I grew up watching the Cubs play ball in the afternoon, when I could have been watching soap operas. I feel pretty much the same way today.
What I find interesting and relevant about Zambrano is that he doesn’t have very good aim with any of his pitches. His minimal pitching motion is also a concern.
When [...]
Early in the 2008 season, Rich Hill walked 18 batters in 19.2 innings, for a BB/9 ratio of 8.44, before being sent out, never to return to the Cubs.
This season, Carlos Marmol has walked 52 in 56.1 innings, giving him a BB/9 value of 8.34.
Steve Blass syndrome, fine–but on the same team in consecutive seasons?
I [...]
Phil Rogers thinks the Cubs should put Zambrano on waivers.
Last year the Cubs gave up on Michael Wuertz and Rich Hill. This year it’s hair-pulling time over Zambrano and Marmol. Before they send another once-promising pitcher out the door, maybe they should consider showing the door to the one pitching coach any of these four [...]
Theriot, Fontenot and Miles are often described as scrappy. I think the word is overused and misused.
Scrappiness is an attribute possessed by some smallish players with limited skills; but being smallish and having limited skills does not make you scrappy.
A scrappy player is aggressive on the bases. He crowds the plate to maximize [...]
The Cubs have improved in some areas this winter but there are still three trouble spots.
First, they haven’t created an opportunity for Micah Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir was a lefthanded power bat that the Cubs should have gotten into the lineup, even at the expense of Derrek Lee. Fontenot is an additional lefty bat, sure, and so [...]
Since Lou maybe picked a guy with the wrong makeup to start Game 1, I’ve been trying to figure out who the ace is on this staff.
Personality issues aside, the case against Zambrano rests on his wildness. He was 43rd in the league in K-to-BB ratio among pitchers with 140 innings. Zambrano’s number was 1.81, [...]