The Curious Case of Bobby Scales
For all the pecularities that have plagued the 2009 Cubs, this Bobby Scales starting in left field has to be the most perplexing. First, let's look at the numbers:
Rk | Date | Opp | Rslt | Inngs | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | Pos |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
27 | Sep 5 | NYM | W,5-3 | GS-6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .262 | .357 | .492 | .849 | LF |
28 | Sep 6 | NYM | L,2-4 | CG | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .246 | .338 | .462 | .799 | LF |
29 | Sep 7 | PIT | W,4-2 | GS-8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .246 | .333 | .449 | .783 | LF |
30 | Sep 8 | PIT | W,9-4 | GS-9 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 | .325 | .432 | .758 | LF |
31 | Sep 9 | PIT | W,8-5 | GS-7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .244 | .322 | .436 | .758 | LF |
32 | Sep 11 | CIN | W,6-4 | 8-9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .253 | .330 | .456 | .785 | PH |
33 | Sep 12 | CIN | L,5-7 | CG | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .244 | .315 | .439 | .754 | LF |
34 | Sep 13 | CIN | W,5-2 | 8-9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .241 | .312 | .434 | .746 | PH |
35 | Sep 14 | MIL | W,2-0 | 7-GF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .241 | .312 | .434 | .746 | PR LF |
36 | Sep 15 | MIL | W,13-7 | CG | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .239 | .306 | .432 | .738 | LF |
37 | Sep 16 | MIL | L,5-9 | CG | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .314 | .435 | .749 | LF RF |
38 | Sep 17 | MIL | L,4-7 | 6-GF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .247 | .311 | .430 | .741 | PR RF |
39 | Sep 18 | STL | L,2-3 | CG | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .240 | .308 | .417 | .725 | LF |
40 | Sep 19 | STL | L,1-2 | CG | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 | .315 | .420 | .735 | LF |
That sums up to a slash line of 244/273/341/641 OPS. And this gets you playing time every game while Jake Fox sits with a .834 OPS (it was .857 before Scales started playing every day)? In the meantime, Micah Hoffpauir has 1.041 OPS since being recalled (308/424/615).
Of course, his defense has been fantastic...check out how he turns a warning track flyball into a home run. Earlier in the week, he had an opportunity for a play at the plate, but decided to not make a throw that drew the ire of Carlos Zambrano. He's also had some questionable baserunning moves to add to his legend.
I don't really have a point here as usual, other than wtf is going on? Some theories in the comments have been that the Cubs and Lou are just using this lost season to reward him for patience and struggles in reaching the majors. I don't buy that since the Cubs were still on the fringe of the playoffs just 3-4 days ago. BP surmised that Lou just felt it was easier to replace Alfonso Soriano in LF with another 2b that can't play the position well. It's possible that he dug up some of those photos that Neifi! was holding over the Cubs all those years. But when all else fails, the most obvious explanation is usually the correct one - Lou's been replaced by a robot funded and programmed by the rival N.L Central executives.
Sunday night baseball tonight - Wainwright vs. Zambrano. If football is your thing, join the fun and chat activities at The Bear Truth. Game time for that is 3 pm CST.
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