Unsolicited Advice to the cubs
Unsolicited Advice to the cubs
Congrats to the WhiteSOX for clawing their way out of a stinky AL Central basement. The Royals need some stinkin’ room down there. Let ‘em have that basement all to their lonesome.
Great 9th last night started by Theriot. I wanted the Giants to leave their kid pitcher in their even though it was clear that the cubs figured him out. Linsacombe(sp, Jeanz? anybody?) pitched a great game. The Giants aren’t going anywhere. Why not let the kid face the heart of the cub lineup and see what he had right at the end.
I’m sure Brewers fans and Cardinals fans everywhere were going “What are you doing? Get that snot-faced little douche out of there!!!”
But Brewers fans and Cardinals fans aren’t the boss of Bruce Bocci (sp? Jeanz? Barry Bonds? anybody?)
Again, please do not mistake my disdain for the douche Soriano as some general cub hatred but if that dumbass comes back and hits lead off I think he will not provide the cubs with some of the same great results Theriot has in the lead-off spot.
Now I am going to even put my disdain for Soriano aside and consider the dilemma for Lou Farigno Pinella.
Here’s the problem as I see it:
Soriano made his name as being a lead-off man with lots of speed (esp. 1st to 3rd speed) and pop in his bat.
He’s got home run power yet doesn’t hit homers or drive in runs in more traditional power spots down the lineup. Why you may ask? He’s a fastball hitter and oftentimes a first pitch fastball hitter (as DC Liar was quick to remind me he said “Remember how Soriano hit those lead-off home runs in back to back games against the SOX wasn’t that great?!?!?” – he was just kidding I think)
Soriano can’t do all the things that Theriot can do as a lead-off man and as a teammate. Next time you are watching the Smurfs count the number of pitches Theriot sees in an at-bat, especially in his first AB where you can exploit a pitcher who is off to a rough start
What I noticed is how the on-deck batter, the guy in the hole and the guys on the dugout steps are watching all the pitches the pitcher is throwing while facing Theriot. Theriot helps to fill his teammates’ heads with arm-angles, stuff, speeds etc…
Whatever Soriano does for his team, he can’t do that especially when he swings for the fences…sometimes on the very first pitch.
Now in the NL there are two spots that see a lot of fastballs, and remember Soriano is a fastball hitter.
The lead-off spot sees a lot of fastballs hence this is why Soriano wants to hit there and why he is most productive hitting 1st.
But the 9th hitter gets to see as many (and in the NL) more fastballs. Pitching coaches, esp. in the NL tend to develop strategies for individual players and for the game as a whole and there is some consistency especially when it comes to pitching to spots in the order.
Lou will probably hit Soriano first but why not, when Z and Marquis are pitching (two pitchers who take their jobs as baseball players seriously and can hit) hit the pitcher 8 and have dueling lead-off men Soriano 9 and Theriot back at the top of the order.
But nobody pays me to manage a professional baseball team.
Maybe I can find a way to get a team to pay me not to manage them.
Congrats to the WhiteSOX for clawing their way out of a stinky AL Central basement. The Royals need some stinkin’ room down there. Let ‘em have that basement all to their lonesome.
Great 9th last night started by Theriot. I wanted the Giants to leave their kid pitcher in their even though it was clear that the cubs figured him out. Linsacombe(sp, Jeanz? anybody?) pitched a great game. The Giants aren’t going anywhere. Why not let the kid face the heart of the cub lineup and see what he had right at the end.
I’m sure Brewers fans and Cardinals fans everywhere were going “What are you doing? Get that snot-faced little douche out of there!!!”
But Brewers fans and Cardinals fans aren’t the boss of Bruce Bocci (sp? Jeanz? Barry Bonds? anybody?)
Again, please do not mistake my disdain for the douche Soriano as some general cub hatred but if that dumbass comes back and hits lead off I think he will not provide the cubs with some of the same great results Theriot has in the lead-off spot.
Now I am going to even put my disdain for Soriano aside and consider the dilemma for Lou Farigno Pinella.
Here’s the problem as I see it:
Soriano made his name as being a lead-off man with lots of speed (esp. 1st to 3rd speed) and pop in his bat.
He’s got home run power yet doesn’t hit homers or drive in runs in more traditional power spots down the lineup. Why you may ask? He’s a fastball hitter and oftentimes a first pitch fastball hitter (as DC Liar was quick to remind me he said “Remember how Soriano hit those lead-off home runs in back to back games against the SOX wasn’t that great?!?!?” – he was just kidding I think)
Soriano can’t do all the things that Theriot can do as a lead-off man and as a teammate. Next time you are watching the Smurfs count the number of pitches Theriot sees in an at-bat, especially in his first AB where you can exploit a pitcher who is off to a rough start
What I noticed is how the on-deck batter, the guy in the hole and the guys on the dugout steps are watching all the pitches the pitcher is throwing while facing Theriot. Theriot helps to fill his teammates’ heads with arm-angles, stuff, speeds etc…
Whatever Soriano does for his team, he can’t do that especially when he swings for the fences…sometimes on the very first pitch.
Now in the NL there are two spots that see a lot of fastballs, and remember Soriano is a fastball hitter.
The lead-off spot sees a lot of fastballs hence this is why Soriano wants to hit there and why he is most productive hitting 1st.
But the 9th hitter gets to see as many (and in the NL) more fastballs. Pitching coaches, esp. in the NL tend to develop strategies for individual players and for the game as a whole and there is some consistency especially when it comes to pitching to spots in the order.
Lou will probably hit Soriano first but why not, when Z and Marquis are pitching (two pitchers who take their jobs as baseball players seriously and can hit) hit the pitcher 8 and have dueling lead-off men Soriano 9 and Theriot back at the top of the order.
But nobody pays me to manage a professional baseball team.
Maybe I can find a way to get a team to pay me not to manage them.
posted by edP | 8:34 PM
3 Comments:
Wow... You actually don't understand baseball, do you?
Remind me why Soriano is a douche; he seems really nice.
He told Frank Robinson, one of the great home run hitters and great players in the game that he was going to play 2nd base or sit out. He gave one of the all time great managers in the game (Joe Torre) so much grief I believe Torre and Brian Cashman begged their boss to get him out of town.
Ms. K it is not really that Soriano is a horrible person, I am a horrible person - he has bad baseball IQ, he doesn't or is incapable of doing some of the baseball things he is supposed to do.
bigSoda, you see if Soriano strong arms the cubs into having him fit lead-off they will not have the same results throughout the lineup now that Theriot has solidified his roll as a lead-off man
And just wait until late in the game...that's when Theriot in high pressure situation is setting the table for the big hitters who come after him
If Soriano can do that then so be it. But he's a fastball hitter. It's the 8th or 9th and the cubs trail by a run and I see Soriano step to the plate, he's seeing changeups.
Ok, he'll hit my changeup through the moon but pretend the "I" is what some real pitcher is thinking
I won't question what Lou is doing. He is actually turning out to be pretty good and not the tired old retread I thought he'd be.
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