SB Nation User Blog: tharr

Lou is angry at reporters

tharr — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:33:19 -0000

and most all his offense including his hitting instructor. After back to back losses to Atlanta when the offense scored 2 runs on 13 hits while drawing only 2 walks, Lou was asked all the usual questions about the team. As the 15th best team in the league on offense, had he noticed any problems or discussed any impending changes? Well, says Lou, in his inimitable style, why don't you talk to the players. And while you're at it, talk to Von Joshua, because that is his responsibility. I guess Piniella must be missing his pal Perry, who was forced out by powers above his head.

But after reading the flame out, I agree with him. Just what have our sports reporters done to hold the players accountable by asking them the very questions we ask here on a daily basis. Why is it that everyone in baseball knows how to pitch Soriano, but the player hasn't made any effort to adapt? Why is it that Soto ballooned up over the winter? And what has that done to his game? Why has Fukudome been so hot and cold while his plate performances have at times seemed comedic in execution. When Lee was in a tailspin, what was he doing differently? What goes through Zambrano's head at times, if anything? Why hasn't he learned what works for him and what destructs?

The questions and comments are endless on BCB, yet when have we heard any of our sports reporters pose those questions to the players? Lou, maybe you have something there.

Soriano is angry at Lou

tharr — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:43:35 -0000

but he refuses to discuss the issue with him. It seems that Piniella didn't give Sori adequate notice that he wouldn't be starting Wednesday. According to Alfonso, he expects at least 24 hours notice when he isn't starting. It seems that as a result of the "failure to notify of intent to bench" he was forced to prepare for the Wednesday game. Mr. Soriano went on to explain that on his "off days" he doesn't get ready. He did fail, however, to discuss the keen advantage his preparations have had on his .230 BA this year.

Unfortunately the reporter never asked Soriano if his .150 BA with RISP might also be as a result of not knowing who and when any of his teammates might be in scoring position when he came to the plate the following day. He also did not discuss if he felt disadvantaged when opposing pitchers failed to advise him how they were prepared to pitch to him the following day. Alfonso's agent refused to disclose any pertinent clauses in his contract which might give cause for a grievance but it is believed he had been in touch with the players Association.

In the interest of fairness, it is difficult for those of us making less than $18M per year to understand the pressure of preparing for the next day of work when we don't know the schedule. And it is particularly true for someone who recently called out a fellow player for giving less than 100% to the team. As the saying goes, don't judge another person until you've walked (or struck out ) a mile in their shoes. All I can say is thank you, Mr. Soriano. You have at last resolved any doubts I had about the respect you expect from me in the future.

A tragic number

tharr — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:24:19 -0000

For those of you who felt that our pitchers haven't seemed to shut down the opposition by getting their first batter out, you were right. As a team, our pitchers have allowed the first hitter they faced to get on base over 40% of the time. And the worst part is that the number for relievers is even worse. The worst offender is Patton who has 15 appearance and has allowed his first batter to reach base 60% of the time. However some of our key relief staff have also had terrible performances. Cotts, our one time only loogy 53%, Heilman 53%, Guzman 39%, Marshall 40%, Marmol 43% and Ascanio 39%. Among our starters the worst are Zambrano 41% and Lilly 36%. That number ranks worst in the league where the average is 32%.

But here is the real problem. As a team our pitchers have allowed the opposition a .324 OBP. So over a game's performance we're average. But we're constantly in a hole by allowing that first batter to reach base and often score. The fact that Lou loves to bring in numerous relievers rather than keeping them on the mound after they've settled in means he's working against the averages. The question is why do our pitchers have such a big problem taking the mound. Aren't they warmed up sufficiently? Is the bullpen coach doing his job? Is it just a lazy mental approach to entering the game? I don't have the answer but it is a problem that haunts this bullpen and must be addressed.

Soriano needs to go on DL

tharr — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:05:21 -0000

It's time to accept that Soriano needs to be put on the DL. In his past 100 plate appearances he is hitting .154 with an OBP of only .230 with an OPS of .505. To continue to keep him in the starting lineup and actually hitting #1 is idiocy. While there are numerous weak links in out lineup, none demand redress more than Sori. For the year he is hitting only .150 vs LH. Last year his numbers against LH was .351/.404/1.114. Something is seriously wrong with Alfonso. If Lou continues to ignore an obvious problem, he risks the 2009 season. And while I don't claim to understand if the issue is physical or mental, Piniella needs to deal with the problem immediately.

I hope that Fox's time in LF today was a prelude to a change in the starting lineup starting tomorrow. Fox proved he wasn't inept in LF. Move him to #5 behind Lee and it will allow the team to move Theriot or another high OBP hitter there. Do it now Lou. We're very close to dropping out of contention as it seems the Brewers are about to start another hot streak. Soriano doesn't belong on the field right now. His defense is terrible and he isn't in a bad slump that will correct itself. Let him heal on the DL and try to save the season.

Where is Fox

tharr — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:57:46 -0000

Looking through the box score tonight for Iowa I noticed that Jacob Quirin Fox was missing from the lineup. Since he had played in the last 4 games and went 2-5 last night, it seemed odd. Joshua is already in Chicago and has met with Piniella and Hendry. Maybe VJ talked them into bringing Fox up early. It has been rumored that he was slated to return when the Cubs began needing a DH next Tuesday in Detroit. Is it possible Fox headed to Chicago rather than OKC?

This certainly isn't a rumor but it isn't unreasonable to think the Cubs might look for some ~~big~~ any lumber. Maybe he's coming here to allow Trammel to continue working with him at 3rd. Hell, he might even be Joshua's assisant hitting instructor. Any sightings out there?

Hitting splits and possible improvements

tharr — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:51:27 -0000

I attempted to break down the stats for each key position player in an attempt to find when each is at a general advantage or disadvantage according to their performance this year. While I’m certain there will be criticism of “small sample” numbers in some cases, it is what it is so far. After taking a look at the comparisons by position, I tried to suggest where one player might be preferable against a certain type pitcher or starting either day or night or home or away.

Obviously certain players can be on “hot” or “cold” streaks, but that is generally overlooked because the splits presume we should put each player in a best position to succeed.

1B- Lee is the clear cut choice. As a #3 batter he is 173/224/436. Batting #4 313/415/954. Keep him as cleanup.

2B-This position is currently our weakest link. Our team sOPS+ here is a miniscule 59. The fact that we moved Fontenot from 2B to 3b only accelerated the problem. If we leave Fontenot at 3B, the choices are Scales, Blanco or Miles. Miles is 188/235/460 vs RHP. Scales 188/235/798 vs LHP. Also Miles is 130/231/448 with RISP. He also is terrible as his at bats continue against the SP. 087/125/255 the 2nd time against him and 091/231/322 the 3rd time. His only positive numbers are in day games 271/340/694. Scales may have had his 15 days of glory. Currently he is 132/267/556 the last 28 days. His positive is vs finesse pitchers (less than 24% BB or K). Blanco has insufficient numbers to draw any conclusion, but he is definitely the best defensive 2B. My opinion is to move Fontenot back to 2B and platoon him with Miles against a LHP. Send Scales back to AAA.

SS- Theriot is an obvious starter at SS.

3B- Bring back Fox and put him at 3B. We can make defensive changes in the later innings if needed. Fontenot is having a terrible time vs LHP. Fontenot vs LHP 133/176/410.

LF- Soriano is the only real option but he has some terrible splits. Vs LHP 150/261/561. With RISP 133/286/575. 2nd time vs SP 143/222/528. 3rd time vs SP 192/271/540.

CF- Fukudome is repeating his 1st year fall from grace. His last 28 days 204/353/668. Johnson is 324/405/891 vs LHP. Against Flyball pitchers 435/481/1481. Clearly we have a platoon situation.

RF- Bradley has some strange splits. His first time thru against the SP 088/162/309. 2nd time vs SP 407/543/1321. Vs RHP 174/303/629. Away games 169/297/569. While it seems unlikely that Bradley will be platooned Lou may be wise to sit him against some RHP and use Hoffpauir or Fox vs RHP, particularly on the road.

C- Soto is the only real choice. Hill has reverted to and easy out since his strong start in May. Hill is 4/29 the past 2 months.

Finally, the only clear batting slot for Bradley is #3. At #3 302/362/804. #4 152/364/636. #5 179/273/636. Feel free to criticize. I’m just looking for answers like the rest of us. Something has to change. Waiting for Aram to come back isn’t a viable solution for me.

Marmol 2009 vs 2008

tharr — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:21:57 -0000

The first thing that jumps out is his current WHIP is 1.52 against 0.93 last year. He has already been in 30 of our 54 games. That projects to a season total of 90 games. Since the 70’s only 1 pitcher has appeared in more than 90 games. That was Solomon Torres for the 06 Pirates. That year his WHIP jumped from 1.18 to 1.46. Two years later he retired. In 2007 he missed 85 games due to injuries.

Marmol is somewhat reminiscent of Willis with a violent delivery. Dontrelle has gone from Pitcher of the year to hanging onto a roster spot on the Tigers by his fingernails. His BB numbers have spiked while his ERA is unforgiveable.

What worries me is Piniella’s insistence on using Marmol so much that he is ruining one of our long term assets. It seems that in Lou’s last hurrah, he may be focusing on short term goals to the detriment of the team’s future.

2008 vs 2009 offensive stats after 42 games

tharr — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:44:01 -0000

While everyone is well aware of our problems this year, a look at the numbers might indicate the depth and extent of our problems. Our R/RA last year was 245/174. This year it is 187/189, a remarkable decline of 73 runs or 1.8 RPG. Last year we were +10 games versus a .500 record in 2009.

The biggest declines in individual performance come from 3 hitters based upon OPS. Last year at this time vs the current performance.

Lee .922/.730

Soto 1.051/.578

ARam .909/Fontenot .667

When you add in the newcomers and their abysimal seasons it turns terrible.

Bradley .643

Miles .521

Freel .200

The only additions performing decently are:

Scales .861

Hoffpaiur .821

On the recent disasterous road trip our BB/K was 10/52. We were 2/27 with RISP. I suspect the upcoming homestand is critical to our chances this year. The team we've seen recently is playing without a head or a heart lately. This team lacks a spark. The only viable addition I see is going after DeRosa who might well remind this team that winning is a team function not a group of players wearing rally caps.

Clogging the bases

tharr — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:40:14 -0000

Since the game last Tuesday against the Reds where the team took 7 walks and won 7-2, the team has reverted to the days of Dustball. we've lost 5 of 6. In those games we drew only 9 walks and. After the start of the season when we drawing over 5 per game and winning, our numbers have dropped off the table.

We're not getting deep into other team's bullpens and we're constantly behind. Our BA with RISP is .230 and that includes a game we went 7-18. We're 13th in the league in pitches seen. While it's still very early, it's time to go back to basics.

Bud (not) Wiser

tharr — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:08:36 -0000

In yet another interview, Mr. Selig provides further evidence that he has sunk into the abyss of irrelevancy. "Am I sensitive about people saying we ignored this [steroids] problem?" Selig asked. "You bet I am, and it's wrong, it's just wrong." When Judge Landis and his tough stand on gambling after the Black Sox scandal was mentioned, here is the keen analytical response from Bud.

"I have two things about this, No. 1—he died. The second part of it is he didn't have labor unions to deal with. This is currently a part of labor law in America, it is a subject of collective bargaining. In all fairness, I am always sensitive about doing things, forcing things, where baseball loses, and then I've weakened the office and the legal structure."

I guess the same could be said of Lincoln’s stand against slavery, but perhaps baseball’s capo isn’t aware that baseball fans expect their leaders to put principles ahead of the business of baseball.