i understand, and am also frustrated with Lee...
But we are scoring more than anyone in the NL, and pitching better than virtually everyone in baseball...
I suppose it is a "if it ain't broke" kind of thing. I would tinker with things, but Lou seems to be getting the job done.
Lee is still batting .290ish, and is on pace to provide a year very similar to the one he had last year...save for two very important differences. first, he is not getting on nearly as often, .035 less in fact, and i think this is because he is not walking much at all anymore (and his back shoulder is way out of place when he swings...but no one has pointed that out to him). second, his slugging is way down, too. Given his .OPS of .9+ last year, and current of .86, it seems that he is not hitting for extra bases as often, either. He only needs 5 hrs and 11 doubles to match last year's totals, however, and is striking out less than last year, as well.
It confuses me.
But i will point again to those Yankee teams at the beginning of their most recent run that didn't really have any mashers in their lineup. They just hit from 1-9. In many ways, a 2 run-double can lead to more than a 3-run homer because it keeps the inning alive with risp rather than empty bases. Some teams win with power, but lots of teams don't.
The Cubs are doing well and getting production from the whole lineup (for the most part). And, again, the bottom third of the lineup is really good. Few, if any, teams can bring 6-8 what the Cubs can.
DeRosa for team MVP.
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