From MLB.com: Outfielder Kevin Mench went into Tuesday's night game looking for his first walk. He had 83 at-bats so far this season and only two others players in the Majors have had more at-bats without a walk: Atlanta's Jeff Francouer has 101 at-bats without a walk and Minnesota's Rondell White has 91.The Cubs are last in the NL in walks. They are 14th in OBP. Kerry Wood is coming back--hooray. If those 2 stats do not show marked improvement, I don't think it matters if Clemens and Prior join Wood in the rotation.
The Cubs have also been brutal on the basepaths. They have stolen 18 bags while getting caught 10 times, a 64% success rate. Jacque Jones was doubled off again last night on a shot to left field that was caught. That makes it twice in 3 games.
Over on the South Side of town, the Sox are 4th in OBP and 1st in slugging. They are 3rd in walks in the AL. Thank you Jim Thome. It's rippled down to Konerko & Dye, who are drawing more walks this year. Brian Anderson, while not hitting well, has also showed patience and has drawn 10 walks. And after the amazing catch he made last night in the Sox' win, I really doubt he will be removed from the lineup. They don't need him to hit--yet. He has been better than expected in CF.
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1 comment:
Funny you mention Cubs and walks, as I was just checking the team stats yesterday--not only are they near the bottom of MLB in taking walks, they are near the worst in most walks allowed. That's a lethal combination. You couldn't have said it better--they can get back all the pitchers they want, but they can't sustain success with such a poor walk differential compared to their opponents. It's sickening to watch--
--though not as sickening as seeing Jacque Jones get picked off 2nd again. I literally just turned off the game and didn't go back to it after that. He shouldn't have attended the Moises Alou school of Baserunning in the off-season.
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