Alphabet soup: WHIP, VORP and PAP
Here are a few tidbits to hold you over until I get back with the lineup around dinner time:
Keep an eye on Cubs reliever Jeff Samardzija. His numbers in September aren't too hot. He's pitched 4 innings this month, giving up 5 hits and 4 walks. That translates to a WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 2.25, which is a little feverish. Samardzija's WHIP for the season is 1.24. He just got done doing some work in the bullpen, without a ball (base or foot, although he did throw a football to a teammate). No, he wasn't doing the towel drill.
We're going to try to get some answers on and from right fielder Kosuke Fukudome. Here's how bad it is for him, using a trendy stat called VORP (value over replacement player). Fukudome ranks 256th in MLB in VORP, at only 5.3. Albert Pujols leads at 90.8. The three guys just ahead of Fukudome are Mark Ellis of Oakland, Emmanuel Burriss of San Francisco and Miguel Montero of Arizona. You can Google the formula for VORP, but it basically determines a player's value over a replacement-level player. Right now, that mythical player is giving Fukudome a run for his money, which is $48 million.
Finally, CC Sabathia pitches for the Brewers tonight. He ranks second in baseball in Pitcher Abuse Points. First is the Giants' Tim Lincecum. We'll see if Dale Sveum handles Sabathia any differently from Ned Yost. The buyer should be wary next year.
That home run was a Moon shot. Just get Dempster out of this mess, what a catch.
Is nothing but a fantasy league stat. FKD is just plain bad right now at the plate, be interested in the write tomarrow. Is he as arrogant still ? Inquiring minds want to know.
Speaking of which, what kind of champagne did Carlos have to celebrate with, he said he and his family went through 3 bottles after his no hitter ? Nothing like Big Z pumped up on Dom, with a Red Bull chaser.
He's never overly friendly, but he was civil and actually gave more than one-word answers. I think he knew he couldn't very well blow me off after refusing to talk in Cincinnati.
..and you KNOW you do.. Hurricane Ike continues its "hangover" on the Astros...they're losing 5-1 in the 8th. Some down here in Houston were trying to spin the Z no-no as being Ike-aided, but that argument gets shot down real quick when you look at what happened the next day after rest, a/c, good food, etc.
Chad Gaudin has been out for what, dumpster diving from what I have heard, sure have not got a word from the Cubs. Maybe he has "Hotubtendonitis" or just fell over his dog, typical Cubs..
So if Lou wont play Fukudome, but says he needs a left handed bat AND says "We need to find out about Hoffpauir", why in the world doesnt he play him ? If the kid cant hit , fine, but my gosh darnit. Dont say one thing and do another.
...Hoffpauir can hit major league pitching?
All I know is, Hoffpauir probably has to hit like an All-Star to offset the difference between him and Dome on defense, and I really don't think he can.
Lou is probably the most impulsive manager I've seen. Hoffpauir made a couple of outs yesterday, and Lou pulled him when a lefty came in. Even people inside the Cubs say that if a guy doesn't produce right away, meaning, in effect, hitting a home run in his first at-bat, Lou has seen enough. That's a stretch, but the exaggeration is meant to illustrate a point. Hoffpauir is either a AAAA player or a sub. We'll get the answer to that next year, I suspect.
Hoffpauir wasn't going to play anyway. We'll see what happens tomorrow vs. Sheets. Lou said you can "experiment" for five months, but now, you're playing for a championship and you put the best offense you can out there. That seemed to me to be a shot at Fukudome. As I wrote in today's paper, I think there's going to have to be a meeting of the minds among Lou, Fukudome and Hendry after the season so that all are on the same page. We're talking $48 million in an investment here.
Soriano, LF
Theriot, SS
Lee, 1B
Ramirez, 3B
Soto, C
DeRosa, RF
Johnson, CF
Cedeno, 2B
Dempster, P
No Fukudome again. Lou says he's going to go with the players he feels can win a championship. He also said he's using Fukudome's talents at the end of games (except yesterday). I told him that's not what the Cubs signed him for. I said, "I don't have an answer for that." He also said he wasn't "disappointed" in Fukudome. I had a one-on-one with Fukudome. He told me he'd do the same thing Lou is doing. I'll have that story for tomorrow's paper.
Lou says Chad Gaudin may be back by the end of the week or this weekend. He likes what he sees from a "refreshed" Bob Howry, and Howry may get a new lease on life here.
Poor FUKU. He seems miserable on all fronts.
...and is pretty much tailor-made to discount much of Fukudome's value to a ballclub.