December 3, 200322 yr I wouldn't trust Hawkins closing...he seems not to be able to handle the pressure. Exactly. He is one of the best Set Up men, but he just doesn't have the makeup to close. I am confident Borowski can easily replicate his '03 year. ZiPS Projections confirmed it, though they aren't a sure thing it is a fun projection system. I can guarantee you that Borowski will have a VERY similar year to 2003. Why would we see a drop in numbers when he pitched even better for us in 2002 just in a different role. Borowski is the Cubs closer and a pretty good one at that. I don't know, i've just never trusted Borowski. Maybe's it's his workmanlike attitude and demeanor on the mound or his less than impressive stuff, but I just don't think Borowski can continue to be a very good closer. I'll be a believer if he has a year like he did last year closing in 2004, but I am skeptical. You do not need "the best stuff" to be a good closer. You need to throw strikes and keep the ball down and get the job done. Mental makeup also is a huge requirement to be a closer. Borowski does all of that, and has been nothing short of spectacular for the Cubs.
December 3, 200322 yr That SUCKS man. LaTroy is extremely underrated in that he is one of the best setup men in baseball. And though he isn't a good closer, he's still better then Eddie Guardado who can't save a game without giving up some hits and runs. He normally before getting bailed out by our defense gives up 2 men on base and sometimes even a run or two. Eddie's the worst closer in the Big Leagues and we really coulda used LaTroy coming back. Oh well, now we have more cash to re-sign Shannon Stewart.
December 3, 200322 yr Eddie's the worst closer in the Big Leagues and we really coulda used LaTroy coming back. How about whoever the blue jays use? Eddie is overrated, and he definitely can't go every day.
December 3, 200322 yr Eddie's the worst closer in the Big Leagues and we really coulda used LaTroy coming back. How about whoever the blue jays use? Eddie is overrated, and he definitely can't go every day. B-B-B-But...HES EVERYDAY EDDIE!!! :lol I prefer LaTroy over Eddie.
December 4, 200322 yr Wow, if the cubbies get I Rod and they clinch the central. Weren't they the runaway favorites last year without I-Rod? And what did they do? They sucked until they stole some Pirates. Don't worry. They'll find a way to muck things up again.
December 4, 200322 yr Latroy Hawkins is really underrated. He is a very good relief pitcher, this wasnt a bad move at all by the cubs. They needed bullpen help badly. Maybe adding one more can ease their bullpen a bit more.
December 4, 200322 yr Latroy Hawkins is really underrated. He is a very good relief pitcher, this wasnt a bad move at all by the cubs. They needed bullpen help badly. Maybe adding one more can ease their bullpen a bit more. I don't think they needed bullpen help badly (guthrie, borowski, remlinger, farnsworth) as they had more pressing needs in upgrading LF, C, 2B, and SS.
December 4, 200322 yr I wouldn't trust Hawkins closing...he seems not to be able to handle the pressure. Exactly. He is one of the best Set Up men, but he just doesn't have the makeup to close. I am confident Borowski can easily replicate his '03 year. ZiPS Projections confirmed it, though they aren't a sure thing it is a fun projection system. I can guarantee you that Borowski will have a VERY similar year to 2003. Why would we see a drop in numbers when he pitched even better for us in 2002 just in a different role. Borowski is the Cubs closer and a pretty good one at that. I don't know, i've just never trusted Borowski. Maybe's it's his workmanlike attitude and demeanor on the mound or his less than impressive stuff, but I just don't think Borowski can continue to be a very good closer. I'll be a believer if he has a year like he did last year closing in 2004, but I am skeptical. You do not need "the best stuff" to be a good closer. You need to throw strikes and keep the ball down and get the job done. Mental makeup also is a huge requirement to be a closer. Borowski does all of that, and has been nothing short of spectacular for the Cubs. Borowski had the 2nd highest save conversion rate in MLB behind Gagne.
December 4, 200322 yr Latroy Hawkins is really underrated. He is a very good relief pitcher, this wasnt a bad move at all by the cubs. They needed bullpen help badly. Maybe adding one more can ease their bullpen a bit more. I don't think they needed bullpen help badly (guthrie, borowski, remlinger, farnsworth) as they had more pressing needs in upgrading LF, C, 2B, and SS. Are you kidding me? Bullpen was definitely the first priority. Guthrie, Veres are horrible. Veres has been horrible all year and Guthrie started to show his true self early September. Alfonseca, Guthries, Veres are three bad relievers. We had a pretty bad bullpen. LaTroy improves the bullpen greatly and with one more pickup like a Rincon and then use a Beltran or Wellemeyer we would definitely have both the best pitching rotation and bullpen in the division.
December 4, 200322 yr Weren't they the runaway favorites last year without I-Rod? And what did they do? They sucked until they stole some Pirates. No one had the Cubs winning the central.
December 4, 200322 yr Weren't they the runaway favorites last year without I-Rod? And what did they do? They sucked until they stole some Pirates. No one had the Cubs winning the central. Yeah you are right. They were the opposite. Noone picked them to win. The year before they lost 95 games.
December 5, 200322 yr http://espn.go.com/mlb/spring2003/preview03/predictions.html 7 of 27 picked the Cubs to win, including Jayson Stark, Peter Gammons, Jim Caple and Rob Dibble.
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