06-03-2009, 11:14 PM
<!--quoteo(post=41963:date=Jun 3 2009, 09:58 PM:name=Clapp)-->QUOTE (Clapp @ Jun 3 2009, 09:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=41961:date=Jun 3 2009, 08:51 PM:name=Brock)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Brock @ Jun 3 2009, 08:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=41956:date=Jun 3 2009, 09:45 PM:name=Clapp)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Clapp @ Jun 3 2009, 09:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=41712:date=Jun 3 2009, 06:31 AM:name=Coach)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Coach @ Jun 3 2009, 06:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->We should have taken advantage of last year's career seasons.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
All of the career seasons? Soto and Fontenot in their first chances to get playing time, Dempster, and Theriot. That's who had career years. 4 players.
Lee, Aramis, Soriano, and Zambrano were our 4 most important players coming into the season, and they all performed worse than we thought they would.
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Can't say I agree on any of those, except maybe Lee. The rest did about as well as what was to be expected, at least for me.
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Ramirez's lowest OPS as a Cub was .913, it was .898 last year. He hit for much less power than any season as a Cub.
Soriano played in 109 games. His previous low was 135. He had an .876 OPS, the 2 years before that were .911 and .897.
Zambrano had a 3.91 ERA and pitched the lowest amount of games since he's been a starter for the Cubs. He all of a sudden couldn't strike guys out anymore.
Lee had a .823 OPS. He had a .913 the year before.
I don't know, maybe I'm just optimistic but I expected about all of them to perform about like they did the previous few years.
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I think you're splitting hairs with Ramirez and Soriano. 20 pts of OPS one way or the other isn't really a significant difference.
Zambrano... I've thought all along that he just isn't the same pitcher now that he was 4 or 5 years ago. And I honestly don't think he'll ever be at that level again. Combine the rising ERA trend with the tantrums, the increased number of injuries, the missed flights, his salary (what's he making now - $17 or $18 million?), etc. and I'm not even sure as a whole he's a net positive for this team anymore.
All of the career seasons? Soto and Fontenot in their first chances to get playing time, Dempster, and Theriot. That's who had career years. 4 players.
Lee, Aramis, Soriano, and Zambrano were our 4 most important players coming into the season, and they all performed worse than we thought they would.
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Can't say I agree on any of those, except maybe Lee. The rest did about as well as what was to be expected, at least for me.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ramirez's lowest OPS as a Cub was .913, it was .898 last year. He hit for much less power than any season as a Cub.
Soriano played in 109 games. His previous low was 135. He had an .876 OPS, the 2 years before that were .911 and .897.
Zambrano had a 3.91 ERA and pitched the lowest amount of games since he's been a starter for the Cubs. He all of a sudden couldn't strike guys out anymore.
Lee had a .823 OPS. He had a .913 the year before.
I don't know, maybe I'm just optimistic but I expected about all of them to perform about like they did the previous few years.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think you're splitting hairs with Ramirez and Soriano. 20 pts of OPS one way or the other isn't really a significant difference.
Zambrano... I've thought all along that he just isn't the same pitcher now that he was 4 or 5 years ago. And I honestly don't think he'll ever be at that level again. Combine the rising ERA trend with the tantrums, the increased number of injuries, the missed flights, his salary (what's he making now - $17 or $18 million?), etc. and I'm not even sure as a whole he's a net positive for this team anymore.
