On the contrary the Cubs had the chance to sign Bobby Abreu (albeit a bit older but for $2 million less) but they chose to pass on him. Had they gotten involved and signed Abreu they'd be playing a person who is batting .300 with 13 home runs 91 RBIs. This would have been a much bigger contribution to the team and would have helped them out in a bulk of their low scoring games. Derrek Lee leads the team with 96 RBIs yet the next closest person to him is Soriano with 55 RBIs. As a team they are averaging 4.40 runs per game, which isn't all that bad.
Through 9 games this month they have scored 4 runs or less in 6 of their games, only in two of those did they score 4 runs or more. In 2008 the Cubs scored 855 runs all on the way to winning the NL Central and, ulitmately, collapsing in the playoffs. Looking at their numbers for the season it's easy to see why the team has struggled so much: .255 Batting Average (12th in the NL), 608 Runs scored (10th) .330 On Base Percentage (10th), .413 Slugging Percentage (7th), .743 On Base Percentage (9th) and 46 Stolen Bases (16th).
The one saving grace for this team has been their pitching (minus Kevin Gregg). The pitching is the reason the Cubs have remained out of the cellar this season as they have some pretty good numbers: 3.88 Earned Run Average (5th in the NL), .246 Opponent Batting Average (3rd), .721 On Base Percentage (5th), 36 Saves (7th), 1.33 Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched (5th) and 84 quality starts (3rd). With numbers like that the Cubs should have run away with the NL Central, however they have to combat a poor offence and often times those quality starts have been wasted.
The White Sox, on the other hand, have been in the exact same situation this season as the Cubs. Over paid, and under perform has been this teams motto. Their 2009 season stats are strikingly similar to that of the Cubs. Their offensive numbers at this point: .260 AVG (10th in the AL), 642 R (9th), .330 OBP (9th), .419 SLG (10th), .749 OPS (9th) and 97 SB (6th).
Just like the Cubs the Sox have had similar pitching numbers as well: 4.15 ERA (2nd), .261 BAA (6th), .741 OPS (3rd), 31 Saves (10th), 1.36 WHIP (5th), and 75 QS (1st). Much to the dismay of the Sox have been some moves made by their GM, Kenny Williams, that will help them in the long run but have hurt them in the present.
The first move was the trade that sent Clayton Richard, and three other minor leaguers, to San Diego for Jake Peavy, who has yet to pitch. Peavy has been sidelined since June with an injury foot and most recently his elbow after having been hit by a ball during rehab start (irony?). While in the long run the Peavy deal may prove to be wildly successful it was a move that hurt a team in the midst of the race for the AL Central crown.
The first move was the trade that sent Clayton Richard, and three other minor leaguers, to San Diego for Jake Peavy, who has yet to pitch. Peavy has been sidelined since June with an injury foot and most recently his elbow after having been hit by a ball during rehab start (irony?). While in the long run the Peavy deal may prove to be wildly successful it was a move that hurt a team in the midst of the race for the AL Central crown.
Richard, at this point of this season, is 8-5 with a 4.88 ERA. While these are not the most powerful numbers they certainly are better than his Triple A replacement, Carlos Torres. Since his call up to replace Richard, Torres is 1-1 with 6.35 ERA. As a sign of his struggle Torres was unable to make it out of the 1st inning the other night against Oakland as he gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning. He pitched a great game last week, shutting out the Cubs, and it seemed he had finally fallen into a grove.
Not only was removing Richard bad for the number 5 spot Jose Contreras continued his decline and was finally traded away to the Rockies. After the Richard trade the Sox were left with 3 legitamite starters, one so-so starter, and one unknown. By the way, does anyone know where Bartolo Colon is? That would be another great offseason bust for the city of Chicago.
Both teams have had some good pickups or trades, however during the year, but not anything that was enough to propel them out of their mediocrity. The White Sox signed '05 World Series outfielder Scott Podsednik and he has been a wonderful addition to the team. In 113 games Podsednik is batting .307 with 5 Home Runs and 44 RBIs (higher than Milton Bradley) and 27 Stolen Bases (countered with being Caught Stolen 10 times). Podsednik has proven himself to be a spark at the top of the lineup that has been missing since that '05 season.
Another great addition for the Sox was the call up of Gordon Beckham. In 83 games Beckham is managing to hit .274 with 10 HRs and 55 RBIs (again his offensive production is equal to or better than Milton Bradley and he has played 30 less games). Beckham is a great rookie with a ton potential to make it big in this league, so long as he continues to keep his numbers steady.
The Cubs have had some silent sleepers and great additions this season as well. One such example is Ryan Theriot, a sleeper. He does not get a lot of press coverate but has put up some decent numbers this season. He's batting .288 with 7 HRs and 51 RBIs and has 17 SBs. The Cubs have also benefited from the addition of Jeff Baker to the team. Baker, while only playing in 60 games so far this year, is managing to bat .305 with 3 HRs and 17 RBIs. Picked up in a midseason trade with the Rockies, his numbers are not lights out but certainly warrant him having more playing time.
As it stands both teams have struggled greatly this year and are looking to next year as a chance to get those missing pieces of the puzzle and build the time into something great. The pressure is greater for the Cubs, having not won a Championship since 1908. In their case hopefully a new, and local, owner will bring some energy and desire to the North Side. With a local guy in charge Cubs fans can only hope that he will put the right team in place and lead them to finally winning a championship.
As for the Sox, it's weird to say "Wait till next year". Hopefully with the lessons learned from this season they get back to what won them a chamionship back in '05. At this point, however, who knows. Chicago: Big market times with a small market attitude.
No comments:
Post a Comment