The One/Two Punch

Much to my delight on this lazy Sunday afternoon, MLB network re-broadcast what they called "The Sandberg Game" from 1984. This was the game Ryno blasted 2 HR's off Bruce Sutter, one to tie the game in the 9th and the other to tie it in the 10th as the Cubs went on to beat the Cucking Fardinals.



Although much of the heroics went to Sandberg and deservedly so, another stat came to light from the broadcast booth. Before Sandberg belted his two HR's, it was noted that the lead off man Bobby Denier and the two hitter Sandberg, were 6 for 8 in the game and 17 for their last 28 AB's. When a team has two hitters at the top of their order that get on base so frequently, it is certainly easy to understand the great opportunities it provides them to score.

Of course anyone who was around during that season knew the Cubs just didn't have a run of the mill lineup behind Denier and Sandberg, but a murderous middle of the lineup with the likes of Sarge, the Bull, Zonk, Davis and the Penguin.

So how does our present day Cub lineup compare against that '84 lineup? Well as long as the Fonz is in the lead off spot, the lineup is weaker than it needs to be.

For your frame of reference, here is the '84 Cubs most used lineup...

Denier CF 278BA 356OBP 718OPS 63BB 60K 3HR 26DB 3TR 45SB
Sandberg 2B 314BA 367OBP 887OPS 52BB 101K 19HR 36DB 19TR 32SB
Sarge LF 291BA 410OBP 838OPS 103BB 97K 14HR 21DB 2TR 17SB
Bull 1B 279BA 369OBP 874OPS 69BB 86K 23HR 30DB 4TR 16SB
Zonk RF 279BA 326OBP 748OPS 34BB 71K 16HR 17DB
Davis C 256BA 315OBP 736OPS 47BB 99K 19HR 25DB
Penguin 3B 240BA 324OBP 766OPS 61BB 108K 25HR 27DB
Bowa SS 223BA 274OBP 542OPS 28BB 24K 0HR 14DB

So share your opinions on how to best set our Cubs 2009 lineup.