hit 32 doubles and 17 HRs in 440 PAs.
Yeah, I guess it’s no real comparison, but we could hope B Jax is an outlier. I don’t know. I don’t see how the team competes next year at all, or even makes it interesting.
[quote name=JMan]His one full season of minor league ball he hit 32 doubles and 17 HRs in 440 PAs.[/quote](dying laughing) I have a friend who played some Rookie Ball and saw Pujols play a few times. He said the minute that guy stepped to the plate, there was no doubt. Said it was like a man playing with boys.
BTW, that was just at Rookie Ball that year (2000). For the season, he dinged 19 HR, 41 2B, and 7 3B in 544 PA. 43% of his hits were XBH. (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing) (dying laughing) What a fucking meast.
I wonder if Castro’s home run yesterday was the longest of his career. I can’t think of any bombs like that off the top of my head.
[quote name=bubblesdachimp]Yea when you say it like that it seems hard. i mean really hard. But he has been doing it at the minor league level and i know the majors is a lot harder but i cant see him stop hitting.[/quote]Not only is MLB harder in terms of BABIP, it’s more difficult to make contact, hit home runs, take walks, play defense, run the bases and so on and so forth. His BABIP will go down, his strikeouts will go up, his walks will go down and so on.
[quote name=GBTS]I wonder if Castro’s home run yesterday was the longest of his career. I can’t think of any bombs like that off the top of my head.[/quote]hittrackeronline.com
The one yesterday wasn’t hit as far as the one on August 3rd: http://hittrackeronline.com/detail.php?id=2011_2546&type=hitter
[quote name=josh]Yeah, I guess it’s no real comparison, but we could hope B Jax is an outlier. I don’t know. I don’t see how the team competes next year at all, or even makes it interesting.[/quote]If he ends up like Drew Stubbs I think all Cub fans will be happy. there’s a ton of value in a player that is great in CF with a lot of power and ability to steal bases. I worry more about his health. There’s still a chance he can adjust his swing to cut down on the K’s but it’s unlikely.
I also hope Cub fans are prepared for a really good player but not a superstar. The fanbase is so desperate for a developed star player that they, and the media, heap WAY too much onto certain players. Which is just another reason I think Ricketts will go all-in to get a guy like Pujols. The fanbase will attach itself to him instantly relieving a lot of the pressure they focus onto Castro and potentially Jackson.
The one he hit last July was the 2nd longest in his career: http://hittrackeronline.com/detail.php?id=2011_2546&type=hitter
Yesterday’s was 3rd longest.
I missed that one last week.
Byrd has the most no-doubters on the Cubs with 3. Soriano has 2. Half of Byrd’s home runs have been no-doubters and 2 of the other 3 were lucky.
[quote name=GBTS]I missed that one last week.[/quote]I didn’t remember it. I do remember it being a blast, but that’s about it. I don’t even remember his home run yesterday at this point. (dying laughing)
I remember his from yesterday because I was fapping the whole time.
I think the longest HR I’ve seen at Wrigley were Hill’s rooftopper, Will Clark off the building across Sheffield in the 89 NLCS, and Sammy going off the camera house in the 03 NLCS.
[quote name=GBTS]I remember his from yesterday because I was fapping the whole time.[/quote]FLAGGED
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]FLAGGED[/quote]You’re not cool.
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There is a new sheriff in Cubdumb….
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]I think the longest HR I’ve seen at Wrigley were Hill’s rooftopper, Will Clark off the building across Sheffield in the 89 NLCS, and Sammy going off the camera house in the 03 NLCS.[/quote]Last year I gif’d the 10 longest at Wrigley since 2008.
http://twoteamsonecup.blogspot.com/2010/05/10-most-epic-wrigley-field-home-runs.html
http://twoteamsonecup.blogspot.com/2010/05/10-epic-wrigley-home-runs-1-5.html
I was there for Fielder’s, that was the longest I’ve ever seen in person. Milton’s off Peavy was a fucking BOMB.
[quote name=GBTS]Last year I gif’d the 10 longest at Wrigley since 2008.
http://twoteamsonecup.blogspot.com/2010/05/10-most-epic-wrigley-field-home-runs.html
http://twoteamsonecup.blogspot.com/2010/05/10-epic-wrigley-home-runs-1-5.html
I was there for Fielder’s, that was the longest I’ve ever seen in person. Milton’s off Peavy was a fucking BOMB.[/quote]Man, Derrek Lee’s swing was so, so pretty when he got a hold of one.
[quote name=GBTS]You’re not cool.[/quote]If fapping is cool, consider me Miles Davis.
Oh, wait…
[quote name=josh]So just out of curiosity, what did Pujols look like in AAA? Did he hit like .450 with a .700 OBP?[/quote]He put up an underwhelming .214 /.267/.286 line. But what do you expect from a 13th round draft pick?
[quote name=ACT]He put up an underwhelming .214 /.267/.286 line. But what do you expect from a 13th round draft pick?[/quote]David Kaplan thinks he should be cut.
Derrek Lee is 3/4 of the way to a Golden Sombrero.
Speaking of long home runs in Wrigley: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3017957919029122909
[quote name=ACT]Speaking of long home runs in Wrigley: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3017957919029122909/quote
If only that building hadn’t been in the way.
Derrek Lee just hit a triple.
[quote name=Rice Cube]If only that building hadn’t been in the way.[/quote]If only it wasn’t Chip Caray making my ears bleed.
[quote name=ACT]Derrek Lee just hit a triple.[/quote]Who fell down?
[quote name=JMan]If only it wasn’t Chip Caray making my ears bleed.[/quote]OH BABY!
Still (dying laughing) at this
[quote name=Mercurial Outfielder]OH BABY![/quote]
FISTED!
[quote name=Berselius]FISTED![/quote]LINE DRIVE! BASE HIT! CAUGHT!
http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/8/9/2352271/prospect-of-the-day-brett-jackson-of-chicago-cubs
Regarding B. Jackson, what causes his strikeouts? Does he have a swing and miss problem or a pitch recognition problem? Is he Cerrano? Can he only hit straight balls?
[quote name=Muckey]Regarding B. Jackson, what causes his strikeouts? Does he have a swing and miss problem or a pitch recognition problem? Is he Cerrano? Can he only hit straight balls?[/quote]
Looking at his walk rate I’m guessing his batting eye is just fine.
[quote name=Muckey]Regarding B. Jackson, what causes his strikeouts? Does he have a swing and miss problem or a pitch recognition problem? Is he Cerrano? Can he only hit straight balls?[/quote]Considering how many walks he takes, you know he’s working deep counts on a regular basis. A player who works a deep count is more likely to walk and more likely to strikeout. It’s also been reported he has a swing and miss problem, but I think the biggest reason he strikes out so much is that he walks so much. The question is, do you want him to not work as many deep counts in an effort to put the ball in play more? It would mean fewer walks and probably a slightly higher batting average. I’d prefer he take the walks.
[quote name=mb21]Considering how many walks he takes, you know he’s working deep counts on a regular basis. A player who works a deep count is more likely to walk and more likely to strikeout. It’s also been reported he has a swing and miss problem, but I think the biggest reason he strikes out so much is that he walks so much. The question is, do you want him to not work as many deep counts in an effort to put the ball in play more? It would mean fewer walks and probably a slightly higher batting average. I’d prefer he take the walks.[/quote]Agreed. I would much rather see him work the count and get himself into some favorable hitting counts.
I hope the Ron Santo statue is as terrifying as the the Harray Caray bursting from hell on the souls of fans past statue.
[quote name=Muckey]Agreed. I would much rather see him work the count and get himself into some favorable hitting counts.[/quote]I agree. If you get him to swing earlier in the count he’ll undoubtedly be swinging at pitches that he is less likely to hit hard. So while his average may go up enough to offset the OBP, his slugging is likely to go down and possibly by a lot.
Brett Jackson is what he is. He’s going to strikeout 150 times or more, take a lot of walks, hit some home runs, steal some bases and play adequate defense in CF.
[quote name=mb21]
Brett Jackson is what he is. He’s going to strikeout 150 times or more, take a lot of walks, hit some home runs, steal some bases and play adequate defense in CF.[/quote]
Don’t think he’ll be quite as good but that sounds a lot like this guy: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2197&position=OF
[quote name=Mish]Don’t think he’ll be quite as good but that sounds a lot like this guy: http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=2197&position=OF/quoteI think he could be as good as Sizemore in terms of batting. Doubtful he’s as good a fielder as he was earlier and probably not the baserunner either.
[quote name=mb21]I think he could be as good as Sizemore in terms of batting. Doubtful he’s as good a fielder as he was earlier and probably not the baserunner either.[/quote]
Baserunning I think you’re definitely right on; defense I could see go either way as I believe the metrics have been kind of mixed on Sizemore (though scouting reports have been somewhat mixed on Jackson though Sickels says he should be able to stick and play well enough in Center).
Other than scouts questioning his ability to stick in CF, I don’t think we know much about Jackson’s defense. The Cubs have played him in all 3 outfield spots so even they aren’t certain he can stick in CF.
[quote name=josh]I hope the Ron Santo statue is as terrifying as the the Harray Caray bursting from hell on the souls of fans past statue.[/quote]
I’m glad to see that someone else hates that statue. Ugh, it’s so hideous.
Polanco ———–> sports hernia. Maybe the Phillies could use a little Aramis Ramirez, if he weren’t so untouchable.
shit: http://www.obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/club-option-on-aramis-ramirez.html