I’m surprised to see the White Sox with a near-.500 record. Last I remember seeing any news of them, they were mired in a crappy start to the season, and new acquisition Adam Dunn was redefining the definition of a disappointing free agent signing. They were 10-18 in April, and were completely overmatched by their competition in the second half of the month, winning three games while scoring just 36 runs to 80 runs allowed. They’ve bounced back somewhat in May and June but are climbing out of a deep hole. They’re ten 5.5 games back of the surprising Cleveland Indians in the AL Central.
Team Overviews
As always, team stats (and league rankings) are presented
| Cubs | Sox | |
| wOBA | .317 (7th) | .318 (8th) |
| UBR | -6.2 (16th) | -2.9 (9th) |
| UZR | -16 (15th) | -10 (10th) |
| SP FIP | 4.17 (14th) | 3.58 (3rd) |
| RP FIP | 4.13 (15th) | 3.82 (7th) |
Paul Konerko (.418) and Carlos Quentin (.397) have basically carried the lousy Sox offense. Konerko is a guy I think is finally going to break down every year but he keeps producing, so kudos to Sox managment for recognizing it. It’s hard to believe that Adam Dunn is slugging .335. Adam Dunn! Despite his poor performance, three other regulars have provided much more suck to the lineup. Juan Pierre, LF (dying laughing) has put up a .257/.319/.300 line in 317 PAs (-9.3 runs), Brent Morel, 3B has put up a .248/.262/.315 line in 168 PAs (-8.9 runs), and most of all Alex Rios, CF has put up a putrid .209/.261/.324 line in 272 PAs (-12.2 runs). Even the Brewers “black hole of offense” players I like to rag on (Yuni, Gomez, LuCroy) haven’t managed to hurt their team as much as those three (though McGehee is picking up some of the slack this year).
The Sox starting pitching has been quote good, and their best performing pitcher has surprisingly been Phil Humber, who has filled in for glass-armed Jake Peavy. Danks is the only starter with a FIP over 4, so they might have a tough time picking who to demote when Peavy comes back (possibly this series). Danks was hit by a line drive in his last start but was cleared by doctors. Given how well Humber has pitched I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to package one of their starters to find a bat – their hole at 3B is especially glaring. Too bad Aramis Ramirez‘s power fell off the face of the earth this year. They’re ten five and a half games out but given how weak the division is (I still don’t think many believe in Cleveland) they still have a decent shot at winning it.
Pitching Matchups
ERA, FIP, xFIP, and ZiPS projected FIP in parens.
Monday: Carlos Zambrano, RHP (4.59, 3.82, 4.12, 3.71) vs Gavin Floyd, RHP (3.94, 3.65, 3.61, 3.55), 7:10 PM CT, CSN
As usual there’s not much to say about Z that hasn’t already been said around here. I hope he gets traded to some contending team, and takes out a full page ad thanking the city of Chicago for his years here….right next to another full page ad consisting of him giving the finger to Paul Sullivan.
As mentioned above, Floyd was hit by a line drive in his last start but all the scans came back negative, so he’s okay. After a rocky start to his career with the Phillies, he’s turned into a boringly good pitcher with the White Sox. Seriously, looking at his numbers there’s nothing I can praise or criticize. He has solidly above-average stats across the board. If I could pinpoint anything it’s that he has great control, averaging roughly 2.6 BB/9 or so over the past three seasons.
Tuesday: Matt Garza, RHP (4.14, 2.75, 2.90, 3.79) vs Mark Buehrle, LHP (3.75, 3.84, 4.30, 3.97), 7:10 PM CT, WGN/CSN (not sure which is Cubs feed)
Garza continued his poor strikout trend in his last start, striking out only three Brewers in his last start while walking three. He did however keep up his baffling season-long streak of getting ground-balls, which I like to see.
Buehrle has quiely been a merely average pitcher for the past three seasons. His pinpoint control has remained but his strikeout rate has consistenly been around a comically low 4.4 K/9 or so since 2009. He’s managed to keep the ball in the park and the ball more or less on the ground, but I’m surprised by his continued success at this point.
Wednesday: Doug Davis, LHP (4.95, 3.41, 4.25, 4.13) vs Jake Peavy, RHP (4.66, 2.98, 3.42, 3.18), 7:10 PM CT WCIU
Hey, so I guess I was sort of right about the last series. The Cubs won the first game because the Cubs washed-up mid-30s pitcher beat his counterpart. As Harry Pavlidis pointed out on twitter, it was actually one of Davis’s crummier outings. He just got lucky on his balls in play. I guess it has to bounce that way for the Cubs every once in awhile (laughing).
Peavy was injured to start the season, and came back in May to make five starts before hitting the DL again. He’s expected to be back for this start but he’s still a work in progress. Maybe he’s okay though – he struck out nine batters in six innings in last week’s rehab start, giving up two hit and walking none.
Prediction
Cubs lose two out of three yet again. I would also love to see this happen again
Comments
Continuing the Castro discussion from the last thread, I actually think he’d be better off moving to CF instead of 2b/3b, if Brett Jackson doesn’t end up sticking there.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I know Range Factor is far from perfect, but isn’t Castro average or so in RF?[/quote]
Castro is right around average in RF, but our lying eyes tell us he has fantastic range.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=WaLi]I don’t get what is wrong with Castro at SS. I can see it doesn’t work but I don’t get why. He seems to have the tools for it to work, but he just makes mistakes. Is it because he is raw? Is he trying too hard? Will he never make it as a SS? Because sometimes you see him make amazing plays, but then the next play will be boneheaded.[/quote]
I don’t know. I’m not convinced his range is all that great. He does make some great plays, but I think most shortstops do. I don’t know what it is, but he’s not just bad, he’s fucking awful at fielding.
I tend to agree with b as far as CF goes, but I hope Jackson sticks in CF. If he doesn’t, you may as well put Castro there. Jackson won’t have much value in a corner spot though.
mb21Quote Reply
I know very little about range factor – does it work off the in-zone and out of zone plays stuff? Castro gets to a ton of balls but I wonder if his poor throws are obscuring that fact.
BerseliusQuote Reply
They’re only 5.5 games out of first, B.
/rediscredited
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]They’re only 5.5 games out of first, B.
/rediscredited[/quote]
Damn, I could have sworn I saw 10 somwhere. Maybe it was for the AL wild card or something.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Castro is right around average in RF, but our lying eyes tell us he has fantastic range.[/quote]I guess. I know part of it is that every time he touches the ball he thinks he can turn 37 outs if he just throws it as hard as humanly fucking possible. It’s not like he has Dunston’s arm either. Dunston could make plays deep in the hole and on the rare chance he hit his target he’d get the out easily. Castro has a strong arm, but it’s not that strong. His fielding would improve if he just never threw the ball. Literally. Just field it and hand it back to the pitcher and he’s instantly a better fielder. Don’t even worry about the out. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
Have we decided that Castro also would not do well at 2nd? I’d think the shorter throw would help him tremendously.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Also, sorry for apparently stepping on another post of yours yet again, Tim. Everyone has one special skill (dying laughing).
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]I know very little about range factor – does it work off the in-zone and out of zone plays stuff? Castro gets to a ton of balls but I wonder if his poor throws are obscuring that fact.[/quote]I thought of that after I posted my comment. That could be. It’s also likely we see fairly typical plays made and think they’re excellent just because he’s the only thing exciting about this team.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Have we decided that Castro also would not do well at 2nd? I’d think the shorter throw would help him tremendously.[/quote]
My feeling is that it would help his arm but you lose his range advantage, if that exists.
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Have we decided that Castro also would not do well at 2nd? I’d think the shorter throw would help him tremendously.[/quote]He’d be better there than at 2nd, but I think the strong arm would work better at 3rd or CF. Not sure he has the bat to play 3rd though. He has the bat to play CF and the range. 2B/3B/CF defense is basically the same in terms of runs above or below average in relation to SS.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Also, sorry for apparently stepping on another post of yours yet again, Tim. Everyone has one special skill (dying laughing).[/quote]You’re fired.
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]
I tend to agree with b as far as CF goes, but I hope Jackson sticks in CF. If he doesn’t, you may as well put Castro there. Jackson won’t have much value in a corner spot though.[/quote]
Clearly the answer to this is to put BJax at SS.
Also, I think we need a macro that turns Juan Pierre into (dying laughing).
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Damn, I could have sworn I saw 10 somwhere. Maybe it was for the AL wild card or something.[/quote]
They were ten games back a month ago. I guess that’s close enough (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
Like Quade, b makes all of his preview threads during Spring Training so all the other posters know if they need to post that day.
MishQuote Reply
test
Juan Pierre
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]They were ten games back a month ago. I guess that’s close enough (dying laughing)[/quote]Whatever. if it ain’t about Yellon’s watching habits, I ain’t reading it.
mb21Quote Reply
It looks like the macro doesn’t like multi-word replacements.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Juan Pierre
mb21Quote Reply
[quote name=mb21]I thought of that after I posted my comment. That could be. It’s also likely we see fairly typical plays made and think they’re excellent just because he’s the only thing exciting about this team.[/quote]Asdrubal Cabrera is like that. He makes the highlight reel every other day, but fangraphs has him at -5.0 in fielding. It’s like these guys have dedicated themselves to only making flashy plays and they screw up the easy stuff.
binkyQuote Reply
haha?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
There we go – I just made P-ierre (without the dash) work (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]It looks like the macro doesn’t like multi-word replacements.[/quote]That’s OK. JP deserves the double macro.
mb21Quote Reply
Juan Pierre
Ha!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I think it’s funnier with just the last name (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
Pierre
Interesting.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Asdrubal Cabrera is like that. He makes the highlight reel every other day, but fangraphs has him at -5.0 in fielding. It’s like these guys have dedicated themselves to only making flashy plays and they screw up the easy stuff.[/quote]I remember back when Dunston was pretty young everybody talked about how his throws would become more accurate. Sure. That’s entirely possible, but it’s more likely that Dunston simply was never going to make quality throws from SS. he never did. I’m sure some players do improve their throwing just as some get worse, but we can’t know which ones. We’re just better off assuming there will only be marginal improvement.
mb21Quote Reply
Pierre, South Dakota.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Juan Pierre!
MishQuote Reply
What was Tim going to write? Those are always fun to read because they’re not cluttered with fagety spreadsheets.
Pierre Cardin.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Note to self: make suggestion for OV blog, will be honored no questions asked. Pierre
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Also, sorry for apparently stepping on another post of yours yet again, Tim. Everyone has one special skill (dying laughing).[/quote]
No worries, We can probably just use that as the game thread.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Pierre the pigeon from An American Tail
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Dr. Aneus TaintQuote Reply
I saw GW mention The Killing in the last thread. I wrote briefly about it this morning on THS: http://thehawkeyestate.net/totally-random/television/does-anyone-remember-who-killed-laura-palmer.html
mb21Quote Reply
Soriano at 3rd, Castro in Left? I threw up a little in my mouth just typing that.
binkyQuote Reply
In Sully’s latest mailbag post, he’s able to twist the first question into a shot at Rothschild and Zambrano.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]In Sully’s latest mailbag post, he’s able to twist the first question into a shot at Rothschild and Zambrano.[/quote]
Don’t ever say he’s not good at what he does, unless what you say he does is journalism.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Mish]In Sully’s latest mailbag post, he’s able to twist the first question into a shot at Rothschild and Zambrano.[/quote]Man that guy is such a fucker.
WaLiQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Soriano at 3rd, Castro in Left? I threw up a little in my mouth just typing that.[/quote]
Ewww. Why?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Wow this mailbag is fail:
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Don’t ever say he’s not good at what he does, unless what you say he does is journalism.[/quote]
If Sullivan was a journalist, he would have pointed out (in my quotes above):
#1) The Cubs have no important games until Opening Day 2012 (at the earliest) and players are allowed to have lives outside of work, just like everyone else.
#2) Geo Soto was fantastic last year.
#3) Bunting decreases your run expectancy.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Ewww. Why?[/quote]Hide Castro’s defensive ineptness and accentuate Soriano’s I guess. Never mind. Stupidest idea ever. Maybe Castro will buy a new glove in the off season. A magic glove touched by angels. That might help.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Hide Castro’s defensive ineptness and accentuate Soriano’s I guess. Never mind. Stupidest idea ever. Maybe Castro will buy a new glove in the off season. A magic glove touched by angels. That might help.[/quote]
So you’re saying the Cubs are going to dump him on Anaheim?
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]So you’re saying the Cubs are going to dump him on Anaheim?[/quote]
They should dump Soriano on Los Angeles of Anaheim of California since they seem to like spending money with little return.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]So you’re saying the Cubs are going to dump him on Anaheim?[/quote]
Or hire Christopher Lloyd to work with him
WaLiQuote Reply
Yo, Ed Folts. I was at that show. It was over by 10:00. Early enough for you? Maybe you should go hang out with Nathan H. from Omaha.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Yo, Ed Folts. I was at that show. It was over by 10:00. Early enough for you? Maybe you should go hang out with Nathan H. from Omaha.[/quote]
I don’t understand what else Dempster was supposed to do to get ready. He’d probably already done his side session the day before and I doubt you can do all that much strength training and conditioning anyway because of the fatigue and muscle strain that would ensue… *shrug*
Rice CubeQuote Reply
If anyone wants to watch the Killing in the future, then beware: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
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MB, I think I might be in the minority of people that watched the Killing and actually liked the finale. That being said, I’ve seen both seasons of Twin Peaks and liked both of them as well. I thought it was pretty clear at the end of the second to last episode that we wouldn’t discover who the killer is, because there was no way they would reveal Richmond like that with a whole episode left. I always thought something was up with Holder, and am looking forward to what’s next.
That being said, I think you’re right in that the show really has nothing other than the Rosie Larsen murder to drive it now. Holder and Linden had actually become good characters and their partnership had developed into something to watch, and now that’s ruined. That will probably make it so that once the killer is revealed, if it ever is, then the show is done. Also, I understand that many fans of the show were upset because the writers had apparently assured people that the killer would be revealed this season, and that makes sense.
PFDQuote Reply
Obviously Dempster should be mentally mowing down Yankees hitters in his head.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]Obviously Zambrano should be mentally mowing down Yankees hitters lawns in his head.[/quote].
BerseliusQuote Reply
I guess I’m upset because this has been done before. The similarities to Twin Peaks were evident from the first show and there were quite a lot of them. The location, the weather, even the woods, the investigation, getting to know the community and more that I can’t think of right now. I know a lot of people liked both seasons of Twin Peaks and I’ve been meaning to go back to watch them. I think I’d like them both right now, but now The Killing, at least to me, has one too many similarities to Twin Peaks for me. And I really do think the show has nowhere to go. They can’t tell us who killed Rosie Larsen. That’s even more evident because of what you mentioned. The relationship between the two cops was really good. It was the best part of the show.
it wouldn’t surprise me if the writers figure out a way (not a believable one) to say that Holder wasn’t involved or something. I just think there’s only one ending for the show now: we never find out who killed her. We can’t find out because there’s nothing else to drive the show.
I thought they had a chance to hit a home run in the finale. It wasn’t a great season by any means, but it could have finished nicely and had everybody looking forward to the next crime, but now I just don’t care who killed Rosie Larsen. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
MB, for what it’s worth despite the fact that Twin Peaks has been done before it’s not a recent show, and it’s not like there have been other high-profile shows in the intervening years. I’ve never seen Twin Peaks (and didn’t really have much interest in getting into The Killing) but there were plenty of other people for which the show was pretty new.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Yeah, the amount of similarities to twin peaks was pretty jarring. I’m just glad they (fingers crossed) have stayed away from the supernatural stuff that was way too prevalent in season 2 of Twin Peaks. Twin Peaks was certainly a better show, and David Lynch is without a doubt a better creative mind than Veena Sud, but I think there’s still at least a chance for the Killing to put out a decent season two. I read a review of the finale on HitFlix last night, and the main point the reviewer made there is that the shows creators basically lied to the viewers all season long. Also, that Stan Larsen and Bennet Ahmed’s wife could have a friendly conversation, when there’s no way in hell that she didn’t know that Stan had just beaten her husband nearly to death a couple days earlier. Quality writing there. (dying laughing)
PFDQuote Reply
Does Castro still have value? I mean he’s shown a pretty consistent level of suck at SS since his debut and you have to really believe he’ll get better in order to stick with him there but where else can you put a single’s hitter who can’t take a walk?
MuckerQuote Reply
I think they’re thinking his power will improve with age.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Berselius]Castro gets to a ton of balls but I wonder if his poor throws are obscuring that fact.[/quote]
I gave a half-hearted try to looking this up but it looked too hard for someone as lazy as me, so my information is purely anecdotal. Is it possible some of Castro’s poor throwing is due to the fact that the Cubs have had Tyler Colvin, DJ Lemahieu and Jeff Baker playing first this year?
I watched Castro throw a ball on the 1 start that LeMahieu had that I thought your average 1B of any quality (certainly Pena) probably would have come up with. Yet LeMahieu couldn’t make the pick and it was an E6. Similarly, even though he wasn’t charged with an error on the play last night, I thought Castro’s throw to Baker was obviously not good, but Baker played it about like I would have if you just called me out of the stands the pitch before.
Yesterday I saw Kevin Youklis make a nice play, then short hop a throw to 1st and Adrian G picked it on a mid hop. I realize that First Base is near the bottom of the defensive spectrum, but it certainly can make a difference to have a guy that can scoop it. This is why I shudder when people mention moving Soriano to 1st. Castro would have 1,000 errors.
Chris DickersonQuote Reply
Nobody wants the crap we leave out on the driveway:
http://slidingintohome.blogspot.com/2011/06/heyman-yanks-have-no-interest-in.html
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Chris Dickerson]I gave a half-hearted try to looking this up but it looked too hard for someone as lazy as me, so my information is purely anecdotal. Is it possible some of Castro’s poor throwing is due to the fact that the Cubs have had Tyler Colvin, DJ Lemahieu and Jeff Baker playing first this year?
I watched Castro throw a ball on the 1 start that LeMahieu had that I thought your average 1B of any quality (certainly Pena) probably would have come up with. Yet LeMahieu couldn’t make the pick and it was an E6. Similarly, even though he wasn’t charged with an error on the play last night, I thought Castro’s throw to Baker was obviously not good, but Baker played it about like I would have if you just called me out of the stands the pitch before.
Yesterday I saw Kevin Youklis make a nice play, then short hop a throw to 1st and Adrian G picked it on a mid hop. I realize that First Base is near the bottom of the defensive spectrum, but it certainly can make a difference to have a guy that can scoop it. This is why I shudder when people mention moving Soriano to 1st. Castro would have 1,000 errors.[/quote]Are the majority of his errors throwing errors? If so, can’t the Cubs invest in some coaching to help him with his throws? It seems like he plays a good fielding SS but that his throws are the problem.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Muckey]Does Castro still have value? I mean he’s shown a pretty consistent level of suck at SS since his debut and you have to really believe he’ll get better in order to stick with him there but where else can you put a single’s hitter who can’t take a walk?[/quote]Castro is somewhere around a league average hitter right now, and most hitters peak around 27, so he could get pretty good. Even if he doesn’t stay at short, he may have some defensive value, though peak age on defense is earlier than offense.
ACTQuote Reply
Fukudome RF
Castro SS
DeWitt LF ((dying laughing))
Ramirez 3B
Peña 1B
Soriano DH
Soto C
LeMahieu 2B
Campana CF
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Nobody wants the crap we leave out on the driveway:
http://slidingintohome.blogspot.com/2011/06/heyman-yanks-have-no-interest-in.html%5B/quote%5DPerhaps we could interest you in a gently used Doug Davis?
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Muckey]Are the majority of his errors throwing errors? If so, can’t the Cubs invest in some coaching to help him with his throws? It seems like he plays a good fielding SS but that his throws are the problem.[/quote]From b-ref:
In 2010, he had 16 fielding errors and 11 throwing errors.
In 2011, he has 2 catching errors, 5 fieldeing errors, and 8 throwing errors.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=ACT]Castro is somewhere around a league average hitter right now, and most hitters peak around 27, so he could get pretty good. Even if he doesn’t stay at short, he may have some defensive value, though peak age on defense is earlier than offense.[/quote]It just seems like Castro is really good at making contact so I would think the Cubs would want him to work on drawing walks. If he can hit over .300 and have an OBP 75 to 100 points higher, he could really turn into something special instead of being just a nice little player.
MuckerQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]
DeWitt LF ((dying laughing))
[/quote]That’s almost as bad as putting Pierre in the leadoff spot.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Fukudome RF
Castro SS
DeWitt LF ((dying laughing))
Ramirez 3B
Peña 1B
Soriano DH
Soto C
LeMahieu 2B
Campana CF[/quote]I just don’t understand… How can your brain think this is a good idea?
jtsunamiQuote Reply
[quote name=Muckey]It just seems like Castro is really good at making contact so I would think the Cubs would want him to work on drawing walks. If he can hit over .300 and have an OBP 75 to 100 points higher, he could really turn into something special instead of being just a nice little player.[/quote]Give the guy a break, he’s only ninetee–UH I mean twenty-one! He’s 100% twenty-one.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=jtsunami]I just don’t understand… How can your brain think this is a good idea?[/quote]
Intangibles!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Muckey]Does Castro still have value? [/quote]
Maybe I’m just not realistic enough, but geez, he’s tied for 5th highest wOBA among MLB SS (.347). He’s still the youngest layer in MLB, right?
I acknowledge the high BABIP (.351), low BB% (4.2%).
His ISO is certainly weak, but he has more 2B than any other MLB SS. In time I don’t think it’s unrealistic to see some of those start turning into HR in future seasons, bringing his ISO more even with his peers.
Chris DickersonQuote Reply
I find it odd. Q seemed to be down on DeWitt after his poor spring training, now he has him pegged as a middle-of-the order run producer.
ACTQuote Reply
[quote name=ACT]From b-ref:
In 2010, he had 16 fielding errors and 11 throwing errors.
In 2011, he has 2 catching errors, 5 fieldeing errors, and 8 throwing errors.[/quote]
I’ve looked at the first 5 of the throwing errors so far and they are all with Pena at 1st.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=ACT]I find it odd. Q seemed to be down on DeWitt after his poor spring training, now he has him pegged as a middle-of-the order run producer.[/quote]
It’s called breaking someone down before building them up. I bet DeWitt didn’t eat a lick of dinner in all of Spring Training.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]I’ve looked at the first 5 of the throwing errors so far and they are all with Pena at 1st.[/quote]
My lying eyes tell me that those weren’t low throws in the dirt, but were actually very wide throws that took Pena off the bag or sailed into the dugout/stands.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Chris Dickerson]Maybe I’m just not realistic enough, but geez, he’s tied for 5th highest wOBA among MLB SS (.347). He’s still the youngest layer in MLB, right?
[/quote]
I’m not sure – I recall some youngins being called up this year, so there might be a couple people younger than him now. Unsure tho, Google was little help.
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]Fukudome RF
Castro SS
DeWitt LF ((dying laughing))
Ramirez 3B
Peña 1B
Soriano DH
Soto C
LeMahieu 2B
Campana CF[/quote]
So the bench is Hill, Montanez, Reed, Baker. One could make the argument that none of those guys should face righties, so DeWitt has to be in the lineup somewhere. I can’t argue for Soto in the 3-spot anymore since he’s doing his Koyie Hill impression. So I’d probably have DeWitt batting 6th, but how can it possibly matter in the slightest?
Aisle424Quote Reply
In case you’re looking for way too much exposition about how The Killing fits in with other AMC shows (or more accurately, doesn’t), check out this article
http://cultural-learnings.com/2011/06/20/hiding-behind-the-brand-how-the-killing-threatens-the-future-of-amc/#more-7181
BerseliusQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]My lying eyes tell me that those weren’t low throws in the dirt, but were actually very wide throws that took Pena off the bag or sailed into the dugout/stands.[/quote]
Either way, we have about as good a defender at 1st as you can realistically ask for and the throwing errors are still a problem. I’m sure this is all because he hangs out with Soriano.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Either way, we have about as good a defender at 1st as you can realistically ask for and the throwing errors are still a problem. I’m sure this is all because he hangs out with Soriano.[/quote]
Speaking of Soriano, I thought I should be fair to Alvin and mention that he stood and applauded Soriano’s homerun yesterday. There is still good in him.
Then, as I was leaving during the Rodrigo pitching change, some guy yelled, “How about playing some defense, Soriano?” I thought it was hilarious that the guy was yelling at the one player who even gave the Cubs a fighting chance yesterday. I guess he was involved in some defensive hilarity later, so maybe that guy was psychic and not just a giant jagoff.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Speaking of Soriano, I thought I should be fair to Alvin and mention that he stood and applauded Soriano’s homerun yesterday. There is still good in him.
Then, as I was leaving during the Rodrigo pitching change, some guy yelled, “How about playing some defense, Soriano?” I thought it was hilarious that the guy was yelling at the one player who even gave the Cubs a fighting chance yesterday. I guess he was involved in some defensive hilarity later, so maybe that guy was psychic and not just a giant jagoff.[/quote]Yeah, Sori forgot to try to catch the ball.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Yeah, Sori forgot to try to catch the ball.[/quote]
Glad I missed it. I was surrounded by Yankees fans that were starting to get their arrogance back after a series they should have been ashamed was as close as it was.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]So the bench is Hill, Montanez, Reed, Baker. One could make the argument that none of those guys should face righties, so DeWitt has to be in the lineup somewhere. I can’t argue for Soto in the 3-spot anymore since he’s doing his Koyie Hill impression. So I’d probably have DeWitt batting 6th, but how can it possibly matter in the slightest?[/quote]
I think you put DeWitt at 2B and stick Montanez in LF then. And bat Soriano third. But it probably doesn’t matter.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Glad I missed it. I was surrounded by Yankees fans that were starting to get their arrogance back after a series they should have been ashamed was as close as it was.[/quote]
It seemed to me like Soriano and Reed were converging on the ball, then saw each other, then decided the other was going to get to it and both of them stopped at the same time. It was really really silly.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Nice Unobstructed View from Jon V: http://obstructedview.net/unobstructed-views/cubs/a-look-back-michael-barrett.html
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]It seemed to me like Soriano and Reed were converging on the ball, then saw each other, then decided the other was going to get to it and both of them stopped at the same time. It was really really silly.[/quote]Just before that Sori started, thought it was a homer and slowed, then realized he had a chance and started running again, only to slow when he saw Reed. After that, Reed threw his hands up but then thought better of that strategy and picked the ball out of the vines and threw it back in. Both looked like they wished they were at home watching Twin Peaks. A-Rod, the batter, could be seen saying “What was THAT!?” like a d-bag.
binkyQuote Reply
So McKeon benched Hanley Ramirez in his first game managing, eh?
MishQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]So McKeon benched Hanley Ramirez in his first game managing, eh?[/quote]
He was apparently late to arrive.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]He was apparently late to arrive.[/quote]Ah okay, HBT said it was because McKeon didn’t like how he was running the other day or something.
MishQuote Reply
Someone was bored:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Wordplay-Top-10-anagrams-using-Jakubauskas-an?urn=mlb-wp10029
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Mish]Ah okay, HBT said it was because McKeon didn’t like how he was running the other day or something.[/quote]
Maybe that played into it too, but their beat writer said he showed up late on Jack’s first day.
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Maybe that played into it too, but their beat writer said he showed up late on Jack’s first day.[/quote]Also, he’s a whippersnapper.
binkyQuote Reply
Can Jack McKeon be the Cubs interim manager?
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2011/06/20/jack-mckeons-first-move-in-his-return-as-marlins-manager-bench-late-arriving-hanley-ramirez/
Aisle424Quote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Can Jack McKeon be the Cubs interim manager?
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2011/06/20/jack-mckeons-first-move-in-his-return-as-marlins-manager-bench-late-arriving-hanley-ramirez/%5B/quote%5D
Unfortunately he’d just be another old person to die before the Cubs win the World Series again *sad face*
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Twin Peaks was a recent show that I haven’t seen. PFD mentioned alan sepinwall’s review, which was spot on, and hit on most of the problems I had with the show. It’s a must read.
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/the-killing-orpheus-descending-reviewing-the-season-finale
GWQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Can Jack McKeon be the Cubs interim manager?
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2011/06/20/jack-mckeons-first-move-in-his-return-as-marlins-manager-bench-late-arriving-hanley-ramirez/%5B/quote%5DHanney wasn’t hustling it up. He’s a good kid, but we’re gonna sit him then try him in the 4 hole with Pena tomorrow, see what happens.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=Aisle424]Can Jack McKeon be the Cubs interim manager?
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2011/06/20/jack-mckeons-first-move-in-his-return-as-marlins-manager-bench-late-arriving-hanley-ramirez/%5B/quote%5D%5Bquote name=Aisle424]Can Jack McKeon be the Cubs interim manager?
http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/2011/06/20/jack-mckeons-first-move-in-his-return-as-marlins-manager-bench-late-arriving-hanley-ramirez/%5B/quote%5D
There was a complete lack of nicknames used by McKeon in his quote. Advantage: Cubs.
The WreckardQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]Just before that Sori started, thought it was a homer and slowed, then realized he had a chance and started running again, only to slow when he saw Reed. After that, Reed threw his hands up but then thought better of that strategy and picked the ball out of the vines and threw it back in. Both looked like they wished they were at home watching Twin Peaks. A-Rod, the batter, could be seen saying “What was THAT!?” like a d-bag.[/quote]
While A-Rod is most likely a douchebag, I’m sure any other batter in that situation would’ve said the same (dying laughing)
Rice CubeQuote Reply
[quote name=Rice Cube]While A-Rod is most likely a douchebag, I’m sure any other batter in that situation would’ve said the same (dying laughing)[/quote]It’s the WAY he does it.
binkyQuote Reply
[quote name=josh]It’s the WAY he does it.[/quote]
Yeah, but he’s also hit 600 HR so he has probably earned the right to be a pompous ass.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
New sleep enhancer: http://obstructedview.net/chicago-cubs/articles/the-crosstown-claszzzzzzzzzzz.html
Aisle424Quote Reply