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Friday, June 20, 2003
why do they suck?
yesterday, i posted a list of cubs that suck. i'll repeat the list:
lenny harris .092 .888 .071
tom goodwin .035 .831 .072
eric karros .097 .901 .229
mark grudzielanek .064 .851 .094
ramon martinez .105 .857 .147
troy o'leary .067 .839 .138
these guys have a lot in common. they all make contact. they all swing the bat (a lot. dusty baker apparently loves this type of player.) so why do they suck?
2 reasons: patience, and power. none of these bitches can walk to save their life, and contact isn't going to help if you can't hit the ball out of the infield. result: low obp, low slg.
let's run some more numbers (avg/obp/slg):
lenny harris .169/.245/.225
tom goodwin .217/.244/.277
eric karros .282/.352/.489
mark grudzielanek .282/.329/.363
ramon martinez .269/.338/.395
troy o'leary .214/.260/.330
you can see who has gotten lucky by looking at batting average. karros has a little bit of power, but not enough to play first base. his numbers are too high because he's got his doubles and home runs backwards. he's platooning, but he should be cut. the cubs are already wasting $8 million on him; they don't need to waste a roster spot too.
grudzielanek is the other former dodger. by the end of the season, he will be in the tank. but the rightful starter, bobby hill, won't take over till next year, because dusty baker is a presbyophile.
the fact that these players are on major league rosters is the result of an overemphasis on strikeouts. gm's know strikeouts are important, but they don't know how to place them in the proper context. to succeed at the plate, you have to make contact and hit the ball hard.
i live in chicago, so i see a lot of cubs games.
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