Chicago Cubs 2021 season

#476      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
Illiniaaron said:
What are your thoughts about Ross pulling Baez last night?
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I think Ross was trying to wake his team the F up and I think Baez is enough of a professional to understand. Ross did something similar with Schwarber last year.

I don't think Ross pulls Baez if the Cubs were in the middle of a 5 game winning streak.
 
#480      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
Remember early last year when everyone was asking, “What’s wrong with Kyle Hendricks?” And then again early this year when everyone was asking, “What’s wrong with Kyle Hendricks?”

Hendricks’ last 10 starts - 9-1, 2.53 ERA, 64 innings.

There’s nothing wrong with Kyle Hendricks.
 
#481      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
champaignchris said:
Remember early last year when everyone was asking, “What’s wrong with Kyle Hendricks?” And then again early this year when everyone was asking, “What’s wrong with Kyle Hendricks?”

Hendricks’ last 10 starts - 9-1, 2.53 ERA, 64 innings.

There’s nothing wrong with Kyle Hendricks.
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Could win 20 games this year.
 
#485      

Lee

L
Lee
IanKEvans2 said:
[ W ] #42

Fun to wake up to a combined no-hitter!
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chicago cubs dancing GIF by MLB
 
#488      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
Cubs BABIP’ing .218 in June.

BY FAR, the worst in baseball. More than .040 lower than the second worse, StL.

I honestly don’t know what to make of that.
 
#490      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
These guys are looking very crappy lately. Don't know how many of you saw it, but I though Baez really dogged it again running out a grounder in the second inning of Saturday's game. It was a pretty routine grounder but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and Baez had already slowed down, then had to hurry up when he saw the bad throw. Impossible to know if he had run hard the whole time if he would have been safe, but he doesn't look like a player that you would want to have around moving forward to me.
 
#491      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
champaignchris said:
Cubs BABIP’ing .218 in June.

BY FAR, the worst in baseball. More than .040 lower than the second worse, StL.

I honestly don’t know what to make of that.
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I’m not that big into some of these analytics but I really don’t understand the point of this statistic and how it defines a players relative value.
 
#492      

illiniu

I
illiniu
The above clip reinforces why I don't really follow MLB or Cubs anymore.

Background me: old man, cranky and constipated, curmudgeon, cynical ... balding. Got to get a Joe Pepitone rug. Played some ball, hit well, lousy fielder but had an arm. Daddy and brother were scouted by White Sox and Reds.

I remember hitting a couple of homers in high school and doing a simple, modest trot around the bases, just the way it was done by so many ballplayers before me, including personal heroes Banks, Santo and Williams.

True, Santo hot-dogged it a bit by clicking his heels after a Cubs' win. But tame in comparison to what's happening now - childish, unprofessional, just plain silly. Clear the bench, do a dance, carry on like crazy. (A no-hitter should be celebrated mind you; I fielded the final out at second base for my pitcher's no-hitter in 1968 against a great high-school program in St. Louis, Ritenour (Jerry Reuss). But we didn't go ape, no kidstuff. No rally cap crap and swarming the field.

I wish the Cubs would show such energy on the field as they showed in the clip instead of being 3 games behind the Brewers.

P.S. 1: I miss Wrigley Field (first time there was 1957 or so, left field side, terrace-reserved or whatever) for Cubs versus Phillies and a player by the name of Rip Repulski (I'll check spelling later, but I'll never forget that name.)

P.S. 2: Ron Santo was the best third baseman I ever saw. I used to say - and still believe it - that Brooks Robinson made third base look hard (which it is) by all that diving for balls and histrionics. Plus Orioles were great way back then - tv coverage.

But Ronnie was so good, he made playing third base look easy, which it ain't. Of course, he was a catcher before playing third base; this explains why he could scoop up those grounders; great, rifle-arm, too. No. 10, Hall of Fame, finally.

Please be kind with your criticisms. Thanks for your time.

I still say: : Go Cubs, Go! Hey Chicago, whadya say ...
 
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#493      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
illini80 said:
I’m not that big into some of these analytics but I really don’t understand the point of this statistic and how it defines a players relative value.
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I might get pounded here but I don't care for a lot of the analytics either. I really don't see how adding on-base to slugging is a thing, how it adds to the analysis of a player instead of just looking at the two separately. I'm not a statistician either, but in calculating on-base there are two possible outcomes, with slugging there are 5, I don't see how adding them together really means anything.
 
#494      

Warren Carter Fanclub

Warren Carter Fanclub
Warren Carter Fanclub
Illiniaaron said:
These guys are looking very crappy lately. Don't know how many of you saw it, but I though Baez really dogged it again running out a grounder in the second inning of Saturday's game. It was a pretty routine grounder but the throw pulled the first baseman off the bag and Baez had already slowed down, then had to hurry up when he saw the bad throw. Impossible to know if he had run hard the whole time if he would have been safe, but he doesn't look like a player that you would want to have around moving forward to me.
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I might take a beating here but I wouldn't re-sign Baez either. He has all the talent in the world but he has no idea what it is to be a team player. He swings as hard as he could no matter what the situation is and his strike out percentage shows it. Yes, the ball might hit the bat and he'll jack one at a decent rate but he still has no concept of the strike zone. So disappointing because his ceiling is unlimited. Nationally, he is a superstar because he's on so many highlight clips but I'm sure other GM's can see through that. OK, have at me.
 
#495      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
Warren Carter Fanclub said:
I might take a beating here but I wouldn't re-sign Baez either. He has all the talent in the world but he has no idea what it is to be a team player. He swings as hard as he could no matter what the situation is and his strike out percentage shows it. Yes, the ball might hit the bat and he'll jack one at a decent rate but he still has no concept of the strike zone. So disappointing because his ceiling is unlimited. Nationally, he is a superstar because he's on so many highlight clips but I'm sure other GM's can see through that. OK, have at me.
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He's leading the league in K's and striking out once every 2 1/2 at bats. His on base % is only .267. He's only hitting .228 after .203 last year. After winning the gold glove last year, he has 16 errors already. I don't know what happened to the player from 2017 and 2018 but I don't see what value he has now.
 
#496      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
illini80 said:
I’m not that big into some of these analytics but I really don’t understand the point of this statistic and how it defines a players relative value.
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BABIP = Batting Average on Balls In Play. So just the plays where a fielder could possibly make a play. Essentially taking strikeouts and home runs out of the equation.

It can indicate a couple things: defenses turning a high percentage of batted balls into outs or hitters “hitting them where they ain’t.” Often, especially when taking about hitters and especially when looking at smaller sample sizes, it can indicate if he’s hitting into good or bad luck.

BABIP is an incredibly resilient stat in that over time the MLB average has stayed remarkably the same, hovering between .295 and .300 for decades. This year, the average has dipped MLB-wide down to .289.

So the Cubs BABIPing .218 for nearly a month is bizarre. It’s way lower than the second worst team by a lot. The balls they’re hitting into play are being turned into outs at a much higher level than any other team this month. It could just be bad luck. The Cubs hit fewer balls into play anyway - they strike out and homer so much - that makes their BABIP more susceptible to small sample size chaos.

Their BABIP was a bit above average and well-within historical norms earlier in the year - .297 prior to June. It was a bit low last year - .270 - and has otherwise been average to a bit above average for the entire Epstein/Hoyer regime. So either there’s been some bizarre bad luck or the entire team has suddenly stopped making good contact.
 
#497      

Illiniaaron

I
Geneseo, IL
Illiniaaron
champaignchris said:
BABIP = Batting Average on Balls In Play. So just the plays where a fielder could possibly make a play. Essentially taking strikeouts and home runs out of the equation.

It can indicate a couple things: defenses turning a high percentage of batted balls into outs or hitters “hitting them where they ain’t.” Often, especially when taking about hitters and especially when looking at smaller sample sizes, it can indicate if he’s hitting into good or bad luck.

BABIP is an incredibly resilient stat in that over time the MLB average has stayed remarkably the same, hovering between .295 and .300 for decades. This year, the average has dipped MLB-wide down to .289.

So the Cubs BABIPing .218 for nearly a month is bizarre. It’s way lower than the second worst team by a lot. The balls they’re hitting into play are being turned into outs at a much higher level than any other team this month. It could just be bad luck. The Cubs hit fewer balls into play anyway - they strike out and homer so much - that makes their BABIP more susceptible to small sample size chaos.

Their BABIP was a bit above average and well-within historical norms earlier in the year - .297 prior to June. It was a bit low last year - .270 - and has otherwise been average to a bit above average for the entire Epstein/Hoyer regime. So either there’s been some bizarre bad luck or the entire team has suddenly stopped making good contact.
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I would think the defensive shift is playing into this stat trending lower, and I can think of a couple of Cubs who need to figure out how to hit against it.
 
#498      

IanKEvans2

IanKEvans2
IanKEvans2
Nico starting a rehab assignment at AAA can't hurt the offense. He was having a nice year before he got hurt.
 
#499      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
This team has 28 games to pull closer than 4 games against the Brewers. Otherwise it will go into sell off and basically cede the division.

I have a problem with this on principle because the Brewers just aren’t that good.

Remember, the Cubs could have kept Darvish and Schwarber and signed all the players they did sign and still would have had a payroll approx $25 MM under the luxury tax.
 
#500      

Warren Carter Fanclub

Warren Carter Fanclub
Warren Carter Fanclub
champaignchris said:
This team has 28 games to pull closer than 4 games against the Brewers. Otherwise it will go into sell off and basically cede the division.

I have a problem with this on principle because the Brewers just aren’t that good.

Remember, the Cubs could have kept Darvish and Schwarber and signed all the players they did sign and still would have had a payroll approx $25 MM under the luxury tax.
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And Caratini. Cubs backup catchers have a total of two (2) hits this season.

The bullpen lost 3 of the last 4 games in the late innings. If they begin to revert to norm, start the garage sale. They'll get the most for Kimbrel. Early season MVP candidate and All Star 3rd Base leading vote getter, Kris Bryant, average is down to .261 and dropping dramatically each day in June. When Baez is up to bat in a clutch situation it's not IF he will strike out but how many pitches it will take. God Bless Riz but the back will be an issue with him from here on out and he wants to be paid for his past performance.

I pray that I'm wrong. Just frustrated. How did these guys get so bad since 2015-2017 or is it just the way baseball has changed since then with less offense ?