The Cubs are bad
I fail to understand how the Cubs continue to lose games that should be won, and I fail to see it for a number of reasons. The only reason that I keep coming back to is that this is just a bad team, and maybe everyone on the team is on the decline. Of course, you look at the mostly excellent starting pitching of the past, oh, month, and then you look at the ability of the Cubs to have an extremely high team batting average (thank you Derrek Lee), and you really wonder why they suck so incredibly bad. The main problem, obviously, is the inconsistency. And it comes from everywhere.
The bullpen sucks. How can you walk in runs? Or, more importantly, how can you walk runs in when there are already two outs? You've got Wuertz who will blow a game, but then you turn around and you see Dempster blow a game. And these have been two of our more consistent pitchers. There's Eyre, who is actually very consistent, in that he's fat and he sucks, Howry, who has been fairly steady in his recent past, but this year has just been inconsistent, and then there's Cotts, who started out hot, but is now sucking. Add into that also Rocky Cherry who's inexperienced, and while you'd like to see him be able to come up and be solid immediately, you need to allow some room for rookie inexperience. All of this results in a bullpen that, when given a lead, never leaves you to feel confident.
Cardinal rules of baseball: never walk the leadoff man, never walk someone with two outs. These seem like pretty simple rules to abide by, and yet the Cubs suck at it. It has bitten Rich Hill in the ass in his last two starts, it hurt Marquis in his last start, it's hurt Dempster and Wuertz. Everyone does it, but when you walk someone, you ruin your chances of getting that player out. I know, it's pretty complicated.
Anyways, on the whole, the starting pitching has been otherworldly when compared to how I thought it would be. I never expected Ted Lilly to be pitching so well, and I honestly didn't even expect Angel Guzman to be pitching as well as he is. And, I will again admit, Jason Marquis may not suck at life like I had originally thought. Zambrano may have turned the corner on his season, and obviously, if Rich Hill can limit his walks, this starting rotation is primed for success. But, that bullpen...
To the offense, inconsistency is perhaps too accurate in describing it. This week is a perfect example. Put up 4 runs on Tom Glavine, then stop. Put up 10 runs the next day. Then get fucking 2 hit by Jorge Sosa, then get 5 runs the next day. The way our starters pitch, 5 runs should get a win. But it does not, because of our bullpen. Let's go all the way back to last weekend against the Phillies, when the Cubs got 1 run(?) against Cole Hamels, then put up 7 only to give up 11 (thanks bullpen), and then they won on like 3 runs or something Sunday (I don't remember and I'm lazy). It's not even this past week either, it's been the entire season. To be able to score so many runs, yet to still have the record we have is ridiculous. Also, the disparity between runs scored and runs allowed is ridiculous with the record we have. It all goes to show that the Cubs, when they score, give up a lot, and when they don't score, they don't give up a lot. I suppose it could also be an indicator that on any given day, despite good pitching performances from our starters, they're being outpitched by their opponents, but that's not really the case when the Cubs squander opportunities to score runs.
Anyways, I have learned that there's really no such thing as clutch hitting. It's not a statistic, and there's nothing that makes one hitter perform better in a "clutch" situation over another. However, they do keep track of things like batting average with RISP, RISP and 2 outs, and I think those are a fairly good indicator of how someone will perform in a clutch situation, and, usually, the better hitters are also better in the clutch. So, when at the end of an inning you've got 2 outs, runners on second and third, and Jacque Jones or Cesar Izturis up, I am uncomfortable. Even with Cesar hitting surprisingly well of late, I do not like the situation. So I would like to make some suggestions as to how I would change this team.
First, unload Jacque. He's not really hitting any more, and he's certainly not doing it with any consistency. He's surprisingly sufficient in center field, but at one point do you trade sufficient outfield ability with inability to hit? Hell, Angel fucking Pagan is hitting really well right now, as he did last year before being injured, so I'd much rather have Pagan in center anyways. And who cares what we get for Jacque? Bullpen pitcher who's prone to big innings but doesn't give up many walks? Minor leaguer with plus arm but terrible control who will never make it to the majors? I DON'T CARE. He needs to go.
As much as I love Ryan Theriot, and as surprised as I am by Cesar Izturis, this team needs to re-evaluate the middle infield. Theriot is reminding everyone that we didn't need to sign Mark DeRosa, at least for second base, and it's great. But I would like to see Theriot play everyday. He's too good, and the other two do not one Ryan Theriot make. So either play Theriot at second or play him at short, but make sure he's in every single day. Also, I would actually like to see what Fontenot does in the lineup. He's tearing the shit off the ball in AAA, so let's see what he does in the bigs. It's not like he'd be any worse than Cesar, and he got a double his first at bat, so give him a start. Please Lou. Please. As for DeRosa, I still like having him around as a utility guy/second baseman/whatever, I just wish he would hit more. It seems like some of the guys just don't get enough AB's to get into any sort of groove, and having too many good hitters is not really a problem I saw the Cubs having. Ever.
As for the bullpen, something needs to be done to light a fire under their asses. There are still too many walks, and it seems like most of the time they're throwing batting practice for the opposing teams. I don't know if this is because of their approach, or because of their lack of execution (the walks have to be lack of execution), but Lou just looks baffled every time he sees a lead coughed up. And I'm baffled too. And enraged. So let's play around with it a little. Bring Rocky Cherry back up, and send someone down who isn't out of options (we're actually pretty limited there, which blows). Maybe look to trade. Switch around roles. I would say Dempster is fine at closer, despite yesterday, but if yesterday is any indication, do not bring him in just to have him pitch. Or, if he blows it, don't be afraid to give him the hook. I find it hard to believe that this bullpen is collectively unable to throw strikes on any given day, so somebody has to be able to do it. Right? Please tell me I'm right.
I really do expect this team to bring it all together at some point, and the season is long, so there's still time. Also, I would consider the bulk of the teams in the NL weaker than the Cubs, so you would have to like our matchups most of the time. That being said, this team better fucking quit sucking.
The bullpen sucks. How can you walk in runs? Or, more importantly, how can you walk runs in when there are already two outs? You've got Wuertz who will blow a game, but then you turn around and you see Dempster blow a game. And these have been two of our more consistent pitchers. There's Eyre, who is actually very consistent, in that he's fat and he sucks, Howry, who has been fairly steady in his recent past, but this year has just been inconsistent, and then there's Cotts, who started out hot, but is now sucking. Add into that also Rocky Cherry who's inexperienced, and while you'd like to see him be able to come up and be solid immediately, you need to allow some room for rookie inexperience. All of this results in a bullpen that, when given a lead, never leaves you to feel confident.
Cardinal rules of baseball: never walk the leadoff man, never walk someone with two outs. These seem like pretty simple rules to abide by, and yet the Cubs suck at it. It has bitten Rich Hill in the ass in his last two starts, it hurt Marquis in his last start, it's hurt Dempster and Wuertz. Everyone does it, but when you walk someone, you ruin your chances of getting that player out. I know, it's pretty complicated.
Anyways, on the whole, the starting pitching has been otherworldly when compared to how I thought it would be. I never expected Ted Lilly to be pitching so well, and I honestly didn't even expect Angel Guzman to be pitching as well as he is. And, I will again admit, Jason Marquis may not suck at life like I had originally thought. Zambrano may have turned the corner on his season, and obviously, if Rich Hill can limit his walks, this starting rotation is primed for success. But, that bullpen...
To the offense, inconsistency is perhaps too accurate in describing it. This week is a perfect example. Put up 4 runs on Tom Glavine, then stop. Put up 10 runs the next day. Then get fucking 2 hit by Jorge Sosa, then get 5 runs the next day. The way our starters pitch, 5 runs should get a win. But it does not, because of our bullpen. Let's go all the way back to last weekend against the Phillies, when the Cubs got 1 run(?) against Cole Hamels, then put up 7 only to give up 11 (thanks bullpen), and then they won on like 3 runs or something Sunday (I don't remember and I'm lazy). It's not even this past week either, it's been the entire season. To be able to score so many runs, yet to still have the record we have is ridiculous. Also, the disparity between runs scored and runs allowed is ridiculous with the record we have. It all goes to show that the Cubs, when they score, give up a lot, and when they don't score, they don't give up a lot. I suppose it could also be an indicator that on any given day, despite good pitching performances from our starters, they're being outpitched by their opponents, but that's not really the case when the Cubs squander opportunities to score runs.
Anyways, I have learned that there's really no such thing as clutch hitting. It's not a statistic, and there's nothing that makes one hitter perform better in a "clutch" situation over another. However, they do keep track of things like batting average with RISP, RISP and 2 outs, and I think those are a fairly good indicator of how someone will perform in a clutch situation, and, usually, the better hitters are also better in the clutch. So, when at the end of an inning you've got 2 outs, runners on second and third, and Jacque Jones or Cesar Izturis up, I am uncomfortable. Even with Cesar hitting surprisingly well of late, I do not like the situation. So I would like to make some suggestions as to how I would change this team.
First, unload Jacque. He's not really hitting any more, and he's certainly not doing it with any consistency. He's surprisingly sufficient in center field, but at one point do you trade sufficient outfield ability with inability to hit? Hell, Angel fucking Pagan is hitting really well right now, as he did last year before being injured, so I'd much rather have Pagan in center anyways. And who cares what we get for Jacque? Bullpen pitcher who's prone to big innings but doesn't give up many walks? Minor leaguer with plus arm but terrible control who will never make it to the majors? I DON'T CARE. He needs to go.
As much as I love Ryan Theriot, and as surprised as I am by Cesar Izturis, this team needs to re-evaluate the middle infield. Theriot is reminding everyone that we didn't need to sign Mark DeRosa, at least for second base, and it's great. But I would like to see Theriot play everyday. He's too good, and the other two do not one Ryan Theriot make. So either play Theriot at second or play him at short, but make sure he's in every single day. Also, I would actually like to see what Fontenot does in the lineup. He's tearing the shit off the ball in AAA, so let's see what he does in the bigs. It's not like he'd be any worse than Cesar, and he got a double his first at bat, so give him a start. Please Lou. Please. As for DeRosa, I still like having him around as a utility guy/second baseman/whatever, I just wish he would hit more. It seems like some of the guys just don't get enough AB's to get into any sort of groove, and having too many good hitters is not really a problem I saw the Cubs having. Ever.
As for the bullpen, something needs to be done to light a fire under their asses. There are still too many walks, and it seems like most of the time they're throwing batting practice for the opposing teams. I don't know if this is because of their approach, or because of their lack of execution (the walks have to be lack of execution), but Lou just looks baffled every time he sees a lead coughed up. And I'm baffled too. And enraged. So let's play around with it a little. Bring Rocky Cherry back up, and send someone down who isn't out of options (we're actually pretty limited there, which blows). Maybe look to trade. Switch around roles. I would say Dempster is fine at closer, despite yesterday, but if yesterday is any indication, do not bring him in just to have him pitch. Or, if he blows it, don't be afraid to give him the hook. I find it hard to believe that this bullpen is collectively unable to throw strikes on any given day, so somebody has to be able to do it. Right? Please tell me I'm right.
I really do expect this team to bring it all together at some point, and the season is long, so there's still time. Also, I would consider the bulk of the teams in the NL weaker than the Cubs, so you would have to like our matchups most of the time. That being said, this team better fucking quit sucking.
Labels: cubs
posted by Jtrouble at 8:51 AM
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