03-09-2009, 05:03 PM
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Piniella and the Cubs' front office are convinced the team's lack of balance had become a major impediment in the postseason, when exhaustive scouting reports and preparation tend to magnify weaknesses.
The Cubs hit .240 with one homer in 104 at-bats against the Dodgers while being swept in the Division Series. Although Lee performed well, Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto -- three of the team's main cogs -- managed only five hits in 37 at-bats against Los Angeles pitching.
More telling, Los Angeles manager Joe Torre didn't use a single left-hander in any of the three games. In fact, the Dodgers and Cubs met 10 times last season, and left-handers Clayton Kershaw, Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel and Eric Stults weren't asked to throw a pitch in 88 1/3 innings. That's 265 outs without a single southpaw sighting.
Combine that with the events of October 2007, when the Cubs hit .194 against Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Division Series, and Piniella saw an unwelcome trend that couldn't be explained away with the "small sample size" argument.
The Chicago hitters saw it, too. Lee, the Cubs' first baseman and No. 3 hitter, watched a procession of righties take the mound with absolutely no need to make adjustments.
"We've been so right-handed that when a pitcher gets in a groove, he can pitch to one side of the plate and really not have to mix it up," Lee said. "Guys start working the outside corner and throwing that slider off the plate, and they never have to go to a different pitch to get a lefty out. I'm not a pitcher, but I would think it would be a little easier that way."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->"I love DeRo," Hendry said. "But we also think the world of Mike Fontenot. The same people who are saying, 'Gee, why did you trade DeRosa?' were also writing that Fontenot should have had more at-bats last season."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cubs now a much more balanced team(Crasnick)
The Cubs hit .240 with one homer in 104 at-bats against the Dodgers while being swept in the Division Series. Although Lee performed well, Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto -- three of the team's main cogs -- managed only five hits in 37 at-bats against Los Angeles pitching.
More telling, Los Angeles manager Joe Torre didn't use a single left-hander in any of the three games. In fact, the Dodgers and Cubs met 10 times last season, and left-handers Clayton Kershaw, Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel and Eric Stults weren't asked to throw a pitch in 88 1/3 innings. That's 265 outs without a single southpaw sighting.
Combine that with the events of October 2007, when the Cubs hit .194 against Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Division Series, and Piniella saw an unwelcome trend that couldn't be explained away with the "small sample size" argument.
The Chicago hitters saw it, too. Lee, the Cubs' first baseman and No. 3 hitter, watched a procession of righties take the mound with absolutely no need to make adjustments.
"We've been so right-handed that when a pitcher gets in a groove, he can pitch to one side of the plate and really not have to mix it up," Lee said. "Guys start working the outside corner and throwing that slider off the plate, and they never have to go to a different pitch to get a lefty out. I'm not a pitcher, but I would think it would be a little easier that way."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->"I love DeRo," Hendry said. "But we also think the world of Mike Fontenot. The same people who are saying, 'Gee, why did you trade DeRosa?' were also writing that Fontenot should have had more at-bats last season."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cubs now a much more balanced team(Crasnick)
@TheBlogfines