Spring Training Poll - NL Central

[Canelek]

Should be interesting here, but I am not convinced. Chicago still looks tops in the division.

[Vetiria]

Cubs and Brewers will finish 1st and 2nd, which order I won't guess yet. Wouldn't be a bit surprised if St Louis and Houston finish 5 and 6.

[Trek]

Everyone implodes and somehow the Reds win it.

[Xyphir]

Going with the Cubs. They made a big move by signing Fukudome, and it should pan out for them. With Zambrano, Lilly, and Hill they have a nice 1-2-3 punch. How well their bullpen and other starters do will matter. Jason Marquis needs to step it up. With Kerry Wood in the bullpen now, he should contribute well to the team in the new role IF he stays healthy. Still in disbelief that they signed DeRosa for WAY too much money, especially now with his latest health issue.

[Vetiria]

$5 million a year is well worth it for DeRosa. He was one of the most valuable members of that team last year. He's a good defensive second baseman and can fill in at 3rd and the outfield when needed, takes a lot of pitches every at bat, and takes walks. Well worth his salary.

[Xyphir]

You're absolutely right. I did some analysis over what DeRosa has done the past few years, going back to 2002 with the Braves and compared his numbers from 2007 with other 2B and he indeed takes more pitches and has a higher BB/TPA (Walks/Total Plate Appearance) than the average 2B. He had a BB percentage of 10.1% per Plate Appearance. The average for 2B for 2007 was 7.8%. He also took more pitches/PA (3.96) vs the average (3.76). While this translates to being more patient at the plate, it also translates into a higher SO rating. His SO rate was higher than the average (16.2% of total PAs vs. 14.2% average). Simply put, when you work the count you just have a higher tendancy to strike out.

I also compared DeRosa with Brian Roberts, who was rumored to be taking over 2B. Roberts bested DeRosa in all the categories I mentioned, 4.2 Pitches/PA, 12.4% walk rate, and 13.8% SO rate. You really can't compare most of the other offensive numbers since Roberts batted 2nd in the lineup, and DeRosa usually batted 6th. Defensively, Roberts made one more error in 60 more games played at 2B and turned 65 more DPs. They also make roughly the same amount. I'd say that DeRosa is worth the money, but also that Roberts is due for a pay raise if he keeps it up and can stay off the juice.

[Xyun]

Ken Griffey Jr. was playing cards in the poker room I work at today.

[Vetiria]

He had to pick up some kind of habit. Has to get boring being on the DL all the time.

[Homercles]

Ken Griffey Jr. was playing cards in the poker room I work at today.

But did he bet on baseball???

Griff Jr is my brush with fame. I played Little League ball against him. He and his brother were on the opposing team. They kicked our asses on a yearly basis. The Griffey brothers bashing homeruns or drawing intentional walks. And Ken Griffey was on the sidelines cheering them on...signing autographs. Always drawing a crowd.


Now, the Reds. Its been a long long time since the Reds developed a quality pitcher. Tom Browning was the last I can remember. But yesterday. WOW WOW. Johnny Cueto was AMAZING. If this kid can perform half as well as he did yesterday on a regular basis, we're looking at a 20 game winner with Cy Young potential.
Put him alongside Aaron Harang (Cy Young candidate) and Bronson Arroyo and we've got a good solid 1-2-3.
We've also got another kid in the rotation, Edinson Volquez. He is supposed to be something
special. We got him in the trade for Josh Hamilton. (A trade that both teams will say "Wow, howd we get this guy!?" and "Jesus, Why'd we give up that guy?").

And we added Cordero to close things down in the 9th.

It could be enough to actually win this weak ass division.

[Kilmoll the Sexy]

Correction....the Reds have not had a guy like this since Soto. Browning was quality but not similar to this kid at all. It really makes me sad that Dusty Baker is his manager, since he will cut his career short by at least a decade.

[Canelek]

Griff Jr is my brush with fame.

I got you beat! I used to play HS ball with Doug Desinces' kid!


oh wait, nm!

[Homercles]

Correction....the Reds have not had a guy like this since Soto. Browning was quality but not similar to this kid at all. It really makes me sad that Dusty Baker is his manager, since he will cut his career short by at least a decade.

I didnt say Browning and Cueto were alike. I said Browning was the last quality pitcher the Reds developed. And Browning was quality. Better than quality. He threw a Perfect game!
But yes, Cueto is more like Soto. I fireballer. He can dominate a hitter like Soto could. Browning was finesse. Picking at corners. Living off is breaking ball and off speed pitch.


And I can only pray that Dusty learned his lesson with Pryor and Wood. He did pull Cueto out after 7 innings yesterday. The kid was throwing a one hitter. Zero walks and 10 K's. 92 pitches. I think in his Cub days, he would have left Pryor out there to finish the game.

[Trek]

Griff Jr is my brush with fame.

I got you beat! I used to play HS ball with Doug Desinces' kid!


oh wait, nm!

You lie, or you would spell his name right. He was a good player, well Doug was .....dunno his kiddy

[Canelek]

Was never my favorite player, nice enough guy though. Doug gave all sorts of money to our team. His kid's name was Tim. This was Corona del Mar HS, Newport Beach, CA. No reason to lie--I was a shitty baseball player, and Doug's kid was an asshat.

[Trek]

I was joking about the lying part, just because I remembered his name

[Canelek]

Oh good! I didn't want to get into a pissing match about HS athletics!

[Xyphir]

Cubs got franchise win #10,000 last night and I was somewhat glad to be at such a historical event. At one point, I looked up at their lineup and saw that aside from Ramirez and the pitcher, everyone else was hitting over .300. Yikes! Soto was a triple short of the cycle, and they pulled it out after the Rockies bullpen imploded for the 4th straight night. Great game, overall, just not the outcome I would have preferred.

Gratz Cubs!

[Vetiria]

The Cubs are doing much better than I thought they would. I expected them to be decent and good enough to win the division, but they're outplaying my expectations. Second best record in the majors. Hopefully this keeps up.

[Homercles]

We've also got another kid in the rotation, Edinson Volquez. He is supposed to be something special. We got him in the trade for Josh Hamilton. (A trade that both teams will say "Wow, howd we get this guy!?" and "Jesus, Why'd we give up that guy?").

Just an update on this trade: (as of 5-19-08)
Edinson Volquez:
ERA: 1.33 (1st in the Major Leagues)
Wins: 7 (2nd to Webb who wins every game he appears in. I think he got a win when he appeared as a pinch runner)
Strike Outs: 62 (2nd in NL)

Josh Hamilton:
Batting Average: .318 (4th in the AL)
Home Runs: 10 (2nd in AL)
RBI's: 49 (1st in the world)

And oddly enough, the Reds and Rangers records are virtually identical.

[Homercles]

Update on the Triple Crown trade (as of 7-7-08)

Edinson Volquez**:
ERA: 2.36 (1st)
Wins: 11 (2nd to Webb)
Strike Outs: 116 (2nd to Lincecum)

Volquez has shown signs of fatigue over his past three starts. We'll see how the kid holds up through the 2nd half of the season. Since he's not starting the all star game, I would prefer he not pitch at all and let his arm rest the few extra days.


Josh Hamilton:
Batting Average: 309 (12th in the AL <has some work to do here>)
Home Runs: 19 (2nd to Sizemore)
RBI's: 84 (1st by 20 over 2nd place)

**Screwed out of starting the All-Star game

[Trek]

Really cant complain either way on that trade, I would love to have eithr one on my club

[Trek]

Everyone implodes and somehow the Reds win it.

I dont know why, but I still hold out hope!

[uvwx557]

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[Soreali]

wtf?

[Fairweather Pure]

wtf?

Don't knock him. I believe uvwx557 is currently VV's most active poster.

[Sylvus]

I wish I'd realized before I banned him.

[Knarlz]

Unban uvwx557!!