A Few Words of Praise for That #@$^%(&?>! Jim Edmonds

I haven't kept up with the Cubs Hits of the Week lists the past couple weeks, but thought it was worth noting, Fan Graphs-style, Jim Edmonds' apparent revival from a near-death state.

Starting with Friday's breathtaking comeback win over the Rockies, Edmonds has gone 7-for-11, and six of the hits have been EBH's (4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR).

By Fan Graph's reckoning, here are Edmonds' five biggest offensive contributions since Friday:

  1. Friday, v. Colorado. 2-run double in the bottom of the 7th to draw the Cubs to within a run at 9-8 and pave the way for Mark DeRosa's pivotal home run. WPA: .221
  2. Sunday, v. Colorado. RBI double in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game, 2-2. WPA: .183
  3. Monday, v. San Diego. RBI double in the top of the 4th to make the score 3-2, Pads, WPA: .137
  4. Sunday, v. Colorado. Bases-loaded walk in the last of the fifth to put the Cubs up, 4-2. WPA: .097
  5. Sunday, v. Colorado. One-out triple in the bottom of the second, putting the Cubs in a position to tie a 1-1 game (which they failed to do in that frame). WPA: .062

Earthshaking stuff? Other than the key double in the Friday game, perhaps not. But it's a huge step forward from what the Cubs were getting from Edmonds before late last week...or what the I-Cubs have generally been getting from .178-toting Felix Pie.

 

Tags: 
Cubs Statistics
Jim Edmonds
Submitted by Cubnut on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 12:04pm
Return to Homepage

Comments

Submitted by nohit
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 1:17pm

Props to Jimmy E. Keep it up, and we might forget that you wear Cardinals underoos.

Submitted by Rich.P
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 1:37pm

One English pound says it is not sustainable.

Submitted by nohit
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 2:05pm

7 for 11? I should think not. But if he can turn in a healthy VOFP (Value Over Felix Pie) figure overall, I certainly won't complain.

With a team as offensively loaded as this one, I'll settle for streaky. Bonus points if Gerald Perry really straightened the guy out.

Submitted by Chad
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 2:13pm

isn't there some reverend who has a church dedicated to straightening gay guys out?

(i do not think that edmonds is gay, but the joke had to be made.)

Submitted by Old and Blue
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 2:40pm

I have some serious man love for Gerald Perry these days

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 2:19pm

I'm surprised they didn't through sand at him from the kitty litter box that Petco has out in centerfield last night.

Submitted by nohit
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 2:56pm

Bouncing around looking for some Cubs bytes during my lunch hour, stumbled across a nice DeRosa interview here:

http://stations.espn.go.com/stations/espnradio1000...

(it won't let me link directly to the vid, but at least for now it's in the middle on the right)

Jim Rome is the interviewer. I realize he's polarizing, but he's pretty mild in this since it's from his TV show.

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 3:30pm

Outfield

1. Alfonso Soriano, Cubs, 635,013 <--- ummm?
2. Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs, 552,287 <--- what?
3. Ken Griffey Jr., Reds, 490,597

Catcher

1. Geovany Soto, Cubs, 594,309
2. Brian McCann, Braves, 391,592

Second Base

1. Chase Utley, Phillies, 847,628
2. Mark DeRosa, Cubs, 333,920

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 3:37pm

lots of Cubs home games...

and the nation isn't going to vote-in a Pittsburgh Pirate.

Soriano is tied for 3rd in home runs for outfielders. 

 

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:30pm

Ryan Theriot is within 80,000 votes of winning the SS vote! Now that would be something....

and, I understand that Geo Soto would be the first rookie to start at catcher on an NL All-Star team if he wins.

Submitted by WISCGRAD
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 5:13pm

Yes, first in the NL. I believe Sandy Alomar Jr. started as a rookie for the AL in 1990.

Submitted by Rob G.
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 3:40pm

Remember when I (and others) called B.S. on that article where Alou said he wouldn't have caught the Bartman ball and probably just said it to make Bartman and Cubs fans feel better.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3423732

"I don't remember that,'' he said, according to the Post. "If I said that, I was probably joking to make [Bartman] feel better. But I don't remember saying that.''

Submitted by crunch
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 3:47pm

wha??????? some people just give lip service to the press for the sake of giving them their soundbite so they can get on with life/work?

fire alou! wait...

Submitted by jacos
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:03pm

Didn't Alou have the same type of reaction about "the peeing on the hands" when that came out?

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:26pm

This story is almost a week old. I don't get why it's being recycled the last 24 hours by the MSM.

Submitted by Chad
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:38pm

Whenever the day come that the Cubs make the world series (please God, let it be this year), I will dress as Zombie Bartman.

Been planning that one for a while now.

Submitted by Ryno
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:28pm

He's doing better. I still don't like having to root for him, but I will.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:36pm

In his last eight games, Pie is 10 for 33 (.303). Six of the ten were for extra bases (3 doubles, 2 HRs, 1 triple).

I guess he just has Von Joshua in his ear now. Pie is coachable to a fault and didn't really need three people (including the famously impatient Lou Piniella) telling him how to hit.

I love Lou but he should keep his day job. I'm glad Soto didn't listen to him in spring training when Lou helpfully suggested that he stop trying to pull the ball.

Submitted by navigator
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 4:56pm

That's repeated all the time but where's the evidence? Pie has never had any plate discipline. And, unfortunately for him, he doesn't have Alfonso Soriano's talent either---which is what you need when you have no clue where the strike zone is.

We've had Von Joshua following him around for a couple years now and the result is
he's a .200 hitter for us last year and this year, for winter ball, and now for the I-Cubs. No improvement at all.

Submitted by billybucks
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 5:28pm

Every positive thing said about Pie seems to be qualified with "...if you just look at this specific set of games..." Yes, he is doing OK in his last 8 games, but was 0-for-9 before that, which lowers his BA to .238 over his last 10 games.

Soto, Theriot, Fontenot, Hoffpauer (sp) -- all have, at some point, looked good (at least for while) at the MLB level. Or, at least, they have not looked completely helpless at the plate.

Submitted by Dmac
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 5:10pm

If Perry can straighten out Edmonds swing but not Pie's, then the kid may be in for a long summer in Des Moines.

Submitted by Dmac
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 5:28pm

Whoops, didn't see Virginia Phil's post on the subject -perhaps there's still hope we'll see him later with the big league club.

Submitted by MikeC
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 7:20pm

What is the rush for Pie being in the Majors? Christ he is only 23 years old and needs the next 2+ years to figure out how to hit breaking balls in the minors, if ever. And if he does he will be at the ancient age of 25.

A short stint in the minors isn't going to fix his one major problem. He cant hit breaking pitches to save his life. This wasn't a secret last year and isn't a secret now. He got his shot and he was made to look foolish at the plate. He didnt even hold his own, he just got plain toyed with by major league pitching.

Submitted by Hobart Mike
on Tue, 06/03/2008 - 7:34pm

I agree. Who knows if he'll pan out. I hope so. Check out Sammy Sosa's stats when he was 23 in 1991. Pretty craptacular. It would be nice if he could develop into a 30/30 like Sammy did. Again, who knows.

X
You may login with either your assigned username or your e-mail address.
The password field is case sensitive.
Loading