TDA Bullpen - Our Writers' Blog

Sunday, September 28, 2003

The Cubs are NL Central champs. Holy Cow!

I must say that it was only fitting that the Cubs clinched against the Pirates, given that ex-Pirates have been so important for the Cubs in their stretch run. Check out these splits before and after their trades (AVG/OBP/SLG):

Kenny Lofton .277/.333/.437 vs. .327/.378/.471
Aramis Ramirez .280/.330/.448 vs. .260/.315/.494
Randall Simon .274/.305/.417 vs. .277/.315/.485

I believe I'm on record as being somewhat nonplussed by the Cubs' midseason acquisitions, but the imports from Pittsburgh sure got the job done. With Mark Grudzielanek chipping in with a .360-something OBP and Sammy showing signs of snapping out of a mid-September funk, the Cubs might have just enough offense 1-6 to be really dangerous in October.

Switching gears a bit, there should be plenty of excitement in the Twins-Yanks series. I'm putting the finishing touches on my series preview, but I thought I would share a few fevered ramblings in advance, as a sort of preview/companion piece. Mainly what I'm interested in is the composition of the teams' lineups.

I know that Alfonso Soriano will be the leadoff hitter, but looking at that .339 OBP and .522 SLG, it just screams 5-hole to me. Can you imagine what kind of damage Soriano could do hitting behind a 1-4 of Jeter, Johnson, Giambi and Posada? If you recognize this 1-to-5 transformation, it's exactly the one that Barry Bonds made with the Pirates, though he had developed a better eye (as compared to Soriano's current plate discipline) by the time he dropped into the middle of the Pirates order. Or, if you insist on keeping Soriano at the top, why not slip Bernie Williams into the 9-hole? His bum shoulder is really taking away his pop but he still knows how to work a count. Matsui and Boone would be just fine as the 6-7 guys.

The question with the Twins is, why not have Stewart-Mientkiewicz-Koskie at the top of the order? All three of them have .380-.390ish OBPs. Let LeCroy, Jones, and Hunter slug them around 4-5-6, and stick Rivas and Guzman 8-9. Eh, what nerve I have, second-guessing a 4-time World Champion manager and another manager who's 2-for-2 in Division titles with a small-market club. That's what makes it so much fun.

posted by Tom Renbarger 2:04 AM