Crossed Up I
It was very cold and drizzly yesterday and today, so I've been trying to keep busy downtown. This is not as easy as it sounds, since all of my friends are at work, and the weather is too crappy for long walks. Tired of sitting in the house, and having gone to the movies yesterday ("Thank You For Smoking"--very funny), I figured I'd go up to Wrigley this afternoon, grab a standing-room-only ticket, keep score, and listen to my iPod. Bad baseball with good tunes is preferable to the alternative when the alternative is watching the game on TV.
At about 10:30, I went downstairs for a coffee, but the weather couldn't have sucked more. It was cold, clammy, wet, and windy--a stark contrast to the low-70s, clear-skied beauty of the last couple weeks. I walked around the block once and immediately headed back inside, already soaked through by the irritating mist falling from the sky. Today required layers of sweatshirt and pancho, and sitting outside all day would certainly be a gross affair. I thought to myself, "You have to sit under the upper deck--200 level, first 8 rows, or you will be completely miserable." Something about the specificity of that realization turned me off, and I began to wonder if I'd be miserable regardless of where I sat.
If there was any hope for this year, I guarantee you that I would have been at this game. Tickets would surely be cheap and abundant after this terrible road trip, and with the drizzle falling, I might have even gotten a free ticket from someone. But, as I standing there, toweling myself off after the unusually short walk, I realized the absurdity of walking into a guaranteed double-bitch slap, with nothing but bad weather and shitty on-field performances in store. I looked out at the dreary scene outside my window, and decided not to go to the game.
12:40--my departure time for 1:20 starts--came and went; I stayed put. I turned the game on at 1:29. The Cubs were already down 1-0. Because they were already losing, I messed around on the computer and listened to the first couple of innings with only half an ear. Occasional glances at the screen showed players who were soaked to the bone, and a tiny legion of fans who couldn't have looked more depressing.
There were two crucial innings in this game: the bottom of the third, and the top of the fifth. Those two half-innings encapsulated everything that wrong about this club. They are: Dusty Baker's continuing strategic inaptitude, as evidenced in the bottom of the third; and the team's careless pitching and defense, during a three-error fifth inning.
First, with the score tied 2-2, Neifi Perez lead off the Cubs half of the third inning with a single. The Padres catcher is Mike Piazza who, at this late stage in his career, has the worst arm in the Major Leagues and basically is incapable of throwing to second on a fly. Even if you've got the pitcher at first, you can just take off against him--he has caught a mere 11% of potential base stealers this year (3-for-34). Perez, the Cub at first, is not really fast, but he's not really slow either. He is 56-for-100 lifetime and stole 8 out of 12 tries last year, though he has not attempted a stolen base so far this season. However, with no outs and the worst arm in baseball behind the plate, this would seem like the ideal opportunity to send Perez, probably on the second or third pitch.
At the plate was Ronny Cedeno, our young phenom at shortstop, who was batting third today in the absence of DLee (injured) and Walker (resting). Cedeno is hitting the ball well this year, considering how our genius minor league coaches' were full of concern about his offensive capabilities at higher levels. For the 2005 AAA I-Cubs, Cedeno's OPS pushed the magical 1.000-level, and he's batting a tidy .300 in 200 big-league at bats over the last two partial seasons. Granted, 200 is not a large number of at-bats, but I think it's pretty clear to anyone who's paying attention that this kid can hit.
So, the Cubs found themselves with a reasonably quick player on first, an over-the-hill arm behind home, and a hot bat at the plate. What should be the obvious chain of events here? This is like a lesson Baseball Strategy 101. Perez steals second, Cedeno waits to swing away, then the middle of the order is up with a speedster on base. Instead (and I shudder as I type it) Dusty called for Cedeno to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Never in my life have I seen such an egregious example of throwing away outs. Perez moved to third on a fly out by Ramirez, and was stranded when Barrett hit a grounder to second for the final out. Wasted lead-off hits are mortal sins against the baseball gods, and the Cubs have been doing it a whole lot this year.
If ball games were decided by getting runners up to third base, the Cubs would have won the World Series every year since Dusty got here. Unfortunately, the scorer is only concerned with the 90 feet from third to home. Baker's Cubs tend to get guys over to third, but very few of them ever score. Sure, a lot of it has to do with where balls are hit, how hard they are hit, who was fielding and throwing, and a host of other things. And, there are times when a sac bunt is a perfectly acceptable tool in a manager's arsenal--as a jump-start in the first or later innings, or with a really cold batter up. But in a tied game, in the third inning of a crummy afternoon, in the midst of a really horrible stretch of play, with all the skill factors outlined above, a manager simply cannot call for a strategy that boils down to, "Let's waste outs."
If the third inning embodied the team's offensive struggles, their play in the field was equally disappointing. The top of the fifth was easily the worst half-inning of baseball I've seen in my entire life. The Cubs defense accomplished every Little League mistake imaginable: a bone head error, balls lost in flight, slipping on the wet turf, blowing cut-off men, uncontested steals, and an ill-advised double play try. Horrendous.
It was a pile of shit all around, another nightmare to add to the dwindling chronicles of Glen-done Rusch's fast-fading career. Though difficult to get guys out when the defense isn't paying attention, there is no excusing an utter lack of pitching ability. He hurts the team every time he takes the ball, which is not surprising considering how bad his stuff is. His curve ball moves--about three inches, at 80 mph, and right down the middle of the plate. His fast ball approaches the plate with the utterly flat trajectory that makes professional hitters' mouths water. His pickoff move is completely terrible for a lefty, and he's too slow to offer much fielding help. Simply put, he does next to nothing to help get guys out. What good is he, then? What is the mystery trait that Hendry, Dusty, and Rothschild see in him that I cannot recognize? He blows, even as an innings-eater, and that's the bottom line. They should cut him, but no one will pick him up off waivers, and I don't believe for a second that the Tribune Company, with its earnings in the shitter, would be thrilled to pay someone millions to sit on their ass. I can't believe they signed him in the off-season. It's definitely one of the team's worst deals in the new millennium.
I hate to say it, but with this shaky starting rotation (three, count 'em, three rookies: Guzman, Hill, and Marshall) and a roster that sorely misses their best player, maybe the Cubs should resort to swinging for the fences. As currently constructed, this team will not win many games. Going into the spring, I didn't think they'd win 100 games; I figured they had a shot at the Wild Card if the position players stayed healthy, and if a combination of Wood, Prior, or Miller returned in some regular capacity. I never in a million years thought this would be one of the worst teams in baseball. It's a train wreck, and there's nothing to be done about it, because, at this rate, the season will be lost before they can make any sort of significant change. Hendry will pull some moves, but I think they will be limited to on-field personnel. It is a shame that Dusty isn't the bench coach with some other manager making on-field decisions. There's no doubt that the players love and respect him, but he makes fatal strategic miscalculations with abundant frequency. If I had to guess, I'd say Dusty costs them about 100 runs a year, through either unwise offensive plays, or horrible late-inning switches. However, I wonder if anyone else could really do much better. After all, you can't polish a turd. And that's what the 2006 Cubs are: a steaming pile of poop.
The post-game show was pure torture; each and every replay on the lowlight reel inflamed my disgust. Studio analyst Dan Plesac opined, "This game went on forever and ever. It was just boring. It was about as boring as a baseball game can get." A chuckling Mark Schanowski replied, "Way to sell the product, Dan!" But, from the comfort of my couch, I must agree with the old lefty: This one was as brutal as they come, all 4-plus hours of it.
Though the Cubs were only out-hit 14-11, the final score of 10-5 points to their their many offensive inefficiencies, and their three errors speak for themselves. Adding insult to injury, today marked their fifth straight loss to the Padres in the last week. The Cubs are now a whopping 2-9 for the month of May. They are 1-8 against the NL West, a division which experts regard as the weakest collective talent pool in the Majors. To lose like this to the a bunch of mediocre squads is nothing if not nauseating. I bet you thought I'd never say it, but I'm actually glad I didn't go to Wrigley this afternoon.
Remember: Indecision is a decision.
At about 10:30, I went downstairs for a coffee, but the weather couldn't have sucked more. It was cold, clammy, wet, and windy--a stark contrast to the low-70s, clear-skied beauty of the last couple weeks. I walked around the block once and immediately headed back inside, already soaked through by the irritating mist falling from the sky. Today required layers of sweatshirt and pancho, and sitting outside all day would certainly be a gross affair. I thought to myself, "You have to sit under the upper deck--200 level, first 8 rows, or you will be completely miserable." Something about the specificity of that realization turned me off, and I began to wonder if I'd be miserable regardless of where I sat.
If there was any hope for this year, I guarantee you that I would have been at this game. Tickets would surely be cheap and abundant after this terrible road trip, and with the drizzle falling, I might have even gotten a free ticket from someone. But, as I standing there, toweling myself off after the unusually short walk, I realized the absurdity of walking into a guaranteed double-bitch slap, with nothing but bad weather and shitty on-field performances in store. I looked out at the dreary scene outside my window, and decided not to go to the game.
12:40--my departure time for 1:20 starts--came and went; I stayed put. I turned the game on at 1:29. The Cubs were already down 1-0. Because they were already losing, I messed around on the computer and listened to the first couple of innings with only half an ear. Occasional glances at the screen showed players who were soaked to the bone, and a tiny legion of fans who couldn't have looked more depressing.
There were two crucial innings in this game: the bottom of the third, and the top of the fifth. Those two half-innings encapsulated everything that wrong about this club. They are: Dusty Baker's continuing strategic inaptitude, as evidenced in the bottom of the third; and the team's careless pitching and defense, during a three-error fifth inning.
First, with the score tied 2-2, Neifi Perez lead off the Cubs half of the third inning with a single. The Padres catcher is Mike Piazza who, at this late stage in his career, has the worst arm in the Major Leagues and basically is incapable of throwing to second on a fly. Even if you've got the pitcher at first, you can just take off against him--he has caught a mere 11% of potential base stealers this year (3-for-34). Perez, the Cub at first, is not really fast, but he's not really slow either. He is 56-for-100 lifetime and stole 8 out of 12 tries last year, though he has not attempted a stolen base so far this season. However, with no outs and the worst arm in baseball behind the plate, this would seem like the ideal opportunity to send Perez, probably on the second or third pitch.
At the plate was Ronny Cedeno, our young phenom at shortstop, who was batting third today in the absence of DLee (injured) and Walker (resting). Cedeno is hitting the ball well this year, considering how our genius minor league coaches' were full of concern about his offensive capabilities at higher levels. For the 2005 AAA I-Cubs, Cedeno's OPS pushed the magical 1.000-level, and he's batting a tidy .300 in 200 big-league at bats over the last two partial seasons. Granted, 200 is not a large number of at-bats, but I think it's pretty clear to anyone who's paying attention that this kid can hit.
So, the Cubs found themselves with a reasonably quick player on first, an over-the-hill arm behind home, and a hot bat at the plate. What should be the obvious chain of events here? This is like a lesson Baseball Strategy 101. Perez steals second, Cedeno waits to swing away, then the middle of the order is up with a speedster on base. Instead (and I shudder as I type it) Dusty called for Cedeno to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Never in my life have I seen such an egregious example of throwing away outs. Perez moved to third on a fly out by Ramirez, and was stranded when Barrett hit a grounder to second for the final out. Wasted lead-off hits are mortal sins against the baseball gods, and the Cubs have been doing it a whole lot this year.
If ball games were decided by getting runners up to third base, the Cubs would have won the World Series every year since Dusty got here. Unfortunately, the scorer is only concerned with the 90 feet from third to home. Baker's Cubs tend to get guys over to third, but very few of them ever score. Sure, a lot of it has to do with where balls are hit, how hard they are hit, who was fielding and throwing, and a host of other things. And, there are times when a sac bunt is a perfectly acceptable tool in a manager's arsenal--as a jump-start in the first or later innings, or with a really cold batter up. But in a tied game, in the third inning of a crummy afternoon, in the midst of a really horrible stretch of play, with all the skill factors outlined above, a manager simply cannot call for a strategy that boils down to, "Let's waste outs."
If the third inning embodied the team's offensive struggles, their play in the field was equally disappointing. The top of the fifth was easily the worst half-inning of baseball I've seen in my entire life. The Cubs defense accomplished every Little League mistake imaginable: a bone head error, balls lost in flight, slipping on the wet turf, blowing cut-off men, uncontested steals, and an ill-advised double play try. Horrendous.
It was a pile of shit all around, another nightmare to add to the dwindling chronicles of Glen-done Rusch's fast-fading career. Though difficult to get guys out when the defense isn't paying attention, there is no excusing an utter lack of pitching ability. He hurts the team every time he takes the ball, which is not surprising considering how bad his stuff is. His curve ball moves--about three inches, at 80 mph, and right down the middle of the plate. His fast ball approaches the plate with the utterly flat trajectory that makes professional hitters' mouths water. His pickoff move is completely terrible for a lefty, and he's too slow to offer much fielding help. Simply put, he does next to nothing to help get guys out. What good is he, then? What is the mystery trait that Hendry, Dusty, and Rothschild see in him that I cannot recognize? He blows, even as an innings-eater, and that's the bottom line. They should cut him, but no one will pick him up off waivers, and I don't believe for a second that the Tribune Company, with its earnings in the shitter, would be thrilled to pay someone millions to sit on their ass. I can't believe they signed him in the off-season. It's definitely one of the team's worst deals in the new millennium.
I hate to say it, but with this shaky starting rotation (three, count 'em, three rookies: Guzman, Hill, and Marshall) and a roster that sorely misses their best player, maybe the Cubs should resort to swinging for the fences. As currently constructed, this team will not win many games. Going into the spring, I didn't think they'd win 100 games; I figured they had a shot at the Wild Card if the position players stayed healthy, and if a combination of Wood, Prior, or Miller returned in some regular capacity. I never in a million years thought this would be one of the worst teams in baseball. It's a train wreck, and there's nothing to be done about it, because, at this rate, the season will be lost before they can make any sort of significant change. Hendry will pull some moves, but I think they will be limited to on-field personnel. It is a shame that Dusty isn't the bench coach with some other manager making on-field decisions. There's no doubt that the players love and respect him, but he makes fatal strategic miscalculations with abundant frequency. If I had to guess, I'd say Dusty costs them about 100 runs a year, through either unwise offensive plays, or horrible late-inning switches. However, I wonder if anyone else could really do much better. After all, you can't polish a turd. And that's what the 2006 Cubs are: a steaming pile of poop.
The post-game show was pure torture; each and every replay on the lowlight reel inflamed my disgust. Studio analyst Dan Plesac opined, "This game went on forever and ever. It was just boring. It was about as boring as a baseball game can get." A chuckling Mark Schanowski replied, "Way to sell the product, Dan!" But, from the comfort of my couch, I must agree with the old lefty: This one was as brutal as they come, all 4-plus hours of it.
Though the Cubs were only out-hit 14-11, the final score of 10-5 points to their their many offensive inefficiencies, and their three errors speak for themselves. Adding insult to injury, today marked their fifth straight loss to the Padres in the last week. The Cubs are now a whopping 2-9 for the month of May. They are 1-8 against the NL West, a division which experts regard as the weakest collective talent pool in the Majors. To lose like this to the a bunch of mediocre squads is nothing if not nauseating. I bet you thought I'd never say it, but I'm actually glad I didn't go to Wrigley this afternoon.
Remember: Indecision is a decision.
posted by Pat at 5:13 PM
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