Today marks BAM!'s first attempt at analyzing a position battle for the 2009 Cubs that doesn't involve Aaron Miles.
After his performance on Sunday, it appears Sean Marshall is going to be difficult to overtake in the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation. Just like in 2008, Sean has done everything asked of him, and more.
Of course, the Cubs will likely need to decide on at least a sixth starter, and perhaps a seventh.
I'll be keeping an eye on Aaron Heilman's next few spring starts. I really enjoyed his last start, for a number of reasons.
First, if I'm not mistaken, I thought I saw three good pitches from him: the fastball, the change-up, and the slider. The break on the slider was outstanding, and the change-up was really working.
Perhaps more importantly, however, I was impressed with Heilman's location. He was absolutely keeping the ball down, which is crucial for pitching in Wrigley.
In his next few appearances, I'm going to continue to watch for Heilman's ability to keep the ball down, and get strikeouts. I'm almost certain he'll have an opportunity to start a few games this year; I hope he does well.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Benefit of Benching Aaron Miles
According to cubs.com, Lou wants another infielder. But do we really need one?
From my understanding, it seems that Lou is fretting about depth at third base. If Aramis Ramirez doesn't start there, who does?
Let's look at what the Cubs have done with 3B over the past two years, data courtesy of Fangraphs.
In 2007, Ramirez started only 126 games at 3B. DeRosa got 31 starts at third in '07; Ryan Theriot had 4 starts; and Ronny Cedeno had 1.
In 2008, A-Ram started 147 games at third. Aside from him, Mark DeRosa saw 10 starts there, and Casey McGehee (now a Brewer) got the other 4. Remember, the Cubs played only 161 games last year.
From these numbers, it looks like the Cubs are going to need someone to replace A-Ram at third for somewhere between 15 and 30 games for 2009.
Sounds like a job for Aaron Miles to me. He isn't a phenomenal defensive third baseman, but he's at least able. More importantly, however, it isn't going to matter much over the course of 20 games.
This is a big reason why Hendry's move to free up salary by downgrading at the utility position from Mark DeRosa to Miles was a prudent one. DeRosa was not a stellar defensive 2nd baseman; in fact, he wasn't spectacular at any one position. His value lied in his versatility.
That's what Miles should be for the 2009 Cubs - an able-bodied veteran that can fill in at a number of positions. 3rd base is almost certainly one of those positions. Assuming Lou doesn't tire him out with too many starts at 2nd, he should be perfect for the job.
From my understanding, it seems that Lou is fretting about depth at third base. If Aramis Ramirez doesn't start there, who does?
Let's look at what the Cubs have done with 3B over the past two years, data courtesy of Fangraphs.
In 2007, Ramirez started only 126 games at 3B. DeRosa got 31 starts at third in '07; Ryan Theriot had 4 starts; and Ronny Cedeno had 1.
In 2008, A-Ram started 147 games at third. Aside from him, Mark DeRosa saw 10 starts there, and Casey McGehee (now a Brewer) got the other 4. Remember, the Cubs played only 161 games last year.
From these numbers, it looks like the Cubs are going to need someone to replace A-Ram at third for somewhere between 15 and 30 games for 2009.
Sounds like a job for Aaron Miles to me. He isn't a phenomenal defensive third baseman, but he's at least able. More importantly, however, it isn't going to matter much over the course of 20 games.
This is a big reason why Hendry's move to free up salary by downgrading at the utility position from Mark DeRosa to Miles was a prudent one. DeRosa was not a stellar defensive 2nd baseman; in fact, he wasn't spectacular at any one position. His value lied in his versatility.
That's what Miles should be for the 2009 Cubs - an able-bodied veteran that can fill in at a number of positions. 3rd base is almost certainly one of those positions. Assuming Lou doesn't tire him out with too many starts at 2nd, he should be perfect for the job.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
A Secondary BAM! Mission Statement
Hopefully, we're getting an extra bump in traffic thanks to BAM!'s "sponsorship" of the new format over at GROTA (which, IMHO, looks awesome).
Hopefully, our new readers are enjoying the existing content regarding Aaron Miles' appropriate role with the Cubs (that is, as an occaisional starter/bench player).
To everyone that's been keeping an eye on the site over the past several days, allow me to say thank you. Your readership is much appreciated. To the newbies, I urge you to keep an eye on what's going on over here at BAM!.
In asking for your continued readership, there's something I should point out in terms of "keeping it interesting" over the course of the season. Of course, there's a very high probability that Aaron Miles is, in fact, benched before the 2009 regular season begins.
You may ask: what will BAM! do if their goal is achieved so quickly? To keep the new content flowing, I expect this site to expand its general focus within one specific topic.
For 2009 and beyond, BAM! will aim to be one of the premiere blogs for the analysis of, and discussion about, position battles for your Chicago Cubs. Potential topics for 2009 include:
Hopefully, our new readers are enjoying the existing content regarding Aaron Miles' appropriate role with the Cubs (that is, as an occaisional starter/bench player).
To everyone that's been keeping an eye on the site over the past several days, allow me to say thank you. Your readership is much appreciated. To the newbies, I urge you to keep an eye on what's going on over here at BAM!.
In asking for your continued readership, there's something I should point out in terms of "keeping it interesting" over the course of the season. Of course, there's a very high probability that Aaron Miles is, in fact, benched before the 2009 regular season begins.
You may ask: what will BAM! do if their goal is achieved so quickly? To keep the new content flowing, I expect this site to expand its general focus within one specific topic.
For 2009 and beyond, BAM! will aim to be one of the premiere blogs for the analysis of, and discussion about, position battles for your Chicago Cubs. Potential topics for 2009 include:
- The battle for backup catcher.
- The organization's final choices on the back-end of the rotation, and their impact on Jeff Samardzija.
- A continued watch on playing time in the middle infield.
- Keeping an eye on Mike Fontenot's production compared to that of 2008 Cub fan favorite, Mark DeRosa.
- Evaluating Lou's decision on an eventual backup at 3B.
- Looking at how much playing time Micah Hoffpauir is getting at first.
- Considering all of Lou's options in the outfield.
Really, there's a ton to talk about beyond Aaron Miles and Mike Fontenot. And I promise you, we'll talk about it.
In the meantime, I encourage readers to leave comments on this post to dictate the course of our continuing discussion. Got a strong opinion about the fifth starter? Do you see any reason to keep Paul Bako on board? When will Micah Hoffpauir finally get a chance to start regularly?
Thanks again to everyone for stopping by. I hope you continue to enjoy Bench Aaron Miles!
Monday, March 2, 2009
An admittedly small sample size, but...
Through the Cubs' first five games of Spring Training, the results are pretty alright for fans of the BAM! method.
Given the small number of at bats each player has had, as well as the varied quality of pitching faced at this stage, we shouldn't read too much into the numbers. However, I give you the following slashes:
Mike Fontenot - .417/.462/1.000 (that's right - Mike's got a base for every at-bat)
Aaron Miles - .222/.300/.222
Mike's got two doubles, a triple (!), and a home run.
Aaron's got two singles. Cute.
If the everyday starting spot at 2nd base is indeed a job to be won, then at this point, Mike's gotta be WAY out in front.
Given the small number of at bats each player has had, as well as the varied quality of pitching faced at this stage, we shouldn't read too much into the numbers. However, I give you the following slashes:
Mike Fontenot - .417/.462/1.000 (that's right - Mike's got a base for every at-bat)
Aaron Miles - .222/.300/.222
Mike's got two doubles, a triple (!), and a home run.
Aaron's got two singles. Cute.
If the everyday starting spot at 2nd base is indeed a job to be won, then at this point, Mike's gotta be WAY out in front.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Miles On Miles
Busy weekend; sorry, readers. Fortunately, Aaron Miles & Co. have gotten some press while I've been occupied. I direct you to a column about Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles, written by Bruce Miles of the Chicago Daily Herald.
Coming up this week: a look at Mike Fontenot's first five games this spring. So far, so good.
Coming up this week: a look at Mike Fontenot's first five games this spring. So far, so good.
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