Whenever Gustavo Chacin faces a team for the first time, he pitches well. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
Let's see if it's true:
I checked the numbers. In his first starts against any team, Chacin has an average Game Score of 54.
In his second starts against any team, Chacin has an average Game Score of 53. So, no change. Yet.
Chacin's three worst starts have come against AL Central teams (CWS, CLE, MIN) and the Jays don't face Minnesota again this year. I'll bet Gus gets knocked around due to this "second-time" phenomenon in late August when the Indians come to town, but something tells me when he sees the White Sox again, they won't do so well. I hope I'm wrong, of course.
Since that went nowhere, here is some bonus coverage for you.
When your first real story at Batter's Box is a 2005 Chicago Cubs preview...and you have the task of reporting on the first game of the first series the Blue Jays have played in Wrigley Field...why not look back at that Cubs preview and see just how wrong you were?
Let's get started.
The Making-Solid-Contact Predictions:
Then: Aramis Ramirez apparently wants a four-year contract worth anywhere from 40 to 52 million dollars
Now: Four years, $42 million.
Then: Derrek Lee’s put up an OPS in the 860-890 range four of the last five seasons. Most likely, he’ll do it again.
Now: He's done that and then some. He's not going to stay at this level (1186) but he'll end up in that range.
Then: I have a better chance of putting up a .559 slugging percentage in 2005 than Jeromy Burnitz does.
Now: I hit worse than anyone in the world, but this remains true.
Then: Of course, Todd Hollandsworth won’t make up for the departure of Moises Alou.
Now: No kidding.
Then: Look for Michael Barrett to put up worse numbers than last year, mostly less power
Now: .287//337/.489 last year, 275/.313/.451 so far this year not counting yesterday's game. .202 Isolated Power last year, .176 this year. In other words, yes. Less power.
The Weak-Grounder-To-First Predictions:
Then: I don’t think Nomar Garciaparra will post career lows in batting average and on-base percentage, but he won’t be as good as his career .322/.370/.549 line, either.
Now: Only 51 AB for Nomar this year before injuring his groin. He'll be out for a while. Career lows in BA and OBP? Throw slugging average in there while you're at it. Random fact: he has a 404 OPS this year and five years ago, he was hitting .372.
Then: Ramirez won’t turn 27 until June, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t improve on .318/.373/.578.
Now: He is, uh, not there yet. Aramis will turn 27 in a few weeks, though.
Then: Also, you'll most likely see Will Ohman and Stephen Randolph pitching some innings.
Now: Ohman has pitched 12 innings. Randolph was released from the Cubs, then he was released from the Giants.
The Swing-And-A-Miss-On-A-Ball-In-The-Dirt-Oh-My-God-Why-Did-He-Swing-At-That Predictions:
Then: I predict Renyel Pinto will cut back on his walks in Iowa
Now: In six starts for the Iowa Cubs, Pinto walked 24 batters in 22.2 innings. Ouch. He's since been demoted to West Tenn.
Then: I don’t think Greg Maddux will pitch very well in 2005
Now: He's in the top 25 in the National League. Never mind.
Okay, let's get around to last night's game. First, the chart (with a twist!):
For my notes taken during the 4-0 contest (and other MLB notes), I'll just rip off whoever used this format first. Larry King? Don King? Don John Gizzi? Ah, whoever did it, here it is:
Darrin Fletcher called John McDonald a sparkplug, when someone else is clearly the sparkplug on this team. Reed Johnson told Fletch who was nicknamed what by which interactive magazine with a three-run shot mere minutes later... Sparky must enjoy playing the Cubs -- first the Father's Day game in 2003, now this... It's been said before, but he would be a great fit for a National League team. Fits pretty well in Toronto, though... Did anyone else notice that Neifi Perez missed the bag on the 4-6 "putout" in the top of the fourth? I never saw a replay, but wow, he was never even close. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades... All 30 teams were playing in National League ballparks last night... Don't like Milton Bradley the ballplayer? Read this and you will... Don't like Milton Bradley the board game company? What in Hasbro is wrong with you? Play Life once in a while... Those Mr. Sub commercials are beyond annoying. Dork at the prom, get out of the sandwich shop!... Miguel Batista gives Craig heartburn. Billy Koch gave me heart attacks. Will Brandon League steal our hearts?... Line of the night from Jamie Campbell: "You just saw why cellphones should be banned from ballparks." Yeah, like gv27 didn't call everyone he knew right after catching that ball in Houston last year... ALEX RIOS NEEDS TO WEAR HIS SUNGLASSES WHEN THE SUN IS IN HIS EYES. Ahem. Sorry there, the caps lock key was stuck. Okay, so it wasn't stuck. My point remains... If you have a copy of Ball Four handy, check out the Joe Morgan bit on page 344. You know how Little Joe says there are two types of curves? The regular curve and the "other" curve? Aaron Hill is the "other" kind of ballplayer. Now let's zitz 'em and pound some Budweiser.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050605220303562