Bench him...PLEASE!
by pickupman21 on Jul 23, 2008 9:29 AM CDT
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PrintI know it seems odd but I think its for the best. To sit DLee for a couple games and get Michah in there. DLee needs to change something about his approch. His rolling over on pitches he should be crushing to the gaps. The last couple weeks he has been in big spots and has GIDP so many times and has hit weak ground balls for outs. Yes it will happen but if you look at some of the pitches he is doing that with, they are middle in and belt high. That is his spot and in April and May those balls were gifts to the bleachers. I think Michah is good enough at 1st and has the power we can use. Bringin Sori back will help but not enough for us to get out of this funk.
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add ramirez to the pine
also… I think this might be the game to sit some people on the bench, We wont like the lineup, but heading back to Wrigley tomorrow might be able to re-energize them. Its hard to sit them though with us facing a lefty tonight
I think Ramirez needs ABs to beat this slump.
He’s hitting the ball hard as often as not.
Lee, on the other hand, just looks awful. He’s playing lousy defense, moping around (when we see him) in the dugout, and taking a terrible approach at the plate – he seems to be guessing wrong on almost every pitch, and trying to pull stuff on the outside part of the plate.
I’m hoping that it’s just an extended slump, but I at my darkest moments, I fear that this erosion of skills is just another step down the road for a player on the wrong side of 30, and that sub-300-ish with 25 HR power may be all we can hope for in 2008 and beyond.
But at the moment, the return of Soriano and Theriot moving back to #2 should, at least, get some speed in front of Lee so that we can run our way out of GIDP situations. He is uncanny at creating tailor-made doubleplay balls.
In the meantime, DeRosa looks a bit overmatched in the OF. Start him at 1B, and give Lee some more time away to re-boot this second half of the season.
Hoffpauir's gone back to Iowa when Soriano returns.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
I think we should bench everyone!
No, wait, hear me out. Here’s the lineup.
Fontenot
Theriot
The Hoff
Cedeno
Fontenot again (We put a mustache and elevated shoes on him and the umps won’t notice)
Zambrano
Marquis
Fontenot (Give him an Afro wig this time)
Pitcher
That will “energize” the team. And I think we should also develop that technology that was used in “The Prestige” to clone Fontenot. He can play third, short and RF.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and remember, half of them are stupider than that!
I feel stupider for reading this
Evey Hammond: Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici. V: By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe.
Needed a laugh this morning
thanks. DLee blows right now. Should be hitting 7th.
Demp and Rich: proof that people that live in igloos and say "eh" can contibute!
by Canadian Cubs Fan on Jul 23, 2008 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions
lol
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jul 23, 2008 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Who is that on the
right? Is that guy new to the roster?
"This is an environment of welcoming, and you should just get the hell outta here." --Michael Scott
I thought it was funny
But I also thought Stop or My Mom Will Shoot was
CRAFTY BEAVER!!!
by lostinthevines on Jul 23, 2008 7:56 PM CDT up reply actions
there all pressing
soriano is gonna take alot of pressure off if he comes back and plays like he can play. that will open up dero who can fill in anywhere.
Dear SBnation, We need our own server here at BCB seeing how its became very slow due to enormous amounts of traffic. P.S. Impeach Bud Selig!!!
agreed but
Sori is not going to fix the problem tonite. He is a longer term solution.
SIDE NOTE….
Anyone heard anymore on Jr. coming to Chicago??
No.
You mean Griffey? Absurd.
a) Why would you want him? What purpose would it serve?
b) If he is traded, his $19 million option for 2009 kicks in. Do you want to pay him $19 million next year?
Didn’t think so. Next!
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Calm
I had just heard he would wave his NTC to go back with Lou. Yes it would be nice to have him I think he would be good at Wrigley but I would not want to pay him that much.
by pickupman21 on Jul 23, 2008 10:06 AM CDT up reply actions
He'd be terrible at Wrigley.
He hasn’t been hurt, as he usually is, but he’s just not very good any more. Forget it. There’s no point. We already have good outfielders.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
Anyone hear the rumor
that Sammy Sosa was coming back?
Pluto will always be a planet to me!
Awwww
It’s fine to have your own opinion but this is just a really stupid idea. Heck, I’d rather have Dunn than Griffey.
Are you cereal?
They are talking about Griffey. Unless you meant Sr.
Calm down.
by Kinky Reggae on Jul 23, 2008 10:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Are you cereal?????
I luvs me some Grape Nutz!
Pluto will always be a planet to me!
Unfortunately
Having your own opinion, if it differs from the norm, is cause for getting jumped on, it seems sometimes here.
But I’m with you man. Team could use another at-bat. Saying “he’d be terrible at Wrigley” is just ill-informed.
.295/.376/.542 with 11 HR career there. Doesn’t look too terrible to me. And I don’t want to hear any “defense” crap. Why are so many people worried about defense? Open the eyes, defense isn’t what’s losing the Cubs game.
But having a substandard defense...
...will lose the team games once the offense comes back – and it will come back. Batters go into slumps. Bad defenders are forever.
Look, this isn’t the first time acquiring Junior has been discussed here – this season or last season. His numbers are respectable and he is/was a great player, but there’s nowhere for him to play and he’ll likely end the season injured just like he did last year. I’d rather have Dome playing great D in right field and struggling occasionally at the plate – he looked much better last night – than bring in Junior.
Nanika Ga Okoru!
If Junior could still play
a good CF, I may have interest. He can’t still play and we have good long term options at RF and LF.
PC load letter!?!? - What the f*** does that mean!?!?!
I'm not talking about taking Dome out
Shift him to center, which he can handle. Griffey in right. Makes a ridiculous offense.
Interesting idea.
But who are the Cubs willing/able to trade to an interdivision rival to get him?
Nanika Ga Okoru!
Sori will
come back and play like he can play but I don’t expect much from him tonight or even this week.
Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden. Now that's a pair of Aces.
You watch...
He’ll go 0-4 tonight with 3Ks and people will be leaping off buildings and drinking rat poison.
Pluto will always be a planet to me!
are you a cubs fan
n/t
Dear SBnation, We need our own server here at BCB seeing how its became very slow due to enormous amounts of traffic. P.S. Impeach Bud Selig!!!
by cubsluver22 on Jul 23, 2008 10:06 AM CDT up reply actions
Yes, are you?
Pluto will always be a planet to me!
Yes, are you?
Wait…oops sorry!
Calm down.
by Kinky Reggae on Jul 23, 2008 10:22 AM CDT up reply actions
I am! I'm a Cubs fan!
What do I win!!!
CRAFTY BEAVER!!!
by lostinthevines on Jul 23, 2008 8:01 PM CDT up reply actions
I know you are, but what am I?
Pluto will always be a planet to me!
Rubber...glue...
okay you get it.
Calm down.
by Kinky Reggae on Jul 24, 2008 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions
He's coming back from the DL.
An o-fer is highly probable.
PC load letter!?!? - What the f*** does that mean!?!?!
Soriano
needs a couple games to get ready for Milwaukee next week.
Maybe Ward at 1B tonite? I seem to remember lefties hitting better off Davis than righties
Anyone going to Milwaukee next week? I am going Mon and Tues…........those are the games that really count!
soriano
he will probably need a few games but lets just hope he is hitting the ball well come monday! big series against milwaukee.. I am going on Wed.
Milwaukee is playing way too good right now and i know its only july but i think next week can really make us or break us
What is really needed
What they really need is to completely simplify their approaches at the plate. Ramirez is pulling off the ball repeatedly. That is why all of his decently hit balls are dying at the track. Despite hitting those long fly balls, he’s not hitting the ball hard and isn’t “just missing” like some believe. He’s scuffling…big time. These warning track outs are a sign of him pulling off pitches. He needs to start driving the ball to right and right center. Once that happens, he’ll pull out of this malaise at the plate.
Lee on the other hand just doesn’t have a great deal of bat speed right now. He’s getting buried inside when ahead in the count which is a huge red flag. On top of it, he’s hitting way to many lazy fly balls to right, a sure sign that he’s slow at the plate and trying to lift balls rather than drive them into the gap.
Fukudome has been improving a bit at the plate, mostly because he’s getting back to hitting the ball up the middle and away. If he continues that approach, he’ll continue to get on base.
As many people that love the home run, the Cubs posted their best offensive months of 2008 when they were hitting the ball where it is pitched. They were hitting homers of course, but not exclusively, and were taking what was given rather than forcing the action in an effort to hit balls out. Home runs come when good approaches meet up with physical talent. The will come again, but they will have to gradually be achieved with better plate approaches, particularly by the guys in the middle of the order.
If the big guys concentrate on hitting the ball up the middle, runs will come again in bunches. If not, the funk will continue.
Who needs a stinkin' tag line? What are they for anyway?
Maybe a few guys need...
...to go out and tie one on to loosen up a bit. This is old school, but it may work for some guys.
Anyway, this recent hitting slump is better now than in September. I do wonder how the recent offensive struggles may effect Hendry’s trade deadline moves, if at all?
"I don't like them fellas that drive in two runs but let in three" Casey Stengel
DLee??? You mean
DP-Lee
amirite!?
Ramlee Zamfukusoridero
Careful
Let’s not start throwing ‘DP’ around
I also refuse to reopen Photoshop
by dr stabbingworth on Jul 23, 2008 1:09 PM CDT up reply actions
I think Mark Grace needs to give D-Lee a call and explain his formula for slump-busting
But seriously-yeah, it’s hard to watch Lee these days and it’s a shame given what a great player and important part of the franchise he’s been but facts are facts; he’s been killing us in the three hole for weeks now. And somebody just told me that he hasn’t hit a single hr in the entire month of July! That’s pretty unbelievable for a (former?) power guy like him.
I’d love to see him dropped in the order-the way he and the Cubs are playing right now it can’t hurt (and it might help to take some of the pressure off of him). The problem is though that Pinella seems to be of the school that you don’t mess with veteran stars no matter how badly they’re playing and how much it’s hurting the team. That’s the part I find most frustrating. I was reading a book on Cubs history awhile back that talked of a time Leo Durocher moved Santo down to #7 during an extended slump. Santo was pissed but he went out and hit two home runs in the game. It seems today’s managers have a tendency to treat veterans with kid gloves. Who knows? Lee might actually welcome being moved at least on a temporary basis.
Whats best for the team
Sometimes doesnt apply to “stars” as you say. I have no idea what he is like but from what I can see from the stands he doesnt seem like a guy who would be happy about the drop in the line-up. Altho I dont think Lou is one to sit on his hands for too long. Lee is losing the games for us but, he is not helping us like a #3 hitter should.
by pickupman21 on Jul 23, 2008 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions
Sad to say, I think you're right about Lee not being too accepting about a drop in the line-up
It’s too bad because it would actually make me respect him even more for putting the team first. It’s funny though how so many of us (myself included) are ready to jump on Soriano for not wanting to move from lead-off but a guy like Lee tends to get more of a free pass.
Who knows? Maybe he’ll surprise us.
At the very least though, we’re about to really see what kind of a manager Lou is in handling all of this.
by bluekoolaide on Jul 23, 2008 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions
it amazes me that you guys
seem to think that you know the minds of these players.
It happens all the time with Soriano, and now it happens with Lee.
"We expect to win. We go out to win. So we're just living up to our own expectations." Derrek Lee, 5/29/08
by drewishdrewid on Jul 23, 2008 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions
We're just throwing out theories
Of course we don’t know what’s going on in the minds of these players-but speculation is part of the fun (and sacred rite!) of being a sports fan.
And since, ultimately, nothing any of us say here will have any effect whatsoever on how the Cubs do things, what’s the harm?
by bluekoolaide on Jul 23, 2008 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't want to get too carried away...
...with this whole Chase Field thing, but I think the Cubs need to get the hell outta there and play a few games at home before Lou starts messing with the lineup too much. That place is just a black hole that sucks almost every run-scoring knock into its endless vacuum of nothingness.
Nanika Ga Okoru!
OK
Then why do the D-Backs win there? It is not a home run park but it has some good gaps that should produce plenty of doubles and as Mighty Mike showed a triple or 2.
by pickupman21 on Jul 23, 2008 12:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Plus, as we're all too aware of at this point, the Cubs road problems extend
far beyond Chase Field.
I agree that it’s usually not good to make moves out of desperation, but the Cubs look so lethargic and frustrated right now that I think it might be worth trying some things.
by bluekoolaide on Jul 23, 2008 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, the D'Backs win there because it's there home field.
The black hole likes them and ignores their run-scoring knocks. Like I said, I don’t want to take it too far, but I just can’t help feeling like that place kills this team.
Nanika Ga Okoru!
Sometimes...
... a team just plays badly in a certain park. For the 60’s-70’s era Cubs it was the Astrodome. Even when the Cubs were good and the Astros sucked, the Cubs just could NOT win there.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
They need to get outta there before...
Lou’s head asplode!
I haz blurg: hotbeans.wordpress.com
by digitalbenjamin on Jul 23, 2008 1:22 PM CDT up reply actions
Not the answer
Marathon, he’s just getting a little cramp at mile 15.
He needs to get back to hitting the ball where it’s pitched. I watched several replays, in high def slo mo and he’s dropping the shoulder and trying to pull. Do that enough and it’s grounder, grounder, grounder…weak ones at that.
As for A-Ram. It looks like he’s pulling off the ball a little quick. While his shoulder drop is less pronounced, it looks like he is just missing; kind of like at WT fly with 2 men on last night.
Relax people. If this is happening say after 8/10, then it’s panic time. Because that means they didn’t do well against both key division foes.
Sweet Lou for Mayor in '11.
We go through this every time Lee gets into a slump.
And he always pulls out of it. This is getting absurd.
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