Well, today saw the first game of the Crosstown Classic, including the unveiling of the BP Trophy. Can these guys come up with any worse PR than that hunk of junk, which was deservedly booed by the crowd? OK, maybe not worse, but definitely in competition was the genuinely hideous Toyota sign, sponsored by another corporate giant of dubious merit.
The game wasn't much to talk about from the Cubs point-of-view. They played their usual listless game and fell 10-5. Wells again had nothing. Wells is a bit of an enigma. He started the season very well and looked to be continuing his progress from his rookie year when he was arguably the best and most consistent starter and probably should have won 15 or more games. But his last starts have been pretty bad. I don't know if it is a mental thing or if he is hurt or if he is tipping his pitches or sequences, but whatever it is, right now he stinks.
The final piece to delete from the memory bank is Lou Piniella's pregame rant on Steve Stone. Now I'm not a big fan of Stone's observations generally, but his comments on Colvin make a lot of sense. Nor do I think that Piniella has been dealt the best hand with this Cubs team. But as Stone points out, even if he has been given a team that does not fit together well, it is his job as manager to make it fit, to make it a team. Stone is also right in saying that five man rotations in the outfield never seem to work. But I have pointed out on numerous occasions that one way to try to fit these pieces together is to play a three man rotation in left and center field, which means essentially that each guy among Colvin, Soriano, and Byrd plays two games of every three, and, if you really need to do so, platoon Fukudome and Nady in right field.
Anyway, Piniella's temper tantrum was really pretty petty and disgraceful and it is not the first time he has shown a decided lack of class. The fact that he is so thin-skinned about it shows that he probably knows Stone is right or that he is completely off base in supposing his job is to make everyone happy rather than winning baseball games.
Lou says he wants to be fair to all of his 5 outfielders. I agree with whiny Stone Poney. You don't manage a team to be fair to your players, but to play those men who give you the best shot to WIN. Colvin needs to play every day. Nady must be moved off the team ASAP. A right fielder who can't throw? Ridiculous! Byrd is the only OF
ReplyDeletewho desrves to be a regular. Colvin can give Byrd an occasional rest, and play for Sorry once or twice a wk, and should be in RF as much as possible B4 Fuko goes into his annual corkscrew spiral.
Mr Beagleman
Mr. Beagleman,
ReplyDeleteSee my comments in two more recent posts. Not only can Nady not throw, but he cannot catch either. However, I disagree about Fukudome. He has become a streaky player, but if you look at him in comparison with Soriano, he is a better player day in and day out. He also can play RF and he plays it very well. If you cannot score runs, you need to prevent them. Soriano is and always will be a defensive liability whatever position he plays. The best outfield the Cubs can play is Fukudome, Colvin, and Byrd, but if you want to platoon, you should do so with Fukudome and Soriano.
Mr Ivy: The platoon of Sorry and Fuko does make some sense, this would mean Sorry sits at least 80% of the time, since there are so few LH starting pitchers. This will never happen because of his $12MM salary. Besides,the last 2 yrs Fuko has always gone downhill offensively from June to Sept. If there are any takers, I feel Fuko should be traded. I know you like him, but I think he'll never be more than a .250, .260 hitter with 10 HR max per season.
ReplyDeleteMr Beagleman
Actually, Fukudome has had bad stats for June. He has been pretty good in July, OK in August, and terrible in September. Who knows why? I doubt he will be traded as he has a no-trade clause and anyway nobody wants him or will give value. Even though he has bad numbers in these months, he still gets on base around .375, which is what you want in a leadoff hitter. He can also catch and throw the ball well to the right base, something I have observed is a rare skill among Cubs ourfielders.
ReplyDeleteThe big problem with many of these Hendry signings is the no-trade agreements. Lee also has one, although it is thought he would wave it if traded to a contender on the West Coast. Also, he is in the last year of his contract and would benefit from a stint with a contender to showcase whatever abilities he has left. I would assume the Cubs would shop Lee, Lilly, and Nady even if they are close to being in contention because it is unlikely they will resign any of the three and with the exception of Lilly, none of them are likely to contribute to bringing them into contention.