Do you know what the best thing about the 2 Grand Slams hit by the Chicago Cubs in the last 2 days is? They were hit by both a platoon outfielder and a pitcher. Did I mention that the back up catcher had a 3 homer day the day before? Depth depth depth, is what you need to win a Championship. Injuries and slumps take their toll on every team throughout the year, and you've got to have a backup plan. Look at the Yankees who's entire starting lineup is a back up plan. They are in second place. The Cubs backup plan guys are now sparking the team, and hitting the cover off the ball. But what of our original plan guys? Ummmm...not so much.....
Sorry to bring up the negative while we are on a 5 game winning streak, but winning these games so decisively, with such incredible displays of hitting prowess, has me asking "who in the hell are these guys?!" Castro and Rizzo, the cornerstones of this organization have struggled consistently this year. Rizzo with a painfully slow start, including 45 strikeouts. And Castro with a batting average of .264, far below what many of us expected from him. Soriano is also playing below potential with only 6 homeruns. And Darwin Barney, though a fielding phenom, is hovering precariously just above the Mendoza line at .209. The Cubs in general are 7 games under .500, even though they have scored more runs than their opponents. The only team to find themselves with this unlikely predicament of a stat in the majors. They rank 6th in starting pitcher ERA, (9th overall), and they just don't hit on the road.
Wondering out loud.....Why did Sveum sit Navarro the day after his 3 homer game? Why do the Cubs have 40 errors? Half by the Pitchers and Catchers? Why are we 7 games under .500 when an ancient greek philosopher named Pythagorus says we should be 2 games over. Why? Maybe it's because baseball isn't a "math problem" and wasn't invented in ancient Greece. It's an American game, and as a people, Americans hate Math. There is a place for stats as far as making decisions in this game. Managers need to find the right matchups. Lefty righty, double switches. Defensive replacements. There certainly are many factors to consider, but then there's just good old fashioned heart and gumption. The intangibles like when a guy gets on a hot streak, or the converse, when you just know the starting pitcher doesn't have his stuff, but you try and get 5 innings anyway. The innovations that sabermetrics has brought to the game of baseball are interesting at best. The run expectancy charts in certain situations. How a player hits against a specific pitcher. Or how many strikeouts can be expected on a Tuesday, when it's partly cloudy, and the home plate umpire has explosive diarrhea. But in my opinion, most of it is total BS. Statistics don't play games, people do. People with emotions, interpersonal chemistry, and good days and bad days. Just like everyone on the planet. I'm not calling Pythagorus a sham, I'm sure his theories are one of the reasons I'm even typing on a computer right now, but I don't think it applies to baseball as much as people involved in the front office, especially those who crave understanding and control of all things, want it to. It's just a sham for baseball. Better to be lucky than smart.
Speaking of smart! Dale Sveum, our fearless bullet magnet of a manager, has come out and said he believes the team to be playing under their potential. Well....duh...Dale were you also aware that the sun rises in the east, sets in the west, and puts two scoops of raisins in every box of Kellogs Raisin Bran? I'm asking questions too here Dale. Questions like why do the Cubs have an inexperienced manager, managing inexperienced players? Was Brent Lillibridge really a leprechaun? Should I get a 2013 World Champion Chicago Cubs tattoo? I've been hard on Sveum in the past. It's easy to criticize, and be a Monday morning quarterback, but seriously, I really hope, if the Cubs sell off the team that's currently winning ballgames, that he's part of the sell off too. If they are truly thinking of Sveum, along with Rizzo, Castro, Jackson and Smardwjfbbferfbwhj as the core of this team, we might be 3/5 short of a core. However, if we keep winning with Grand Slams by utility players and pitchers, I'll just shut up and take the wins, and quit complaining. Son Ranto quit complaining?! That'll be the day....
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