Normally,

I don't post articles on anything unrelated to the Cubs. Today however, I must share this little unrelated nugget with you, DUMP THE MIDGET GROSSMAN!!! He doesn't have the composure to be a NFL quarterback. Ditto for Griese!!!

New Years Resolutions !

OK, OK, I understand that you could really give a flyin' %#@& what my new years resolutions are, but in the absence of any hard news concerning the Cubs, if you continue reading that's what you're going to get, my top ten news years resolutions.

1) Until spring training starts, I promise to report any and all bullshit trade rumors.

2) Once spring training starts, I promise to report any and all bullshit trade rumors.

3) Once the regular season starts, I promise to report any and all bullshit trade rumors.

4) I promise to publish coherent articles, even after consuming massive amounts of alcohol.

5) Ditto to #4 for drugs.

6) I promise to quit smoking. No laughing please.

7) I promise to get back in shape. No laughing please.

8) I promise to find a real job. No laughing please.

9) I promise to do everything in my power to coerce Lollygagger girl Kerry, to divulge her personal email address.

10) I promise to start posting pictures, like the one above of my two pantie granny, if Lollygagger girl Kerry, doesn't come across with that email address. I'll give here 'til the trading deadline.

Comments Matter !

In the short time Lollygaggers has been up and running, I've tried to post articles that would inspire debate amongst the legions of Cub fans that care so deeply about their team. I don't claim to be an expert on the Cubs or baseball in general for the matter. However, I do care as I'm sure many of you that visit here do, that sooner rather than later, the Cubs field a competitive team year in and year out.

I would like to encourage all of you to feel free to voice your comments on my articles pro or con, and suggest topics that you feel are relevant that possibly I'm overlooking.

Remember, just because you're a stutterin' prick and don't know what the hell you're talking about, leave a comment anyway. That way I'll have a chance to say what a jerkoff you are and get a few laughs.

Seriously though with the new year's celebrations just around the corner, remember be careful and don't drive unless you drink, or something like that.

Happy New Year, you freakin' jerkoffs!

The Big Z !

There is certainly a lot of angst being spread around the blog community concerning the impending doom of our fist pumping dynamo, Zambrano.

I certainly can't say what will happen, but let's look at what would make Zambrano bolt.

The Cubs offer some ridiculously low ball offer. Does that really appear to be the tack the Cubs will take after finally smashing the Trib's piggy bank to pieces?

There also seems to be some misinformation being bandied about that Scott Boras, is our internet surfing ace's agent. This is not factual, as Barry Praver has replaced the anti-Christ Boras, as Big Z's main man.

Is it really in Zambrano's best interest to insist on a 7 year contract now? Why should he when considering he will only be 26 next season. Zambrano could easily sign a fat extension for 3 or 4 years at Roy Oswalt money. Then at the end of the extension, still be young enough for even a bigger payday.

Do we have to believe that Zambrano is only a mercenary, and has no loyalty to the only organization he knows? With the Ramirez and Wood resigning, it appears that Zambrano could very well follow their lead, realizing he could be part of something historic.

I know in the wake of any hard news about the Chicago National League Ballclub, that many are looking for anything that can go wrong, will. My advice to all of those is just this, TAKE A FREAKIN' CHILL PILL! We all could very well be in for a great 2007 and beyond. God knows, we deserve it.

Why Lineup Configuration Is So Important !

Although there are some questions left in the final 25 man roster for next year, it behoves Pinella to set his lineup properly to make best use of the talent that's available.

All of us cringe when we remember the obscene Cub lineups trotted out by Baker. However, in 2003 Baker did have it set up pretty well. I tend to believe that the proven leadoff man, Lofton helped as well as having Grud. already in place as the two hitter, prevented Baker from cocking it all up.

Those two positions, leadoff and two hitter, paved the way for the Cubs to get the most from Alou and Sosa, plus the added punch afforded by Ramirez's addition.

When Uncle Lou finally sets his lineup for the 2007 Cubs, we can only hope he understands the effectiveness of such a lineup.

The importance of placing speed and OBP at the top of the order is critical in maximizing the run production from the boppers in the lineup.

It's just a simple of matter of numbers. When your big sticks come to the plate, you want men on base. The more that happens, the more runs you score, period.

There are two most likely scenarios of the starting eight position players, so I'll discuss each one's best configuration to maximize this scenario. I also will consider J. Jones as the starting center fielder as the trading of him is certainly in question.

The first scenario, has Murton, Jones and Soriano in the outfield, with A-Ram, Izturis, DeRosa and Lee in the infield and Barrett behind the dish. With this team, Soriano is the only real speed threat. Still I think it's a mistake to use him as a leadoff man. I've posted other articles on my reasoning for this, so I won't go into them here other than to say that his chances of being pitched around with first base open in an RBI situation are exacerbated with him in the leadoff role, ie; the eight hitter gets on base, pitcher bunts him to second, Soriano gets intentionally walked to face the two hitter. All of you can see what a waste of Soriano's production it is in these critical situations, therefore I propose a lineup that would negate this and still keep the Cubs only real speed near the top of the order.

With the leading OBP player Murton as the leadoff man, you create the most desirable effect of a leadoff man, getting on base. In the two hole plug in Soriano. Murton would even get better pitches to hit with Soriano's thunder behind him and Soriano would benefit the same way by having Lee and A-Ram hitting behind him. With Lee immediately behind Soriano in the order it could also quite possibly help cut down on Soriano's strikeout total. As far as Murton in the leadoff role remember this, he only ranked behind Pierre last year in going first to third and has above average speed.

Batting Soriano in the two hole instead of leadoff, doesn't cut down on the number of his plate appearances or take away from his value to steal bases, but does protect him from being pitched around.

The problem with this lineup is the all glove, not hit Izturis. If Jones is traded and Pie is called up, you'd have the inexperienced bat of Pie, and the Punch and Judy bat of Izturis, both at the bottom of the order. This clearly weakens the lineup unless Pie really performs well at the plate.

So let's look at the other potentially viable lineup. For this scenario to work, The Riot has to win the 2B job outright. This would give Pinella the option to plug DeRosa in at SS. As I made the case for DeRosa being a suitable replacement for Izturis in my last article, I won't go into that detail here.

With The Riot in the lineup, you not only eliminate the weak bat of Izturis, but also inject more speed into the lineup. This would allow Soriano to slide down another spot in the lineup, and provide another high OBP hitter to be placed in front of the one of the best 3-4-5 hitters in the game.

The Riot has the speed to be a quality base stealing threat, and you'd enhance Murton's natural stroke to the opposite field hitting in the two hole as well. This also decreases the likelihood of platooning Murton on any regular basis. If Jones is traded, you also don't have the problem of Pie and Izturis both at the bottom of the order.

We can only hope Pinella realizes the value of OBP, and after his press conference where he stated he wouldn't mind eight midgets in the lineup, I think we can all have some faith that the days of playing the manager's pet are over and the best interests of the team will be the norm.

Should DeRosa Start At SS ?

There has been much consternation concerning the health and the dismal offensive numbers of Ceasar Izturis. We hear all about his gold glove year, but that was 2004. Back in the day, an all glove no hit SS was the norm. However, in today's baseball world, shortstops are expected to produce at the plate. Maybe not like an A-Rod, but at least league average.

With little Ceasar's nagging health issues the past few years, it seems that a hard look for a replacement should be one of Pinella's top priorities this upcoming spring training.

As the Cubs roster lays out this spring, I think it's safe to assume that R. Cedeneo is a long shot to even make the big club, let alone start.

That leaves M. DeRosa and R. Theriot. Now we know, though based on a small sample, that The Riot looks just fine at 2B. Can he handle SS? Maybe, but DeRosa, who has been initially slated to start at 2B, actually has played more games at SS than he has at 2B. So let's take a look at some historical fielding data for Izturis and DeRosa.

The career fielding data is broken down for both players based on (ZR) Zone Rating (# of outs made/ # of chances) and (RF) Range Factor (Put Outs + Assists divided by 9 divided by innings).

Izturis 859ZR 440RF 580Games
DeRosa 837ZR 487RF 137Games

As you can see their fielding numbers are quite comparable, and when you compare their offensive numbers, it appears to be a no brainer. Moving DeRosa to SS also frees up 2B for The Riot to prove he can handle the job. If The Riot doesn't produce in spring training, you can always plug Izturis back in.

The Riot also adds much needed speed to the lineup and would give the Cubs a dynamic one-two punch at the top of the order, while at the same time eliminating the weak hitting bat of Izturis.

Sharpen Those Lawnmower Blades !

One of the most recognizable things about Wrigley Field has always been the ivy covered outfield walls. However, since the departure of Kessinger and Beckert, one of the other most consistent facets of the park has been the long infield grass.

I contend it's time to cut the infield grass down to the nub.

If the Cubs are going to war with little Ceasar at SS, why not make the most of his glove. Izturis's offense will be mediocre at best, so let's capitalize on the strength of his slick fielding, while at the same time punish the opposition's less than gold glove fielding infielders.

The high infield grass will only help the poorer fielding teams. So a faster infield will become a plus to a Cubs infield that features two Gold Gloves and an upgraded second baseman.

Also the league average for the top eighty starters in ground ball to fly ball percentage was 1.42. The projected Cubs rotation of Zambrano, Hill, Lilly, Marquis and Miller, historic numbers average 1.26. Hence, the Cubs starters will be yielding a higher number of fly balls compared to the league average and a slow infield would only benefit the opposing team's defense.

Even with the Cubs starters averaging less ground balls than the league average, they will still induce 26% more ground balls than fly balls.

On the contrary, if the Cubs hitters face even a league average rotation, they will hit a higher percentage of ground balls than their competition, so the faster infield, the better.

All this talk of the height of the infield grass may seem trivial, but with a projected superior defensive infield and increased team speed, it wouldn't hurt for a few more seeing eye grounders to make their way through the infield.

Picture Update!

Just a little reminder for all of you that didn't get everything you wanted for Christmas. Just 7 days until Lollygagger girl, Kerry's new pic. Ain't baseball grand?

The Gold Standard, Part 4 !

In this last installment to the four part series, I will try to quantify a managers coaching effectiveness.

Unlike the other three categories of hitting, pitching and defense, that were quantifiable from raw statistical data. Managing a MLB team is a very subjective topic.

The total of games won, isn't an effective measuring stick due to the teams level of talent. Teams with the most talent usually compile the most wins.

The total number of errors committed can be misleading, as players with great range can quite often rack up errors that teams without such gifted athletes wouldn't even be able to make a play on.

Fundamental play such as base running, throwing to the right base, hitting the cutoff man, or sacrificing one's personal numbers to advance a runner, are stats not easily obtained. Also, there is much debate as to how much fundamental instruction can be implemented with veteran players, although we have seen how some managers year in and year out, field a heads up team that always plays hard.

An effective manager must understand the ability of the squad he has, then position them in the lineup and substitute them in a game, to best help the team. If a manager recognizes a veteran doesn't have the talent to perform at a high level, or isn't playing heads up, then he must develop a younger player that needs playing time to see if he can perform better, and bench the player that can't or won't conform to team play.

Let's face it, baseball players have the unique privilege of making a living playing baseball. They don't need a manager to be their mommy, best friend or groupie worshiper. They need a manager that can challenge them to be the best they can be.

As most of us in the real world job market understand. Our best managers motivate, instruct and exhibit fairness. Although I can't quantify who the best manager in baseball is. Teams that always exhibit sound fundamental play, are most likely lead by those type of managers that I consider the, "Gold Standard."