Couple of things

by battlekow on Feb 16, 2008 12:44 PM CST in News Comment 9 comments

First, the PECOTA projected standings came out today. The upper half of the NL Central:

Team	W	L	RS	RA	BA	OBP	SLG
Chicago Cubs	89	73	845	759	.274	.343	.452
Milwaukee Brewers	87	75	829	765	.263	.339	.450
Cincinnati Reds	79	83	772	794	.263	.334	.429

That seems about right, doesn't it? Though it's interesting to see that the Brewers have all but eliminated the pitching advantage of the Cubs, but project to be outhit a little by the North Siders. PECOTA thinks the Cubs have added some serious power over the offseason; last year they slugged .422.

SI's Jon Heyman ranks every team's offseason moves, and puts the Brewers at 20:

20. Brewers. A very weird and mixed bag: Signed speedy Mike Cameron, who'll miss 25 games for greenies; Eric Gagne, who made the Mitchell Report for HGH and Jason Kendall, who didn't impress anyone else last year. C+

I know that pieces like this are basically fluff and there isn't room for much analysis, but that said...how 'bout some analysis? Why are any of those signings weird? Which are the good part of the mixed bag and which are the bad? A lot of times, bloggers get ripped on for snarkily tearing apart MSM articles warblogger-style, but articles like Heyman's really just exist to take up space. (side note: come to think of it, if anyone cared enough about my blogging to rip on it, that would be pretty sweet.)

In other news, Ryan Braun donated his ROY bonus to Habitat For Humanities, probably on orders from Prince Fielder for hotdogging it on his home runs. Also, the team avoided arbitration with JJ Hardy, signing him for one year/$2.65M. Sounds good to me.

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Agreed

My favorite part of Heyman's article:

"9. Cubs. Kosuke Fukudome is supposed to be another Hideki Matsui, only a better fielder. And younger. Still the class of the NL Central. B+"

Pitchers and Catchers Report today

by Jordan M on Feb 16, 2008 2:37 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Do you think

when they say "class," they mean clear favorite?

by ol Pete on Feb 16, 2008 3:51 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Defense

An eleven run improvement in runs allowed for the Brewers seems reasonable, but it's a far cry from some of the numbers bandied about for a while, huh?

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Feb 16, 2008 4:39 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I don't believe for a second...

that the Cubs will outscore the Brewers in 2008. They might win the division, but absent another couple of moves they aren't going to out-slug or outscore the Brewers.

by Ted Simmons Speed Camp on Feb 16, 2008 8:23 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

FWIW

the Cubs "insider" on WSCR as well as some other media members in Chicago make the Brian Roberts trade sound like basically a foregone conclusion. Supposedly, the Os are waiting for the Cub offer to be sweetened. Supposedly, there is another possible trade that is likely that would involve a high quality starter or a SS.

That's a lot of supposeds. But it would be additional moves.

by ol Pete on Feb 17, 2008 2:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Fukudome

Here's my thought on Kosuke Fukudome. If the Yankees and Red Sox didn't make a play for him, then he isn't as good as cub fans seem to think.

Nobody seems to mention that he's also coming off of elbow surgery.

by brewfan2 on Feb 16, 2008 10:29 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

From a Cubs blog

The Cubs:

The 845 runs is second only to the Rockies in the NL.

Runs allowed is fifth in the NL.

Cubs .343 OBP is 2nd to the Rockies .351

Projected .452 slugging highest in the NL.

by ol Pete on Feb 17, 2008 2:14 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Offseason Moves

I really think the most effective offseason move will have been picking up David Riske.

by drezdn on Feb 18, 2008 11:44 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

This means nothing

BP's combined W/L standings are 2432-2428 ... so, some team has two more wins than they should (real W/L totals for the season would equal a 2430-2430 record). Clearly, the Cubs were given two extra wins.

Yes.

My non-embarrassing thoughts on the Brewers:
Two Fisted Slopper

by nmc on Feb 18, 2008 1:59 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

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NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	91	71	.561	0	Lost 6
Chicago Bleed Cubbie Blue	83	78	.515	7.5	Lost 1
Milwaukee Brew Crew Ball	80	82	.493	11	Won 3
Cincinnati Red Reporter	78	84	.481	13	Won 2
Houston The Crawfish Boxes	74	88	.456	17	Lost 3
Pittsburgh Bucs Dugout	62	99	.385	28.5	Lost 2