Posts filed under 'Cubs hitters'
September 16th, 2008
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For the second time this season, the Cubs’ offense has made the National League’s new “best” pitcher feel like this. And in 14 NL starts this season, it’s probably only the second time CC Sabathia has had to bury his face/empty his stomach in his glove.
You do the math…or just see it for yourself:
Sabathia vs. NL: 9 wins, 0 losses in 12 starts with a 1.42 ERA (15 earned runs in 95 1/3 innings).
Sabathia vs. Cubs: 0 wins, 1 loss in 2 starts with a 4.77 ERA (7 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings).
May 27th, 2008
While I enjoyed Mike Nadel’s column for GateHouse Media in Tuesday’s Register Star, and perked my ears up that the Cubs are considering moving Fukudome to center, I agree with Tony: Don’t move him on defense. On offense, I do agree with Nadel: Fukudome is a better fit batting second. I found it funny that much of the Jim Edmonds haters I heard on the radio were against the signing because they worried Edmonds would take Fukudome’s No. 5 spot in the batting order and bump him up to second. His high-average, high-walks, modest-power, slap-hitting style is perfect for a No. 2 hitter. … That said, the Cubs could also leave Kosuke Fukudome batting fifth and that would be OK, too. If it’s been such a bad fit, how come the Cubs lead the Majors in runs scored? He’s third on the team in runs scored and his .399 on-base percentage is only .011 points behind team leader Aramis Ramirez. Fukudome’s 32 walks lead the Cubs. … Ramirez’s on-base percentage, by the way, is 71 points higher than his career average. Ramirez has never drawn more than 50 walks in a season. This year he’s on pace for almost 100. The Cubs are second — SECOND — in the Majors in walks after ranking near the bottom almost every year now for 40 or 50 years. That all started with Fukudome. He’s not been a disappointment for $48 million. He’s been a bargain, no matter what his stats say.
 And this idea that some positions require power and others don’t is ridiculous. Who cares if your right fielder hits 10 homers as long as the center fielder hits 30? Is that any different than your right fielder hitting 30 and your center fielder 10? The Cubs aren’t crying out for more power. They rank 7th in the Majors in home runs.
May 19th, 2008
Received a couple of negative e-mails for calling the Cubs the best team in the National League in Sunday’s Quick Shots. Some people seem to think Arizona is better, even though the Cubs swept the Diamondbacks not long ago. Sorry, I like the Cubs better — a lot better. I’d be more worried about the Mets in the long run than the Diamondbacks, who have a couple of dominant pitchers but don’t have the hitting to bang with Chicago. Only three of the eight Arizona hitters with 100 at-bats are batting over .280; six of eight Cubs are above that mark and a seventh — Aramis Ramirez — is at .274 and has averaged .305 the last four years. He’ll be above .280 very soon. Arizona’s No. 2 RBI guy — Mark Reynolds — is hitting .233. And, unlike Ramirez, he doesn’t have a track record; 24 career homers and a .266 career average. Arizona leadoff hitter Chris Young is batting .254 with 49 strikeouts and only three stolen bases. The Cubs have an above-average hitter — often far above average — at ever position except center field, where Reed Johnson is batting .256. I guess that’s why Chicago took a longshot and signed Jim Edmonds. No, Edmonds is unlikely to be the answer, but Felix Pie still might be. Pie has always hit a ton in the minors. And Reed Johnson isn’t horrible; he’s a career .279 hitter. And, even if the Cubs never quite solve center field, they don’t really have to, with seven other sluggers in the lineup. Make that eight whenever Carlos Zambrano pitches.
May 1st, 2008
Remember when the Cubs were worried about Ted Lilly and Rich Hill? Who worries about pitching when you can hit like this? The Cubs suddenly look like the Red Sox and Yankees who, yes, always had good pitching, but could also bomb their way out of most pitching glitches with a nonstop lineup of heavy hitters. The Cubs lead the Major Leagues in on-base percentage. That hasn’t happened since 1945, which, not-so-coincidentally was the last time they reached the World Series. The Cubs also lead all teams in runs scored. … Alfonso Soriano returning to the top of the lineup won’t destroy that. The No. 2 team in both on-base percentage and runs scored is Arizona, which features strikeout-happy, speed/power Soriano clone Chris Young batting leadoff.
