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Guest Anglesault
No way are the Cubs one of the bigger disappointments of the season. They're still in contention for the wild card

The Cubs were being picked as the NL central division winner, or at the very least, a strong second and the wildcard.

 

This is a disaster.

 

In other news, Curtis Leskanic isn't very good.

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Especially with the Astros in the same division. The Cubs are right near the top in the Wildcard standings. The Astros trail about 7 teams, and are closer to last place in the division.

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Guest Anglesault
Really though, with the WC, I don't think we can label the Cubs as disappointing, as long they get in.

I would. A team that should have been one of the top two or three teams in the NL all year long sneaking in as a wild card should be viewed as disappointing.

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No way are the Cubs one of the bigger disappointments of the season.  They're still in contention for the wild card

The Cubs were being picked as the NL central division winner, or at the very least, a strong second and the wildcard.

 

This is a disaster.

You're telling me. Glendon Rusch has saved our ass by being a better fill-in than Sergio Mitre was, but still, we're 9 back, have a DL as long as the season ticket waiting list, and can't entrust our bullpen with leads. Something's gotta be done and done soon because we're in a real downward spiral here.

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But the Cubs have basically been without Prior the entire season and Wood has missed significant time as well. Not to mention Sosa missing two months after getting too close to the pepper grinder and I'd say they've done better than expected.

 

The big disapointment in the NL is Houston. They're an absolute mess right now, even with Petitte missing time they've underproduced, plus they've made some boneheaded moves. Getting Beltran is nice but they shouldn't have given up Dotel, and shortly after commiting to making the playoffs they fire their manager? And now they're talking about throwing in the towel and moving Beltran and/or Clemens? Ughhh, glad I'm not an Astros fan...

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Guest Anglesault
But the Cubs have basically been without Prior the entire season and Wood has missed significant time as well. Not to mention Sosa missing two months after getting too close to the pepper grinder and I'd say they've done better than expected.

They were expected to win the division.

 

They may have handled the injuries better than people thought they would (debatable) but they're season certainly hasn't gone better than expected.

 

And as for the injuries, I didn't hear anyone say that they expected the injuries to turn the Cubs into such a mediocre team.

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The Braves have taken over first place in the NL East. Damn you Clayton (Bravesfan).

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Guest Soylent Green Is People

Mark Teixeira continues to be a home run machine, an team record-tying 5 games straight with a homer and 9 in his last 12 games. I just home he can keep this hot streak going through the run of 12 games Texas has against the A's and Angels coming up.

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After Zambrano decided to be a dumbass and plunk Edmonds again, I actively rooted for the Cubs to lose that game. You gave up the homer; try and get the next guy out, don't get all pissy like that.

Considering the situation within the division and that the Cubs' strength lies in their starting pitching...that was definitely one of the dumber moves I've seen in a while.

 

And, as disappointing as the Cubs have been, weren't the HOUSTON ASTROS guaranteeed the division, league, and World Series crowns this year? Jimy Williams was shit-canned FAR too late.

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Its hard to evaluate the National League. Is it a bunch of mediocre teams, or just that the teams are so close in terms of talent? Except for the Cardinals, no team has broken away from the pack. Eleven teams, from the Dodgers to Pirates, stand within 10 games of each other. Only the D'backs, Rockies, and Expos have been incredibly bad.

 

In interleague play, the AL won 126 games, and the NL won 125. So it is not that the National League is bad in quality as a whole. So I am inclined to believe the latter statement. The teams in the National League are so closely grouped in terms of talent that they drag everyone's W/L record towards .500.

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They picked him up because he was a cheap solution when Padilla went down with an elbow injury. They also don't want to rush their prospects to the majors.

I wouldn't exactly call Paul Abbott a solution to anything. I mean, yeah, he's a stopgap, but he has no business on a team competing for first.

IIRC, Padilla and Wolf were hurt, plus Telemaco (who would normally be a fill-in starter). Seeing as they don't want to bring up a young guy yet, they had to get someone to fill in.

 

Padilla & Telemaco are still hurt, and they're still reluctant to bring up a young guy, so that's why he's still there.

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Really though, with the WC, I don't think we can label the Cubs as disappointing, as long they get in.

I would. A team that should have been one of the top two or three teams in the NL all year long sneaking in as a wild card should be viewed as disappointing.

I say given the last two World Series, the Cubs would be just as happy to get into the Wild Card.

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Its hard to evaluate the National League. Is it a bunch of mediocre teams, or just that the teams are so close in terms of talent? Except for the Cardinals, no team has broken away from the pack. Eleven teams, from the Dodgers to Pirates, stand within 10 games of each other.

A little from Column A, a little from Column B. The NL as a whole IS mediocre, and has been for a few years now. But there's not much consistent excellence or consistent inferiority, just a bunch of teams in the middle of the pack. We've seen a ton of teams grouped together in the middle of the standings in July and August for the past few years. Remember, last year there were six teams tied for the wild card as late as the middle of August.

 

Contrast that with the AL, where there have generally been only 5 or 6 teams at most who compete to make the playoffs each year, and 5 or 6 teams that are truly awful.

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After Zambrano decided to be a dumbass and plunk Edmonds again, I actively rooted for the Cubs to lose that game.  You gave up the homer; try and get the next guy out, don't get all pissy like that.

Considering the situation within the division and that the Cubs' strength lies in their starting pitching...that was definitely one of the dumber moves I've seen in a while.

 

And, as disappointing as the Cubs have been, weren't the HOUSTON ASTROS guaranteeed the division, league, and World Series crowns this year? Jimy Williams was shit-canned FAR too late.

I agree it was a dumb move and I think he's going to need to check his emotions and put it towards a positive energy before he's a great pitcher. That said, while the Cubs still lost the game, it didn't hurt them any further that he was out of the game, since Remlinger and Hawkins were lights out. That's not usually the case, so I figured they'd crack the game open once Zambrano got the hook.

 

One aspect about the Cards' success that everyone seems to be overlooking is Tony Womack. They'd probably be winning without him, but with him and his knack for finding a way on base at least two or three times a game, has really help set the table for Renteria, Pujols and Rolen. Think back to last season and their leadoff man (I believe it was Marlon Anderson most of the time) and how he didn't reach base nearly enough for a leadoff guy. We've seen what having a good / great leadoff man can do for a team. Womack's a big reason why the Cards won last night, as he was on base for both two-run shots. I think that's an area the Cubs could desperately fill. You look at the homers for Sosa and Alou and most of them seem to be solo shots.

 

And I think blaming Jimy Williams for everything is stupid. The Astros simply aren't the team we thought they'd be. Clemens is great, Pettitte has been disapointing, Bagwell's having a horrible season, Berkman and Kent have been slumping for months and they traded away a guy who got hot right after the deal.

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Guest Anglesault
Really though, with the WC, I don't think we can label the Cubs as disappointing, as long they get in.

I would. A team that should have been one of the top two or three teams in the NL all year long sneaking in as a wild card should be viewed as disappointing.

I say given the last two World Series, the Cubs would be just as happy to get into the Wild Card.

Somehow I doubt they'd be just as happy.

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Really though, with the WC, I don't think we can label the Cubs as disappointing, as long they get in.

I would. A team that should have been one of the top two or three teams in the NL all year long sneaking in as a wild card should be viewed as disappointing.

I say given the last two World Series, the Cubs would be just as happy to get into the Wild Card.

Somehow I doubt they'd be just as happy.

Why not? Ultimately, all it means is that they lose one game of home field for the NLDS and NLCS, and that's only if the series goes the distance.

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I'd definitely take the WC at this point. How are the playoffs set up, though? Is it the WC team against the team with the best record in the league? Because if that's the case, they'd probably be playing the Cards.

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The WC *should* play the team with the best record, though. Playoff structures are almost universally setup to favor those in first place.

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The WC *should* play the team with the best record, though. Playoff structures are almost universally setup to favor those in first place.

Yeah, that's why I thought it was set up like that. The Dodgers could be a scary team if they made it into the playoffs. Their starting rotation isn't what it was last season, but their pen is lights out and they're definitely improved offensively.

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One aspect about the Cards' success that everyone seems to be overlooking is Tony Womack. They'd probably be winning without him, but with him and his knack for finding a way on base at least two or three times a game, has really help set the table for Renteria, Pujols and Rolen. Think back to last season and their leadoff man (I believe it was Marlon Anderson most of the time) and how he didn't reach base nearly enough for a leadoff guy. We've seen what having a good / great leadoff man can do for a team. Womack's a big reason why the Cards won last night, as he was on base for both two-run shots. I think that's an area the Cubs could desperately fill. You look at the homers for Sosa and Alou and most of them seem to be solo shots.

I've talked with you about this before, but it probably bears repeating - the entire Cubs roster could use a new approach to hitting. The only guy who's been battling in counts has been Derrek Lee (OMG FANTASY~!) and, of course, he's been batting sixth in the order for most of the year.

 

Dusty Baker = Managerial Genius

 

As far as Womack is concerned, he's been a delight to watch and he's actually been drawing walks...so color me surprised. A lot of people rightfully thought his career was done, but he's just found something in St. Louis. That being said, I don't think that St. Louis would be foolish in trading a minor prospect for somebody like Frank Catalanotto, who could spell Womack down the stretch and maybe even fill into that elusive LF spot from time to time.

 

And I think blaming Jimy Williams for everything is stupid.  The Astros simply aren't the team we thought they'd be.  Clemens is great, Pettitte has been disapointing, Bagwell's having a horrible season, Berkman and Kent have been slumping for months and they traded away a guy who got hot right after the deal.

 

Given the talent that he's had the last two years (this year in particular) and his tremendous attempts at strategy (Orlando Palmeiro over Jason Lane is but one page in a litany of colossal fuck-ups), I don't think there's any question that Williams is responsible for costing this team at least 5-6 wins this year, if not more. I don't think it's a grand coincidence that nearly everybody has been slumping this year, but Richard Hidalgo gets traded out of there and morphs into an absolute monster with the Mets (1.081 OPS in July).

 

You can blame injuries (Pettitte) and you can blame age (Kent, Bagwell), but those only go far with a team that has this kind of talent. Dierker got canned because this team didn't want to win bad enough - Williams obviously didn't fix that, so it's time for somebody else.

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Bruiser, you are dead on about Tony Womack. He had Reggie Sanders have been huge additions to the Cards. Womack always seems to find a way on base, which can give Renteria more variety of what he can do at the plate. And with Sanders, his numbers, primarily at the #6 spot have been huge.

 

An interesting note about the playoffs, last year every series that had an NL team in it, the team with home field advantage lost.

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Guest FrigidSoul

Dodgers lose a piece to that "lights out" bullpen. Paul Shuey is gone for the rest of the season with a nerve stinger.

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The WC *should* play the team with the best record, though.  Playoff structures are almost universally setup to favor those in first place.

You know I've always felt the wild card should play the team that won their division as after all it is the divisional playoffs. I've never liked the idea of two teams from the same division playing for the pennant.

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The Orioles had 2 run HR from Tejada, Bigbie and newly aquired Karim Garcia as well as a solo shot from Robert Machado and they've staked Daniel Cabrera to an 8-1 lead in the 3rd inning.

 

Jerry Hairston knocks himself silly making a nice catch and then crashing into the wall. Hairston gets pulled because its 8-1 and there are 3 games over 2 days vs Boston.

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