Dear Theo:
Please take note of how the Oakland A's have built their success. A team that is roughly $33 million cheaper won 94 games, and the AL West.
If you compare the Cubs to the A's, defensively they were pretty similar.
The Cubs had fewer errors and turned more double plays, but both teams shared the same fielding percentage.
On the offense, the A's did have more home runs (195 compared to 137), but the Cubs were slightly better in team batting average and stole more bases.
Now take a gander at pitching. The A's had an ERA of 3.48. The Cubs: 4.51.
I'm no rocket surgeon, but that there seems like the biggest difference between being 94-68 vs 61-101.
I'm very interested in writing about the differences that exist between struggling teams and how success can be found without necessarily spending a huge amount (I write for http://baseballrethought.com). As a Brewer fan myself, I've had my eye on your Cubs and I am a bit worried about the direction that they're headed. Do you think that Brett Jackson will get a legitimate shot this year? I realize they have some veterans in the outfield, but there's no chance those are the guys they are going to build around in the future. Interested to see how they approach it.
ReplyDeleteLike the style of your posts.
Cheers