Final Thoughts on Chicago Sports

WWJHD: What would Jim Hendry Do?

What DID Jim Hendry do?  He traded Jerry Hairston, Jr. for Phil Nevin today.  Not a terrible move, and if it were made four weeks ago I might have been mildly excited about it.  Nevin had an OK season last year, can play some first, and platoon with Jacque Jones in right.  Texas is picking up part of Nevin's bloated salary, too.  As for Hairston, he's practically worthless at this point.  The fact that no minor leaguers were given up is a reason to be thankful.  It's just a case of too little, too late is all.  A non-move move to placate the fanbase.

Continuing yesterday's post, what would I do if I were Jim Hendry?  Hold tight for a while, then have a fire sale in late July.  This season is obviously over, and trading away prospects for short-term help would be a fool's game.  Just hang out for a while, and play with the team you've got.  Hopefully, some of the veterans will play well over these next six weeks and drive up their trade value.  Here's the guys I would trade.  Check that, here's the guys I would keep.  Everyone else is fair game.

• Derrek Lee
• Aramis Ramirez
• Ronny Cedeno
• Matt Murton
• Michael Barrett
• Carlos Zambrano
• Sean Marshall
• Mark Prior

That's pretty much it.  These guys are young enough that they'll probably still be productive players in two years when the Cubs have a chance at being competitive.  (You know, you could probably convince me to trade even these guys.  Only Lee and Zambrano are the real untouchables on this roster.) 

Holding on to Mark Prior might seem like a foolish move, but at this point the Cubs would be lucky to get scraps for him.  He doesn't have much time to bump up his trade value this year, so you might as well keep him for next year and see if he can get over his feline tendencies.  Wood, on the other hand, is a goner.  I really hope he does well over these next eight weeks, so the Cubs can get something good for him.  Lots of teams could use a proven postseason ace for the stretch run.  None of those teams should count on him next year, of course, but he does have value down the stretch.  And the Cubs  obviously won't pick up his $13 million dollar option next year, so time to see what you can get for him.  (And yes, it would hurt to see him healthy and productive in another uniform, but I'm sorry...I can't wait around forever.) 

The only other guys that have value are Pierre, Howry, Williamson, Eyre, Dempster, Walker, and Maddux.  Dump them all.  (Jones is probably untradeable at this point unless the Cubs pick up half of his salary).  I like the bullpen, but last place teams don't need to spend big money on a bullpen.  (You interested, White Sox?)  I like Walker and Mad Dog, too, but neither will be around when the team might be good again so the Cubs should put a hook in them and start casting.

Go ahead and release Neifi, Rusch, and Womack.  Sunk costs, all of them.  Bring up Theriot, Pie, Montanez, and anyone else on the farm with a pulse and play them every day.  Since it looks like Baker is sticking around a while, releasing the veterans is imperative.  Gotta take away Dusty's toys and force him to go with the rooks.  Growing pains be damned.  I have more thoughts on Dusty, but I'll save them for another day.  This is going to be a long season with not much to write about.

The bottom line is I want the Cubs to go the Marlins route.  Sure, they stink now, but at least they have a future.  Hell, after watching them sweep the Cubs last week, they have a "present", too.  They've got Cabrera, Willis, and 15 of the top 100 prospects in baseball.  At this rate, I would bet they win a third title before the Cubs make the postseason again.  That statement alone is more damning than anything I've ever written. 

Cubs Update: Why is this man smiling?

You see this guy here?  This is the man that ruined my summer.  The Cubs are hopelessly out of contention, and it's not even June yet.  No June Swoon this year, my friends.  This year we've got a May Decay.  This team really is what Mr. T likes to call "dead meat."

It didn't have to be this way.  As optimistic as I was at the start of the season, I knew this team was heading in the wrong direction.  A team with postseason aspirations shouldn't settle, and that's exactly what they did when they attempted to upgrade the offense this offseason.  Jacque Jones is a platoonable stopgap at best, yet the Cubs signed him for three years.  Juan Pierre seems to have lost a step, and that single step is apparently what separates him from being a good leadoff hitter and being pure dreck.  Murton and Cedeno are doing OK, but neither is setting the world on fire.  Counting on two of those guys to succeed this year was a decent gamble, but thinking all four were going to pan out was simply not a safe bet. 

Ditto for Wood and Prior.  Why didn't Hendry attempt to trade for, say, Javier Vazquez?  He'd be the number two starter right now, and he'd look a whole lot better than the four-headed monster that is Williams-Hill-Guzman-Ryu.  Not to mention Glendon Rusch.

Yes, a healthy Lee and a productive Aramis could have masked some of these problems.  But this offense still wasn't built for the postseason.  It was built for .500.  Everything had to go perfect this year for this team, as constructed, to have even a chance at the wild card. 

While we're here, let me just go on record to say that Tony Womack isn't the answer either.  Every hit he gets is a thorn in my side.  You just watch, he'll hit .370 over the next 60 at-bats and Hendry will give him a two-year deal.  Nevermind the 5,000 at-bats of suckage he's had in his career, this is the real Womack!  Reminds me of another guy that Hendry foolishly extended after a few hot weeks. 

Tomorrow, I'll be back to tell what I'd do if I were Jim Hendry.  Warning, it won't be pretty.  Stay tuned...

Bulls win 2nd Pick in Draft

The NBA held the 2006 Draft Lottery on Tuesday night and the Bulls ended up with the 2nd overall pick.  (Thanks again, Isiah.)  They also still have their own pick, 16th overall.  Should they try to package these picks for a proven player or roll the dice in the draft?  There are no Lebron James' in this draft, as even the best players have easily identifiable weaknesses.  In fact, some are calling this the weakest draft since 2001, when ironically the Bulls also had two picks, both in the top four (which ended up being Curry and Chandler). 

Chad Ford's Mock Draft has the Bulls taking Tyrus Thomas, a Power Forward from LSU.  I honestly don't know a lot about Thomas; Perry's the guy you should be talking to for college hoops.  But after reading his bio, I think he's definitely somebody the Bulls could use.  In short, his upside is that he's a "freak" athlete, a great jumper and rebounder, a great shot blocker, and he can hit 12-15 footers.  Plus, drafting him would continue John Paxson's history of drafting Tournament-experienced players, as LSU made the Final Four this year.  (See Hinrich, Duhon, and Gordon.)  His downside is that his inside game is very raw, and at 6'9 he might be a little undersized to play Power Forward in the NBA.  Reading that, he sounds like another Dennis Rodman, at least from a defensive standpoint.  A Rodman that can hit outside shots.  I'd be OK with that. 

The only other logical choice, provided they keep the pick, seems to be LaMarcus Aldridge of Texas.  Like Thomas, he can rebound, block, and has a nice outside shot.  He's 6'10, and might be able to slide over and play some Center.  (but not full-time.)  Plus he has tourney-experience, losing to LSU in the Elite Eight.  He needs more bulk, and simply needs to work on upper-body strength when he gets to the pros.  Frankly, I'd be happy with either one of these guys, provided the Bulls keep the pick. 

I'm just glad the Bulls have these options and not Eddie Curry.  Somebody recently joked that John Paxson should vote Isiah Thomas Executive-of-the-Year.

Sox take Cubs around Wood shed

In the first two games of this series, the White Sox laid the smackdown on the Cubs.  The Cubs salvaged the third game of the set, but had the Sox been able to turn a double play in the 8th, the Cubs very well may have been swept.  This series really showed how night and day different the franchises are right now.  The Sox can hit, pitch, and field and really have earned their status as the best team in baseball.  The Cubs, on the other hand, are like Steve Carrell in the first 100 minutes of "The 40-year-old Virgin".  They can't score.

They can, however, throw a punch.  As I'm sure you've all seen by now, A.J. Pierzynski bowled over Michael Barrett on a sac-fly, slapped the plate, kind of leaned into Barrett as he got up, and Barrett decked him.  Pierzynski is the type of guy that you love to have on your team, but on any other team he's a pain in the butt.  Think Dennis Rodman without the dress.  By all accounts, Barrett's a nice guy, a team player, and a guy you'd like to bring your daughter to prom.  But this is the third time he's looked like a fool in a fight, and people are starting to learn what buttons set him off.  A.J. obliged with the button-pressing, and it worked like a charm.  I don't blame Pierzynski at all, it was a clean play.  Barrett's the idiot in this show, and now Cub fans await word on his suspension.  You think the offense is bad now, wait till we get Mr. Oh-53 in the lineup for the next 5-10 games.

In other news, Kerry Wood's shoulder is sore and Rich Hill got demoted to Iowa.  I'm not surprised by either bit of news.  I mean, Wood already made his appearance for 2006, and you can't tell me the Cubs were counting on much more than that for their nine million.  And Rich Hill is now 0-7 in 9 career starts with a miserable ERA.  He's had plenty of chances to show his stuff in the bigs, so his demotion is well-earned.  I'm not sure who's going to take his place in the rotation, and I'm not even sure if it matters at this point. 

Crosstown Classic: White Flag

The Cubs face the White Sox this weekend in the first Crosstown Classic of the summer.  On paper, this is a total mismatch.  The White Sox have the second-best record in the majors at this point, behind division-mate Detroit.  The Cubs are coming off a recent stretch of misery, but they did take two of three from the crappy Nationals.  (How sucky are they? More on this series in a moment.)  You know, I'm not feeling down enough on the Cubs lately, so let's trot out the old standard and compare the teams, position by position. 

1B:  Konerko over Todd Walker - Lee would have won this and Walker would have won second, but hey, dem's da breaks.
2B:  Tadahito over Neifi Hairston - duh
3B:  Crede over Aramis - Aramis should be winning this one hands down, but he's been awful and Crede's been awesome.
SS:  Cedeno over Uribe - WOO!  We got one!  WOO!
RF:  Dye over Jones
CF:  Pierre over Anderson - Shocking, but one of the bigger reasons for the Cubs sucktitude actually beats the ChiSox starter. 
LF:  Podsednik over Murton - This one's actually pretty close, but Pods has a slight edge in everything.
Bench/DH:  Thome just beats out Mabry here.  Barely.

SP:  I'd say Zambrano loses out to Contreras, Maddux and Buehrle are close, but the Sox win the rest easily, even with a lousy Jon Garland. 
Bullpen:  Dempster, Williamson, Eyre and Howry actually win this one over Jenks, Cotts, Politte, etc.
Manager:  Guillen didn't win that World Series on accident.  If Dusty ever wins one, it will be on accident.

Comparing the stats, the White Sox lead in every positive category like Runs, BA, OBP, 2B, 3B, HRs, ERA...just to name a few.  The Cubs lead in Simulated Games and Towel Drills. 

By my calculations, the Sox win this comparison, 9-3. Even then, the "3" for the Cubs were all squeakers.  I'd look for the Sox to take at least two of three in this one, maybe even a sweep.  No joy in Wrigleyville this weekend, folks.

As for the Washington series that just wrapped, it was really nice seeing the Cubs toss back-to-back shutouts in the first two games of this one, but I look at that Nats lineup and cry.  If the Cubs are pathetic, the Nationals are wretched miserable stinkfests.  And of course the Cubs lost to the stinkbombs today, with a little help from Juan Pierre and Neifi Perez.  Both were outright miserable in this one, with Neifi inexplicably bunting into the last out of the game with the tying runs on base.  Whose brilliant idea was that?  Nice to see Woody, though, even if he did get lit up for 3 bombs.  The good news is he didn't walk anybody and had 6 K's in his five innings of work.  I think after two or three starts, he'll be fine.  Then by mid-July he'll be back on the DL.  Oh, and if the day couldn't get any better, the Cubs signed suckmeister Tony Womack to a minor league deal.  Good times!

PS.  I included "White Flag" in the title of this post as a benefit for the Sox fans in our audience.  You're welcome.

A Rare Cubs Victory

Carlos Zambrano pitched eight shutout innings as the Cubs beat the Nats last night, 4-0.  Unfortunately, though, everybody's talking about an incident with Jacque Jones.  Seems one drunk fan has had enough and decided to whip a ball at Jacque's head in Right Field.  While I share in the fan's frustration, throwing things at players will not be tolerated.  To echo one of Perry's favorite phrases, "These people are savages."

As much as I've ragged on him in the past, I'm starting to feel bad for Jacque Jones.  Yes, he got doubled off last night for the third time this month, taking a run off the board, and there's simply no excuse for that.  Even Bob Brenly couldn't defend Jones after that "brilliant piece of base running" (as Stoney used to say).  But the look of disappointment on his face after the play, combined with his dejected look for the rest of the game was hard to watch.  When he smashed the ball right at the first baseman his next time up, he had this look of, "I can't win."  (Of course, here's where the cynic in me says, "Well, what did you expect when you signed with the Cubs?")  Base-running gaffes aside, I'm not mad at Jones.  It's not his fault Hendry signed him to a three-year deal.  It's not his fault Baker starts him against left-handers.  Jones is doing about what I expected, and he appears to be giving maximum effort on every single play.  There's no "it's just a game" in Jacque Jones. 

This sucks because people really should be talking about Zambrano right now.  He was awesome last night.  Hitting his corners, not walking people, striking out eight...he almost made me forget about how awful they've been this month.  Dempster redeemed himself tonight, as well, recording a 1-2-3 ninth.  Not only did the Cubs pitch well tonight, but they also had some big hits.  Pierre, Walker, Barrett, and Aramis all contributed.  I liked the new lineup, by the way, with Murton hitting second, then Barrett, Ramirez, Jones and Mabry taking the four through seven slots. 

Before yesterday's game, my buddy Dave gave a scary prognostication:  Cubs win their next six over the Nationals and White Sox; Dusty gets an extension; Cubs lose 25 of next 30.  If that's what happens, shoot me now.

This just in: The Cubs are pathetic

Word:	pathetic
Type:	adjective
Definition:	sad
Synonyms:	affecting, commiserable, crummy, deplorable, distressing, feeble, heart-rending, heartbreaking, inadequate, lamentable, meager, melting, miserable, moving, paltry, petty, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, plaintive, poignant, poor, puny, rueful, sorry, tender, touching, useless, woeful, worthless, wretched

Yeah.  That about says it all right there.

Ok, it's time to start pointing fingers.  The Cubs were pathetically 2-hit today by a complete no-name, and in the process dropped their 14th game in their last 16 tries.  0-7 against the Padres this year.  Just awful.  Who's to blame for this mess?  First and foremost, you have to blame Hendry.  Lee's injury is certainly a huge huge problem, but that's not the only thing wrong with this team.  In fact, let's look at all the reasons for the losing streak:

1. Derrek Lee - They miss his bat, his glove, his presence...everything.  I can't blame Lee for breaking his wrist, but there's no denying that his loss is the single biggest reason for the collapse.
2. Poor offseason by Hendry, namely...
   • Jones, Neifi and Rusch all getting multi-year deals when a market didn't exist for them to get such deals.  They were competing with the Royals for these guys.
   • No big bat.  With a commitment being made to Murton, they had to get a monster bat for right field.  Nobody was available, you say?  Too bad, it's your job to find somebody.
   • No proven starting pitcher, when one was clearly needed with such a frail staff
   • Actually, this should count for two.  He had to know both Prior and Wood would miss significant time.  A rotation of Zambrano, Maddux, Rusch and two rookies isn't going to get it done.
3. Aramis Ramirez's slump - Neither Hendry nor Baker should be blamed for this one.  This hurts, bad. 
4. Wood and Prior - third verse, same as the second, same as the first.
5. One lousy start by Jerome Williams forcing him out of the rotation.  Angel Guzman got four tries, yet he had practically no experience in AAA.  And the experience he had was lousy.  Jerome Williams has 23 career wins at the age of 24, with a sub-4.00 ERA.  It's ridiculous to give Guzman starts ahead of Williams.
6. Prospects not living up to the hype, and sticking with them even when they stink. Namely Guzman, but Rich Hill might get added to this list as well.  .
7. Dusty Baker - I blame Baker for a lack of motivation, primarily.  Some of his lineup choices and in-game decisions are head scratchers, but he hasn't been flat-out awful in either regard this season.  I thought he was far worse last season.  But this year he's a) stuck with Murton and Cedeno, b) kept the dreck (Neifi) at the bottom, and c) kept Walker in the lineup.  His in-game pitching decisions have mostly been the right ones as well (though I disagree with at least half of his double switches - he's got to stop that.)  I'm not a big Freddie Bynum fan nor am I pleased seeing Neifi start ahead of Ryan Theriot, but at this point these quibbles are minor.
8. The rest of the slumping hitters.

So there you have it.  It's Hendry's fault.  The question is, can this season be salvaged?  Should they nuke the team and start over?  Questions for another day, my friends.  I just wanted to bitch for a while, because staying positive wasn't working.  Till next time...

Cubs Win: We got a leadoff hitter

The Cubs losing streak is finally over, as Carlos Zambrano and company beat the Giants tonight 8-1.  Let's not start pre-ordering playoff tickets just yet, as this team still has problems.  But with the streak thankfully over, it's time to put the negatives aside and instead bask in the glory that is victory.  It's been a long time coming.

• Zambrano was awesome in picking up his first win of the season tonight.  Eight innings, one run, and he shut down Bonds.  Can't ask for more than that.  Hopefully now that he's got the one win under his belt, they'll start coming in bunches.  (understatement of the year.)
• Dusty had Cedeno leading off tonight and it worked in the first inning like a charm.  Base hit, steal, sac bunt (by Pierre), RBI groundout.  It reminded me of the last time we had a true leadoff hitter, Kenny Lofton.
• All kidding aside, this lineup shakeup wasn't exactly radical.  But darnit, it worked.  I'm not going to complain.
• John Mabry got the start at first tonight, and while hitless, he made several great plays in the field.  I don't want to overuse Mabry at first, for I fear he'll pull a Hollandsworth with regular playing time.  But three starts per week (with Lee out) would seem ideal.
• Jacque Jones was 3 for 3 with a homer and 4 RBIs.  Matt Cain must really suck.
• Ryan Theriot got in the game as a defensive replacement in the ninth.  I'd like to see him get a few starts, but with today's lineup working, I'd expect Dusty to stick with it for the next several weeks. 

That's all I have to say about this one.  I'm attending my first game of the year this Friday and thankfully they won't be riding a 10-game losing streak into the game.  Hopefully they'll be on a two-game winning streak. 

Cubs keep losing

The Cubs lost their 7th straight game tonight to the Padres, their 9th loss in 10 games.  Just a miserable, pathetic display of baseball.  The cause of this losing streak is rather easy to identify:  they simply can't put runs on the board.  The pitching has been OK.  Not good by any stretch, but good enough to win at least half of those contests.  Thanks to some solid play earlier in the season, the Cubs are remarkably only three games under .500.  In other words, I can't justify throwing in the towel on the season quite yet.  After witnessing such a horrific performance, though, it's hard not to. 

Instead of harping on the negatives though, I'm going to try to come up with a gameplan for Hendry to fix this mess.  Besides, if I were to list the negatives, I'd be here all night. 

First move I'd make is to replace Angel Guzman with Jerome Williams.  Guzman simply isn't ready for the majors.  I wasn't a huge fan of bringing him up a few weeks ago, with his limited lousy performance in AAA and all, and now that he's failed in every single outing, I think the experiment is over.  Williams had one awful start and one quality start.  Why was his leash so short and Guzman's so long?  Bring him back.  And when Wood comes back, send Hill back down to the farm as well.  Keep him stretched out as a starter, though, as the Cubs will need him when Wood gets hurt again in 6 weeks.

The second move I'd make is to call up Pie and give him Right Field.  Then have Jones platoon with Murton in left.  I like Murton's future, but splitting his time with lefty Jones would improve the lineup significantly.  Murton hits lefties well, Jones hits righties well.  Combined, they'd outperform the solo Murton.  I realize that this is one of my chief complaints about Dusty, not playing the rookies, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  As with Murton's limited chances last season, he faced lefties almost exclusively for a while and he raked.  Jones can reasonably be counted on doing fairly well against right-handers, so it seems like a perfect match.  If the Cubs are ten games below .500 in June, go back to starting Murton every day and try to find a sucker to take Jones at the deadline.

Next, let recent callup Ryan Theriot start at second for a few weeks.  Couldn't hurt. 

Give Pierre a day off.  He's been pretty lousy and the Cubs need him to return to 2004 form if they want to make any noise at all this season.  Clear his head, do something.  I was cautiously optimistic when the deal for Pierre went down, but the deal looks worse and worse by the day.  Where's all the bunt singles, Juan?  You used to KILL the Cubs with them.  I just want more of that.  I'm so glad we didn't give him a 3-year deal this offseason.  That would look almost as bad as signing Jacque Jones to a 3-year deal.  Wait a minute...

Shuffle the lineup.  Ramirez looks like he's finally starting to heat up, bat him 4th where he belongs.  Follow him up with Barrett, Murton/Jones, Pie, and Theriot. 

These moves are a decent start, but I'm not foolish enough to think that they'd make a huge difference in the standings.  Maybe one or two games, depending on how often Dusty messes around with Freddie Bynum in the lineup.  So that's my in-house solution to the Cubs problems.  If Hendry wants to pull a trade for Miguel Cabrera, I'm down. 

 

Bulls Playoffs: It's over

The Bulls lost to the Miami Heat tonight in Chicago by a score of 113 to 96, losing the series in six games.  There's no shame in a #7 seed losing to a #2 seed, so I don't really feel too upset by this one.  Miami simply has too much talent to lose a series to a team like the Bulls.  Really, the Bulls were lucky to have lasted even this long.  Miami is a tough, tough team. 

The Bulls got off to an ice-cold start, as Miami built an early 10-point lead.  After that, the teams pretty much traded baskets the rest of the way, with the Bulls never again getting within seven.  There wasn't much drama in this one, as Shaquille O'Neal was simply amazing tonight.  He looked as good as he has ever looked, and the Bulls didn't have an answer.  30 points, 20 rebounds.  Once the Bulls got going, they really weren't that bad on offense.  And the defense wasn't even that bad.  Miami simply couldn't miss.  With Walker, Wade, and Posey knocking down threes, on top of the Shaq domination, the Bulls simply didn't stand a chance. 

With the Bulls owning two number one picks in this year's draft, one of which being the Knicks high lottery pick, they're in good shape going into the offseason.  There are no major injuries that they need to rehab, and the top 8 players are under contract for next season.  If I were John Paxson, I'd consider putting those two picks in a package for an established big man.  Sweetney, Chandler, Allen...nice role players.  None of them can be counted on nightly, though.  This year's draft is nothing special either, so they might not get any takers for a trade.  Still, it shouldn't hurt to try.  We'll see how it all plays out once the season officially ends in six weeks. 

Despite not being disappointed in the loss, I'm kind of bummed for another reason.  Now that the Bulls are over, I have to go back to watching the Cubs.  How long is it till mini-camp starts, anyways?

Book Review: The Last Nine Innings

In the spirit of the Cubs series with the Diamondbacks, I'm going to review a baseball book I recently read, "The Last Nine Innings," by Charles Euchner.  The book uses Game 7 of the 2001 World Series (New York at Arizona) as an allegory for the game of baseball.  Euchner examines the art of pitching, the perfect swing, player preparation, managerial strategies, and modern statistical analysis.  No stone is left unturned in this book.  It really was the perfect game to choose, too, as it featured first ballot Hall of Famers, outstanding defense, percentage baseball, and ultimately a modicum of luck.  (If you recall, Luis Gonzalez of the D-backs won the game with a bloop hit off the unhittable Mariano Rivera.)

I have to admit, I have an affinity for the Arizona Diamondbacks that outweighs that of any other non-Chicago team in the National League.  In 2002, I got the opportunity to tour the stadium, walk the field, and sit in the dugout of Bank One Ballpark (now known as Chase Field), and the hosts were extremely hospitable.  Plus they beat the smugness out of those Damn Yankees in the World Series, which is a great way to get on my good side. 

There's a blurb on the cover of the book from Andrew Zimbalist that reads, "You'll never watch a baseball game the same way."  Truer words haven't been spoken.  The book starts off with a pitch by pitch analysis of the first at-bat of the game, Derek Jeter versus Curt Schilling, and right away the reader learns what they are in for.  While it might seemed like a typical Schilling strikeout, the mind game between Jeter and Schilling is epic.  What was Schilling thinking with each pitch?  What was Jeter thinking?  The ensuing chapters take detailed looks at stars such as Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, and former Cub Mark Grace, among others.  Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book for me was learning the amount of preparation that a guy like Steve Finley does to keep his body in peak physical condition.  How he always seems to get a perfect jump on every ball.  How Schilling devises a strategy for every pitch, and how his defense knows that if Paul O'Neill is up with 2 strikes, Schilling will spot the ball so that the only possible destination is four steps to the right of third base (and that the fielder should be positioned accordingly). 

What makes this book different from your typical baseball book, though, is that it examines the game from a statistical point of view as well as the players point of view.  As everybody knows by now, there is a great debate raging between old-school scouts and pocket-protector-wearing statheads.  (Thank you, "Moneyball.")  This book takes both sides into consideration, and more or less comes to the conclusion that both sides can and should co-exist.  As a bit of a stathead junkie myself, the analytical concepts presented in the book weren't new to me.  But for the non-stathead, these sections present an excellent primer on what's going on in the sabermetric community.  Why bunting in early innings is poor strategy? What the heck are DIPS and why should I care?  How good or bad is Derek Jeter on defense?  (Hint: he's bad.)

Overall, I liked this book.  It effectively bridges the player point of view with the analytical point of view, and the natural tension from this classic game is enough to keep every baseball fan happy. 

Bulls lose an ugly one

The Bulls lost tonight to Miami in what really was an awful game.  Miami now leads the series, 3-2.  Miami dragged down the tempo to a crawl, which really is the pace they must keep in order to beat the high-speed Bulls.  The only Bulls that looked good were Nocioni and Sweetney.  Hinrich was OK, as was Schenscher.  Everyone else I thought was rather pathetic.  The Heat didn't fare much better, other than Dwayne Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, and Antoine Walker (in the second half.)  Wade was especially impressive.  In the first half, he looked like MJ circa 1987, flying all over the place.  After he took a hard spill, though, he came out in the second half and gave a gutty performance and relied on his smarts to beat the Bulls (MJ circa 1997).  He's really the only aesthetically pleasing thing about that team, as the rest of their offense is fugly.  Shaq couldn't hit a free throw to save his life, but otherwise he was pretty dominant in limited minutes (due to foul trouble.) 

Despite looking so bad, the Bulls managed to hang around all night until the last five minutes of the game.  Marv Albert and Steve Kerr were constantly bringing up the Bulls shooting woes, yet seemed to ignore the Heat's problems.  At the half, the Bulls were shooting 37% and they just kept harping on it and saying how lucky they were to still be in the game.  Miami was shooting 38%.  Ya wonder why they're in the game, Marv?  Miami finally picked it up in the fourth while the Bulls disintegrated. 

I thought the officiating was pretty terrible tonight.  I'm not sure it made a difference in the game, as the Bulls deserved to lose with such an ugly performance.  But still, I think the league was trying to make up for the 31-5 free throw disparity from the previous game all in the first quarter.  Miami went to the line 41 times in this one.  A step up, I would say.

Game Six is on Thursday in Chicago.  Hopefully Gordon will be on his game, or the Bulls will be in for another long night.

Cubs Update: Just what the Doctor ordered

The Cubs beat the Pirates tonight behind great pitching by Sean Marshall and a game-winning single by Matt Murton.  I gotta say, Marshall's been awesome these last two starts.  Yes, it was only the AAA Marlins and the AA Pirates, but you still have to make your pitches.  It's starting to look more and more like the kid's here to stay, and I'll be the first to admit that I was wrong about him.  I liked what I saw in Spring Training, but I thought he could use some time at AAA before being thrown into the fire.  Guess he didn't need it.

And it's a good thing, too, as the Cubs needed him to break out like you wouldn't believe. Carlos Zambrano just hasn't been getting the job done, and I really don't know what the problem is.  Maybe he needs to put some of that weight he lost back on.  He's too skinny to throw strikes!

Thanks to the draft and the Bulls playoff games, I thankfully missed the last two Cubs games that they lost to the Brewers by a combined score of 25-2.  It looks like Glendon Rusch was pulled from the rotation, Aardsma was sent to AAA, and Rich Hill has been called up to take Rusch's spot.  It's about time.  Rusch had a really good 2004 filling in for the injured Kerry Wood, and his 2005 was adequate.  But this year he has regressed to his Milwaukee form, and that two year deal is looking worse and worse with each gopher ball.  I'm all for Rich Hill getting his chance.  I wanted to give him the fifth spot in the rotation this spring, but the Cubs (correctly) went with Marshall.  Since then, Hill's been absolutely dominating AAA, and it's now or never for that kid.  Let's see what he's got.

Matt Murton continues to hit, and these days it seems like he's the only Cub to do so.  They've scored a total of four runs over the past 27 innings, and that frankly ain't enough to beat a major league club.  Thankfully the Pirates are in town for a two-game set.  We can afford another cool day with the bats, so long as we keep playing the Pirates.  After that, the Cubs are headed to Arizona, and hopefully the bats will awaken by then.

Oh, and I've got to ask, how long before we start worrying about Aramis Ramirez?  It's MAY.  Time to start hitting.  That's all.  Good night!