No Surprise: Cubs, Royals Play To 5-5 Tie
by Al Yellon on Mar 23, 2010 7:37 PM CDT
in Chicago Cubs Recaps
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PrintSURPRISE, Arizona -- A surprise downpour hit the Phoenix area early this morning, drenching in particular the Scottsdale and Mesa area -- but not so much in the west Valley in Surprise, where the roads and grass berm were pretty dry. By noon, the sun had hazily peeked through the clouds, so there was no issue getting today's game played, although in cooler temperatures than the last few days (only in the mid to upper 60's, still comfortable).
When it was all over, the Cubs and Royals had fought to a 5-5 tie. It appeared that the Cubs were willing to go another inning, as they had a couple of pitchers loosening up while the Royals were tying the game in the last of the ninth, but Royals coaches and manager Trey Hillman came out of the dugout and seemed to request the game be called, which it was.
Ties are the flavor of the month this year in the Cactus League. This was the Cubs' second tie in three days; the Royals have three of them and the White Sox four. In fact, only two of the 15 Cactus League teams do NOT have a tie game so far this spring -- the Giants and Padres. Since the Cubs still have games against those two teams later this month, maybe we can take care of that for them.
Why all the ties, many more than in previous years? Obviously, the decisions in spring games mean nothing, and after the players get the work that's needed, if the game is still tied after nine or ten innings, the managers have seen what they need to see. I suspect we'll see many more of these in future springs.
Ryan Dempster threw pretty well, although with more walks (three) than he'd probably have liked, and he ran out of gas in the sixth inning, giving up a pair of long extra-base hits sandwiched around a sac fly. When Carlos Marmol relieved him, it looked good at first -- he had a nicely-done K of Jason Kendall, but then Royals backup C Brayan Pena sent a two-run homer just out of reach of a leaping Tyler Colvin into the Cubs bullpen, tying the game.
Back and forth it went for the rest of the afternoon; the Cubs took a 5-4 lead into the last of the ninth, only to see Marcos Mateo fritter it (and likely, his chances of making the team) away by allowing singles to the first three batters he faced. Surprisingly, with the tying run having scored and the winning run in scoring position with nobody out, Royals manager Trey Hillman opted to have Kila Ka'aihue bunt. Ka'aihue (I just like typing that) is a big man -- 6-4, 235 -- a power hitter who's hit a pair of homers in 20 spring at-bats. Sure, the bunt puts the winning run 90 feet away with one out, but when Lou Piniella pulled the outfield in, Mitch Maier hit a line drive right at Colvin. An intentional walk later, a groundout ended it.
More on various Cubs and Surprise Stadium after the jump.
Aramis Ramirez served as DH today -- for three at-bats, anyway -- to loud applause from Cubs fans, who were about half the smallish crowd of 6,527. He singled twice and looked just fine -- here's hoping he can take the field again soon. John Gaub didn't do himself any favors with his outing today -- a ringing triple given to Jose Guillen, followed by a run-scoring single by Kendall. Colvin looked good again at the plate, with two singles. I think, though, that Colvin would not be well served by making the major league team. He needs regular play -- bringing him to Chicago and starting him once a week and asking him to PH is not a role he's well-suited for. Sam Fuld can do that better, I think -- let Colvin play for Ryne Sandberg at Iowa (it'll be his second year under Sandberg), and call him up to start in case of injury.
Despite the crowd of only a little over half of Surprise Stadium's capacity, traffic and parking were an issue for many -- I heard quite a number of comments about people stuck in traffic. I didn't have any food there today, having eaten before leaving for the game, but I know the food selections there are pretty good, as are the souvenirs, which seemed reasonably priced.
One last thing. The PA system there was way too loud. Don't know how it sounded to any of you listening to or watching the game, but no matter where you placed yourself, it was so loud between innings that carrying on a normal-level conversation was impossible. Several requests to customer service to turn it down were ignored. We'll see if it's any better tomorrow. Sean Marshall will throw for the Cubs tomorrow against the Rangers' Brandon McCarthy. According to this blog post by Rangers MLB.com writer T.R. Sullivan, Rich Harden will be Texas' Opening Day starter.
Good luck to them, based on Harden's 11.25 spring ERA in four starts.
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Hey Al, just wondering...
You commented that today Dempster threw pretty well, despite giving up some xtra base hits, and three walks along with the 2 runs, but yesterday Shark threw 4 innings giving up 2 runs, and you said he belonged at AAA. Just wondering what you saw differently, since you were at the games, and I just read the box scores.
Thanks.
Scott Bora$ is satan.
by Canadian Cubs Fan on Mar 23, 2010 7:44 PM CDT reply actions
Dempster mixed his pitches up very well...
… got quite a number of groundouts and had five K’s. His command looked better than Shark’s. Remember, Dempster gave up only one run while he was in the game — the second run scored when Marmol gave up the homer.
The outing by Dempster was clearly better.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Cool.
I think they need a 15-18 win season from Demp this year.
Scott Bora$ is satan.
by Canadian Cubs Fan on Mar 24, 2010 5:57 AM CDT up reply actions
Starting pitcher wins mean less and less every year...
… because so many starters get pulled from games early.
What they need from Dempster is a lot of quality seven-plus inning outings.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
What is important
more than anything these days is to have some pitchers in the rotation that can eat innings and save wear and tear on the bullpen.
Wins are not a great stat, but they do reflect a couple of things pretty accurately. One, they show how often a starting pitcher is staying in games long enough to qualify for a win, and two, they show whether or not a pitcher is giving his team a chance to win.
The stat that is really misused and misunderstood is losses. It is usually automatically assumed that a pitcher that loses a lot of games is really bad. In fact, a large number of losses can frequently be an indicator that a pitcher is competing on a really bad team. If it is just the pitcher being bad, usually he doesn’t stay in games long enough to rack up a bunch of losses and eventually he will be removed from the rotation altogether.
But, if a starter stays in the rotation, but keeps losing, either the manager has decided that he is pitching competitively and not getting support, or he has potential, or there are just no other options on that particular team.
Well, that's kind of what I said.
However, plenty of starting pitchers stay in the game long enough (and pitch well enough) to qualify for a win, but the bullpen blows the game — and even when the team wins, the “win” goes to a reliever, who sometimes doesn’t even pitch very well.
We saw this with Randy Wells last year. In Wells’ first seven starts he threw five quality starts, and a sixth where he gave up no runs in five innings. For those six starts he wound up with two losses and four no-decisions — and the Cubs won two of the no-decision games.
Another example: Carlos Zambrano’s W-L record last year was 9-7. The Cubs were 18-10 in games Z started; nine times he had a quality start yet got no decision. The Cubs were 7-2 in those nine games — yet Z did not get the “win”, some other pitcher did.
I repeat, the “win” stat for starting pitchers means less now than it ever did.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Your point is well taken
although…none of this happens in a vacuum. A pitcher may have a quality start and not get a win, but the team gets a win the next day in a close game because the bullpen is fresh from not having been taxed the day before.
BTW, I count 3 games that Zambrano had a quality start, got no decision, and the Cubs went on to lose. June 10th vs Houston, June 23rd vs Detroit and Sept. 4th vs the Mets. There were also some instances, April 23rd and July 7th, for example, where Carlos had a quality start and took the loss.
There is no question that games won is a team stat, but to a lesser degree, so is “quality start”.
Agreed, and...
… you can have a “quality start” with a 4.50 ERA (6 innings, 3 ER). However, most of the Cubs’ QS last year were better than that. The Cubs finished tied for second (with the Rockies) in the NL with 94 QS in 2009.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Is Dempster running up that big hill...
…for exercise again this year? What’s it called?? Camelback Mountain??
"I always tell the truth -- Even when I lie" -- Tony Montana
I think he did that, yes.
Here’s some info on the Camelback Mountain hiking trails.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Poor Colvin...
no full time major league openings for the next 2 years.
"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality." John Lennon
Unless there's an injury or someone gets traded.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
And maybe Marlon Byrd...
… will have a good year, can be traded somewhere, and Colvin will take over in CF.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Or even if he gets the 4th OF spot in 2011
that could get him potentially 250-300 AB’s. For a first year player that would not be bad.
Personally
I’d rather see that happen to Fuk
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
Agree 100%
Not sure Colvin wouldn’t be a better option than Fukudome- except with the salary the Cubs have to pay, probably won’t happen.
Al- the food sel;ections were good at the park today- we were on row 4 on 1st base line, so we got the whole kevin Millar show. I don’t know if he’ll make the team or not, but he is a funny guy. The team, especially D-Lee, seem to really enjoy him.
"For the charming if somewhat curious branch of mankind known as Cub fans, spring is a sanguine time.. Every spring holds the blithe hope that perhaps this is the season in which Satan will grow weary and ease up on the headlock in which he has diabolically held Chicago's mightily struggling National League baseball team since 1908..." Lonnie Wheeler- "Bleachers"
by tommy veryzer on Mar 23, 2010 10:21 PM CDT up reply actions
I figured that much about Millar.
If only they’d carry 11 pitchers, they might have room for him.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I don't
Colvin walked 16 times in over 300 AB’s last year in AA. He has walked 0 times in 48 AB’s in Spring Training. I think he needs another year in the minors.
Colvin's been hitting the ball and playing a solid RF
Fukodome has not been hitting- he looked really weak yesterday at the plate in particular. But I realize that it’s only ST, and I don’t disagree that Colvin could stand another year at AAA (BTW- Iowa might really have a nice team this year- with actual prospects and not “AAAA” guys)
"For the charming if somewhat curious branch of mankind known as Cub fans, spring is a sanguine time.. Every spring holds the blithe hope that perhaps this is the season in which Satan will grow weary and ease up on the headlock in which he has diabolically held Chicago's mightily struggling National League baseball team since 1908..." Lonnie Wheeler- "Bleachers"
by tommy veryzer on Mar 23, 2010 10:56 PM CDT up reply actions
Spring training stats can be really misleading.
As we found out last year with David Patton.
Incidentally, Fukudome is hitting .219 in 35 spring AB.
Derrek Lee is hitting .227 in 22 spring AB. Any more calls for D-Lee to be replaced by Micah Hoffpauir? Or Kevin Millar? (Millar’s hitting .333.)
I thought not.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
No question....
but D-Lee has a proven record of ML success- Fukudome does not, IMO.
As noted, though, I do think Colvin would benefit from more playing time at Iowa this year.
"For the charming if somewhat curious branch of mankind known as Cub fans, spring is a sanguine time.. Every spring holds the blithe hope that perhaps this is the season in which Satan will grow weary and ease up on the headlock in which he has diabolically held Chicago's mightily struggling National League baseball team since 1908..." Lonnie Wheeler- "Bleachers"
by tommy veryzer on Mar 23, 2010 11:05 PM CDT up reply actions
On that, we agree.
Remember that Fukudome has had not-so-great springs before, then started out on fire when the regular season began.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
and he has ended up with only decent numbers ...
at the end of the year.
Which is why they signed a platoon partner for him.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
And I think Fukudome's decent numbers
are still better than what you will see from Colvin if he is the starting RF’er. I’m not a big Fukudome fan but I don’t think Colvin is all of a sudden ready based on 40 AB’s in Spring Training.
Ties in spring training?
They are obviously not taking this seriously enough. Maybe spring training records should decide who has home field for the WS.
"I'd rather hit home runs you don't have to run as hard." -- Dave Kingman
by BucknerKongCardenal on Mar 23, 2010 10:31 PM CDT reply actions
No, spring training records should decide who gets home field in the All-Star Game.
At the ASG, they’ll have a pregame dizzy bat race to decide home field for the WS.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Close, but not quite
The home run competition winner should decide WS HFA.
j/k
The HR competition, plus...
… which league can eat the most hot dogs during the game.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
And.....
who handles the most consectutive infield tosses w/out an error (that’s a tiebreaker)
"For the charming if somewhat curious branch of mankind known as Cub fans, spring is a sanguine time.. Every spring holds the blithe hope that perhaps this is the season in which Satan will grow weary and ease up on the headlock in which he has diabolically held Chicago's mightily struggling National League baseball team since 1908..." Lonnie Wheeler- "Bleachers"
by tommy veryzer on Mar 23, 2010 11:12 PM CDT up reply actions
Do double clutches cost you?
Some men learn through what they read. Some men learn through what they're told. Some men have to piss on the railroad tracks. And some men keep on pissin'.
by Ryno Runner on Mar 23, 2010 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions
What happens if you commit an error?
I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.
Who cares if he's a Cubs fan? This is a football forum! He is a PACKER fan as well. So, from now until March, I’m sure he’ll dedicate a lot of his time here. In late March, then we can be enemies during the baseball season. Besides, the Cubs have perhaps the most loyal baseball fanbase in the country. You have to respect that.
Go Pack!
by Jabooty on Jan 25, 2010 2:58 PM EST
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Mar 24, 2010 1:30 AM CDT up reply actions
You get pie!
"Who ever heard of the Cubs losing a game they had to have?" -Frank Chance
"If [Ruth] had [called his shot], I would have knocked him down with the next pitch." -Charlie Root
I just want everyone to know that little bits like this
are the reason i LOVE this site.
Actually
The dizzy bat thing would be a fun competition to see at the ASG
Like the skills challenge in the NBA
"Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can't get you off." ~ Bill Veeck
Makes about as much sense as the current method
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Mar 24, 2010 5:12 PM CDT up reply actions
Tie Games
Al, the procedure in tied Spring Training games is that both teams agree before the start of the game on whether or not they will play a 10th inning in the event the game is tied. The umpires are informed and the game is ended according to the agreement.
This procedure was installed some years ago when there were a couple of instances where there were some hard feelings when one team wanted to play on and the other did not. Now, this cannot happen.
Thanks for the info.
If that is indeed the case — and I have no reason to doubt you — it would be courteous to inform the fans of such an event. Not that it makes a whole lot of difference, but if the teams knew that there would be no 10th inning today if the game were tied, it would be nice to notify the paying customers.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
It's an interesting point
it would be good policy to make an announcement before the game…i.e., ’both teams have agreed to not play a tenth inning in the event of a tie after nine" or some such. I have never heard that done, but it should be.
I’m a big believer that establishing expectations up front goes a long ways to preventing any potential disappointment later.
I don't think either manager would know
before the game, specifically. I’d imagine a team comes in with enough pitchers to go eleven or so. If one of your relievers can’t find home plate with a treasure map and needs to get pulled, everything changes. A manager might have a hitter due up in the tenth that he’d really like to see get another at bat, so despite only wanting to go nine, he’d be willing to go ten.
The managers might know beforehand, but change their mind for any number of reasons in the seventh.
Spring games might be ties.
I doubt that.
By the 9th inning of most spring games, almost all the regulars are out, and many of the replacements are not going to make the team.
I haven’t seen a spring game go more than 10 innings in a very long time. If an agreement is made before the game, they ought to stick to it.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
You missed the point
the decision whether to play an extra inning is made before the game. There is no changing your mind during the game.
That is the procedure that all teams have agreed to. This has been mentioned several times in the local paper, as people have had questions as to why they play a 10th inning sometimes and sometimes they don’t.
They decided a number of years ago that letting the teams decide “on the fly” whether to keep playing or not was resulting in some disagreements, so they decided to do it this way.
I was just saying that Al’s point about announcing it to the crowd before hand makes sense.
And, just for clarification, they NEVER play beyond the 10th inning, and that is a league wide agreement.
That must have been in the last year or three.
I remember a 12-inning tie with the Giants… can’t recall the year, must have been 2005 or 2006.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Yes
actually I think the decision to limit games to 10 innings max, and to agree before the game starts whether to play a 10th inning or not may have been made at the same time, but I am not certain about that.
I do know that every year in the past several, it seems the topic of extra innings and tie games comes up during Spring Training and it is a shame that it is not more widely known what the agreement is. I heard a lot of people speculating as to what would happen during the 9th inning yesterday and they really should eliminate the confusion by making an announcement.
Or publicizing it better.
You say it’s appeared in the local papers and I believe you, yet it has never been mentioned by any Chicago reporter. The first I learned of this agreement was with you posting here about it.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Cactus League Attendance Trends
This probably isn’t worthy of a separate FanPost, so I’ll put it here. Was curious so I ran some numbers on attendance at Cactus League games this year and compared them against recent years for a few of the historically best drawing teams.
The league as a whole got off to a slow start attendance-wise, due to some unusually chilly and rainy weather in Arizona. But, with a little more than a week to go, the numbers look something like this (each team having played 10 home games):
The Cubs are averaging 10,976 per game. That is up 3% from 2009 (10,690), and down 9% from 2008. Keep in mind that 2008 is a better comparison, due to the WBC classic last year.
The Giants are averaging 9,872 per game. That is up 16% vs 2009 (8,476) and down 1% from 2008.
The Dodgers are averaging 8,730, which is down 4% from last year. That is despite twice having set all time Cactus League record crowds this spring (both in the last week). The Dodgers were in Florida in 2008.
The Mariners are averaging 8,471 which is up a whopping 22% vs 2009. They are up 6% vs 2008.
To sum up, the numbers in general seem to be about on par with 2008, despite the bad weather and the iffy economy.
The Cubs are the only team of the 4 I have listed who are down much from 2008.
It will be interesting to see the final tallies when the ST season is concluded, with one more weekend left and nice weather forecast for the rest of the spring.
Oh, I almost forgot
this is for Ballhawk: 2010 will be the first year in history that the Cactus League had more people attending ST baseball games that the Grapefruit League.
Well, that's no surprise, is it?
It’s the first year in history that an equal number of teams are in both states.
Incidentally, the Cubs may be down 9% from 2008 right now — but it is my understanding that all five remaining home games are sold out. Thus by the end of spring training, the Cubs may be pretty close to that 2008 average.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
Okay
…we get it. Will you be leaving the site for your own team once ST is over? Or will you be on here posting about Chad Tracy and Bob Brenly since they have ties to Arizona. I mean, someone on here might claim Chad Tracy is a great back up and you might want to contest that…daily…to the point of ad-nauseum.
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
by HoSs. on Mar 24, 2010 8:36 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Really, this was unnecessary.
Those figures were interesting and useful. They had nothing to do with “his own team”.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
I Disagree
The figures were interesting…yes…but it was just another one of his posts to let us know that we shouldn’t buy into the “Cubs Factor.” Maybe people have become immune to it, however, I notice it and it’s really redundant.
This is by no means a personal attack. I just don’t like the approach. If you check out his “recent activity” in his profile, there are exactly two posts on the Diamondback website. All of the others are posted on BCB. It almost feels like it’s a personal crusade to make sure that nobody on this board thinks too highly of the Cubs ST draw. To me it’s similar to BLou’s crusade to make sure that nobody is optimistic about the Cubs chances this year. Sometimes they both make great points, however, after awhile they lose validity because of the repetition.
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
If the repetition bothers you
don’t read the posts.
The information I posted about Cactus League attendance is new information, not redundant, because I just ran the figures last night. If seeing the numbers in print is something that offends you, well, I am sorry, but not really.
Your Points
are valid. However, if we all just collectively say “WE GET IT! There is no Cub Factor and the Cubs could move to Florida and it wouldn’t matter to the Cactus League” will you still take the time to post the figures?
I doubt it…
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
I do kinda like the Cubs
but more significantly, BCB provides me with a lot of fodder for conversation with a few people who are regulars on here who I consider really good friends. I’ve said this before and it is just amazing to me that I have to defend my participation here on a regular basis. I have conceded that threads that have to do with Spring Training are of particular interest to me, but it is not like I do not post on other topics.
If HoSs or anyone else wants to really research my posts, they could go back a few weeks when the new Cubs ST complex was a hot topic over on AZ Snakepit, I made a whole raft of posts defending the Cubs perspective on this issue, as I thought some of the anti-Cub dialog over there had gone way over the top and off the rails.
The truth is that I have no dog in this fight, other than the fact that I am a resident of Mesa, enjoy going to Spring Training games, understand and appreciate the importance of the Cubs to Mesa and would like to see this get resolved in a way that is fair and amenable to all parties involved.
And there seems to be some difference of opinion as to the value of the content of my posts. Some folks have said that they appreciate the information I provide, as it comes from an Arizona based local perspective. Others seem to take offense (unnecessarily, in my view) at anything I post that may be in conflict with the “die hard Cub fans” view of the world. Sometimes my opinions are not welcome.
Sorry about that, but since I enjoy a good debate, that is just the way it is.
I like your posts.
Especially at this time of the year, because those of us on BCB get the perspective you provide for the spring training games. Thanks so much for coming here to help those of us who can’t make it to ST games to understand what things are like in Arizona.
I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.
Who cares if he's a Cubs fan? This is a football forum! He is a PACKER fan as well. So, from now until March, I’m sure he’ll dedicate a lot of his time here. In late March, then we can be enemies during the baseball season. Besides, the Cubs have perhaps the most loyal baseball fanbase in the country. You have to respect that.
Go Pack!
by Jabooty on Jan 25, 2010 2:58 PM EST
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Mar 24, 2010 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
Thank you for saying that
I hope that is indeed the case. I am rather proud of being an Arizona resident and I wish all Cubs fans could come here, at least once, for a Spring Training visit. I realize that is not possible for many, but this is such a magical time…optimism abounds, hope and anticipation for the upcoming season is everywhere.
Don’t get me wrong…I love Florida, too. Never been there for Spring Training, but I have been there other times of the year and someday would like to go see some baseball there.
But, if I can someday get Ballhawk to come to AZ in the spring, then I can die happy.
If I can ever make it to Arizona for Spring Training,
You will be the first to know.
I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.
Who cares if he's a Cubs fan? This is a football forum! He is a PACKER fan as well. So, from now until March, I’m sure he’ll dedicate a lot of his time here. In late March, then we can be enemies during the baseball season. Besides, the Cubs have perhaps the most loyal baseball fanbase in the country. You have to respect that.
Go Pack!
by Jabooty on Jan 25, 2010 2:58 PM EST
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Mar 24, 2010 11:39 AM CDT up reply actions
For debate's sake
And I appreciate that you aren’t taking this personally although you did point out my “quirks” which is complete garbage unless my quirk is the same as yours…doing research on a subject matter that I’m discussing. :)
Debate sake though, I certainly do not take offense to your posts. I just think that you’re stuck on the attendance thing and make points about how the Cubs aren’t the deciding Cactus League factor. Anyone with any logic can see that your points are valid and that the Cactus League would certainly live on without the draw of Cub fans. I’m not totally disagreeing with you. I just see the repetition of the subject matter.
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
Well as I say
that wasn’t even the main thrust of my post here, so I do think the fact that you are so sensitized to this says a lot more about you than me.
And it is more than quirky to want to go delving into someone’s posting history….when it is totally irrelevant, especially given that your portrayal of my posting history is more than a little skewed. I posted a whole bunch on Snakepit a few weeks ago when they were discussing a topic was something I was interested in and I felt I had something to contribute to. That is what drives my posts, not the name of the blog.
That and the fact that I am personal friends with some people on here and do not really know anyone on Snakepit.
Oh and just as a sidebar
of the flurry of posts I had on Snakepit, many of them were reciting attendance figures that show that the Cubs do indeed attract large numbers of fans to Cactus League games. It’s just that the “Cubs Effect” is significantly less than a lot of people on here seem to think, and a lot more than a lot of people on Snakepit seem to think.
As I have said elsewhere, my main motivation is to provide accuracy.
And you are correct about me not taking any of this personally. If someone knows me and doesn’t like me, I take it personally. When someone who has never met me has things to say about my motivations and personal traits, I tend to take it with a grain of salt.
Funny you should say that
I was telling Doggie Stalker yesterday about how I had given up posting about how Chad Tracy is not an outfielder, as I had posted it a couple of times previously, yet I keep seeing posts saying that “Tracy can also play the OF”. I guess the fact that I watched Tracy play for 6 years, and saw the experiment with having him play the OF fail back in 2005 is just not relevant.
Who Would Say OF?
I mean, I could see him taking on a role like Mark DeRosa where he was put in LF for an inning here and there but would never consider him a regular OF or even a regular OF reserve.
You’ll have to forgive that type of talk. For some reason Cub fans fall in love with Redheads and think they can play anytime/anywhere. (See Murton, Matt). Curse you, Rick Sutcliffe!
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
I am a big Tracy fan
the guy, when healthy, can flat out rake. I can remember in his early years, Mark Grace and Matt Williams predicting that one day Chad would win a batting title. Then the injuries kicked in….
I think he can be a useful player for the Cubs…it just won’t be as an outfielder. He doesn’t have the arm for it, nor the foot speed. And he has an unfortunate tendency to circle around fly balls.
But, the real point here is that if I am hammering home points the way you claim I am, then why would I say, okay, I am not going to point out that Chad Tracy cannot play the OF any more? I’ve said my piece about this and that is all I am going to say.
There are actually several interesting bits contained in the Cactus League numbers, beyond the one that has to do with the Cubs. The real significant point to me, and Al picked up on it immediately, is that there is a real chance, with some good weather this week and next, that the attendance levels could come in right around what they were in 2008. As far as per game averages are concerned, that is the high water mark. With the bad economy, the addition of new teams and more choices for baseball fans, there was a lot of concern that crowds would be down this year.
There is still some time to go, and the numbers aren’t all in, but the interest in ST games appears to be healthy and strong.
Question for Al or anyone...
About how long do these games last? I’m about 20 minutes from Surprise this week for work but not sure I can make it out there for the 1:00 start time. Is there anything baseball worthy to see over there if I can’t make the game?
Thanks,
Games last about as long as they do for the regular season.
Between 2:30 and 3:00, which means they should end around 3:30-4:00 pm. The Surprise campus is for two teams, the Rangers and Royals, so there’s likely some minor league games going on at the other fields there.
Note, a much larger crowd than yesterday is expected today. If you’re getting there around game time, there will likely be a large traffic jam. An hour after game time might be better if you can’t make the game.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
THERE'S NO TYING IN BASEBALL!!!!!!
What is a horse shoe? What does a horse shoe do? Are there any horse socks? Is anybody listening to me?
by lswaidz on Mar 24, 2010 9:34 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Except for the All-Star game.
I didn't believe it last August, but it turns out that love survives.
Who cares if he's a Cubs fan? This is a football forum! He is a PACKER fan as well. So, from now until March, I’m sure he’ll dedicate a lot of his time here. In late March, then we can be enemies during the baseball season. Besides, the Cubs have perhaps the most loyal baseball fanbase in the country. You have to respect that.
Go Pack!
by Jabooty on Jan 25, 2010 2:58 PM EST
by Vermont Cubs Fan on Mar 24, 2010 11:16 AM CDT up reply actions
Complete Sarcasm
There should be no ties in spring training because home field advantage in the World Series ought to be determined by records in spring training. We can’t have ties deciding such an important matter and need to make these games more meaningful. The team with the best record in spring training should know before the regular season starts that it will get home field advantage in the World Series, if it wins the pennant.
"The big possums walk late." - Harry Caray
But only if they also win this week's Powerball.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
This is Totally Off Base...
Home Field Advantage should be determined by the league that scores more runs. The National League has just as much chance to score as many runs as the AL since the pitchers in the NL get to bat on a regular basis. The AL has a disadvantage since they can only bat their pitchers during Away Interleague games. /sarcasm
"...but you the living, you're stuck here with the Cubs. So it is ME who feels sorry for you." - Steve Goodman, "A Dying Cub Fan's Last Request"
Definitive end of story.
The oldest managers in each league should have a race. Whoever wins, that league gets home field.
"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra
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