Derrek Lee's Struggles

In the first half, he was hitting like he was the second half of last year. Now he’s stopped hitting anything but singles, for the most part. I imagine he’d like to figure out why, too.

I think most people have been noticing. I said to my friend last night ‘remember when Lee hit homerruns?’.

It would certainly be nice if he started hitting homers again. I agree that I don’t need to see him benched or anything, but he hasn’t been extremely clutch, and he’s not really a weapon to put an immediate 2 or 3 on the board, and that’s something that you really like to have from your #3.

Hopefully he turns it around and soon, because the way he’s looking he won’t even reach 20HRs, and I was hoping for at least 25, but really more like 30.

……………I think we have to say 2005 was an aberration for Lee. That’s the only season in which he’s scored or driven in 100 runs, and his .335 BA that year was significantly higher than any other he’s ever posted.

Unfortuntately, many of us – myself included – seem to think this is the way Derrek Lee should be hitting all of the time. It may be time for us to readjust our perspectives, and if we have to do it, perhaps Piniella has to consider changes as well.

speed just appears slower to me. When pitchers make mistakes on the inner half of the plate, he doesn’t turn on the ball the way he used to; he’s swinging through a lot of balls, and grounding out way too often. Having said that, he’s more aware of this than anyone, and I’m sure he’s trying to work it out. Maybe today is the day.

Derrek Lee is a quality baseball player. Quality hitter, fine defensive 1st baseman, seemingly a great teammate and gentleman….

But Lee isn’t the player who had the career year in 2005. Therein lies the problem with too many Cub fans.

but next year i would be shocked to see him hit there, he simply isn’t a #3 any more. Maybe you move him to #5 and let Aram and Soto go 3 and 4… I don’t know but I do think something will need to change.

And he’s not really getting anything to hit. Although, his bat speed is alot slower to the eye than it was in 2005.

they don’t seem to realize that his numbers are down. That decision was very strange

Isn’t the lack of homeruns. It’s the lack of line drives — he just doesn’t hit the ball with authority that often. Right now, he’ s hitting more like a #2 hitter than a #3.

I’m concerned for the team, and I’m disappointed, because he’s probably my favorite Cub. But he’s not who I want up right now with the game on the line — not even in the top 3.

Big “D” will be fine, they dont pitch to him for a reason, he has proved he can hit, the double play’s suck. Oh, and wait he plays everyday, on an infield that rotates everyone but one. I think he has played long enough, that he knows what to do and when to do it. Being a single, double, or a homer, he is the example we need. You dont see him standing at home watching, or stretching a double into a single.

Because me being annoyed suggests that I’m surprised. I shouldn’t be surprised at the hand-wringing that is going on here. I’ve seen enough of you ready to jump off the ledge that this shouldn’t surprise me.

Derrek Lee is not a problem.

Let me repeat that for you.

Derrek Lee is not a problem.

These are great days to be a Cubs fan. The team is clicking on all cylinders. You look at any meaningful team statistical category, and the Cubs are at or near the top. In the National League, our hitting stats… first in BA (.281), first in runs (672), first in OBP (.359), first in SLG (.448); our pitching stats… first in BAA (.242), second in ERA (3.77), third in OPS (.716), second in WHIP (1.29). Most importantly and not coincidentally, we lead in victories as well.

Now, why does anyone feel the need to bring the rest of us down with this negativity? The numbers, if not our lying eyes, suggest that Lee is still a good, if not great, hitter. I’d wager that his power numbers will bounce back over the next 6 weeks as well. Most importantly, the Cubs offense is doing just fine with him in the 3 hole. Jeebus.

Ok, I know I’m going to get hammered on this, and by no means am I suggesting he isn’t a good player and a solid number 3 hitter (depsite a few to many dp’s he is nice in that role). Plus he saves our buts defensively an awful lot. However look around all of the majors, home runs and production is down with a few exceptions across the board. Puljols is struggling to get to thirty homers this year? I don’t think it is just coincidence that all the bats are looking slower and 25 hrs is once again a tough mark to get to. I wonder why this could be? I love D Lee and think we would be a lesser team without him, but I can’t deny the offense in mlb is alot different the last couple years.

injury has caused permanent damage? A hitter without maximum strength in his wrist will never be a consistent power producer. It’s possible that D-Lee will never produce power at the rate he has in recent years. Thacoupled with his family problems could be as much of a contributor to his power falloff as anything else.

 I feel bad about my post with D Lee, because I think he is about as stand up as there is, and I feel awful about his family situation. It was just an overall observation about baseball which i felt applied to D Lee possibly. Hey, I love baseball, I just don’t see myself as niave anymore. I was in 98 and got excited everytime Sammy went crazy. I just don’t believe this different baseballs, smaller parks, better pitching (whatever excuse for what seems obvious to me). I just sit thinking during games that the days are over of getting a home run on command (and I think the game is better for it). We are back to power hitters having hot streaks, not entire months at a time of wild power. Anyway, I’m rambling, but there that is.

so that could be why he’s morphed into a hitter that punches the ball to the right side. I saw the same thing happen to Jim Rice back in the mid 80s.

Also I noticed that Lee pulls up his hands a lot when taking hittable strikes. So that could mean he’s not seeing the ball as well. Short of glasses or Lasik surgery, maybe he could try moving a step back in the box so he can stride into those perceived “inside” fastballs and drive them.

I think the general argument here has been that Lee is taking too many good pitches and not swinging enough. I think that is dead wrong.

Lee is seeing the fewest pitches per at bat in 4 years, the 2nd fewest in 7 years, 3rd fewest in his 12 year career. What’s more he isnt striking out more often.

The problem is that he isnt seeing enough pitches and the ones he does swing at resultin ground balls. That seems like he is swinging at a lot of borderline pitches to me. I think he needs to be more selective swinging the bat, not less. Specifically with men on.

From 2003 on, Derrek has been more patient with men on than with none on. But this year, his splits show identical BA and OBP in those situations, but a massive dropoff in SLG with men in scoring position. I would guess that he is just trying to put the ball in play with men on, leading to a counter productive tendancy towards groundballs. Instead he should remain patient, take the walk if its all that is offerred, take the borderline pitches with less than two strikes, and swing freely at meaty strikes.

mambochicken23 = drewish …. in case you haven’t been paying attention at home. The mambochicken comes out of the closet apparently on those days when A.) Andrew forgets his password that goes along with drewish and B.) compelling argument is made BlueMike.

This fella isn’t right in the head.