Braden Looper has apparently said he wouldn’t mind coming to pitch for the Cubs. He mentions that he has kids the in school in Chicago, which has me baffled. He must live in Chicago, but I can’t figure out why. He’s never pitched for a team here and wasn’t born here. He pitched for Milwaukee, so he must be smart and not want to live in Wisconsin. (Fox Sports)
The Royals have an interest in Felix Pie, but may not have enough interest to give up what the Orioles want? Geez, how much can a failed prospect with a damaged testicle really command? (Twitter)
The Cubs are interested in Mike Cameron and Marlon Byrd for CF, though we already knew that, right? I’ll be honest with you. I’d be willing to pass on both. (Fox Sports)
According to Bruce Levine, the Cubs have interest in J.J. Putz. I wonder if he’s interested in being a setup man still. If not, Marmol probably needs to be shopped around, which would make me a happy man. I don’t believe in him and I don’t think he believes in him. (ESPN Chicago)
Are you crazy???? How can you not have faith in Marmol…. he was 13-for-13 after being named closer and 15-for-19 overall in save opportunities in 2009. Compared to Gregg who never got a shot at closing a game after losing the job and went 23-for-30. I would take the chance on giving Marmol the job for the entire year….. those extra 11 chances overall could have been the difference between a Wild Card or Division Title and not being in the playoffs. I am willing to bet that in 11 more chances Marmol only blows 1 or, at most, 2. Realistically, though, if we had Marmol closing out games in 2009 he would have probably gotten 40 chances because overall we would have been a better team… and he probably would have still only blown 4 to 6 saves. and those 10 extra saves would have been the difference between us being home after game 162 and playing on into October.. you are crazy not to give Marmol the chance.
Looper’s kids might be a good match for Chicago but I don’t see him being one. Unless it’s in a Milton Bradley trade of course.
So why would you pass on Mike Cameron? Who’s your top choice for centerfield?
Does Cameron really give us any more than someone like Fukudome? If we’re gonna upgrade CF, I want to see more. I think it might be a better idea to give a guy like Fuld a shot. He plays great defense and has a great eye at the plate.
Yeah, Marmol’s 79% closing rate is SOOOO much better than Gregg’s 77%.
I’d take Cameron. He’s a good clubhouse guy, which the Cubs are in serious need of after last year, and moving F-Dome makes at least RF defensively respectable.
Well, most of the defensive metrics I’ve looked at indicate that Cameron towers above Fukudome defensively in centerfield.
In 903 innings in CF this past season, Kosuke put up a -11.3/-18.1 UZR/UZR 150. Now, granted, that’s less than the 1,000-inning sample one needs to get a truly representive UZR number, but it’s pretty close. Meanwhile, in 1,267.2 innings in centerfield in 2009, Mike Cameron put up +10/+10.3 UZR/UZR 150. That is outstanding – especially for a guy in his late 30s. And even if Dome was somewhat better than his UZR rating indicates, it’s really hard to believe he’d be able to make up that much ground on Mike Cameron. Plus, Cameron put up similiar UZR numbers in his first year with Milwaukee. His defense appears to have slipped somewhat in San Diego, but that’s obviously a much bigger yard than Miller Park – or, more importantly, Wrigley Field.
Now, turning to Sam Fuld, maybe he could match Cameron defensively (though Fuld has never played a full season in the majors – nor even a platoon-role season). But I don’t see how, under any projection, Sam is going to outperform Cameron at the plate.
Sure, Cameron does strikeout a lot, but he’s put up an above-league-average wOBA in every season this decade. IMHO, that is just remarkable consistency. Do the Cubs really want to gamble that Sam Fuld – who’s a nice 4th/5th OF type but has never really been a prized prospect – is going to be able to pull that off? I don’t think so. The only advantage that Fuld (or, more likely, a Fuld/Johnson platton) would have over Cameron is cost.
The bottom line for me is it seems pretty clear that Kosuke’s ideal position is right field. He was fantastic defensively there in ’08. The Cubs need a centerfielder. And though Cameron’s age is certainly a concern, he still appears to be the best option out there. If the Cubs could keep his deal to two years, he’d make a decent bridge to, we hope, Brett Jackson in 2012.
Joe and everyone else: You might want to take a look at Harry Pavlidis’s look at the centerfield quandry on his blog:
http://www.cubsfx.com/2009/12/updating-cubs-center-field-picture.html
This makes no sense. Marmol is not a starting pitcher, Marmol does not hit, and if he was a closer, he would not be able to be a set-up man. Gregg-suck would be a set-up man if Marmol was the closer, and then Gregg-suck would probably put games out of reach in the 8th inning instead of the 9th inning.
79% compared to 77% is not much better… but I think had he been the closer out of the gate that would have been 85-86%. We will never know about the past…. only about the future. He is our closer now and will be for 2010. We shall see after 2010 what his success percentage is both over an entire season and over his career. In 2008 Marmol was 7-for-9. That is still in the same range as Gregg’s numbers. My point overall is that if the Cubs would have just named Marmol the closer before ever getting Gregg and followed that up by not trading for Gregg they would have been better off.
@BuckeyeCub
I do not need your input about if what i say makes sense or not.
Having Marmol as a closer is a waste of his talents, because he is so good at getting out of jams. He was among the leaders in 2008 among inherited-runners stranded.
Last time I checked closers are not restricted to coming in with the bases empty. Therefore, if Marmol had been the closer in 2009 he probably would have been coming into a lot of games in the eighth before they were out of reach and getting us out of the jam then walking away with a save. So it is not a complete waste of his talent to have him as the closer.
Last time I checked, closers usually come in in the 9th inning when his team is up by 3 runs or less. If Marmol was constantly getting 4-5-6 out saves, he’d be on the DL by mid-July.
I have a better idea: How about keeping Marmol as a set-up man so we have someone to get out of jams and then having Putz close games out if he is healthy and effective. 2 good relievers in the pen to shorten the game a little
people, to blockquote something, we use for tags, not []
We are not getting Putz and even if we do.. there is no difference Putz or Marmol as closer and setup man.
I agree if he his consistently getting 4-5-6 out savers he will be out my mid-July….. but I dont think it will be that consistent anymore. I also think he is going to be an excellent closer. Lets not forget back in the early 90s Mariano River was used as a setup man and he to was very good at getting out of jams. Eventually he became the Yuckies closer and has been ever since now he has 526 saves and is averaging 35 saves in 38 chances per year. I would take those kind of numbers from Marmol.
I just got an idea though…. would anyone even consider a Milton Bradley for Kerry Wood deal?? Then you are putting Woody back in Cubbie Blue where he belongs helping close games or even setting them of for Marmol.
Davood (hey, that’s my Persian name): I don’t think a straight-up Bradley for Wood would happen. But I wonder whether the Cubs could flip Burrell to the Indians for Wood.
@dat_cubfan_daver My father is Persian.. so it does not surprise me that you have the same “Persian name”. I would not expect it to be straight up. I dont think it would be two-deals either though. I think it would be a three way deal. Burrell-for-Wood-for-Bradley. Then we would be getting help from the Tribe to pay for the second year.. because the money for Woody and Bradley is the same… so we can stick them with the part of the second year year… maybe split it 50-50. giving us more relief.
@Davood: Ah, my wife is half-Persian! Her father was born and raised in Iran. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard any mentions of the Indians being involved in any Bradley-related deals. But the mere idea of getting rid of a greatly disliked player like Milton and bringing back the much-beloved Kerry Wood is pure poetry.
@dat_cubfan_daver well.. the other night there was a “surprise team” getting involved. I think it is pure poetry and I would not put it past Ol’ Jimmy boy to correct two wrongs with one move.
Why would the Tribe want the gameboard? He played for them before and they hated him. And why would you want Woody? He was worse than Gregg-suck last year. Honestly, Hendry should be fired for this. He could have signed Adam Dunn for the exact same cost, and gotten a better player. And then Hendry puts in his contract that if Hasbro merely PLAYS in 75 games (not starts), that his 3rd year is guaranteed. Instead of signing Dunn and having a better offense in 2009 and a lot of Cadillacs going around, instead we sign this load of crappy crap crap, and now trading him is holding us hostage for 2010. Being held hostage by a player you don’t want anymore: BRILLIANT!
@Terrelle Pryor
I agree… Dunn would have been better than Bradley.
I also agree that Woody was worse than Gregg-suck but you have to consider the fact that he was playing for a sucky team and was playing in the AL. He is not an AL type of pitcher and I said that when he signed with them last year.
You must be joking. Wood? He sucked last year. His time has passed.
The Tribe sucking and him playing in the AL does not mean Woody sucks because he is on the Tribe and playing in the AL. He blew 6 saves last year, and his ERA was 4.25 and his WHIP 1.38. I love Woody, but his time is gone.
I’m with MJ
What I am saying is you expect his ear to go up in the AL…. because of the POWER that is present in the AL. It went up just less than one point….. that is expected when you go from NL to AL. Now if we bring him back it will come back down. I would have taken a 3.26 ERA from Woody as compared to a 4.72 ERA from Gregg.. come on you have to be kidding me to say that you would not take that.
Woody is definitely worth it if we are trying to be contenders and not pretenders. I believe he has 3 or 4 good years left in him as a reliever but he would have to be in the NL. He is not an AL type of pitcher.
I’m a pretty big Sabermetrics guy, but I don’t think league-adjusted ERA has a big importance for relievers. It’s more for starting pitchers
I think it is important for both… we can compare Houston Street’s numbers with Oakland in 2008 to those with Colorado in 2009… he made the opposite switch that Woody made… going from AL to NL and going from a non-contender to a contender.
2008 ERA 3.73 —- 2009 ERA 3.06
Where Woody apparently got worse…. Street apparently got better.
With the lower ERA came a lower WHIP.
I really think that if Woody came back to the NL and play on a contender (whether its the Cubs or someone else) it would improve his numbers.
That’s arbitrary his ERA falling. I don’t think it has to do with switching leagues. Plus even with the Humidor, he’s still playing half his games at Coors Field. I also don’t get that a player becomes better just because he’s on a better team
You are misunderstanding my comment about player looking better or worse because of the team they play on.
If a relief pitcher is good.. they will be good where ever they are… BUT if they are playing for non-contender they will not necessarily show how good they are because they will be forced to pitch in games in which they would not normally be pitching in if they were on a contending team.
So now… compare as follows.
Woody 2008 Cubs (contender) 3.26 ERA
Woody 2009 Indians (non-contender) 4.25 ERA
Street 2008 A’s (non-contender) 3.73 ERA
Street 2009 Rockies (contender) 3.06 ERA
See what I am saying now?
Do you drive a Cadillac?
hu? whats that supposed to mean?
It means, do you drive a Cadillac? I find that whole argument a bunch of Gregg everything you said that a player performs better because he is on a winner. How would they be pitching in games they wouldn’tt play in if they are on a contender? Weren’t the Cubs contenders until about September? There are too many things wrong with the thinking around baseball and how stats are looked at and what is valued that I could write a book about it. But I don’t because Bill James already has
It is a psychological thing… not only in baseball.. but all sports. If you are playing for a contending team you will be more emotionally and psychologically invested in doing well.
I am not saying they wont put fourth the best effort no matter what.. I am saying that their best effort if they are on a bad team wont be the same as their best effort if they are on a contending team.. no matter what sport. I have validated this argument through talking to friends who are athletes.
That’s why Grienke won the Cy Young this year. Oh wait, the Royals suck
My opinion on that is.. a) he got lucky abd b) SAME guys dont let their surroundings affect how they play.
correcting my last post..
My opinion on that is.. a) he got lucky and b) SOME guys dont let their surroundings affect how they play.