A Case For Euthanasia

9

by user Fornelli

The Chicago Cubs had quite the odd weekend. They went into their three-game series in Milwaukee unsure of who their manager would be after the All Star break. (I'm torn on this myself. Should Baker be fired? Hell, yes. Do I want him gone? Not really, it's been fun to watch the Cubs suck so bad.) GM Jim Hendry said he would re-evaluate everybody during the break. I wonder if that includes himself? Then on Saturday the team found out Kerry Wood had torn his rotator cuff and is done for the season.

I'll give you all a moment to try to get over the shock of Kerry Wood being injured.

Ok? Well then, as if on cue Mark Prior hears about Wood's injury and starts to feel a tweak in his oblique, causing the team to pull him from his scheduled start Sunday afternoon.

I'm beginning to wonder if Mark Prior would have to go on the 15 day DL for getting a papercut. It seems like any cut or bruise he gets results in him needing to go to Iowa for a rehab stint these days.

Listen Mark, you're a Major League pitcher. You use your arm in ways that are completely unnatural and irrevocably damaging to it. It's going to hurt. Every single pitcher in the Majors has to deal with these minor injuries, yet for some reason they find a way to pitch through it. Quit being such a baby.

As Jim Hendry continues to mull over Dusty Baker's future with the Chicago Cubs, I would like to present the following numbers. It was, after all, Hendry's grand plan to build a team around Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Or as I like to call the duo, Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Hendry chose not to seek any veteran starting pitchers in the offseason because he somehow felt it was a wise notion to believe Prior and Wood would finally survive a full season.

Here are the 2006 combined numbers for Prior and Woods: 1-6 40.2IP 6.04ERA $15.65 million in salary paid.

Or $384,832.91 per inning pitched.

Or $15,650,000 per win.

Here's hoping somebody re-evaluates Hendry over the All-Star break.

Oh, and lost in all this over the weekend? The Cubs swept Milwaukee, and that was what made the weekend so odd.

http://tomfornellisportsblog.blogspot.com

Date

Mon 07/10/06, 7:04 pm EST

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CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 4

It was a four game series and Milwaukee won the first game.

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FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 1

Well I'm an idiot then. Still, the Cubs won 3 games in a row. It's pretty amazing given how bad they suck. I mean if you're the Brewers aren't you a lil suicidal right now?

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Nope, I'm a Brewers fan who's been conditioned to hope for the future. If Davey Lopes were still manager it might be a different story, but I know that Ben Sheets, Tomo Ohka and Jorge de la Rosa are all on rehab stints and in two weeks they'll all be back to beat the Cubs next time. Not to mention, how many games are the Cubs out of first place? And the Brewers? Exactly.

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 1

I know, I was joking. Keep in mind though, for the last few years I've been hearing people on the North Side of Chicago talk alot about "When Wood and Prior and whoever get back from their rehab stints....." and it hasn't worked out too well for them.

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Even so, the Brewers are 44-46 without Sheets and Ohka. How are the Cubs without Wood and Prior? They brought up Zach Jackson and Carlos Villanueva early to fill spots, and they did terrific jobs, and keep in mind also that the Brewers still haven't tapped two of their best pitching prospects. I have a feeling they'll be OK.

All~In~ChicagoVarsity

1090 days ago

Score 0

I still wear my Sox and Cards Hats with pride on the North Side. Wood is good but cant stay healthy. He needs to take a year off and get some serious work done on his shoulder. It's a shame to see him go out like this after his rookie year (no pity for the Cubs as a ball team though).

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 0

You talk about Tomo Ohka and Ben Sheets like they're saviors. Ohka has a career record of 46-54, while Sheets comes in at 56-65. In other words their winning percentage without the two of them is better than WITH the two of them.

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Fornelli, please, don't clutter your head with pitchers' win/loss records, one of the most useless stats in baseball. Ben Sheets in 2004 had a 2.70 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 264 strikeouts in 237 innings. That's Cy Young Award caliber right there. His record? 12-14. Last year, 3.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 141 strikeouts in 156 innings, not great, but still good. His record? 10-9. I think it's pretty obvious that if he repeats his 2004 season anytime now that the Brewers have an offense, he could easily win 20 games. Ohka is a guy who can give the Brewers six innings almost every time out, while keeping his ERA at about 4.00, which is a hell of a lot better than the 10+ Ben Hendrickson and Dana Eveland gave the Crew in Sheets and Ohka's absence. So in a way, they might be saviors, especially if the Brewers end up in the playoffs.

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 1

My point is any sentence that starts with "Once we get Tomo Ohka back....." is never a good omen. And last I checked W-L records are what get teams into the playoffs. I'd rather have a guy go 16-3 with a 4.20 ERA than a guy go 2-5 with a 2.45.

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay, Junior Spivey, Wes Helms, Craig Counsell, Geoff Jenkins, Scott Podsednik, and Brady Clark. Does that sound like a lineup that's going to give a guy with a 4.20 ERA 16 wins?

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 0

Also you say "now that the Brewers have an offense." Do they really? They're 9th in the NL with 411 runs, 11th with a .261 average, and 12th with a .330 OBP. The only thing they can do is hit the long ball, and their best at that (Carlos Lee) may not even be on the team August 1st. Teams that rely so heavily on the long ball also die by it. You're best chance is to send Capuano out there every day.

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Oh and I forgot that Spivey was injured most of the year...so...Keith Ginter at second base. Point is, a guy that has 16 wins with a 4.20 ERA has clearly gotten some offensive firepower to help him out.

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 0

Also your youth will catch up to you. Those kids are bound to get a little tired come August and September. The Brewers have a strong foundation for the future, but not this year. Now the sad part is, can this team win soon enough so that they can afford to keep all these kids in a few years?

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

He will be there on August 1. He's not going anywhere until after the season (if even then). The Brewers are buyers (as stated on live television by their owner) so why would they give up their best offensive weapon?

Patrickburke1980All-American

1090 days ago

Score 1

long live tomo okho, the savior of Milwaukee!

FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 0

Also, just so I don't get labeled as some kind of Brewers hater, read my NL Preview piece. (http://tomfo...ew-2006.html) Notice who I picked to win the NL Wild Card?

CoreyisarealboyMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

Nice plug. Nice choice. They won't let you down.

Manny StilesMajor Leaguer

1090 days ago

Score 0

ever notice? A Cubs fan and a Cubs hater will say the exact same thing...

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FornelliTee-Baller

1090 days ago

Score 1

I'm not so much a Cubs Hater as I'm a Seeing Friends Suffer Lover kinda guy.

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Categories: Opinions | Chicago Cubs Opinions | Mark Prior Opinions | Dusty Baker Opinions | July 10, 2006 | Opinions by User Fornelli