ESPN Article

by MSCub on Apr 24, 2008 8:23 AM CDT

Cool article from ESPN on the Cubs walks and OBP. Maybe Kosuke and Johnson are rubbing off on everyone. Not one reference to "clogging the bases".

It's tough to think that our "best" player could have an adverse impact on all of this upon his return. He is an enigma of sorts, I suppose. Any thoughts on what effect Soriano will have on the rest of the lineup upon his return?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3363255

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief. FanPost opinions are, however, valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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This cracked me up

...the Cubs featured Shawon Dunston, who occasionally swung at pick-off throws to first

Dadgum, that is hilarious, and true.

"Oh, I get a little tired now and then, but knowing my lifestyle, that's only natural." -- Harry Caray

by Cribbs463 on Apr 24, 2008 9:03 AM CDT 0 recs

And IBB too..

n/t

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball"

by Bump Bailey on Apr 24, 2008 10:20 PM CDT up 0 recs

I like it

It was good, albeit short. They made a good point, with the heart of the order walking so much more, it would be a great opportunity for Soriano to pick up some RBIs if they do indeed move him down in the order.

So I guess if the Brian Roberts trade was the off season drama du jour, Sorianos spot in the order will hover over the team until Lou makes a definitive move. Hopefully it wont prove too much of a distraction.

I was actually fortunate enough to get a question answered by Bustner Olney in one of those espn chats, the thrill of my life might I add. I asked hiim about Sorianos proper spot in the order. He seemed to think that he strikes out way too much to hit 3-5, and that the team wouldnt have the courage to put him 6 or 7th, so he seemed to think they should leave him in leadoff b/c hes “comfortable” there.

But with the emergence of Fukudome and Soto, batting 6 or 7th in this lineup shouldnt seem like an insult b/c theyre proving to be that deep of a lineup….though if he batted that low, it would look a lot better with Roberts at the top.

But if he sticks at leadoff and gets hot, I suspect the complaining will fade away…but youre right, hes an engima alright.

by bren on Apr 24, 2008 9:06 AM CDT 0 recs

Congrats

on getting to chat with Buster, Bren.

The 6th spot is exactly where I’d bat Soriano. Depending on who the CF is my lineups would be…

Johnson
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
Soto
Soriano
DeRosa
Theriot
P

DeRosa
Fukudome
Lee
Ramirez
Soto
Soriano
Pie
Theriot
P

by SecondSon on Apr 24, 2008 9:37 AM CDT up 0 recs

Coming from the same person

who would like Sori to shorten his swing. That AND your lineup would not happen.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 24, 2008 9:43 AM CDT up 0 recs

Shortening the swing?

Yeah, that’s a tough one. He must be more selective though. If he comes back and starts hacking away, a change or two will be made on his approach.

As for the lineup, I can’t wait for the day that Lou lays down the law and the #1 spot will not have the name Soriano attached to it. It’s coming, it’s just a matter of when.

by blackhawk24 on Apr 24, 2008 10:21 AM CDT up 0 recs

I agree

I just dont think that “when” is this season.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 24, 2008 10:30 AM CDT up 0 recs

if he comes back and starts hacking away

Of course he is. That’s his game! He’s not going to change that just because he got hurt in the field. That’s just how Soriano hits. The Cubs knew this when they signed him.

Alan Trammell: Assistant (to the) Manager

by northsider on Apr 24, 2008 7:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

Knock on wood.

I can’t wait for that day, either.

by Fraggin Judge on Apr 24, 2008 10:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

Refreshing

It’s pretty refreshing to hear this news. As a fan of Moneyball and the importance of walks and OBP, it was ridiculously frustrating seeing my favorite team miss the mark over and over again.

I’ll just say this much: I’ve noticed the change in the players. A-Ram has much more patience at the plate than he has in the past, and Fukudome is a walking machine (unfortunately for my fantasy team, walks isn’t a stat that we track, and Fuk is on my team).

The one striking thing that this has put a spotlight on is how atrocious Soriano’s and Pie’s at bats can seem when compared to some of the other players. I hope it rubs off on them as well.

by steinmer on Apr 24, 2008 9:15 AM CDT 0 recs

Walks

Four Cubs (Kosuke Fukudome, Geovany Soto, Aramis Ramirez and Mark DeRosa) have ten or more walks and Derrek Lee has nine. Fukudome is third in the NL with a .473 OBA.

The team OBA is .373—first in the NL, second in the majors to the Red Sox.

What a refreshing change.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Apr 24, 2008 9:33 AM CDT up 0 recs

.473

I MEAN ARE YOU KIDDING ME. WOW.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 24, 2008 9:44 AM CDT up 0 recs

Yeah, that's great...

... but I am more impressed with the TEAM on-base percentage. The Cubs have drawn 94 walks in 21 games—that’s 4.48 walks per game. If they could do that for an entire season that’d be 725 walks.

They probably cannot keep up that pace, but here’s another comparison. 94 walks is 24% - almost ONE QUARTER - of the ENTIRE TEAM TOTAL in Dusty Baker’s last year as manager, 2006 (395 walks that year).

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Apr 24, 2008 9:53 AM CDT up 0 recs

I shake my fist at Dusty in anger

The best part of the walks, think 3/4 game series, you get into the bullpen faster and that always helps.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on Apr 24, 2008 9:55 AM CDT up 0 recs

Not to mention..

..that when the defense is on the field for long periods of time they could possibly get a little demoralized…

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball"

by Bump Bailey on Apr 24, 2008 7:59 PM CDT up 0 recs

Team OBP

A couple nights ago when Len and Bob announced the Cubs starting lineup, instead of batting average, they put up OBP and every Cub in the starting lineup had an OBP above .400… impressive.

"Dad gum right this games gonna be played under protest. . . I guarantee this is gonna be one protest that's upheld." --Hawk Harrelson, 6/24/07

by RynoHoF on Apr 24, 2008 10:25 AM CDT up 0 recs

Monday...

The friend I took the the game with me was trying to tell me that Fukudome’s problem was that he walks/singles too much, especially with people on base. From his standpoint, he would rather Fuk drive in those runs than just get on base.

From a fantasy baseball standpoint, yes, it would be nice for Fuk to drive in those runs. From a Cub fan perspective, getting on base is never a bad thing, regardless of weather people are on base in front of you or not.

by steinmer on Apr 24, 2008 10:57 AM CDT up 0 recs

From what I've seen...

...and this applies to all sports, not just baseball, those who play in these fantasy leagues never stepped on to the field of play in an organized league. Maybe that’s why they play fantasy stuff in the first place.

You’re friend is so wrong, in so many ways, I cannot even begin to compile the list. He should probably stick to his fantasy stuff and lets baseball studs like Kosuke-san do his thing.

by blackhawk24 on Apr 25, 2008 8:39 AM CDT up 0 recs

Yes it is, Al

it’s amazing what Fukudome’s presence and plate discipline has done for this team.

"WGN, Channel 9 Cubs Baseball, Excitingly, Importantly, Dramatically Yours." - Jack Brickhouse

by BigJohnAZ on Apr 24, 2008 11:04 AM CDT up 0 recs

Good to hear

I thought ARam had been walking, but Al’s stats below are awesome. Especially for Aramis. This kind of baseball is fun to watch!

by gx4 on Apr 24, 2008 10:04 AM CDT up 0 recs

cool...

my first post, and Al even chimes in!

by the way, steinmer, do you not have OBP or OPS in your fantasy league?

by MSCub on Apr 24, 2008 9:39 AM CDT 0 recs

Unfortunately, No

This was my first time playing fantasy, so my friend was in charge of setting the league up. I had asked for OBP, but he didn’t like the idea. I think that OBP wouldn’t necessarily be the best stat to have (since it would be a team stat on a week by week basis), but I think that walks would definitely be a good stat to have.

by steinmer on Apr 24, 2008 10:41 AM CDT up 0 recs

OBP doesn't really work,

or so I’ve learned as commish of a few leagues, but what does work is total bases; it accounts for players who take walks and provides an easily scored statistic. However, it will heavily slant the league towards players who both hit for power and take a lot of walks.

"I've always felt that starting pitching is the most important part of the rotation." - Joe Morgan, Sunday Night Baseball 8-12-07

by gary varsho on Apr 24, 2008 5:21 PM CDT up 0 recs

...so you mean players who are good at baseball?

I has a blog.

by cwyers on Apr 24, 2008 9:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

Ive been in an OBP league for a few years...

I like it, it makes players more valuable, obviously, but it really has taken a hold as a legitimate stat, you’ll notice a lot of TV broadcasts include OBP with avg, hrs and rbi.

I lobbied for OPS in mine as well, but they went w/ OBP, which is great b/c I got Kosuke, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

by bren on Apr 24, 2008 9:45 PM CDT up 0 recs

More Patient Cubs

I’ve always heard that those 368-foot power alleys at Wrigley Field were too enticing for the Cubs hitters to take walks. That’s a bunch of baloney. Mark Grace had high OBP’s because he could walk 80+ times a year. Gary Matthews drew 103 BB’s in the NL East winning year of 1984. I still think Dawson should be an HOF’er , but one of the reasons he is not in the HOF is because the guy didn’t take nearly enough walks. At long last, we’re getting a lot of guys to take walks, and we’re 15-6. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

by memphiscub on Apr 24, 2008 9:51 AM CDT 0 recs