Skip to main content

35 replies

Cubs vs. Sox Position by Position

FastballDadFastballDad1,000+ posts
Things look good for Chicago baseball early in the year. Cubs look excellent with only 2/5 of their starters going right now. When the other 3 starters come back, it could mean 100-105 wins this year for the Cubs.

Let's not forget about the Sox, who are surprisingly decent so far. The hitters may be good enough this year to make up for the weak pitching.

It might be fun to compare position by position, so here's my take on it:

1b Derrick Lee over Konerko, offensively and defensively Big Edge Cubs

2b Todd Walker over Iguchi, slight edge to Iguchi on defense, Walker one of the great hitters in MLB. Edge Cubs

ss Cedeno even with Uribe/Cintron, Cedeno on his way to superstardom, give the Sox credit they knew Uribe played way over his head last year so they picked up Cintron who the D-Backs gave up on. Some would say this is an edge to the Cubs, but because Cedeno is a rookie, we'll call it even.

3b Ramirez over Crede. If this was a defensive position, you may say Crede, but it is a corner and Ramirez' superior hitting and improved defense give the Cubs a strong edge here.

Lf Murton over Pods. Pods most overrated player last year, an igniter on a team that relied on power in the end to get it done. Murton blooming into a star and Pods may not hold his job all year. Big Edge: Cubs

Cf Pierre over Anderson. Great cf and leadoff, Pierre is superior to Anderson who is a Minor Leaguer. Superior
edge: Cubs

Rf: Journeyman Dye over Journeyman Jones. Slight edge: Sox

Bullpen: Huge edge Cubs, no need to get into that

Starting pitching: The Cubs are better now with 3 hands tied behind their back. When they return, Miller, Wood and Prior make it no contest. Big edge: Cubs

Bench: Sox have Makowiak, very nice, but the Cubs' depth at that position with Mabry,Hairston (who could start for the Sox at 2b, LF or CF) and others. Big Edge: Cubs

verdict: Cubs will have to battle in the tougher NL, but are frontrunners for the WS. Sox have to fight overconfidence too compete in a watered-down AL. The Sox need to make some moves if they are going to make the playoffs. It will be fun.
Last edited {1}
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

B BaseballTalkMember
After reading that delusional Cubs posting I am unsure why we should even play the rest of the MLB season. We should just hand the WS to the Cubs now. But I just remembered, Cubs fans talk this way every year and haven't won anything in nearly 100 years. I find it difficult to believe that this year will be any different. The same old excuses will arise when they are eliminated from the playoffs and the cries of "wait till next year" will be ringing around Wrigleyville. Will they ever learn?
B BeenthereILHSBBWeb Old Timer
quote:
When the other 3 starters come back, it could mean 100-105 wins this year for the Cubs.



Fast...This was enough for me.

In your dreams.

The only place Cubbies are better are with the beer vendors...they carry more beer.

One of the most "laughable" posts in a long time.

So funny, in fact, that I won't respond, except nominally, below.

Tell Aramis to keep swinging for the fences in all situations. Zambrano will "blow up" this year.

Derrick is a solid offensive and defensive player. He's the only one, other than Pierre (over useless Anderson)that I would take over Konerko. Derrick can run, too.

Go White Sox!
NI 2ND IN STATE A10+ posts
hahaha fastball dad i like it when u say WHEN they return prior and wood..haha thats the biggest freckin joke..glad u put in there WHEN..cause who the heck knows when they are "ACTUALLY" going to return..Cubs dont stand a chance...Ramirez over crede??? and what did Ramirez do to help the Cubs win the world series last year???? oh yea last time i checked he did Nothing...Sox all the way...PRIDE!!! 2 IN A ROW
T TPBulldogs35100+ posts
I'll say a few of those would be a lil overexagerated but realistically if you go position by position I'm likin the Cubs. If anything Sox have a good defense but the Cubs are right there with'm. When it comes to offense I think the Cubs are right there with'm too. I wanna see what happens when they face..I think they'll match up pretty good honestly as long as Cubs pitching keeps ok.
S soxnole1,000+ posts
World Champs on the south side

World Chumps on the north side

From ownership to management to all time history the Sox have it all over the flubs.

1906....virtually every City Series..... and the all time record of games played VS each other.

No contest...except for recent(last 25 years) attendance. I guess there is no accounting for bad taste!
E eg1210+ posts
I don't think any true Sox fans would deny that the Cubs are better position by position..I think it's quite obvious. However, the Sox have an intangible that the Cubs management, players, and coaching staff don't seem to have, and that is knowing how to win games. I'd say the Cubs had a better rosters last year as well, but look at what happened. Also, you are a very smart baseball fan, so I am sure you know that team chemistry will always go a very long way..whether that be up or down is up to the players.
B BeenthereILHSBBWeb Old Timer
quote:
I don't think any true Sox fans would deny that the Cubs are better position by position..I think it's quite obvious.


The only person that would make such a statement is a Cubs fan (after the 7th beer).

I'm a true Sox fan and the only positions that I would take a Cub player over a Sox player:
First base by a small margin; and, centerfield (because I like Pierre and whoever the Sox have out there so far this season is equivalent to a stick).

They need to trade for a journeyman centerfielder because Anderson is not ready.

Starting pitching: Sox big time

Relief pitching: Sox big time

Closer: "Portly" Jenks all day over Dempster.

Sox are beating KC, 4-0, in the 9th.

Go White Sox!
Last edited by BeenthereIL
H Hawk8810+ posts
The American League Central is a joke. The Tigers and Royals will again lose over 90 to 100 games. The Cubs are better if you compare position by position but that doesn't always spell success. The White Sox played great team ball all year in 05 and deserve the credit. Soxnole, I disagree with the closer role though. Dempster is a better closer than Jenks right now. The Cubs should win 90 games this year with allstars at catcher in Barrett, 1st base with Lee, 3rd Base with Ramirez, and an improved outfield. If they don't achieve that this year, then it's time for many changes in the whole organization. The Sox will easily win the American League Central and compete for another championship.
F for2n8john10+ posts
Fball, I give you a lot of credit for doing the initial post on this topic. I agree on about 1/2 of your analysis in the p-by-p breakdown.
We are splitting hairs on some of these because they are different kind of players that bring different mix of talent. BUT, I'm curious about why you left out Head Coach & GM.

Overall, you have to put together a team that gives your Coach options in the 3-5 critical points in a game. The Cubs are fairly straight-forward and 1 dimentional in putting a team on the field.
The Sox are not. Coupled with a Manager that shows confidence in his players and isn't afraid to go with his "gut". (A young Zim?) In my humble opinion, that is why the the Sox are greater as a whole than the separate parts.
FastballDadFastballDad1,000+ posts
FortunateJohn...I would have to say that Ozzie is the big difference, at least last year. Baker is all that is wrong with Major League Baseball and the way it is played. I do wonder though how Ozzie's publicly hammering his players will work out when things aren't going well.

The Cubs have possibilities to be much more flexible than they have been in the recent past, so I think their 1 dimensional aspect will not be so true this year.

I like Hendry, and you can't argue with winning the World Series so you have to give Williams credit, too. My only beef with him is that although maybe Thomas had to go, it would have been nice if Kenny hadn't relished doing it.
IMO there are 2 good GMs in town, the main difference being ownership. Until last year, Reinsdorf was not a good owner....refused to pay for pitching. Now that is the best thing about the Sox, they got good pitchers and kept them. You got to remember that until last year, the Sox have been just as futile as the Cubs or even moreso, not winning a playoff game until last year. Reinsdorf & co. was running the team then, too.
S soxnole1,000+ posts
Any success the cubs do have will be because of and not in spite of Dusty.

Since time immemorial Chicago fan's have this disease that causes ALL blame to be put on the manager...makes no sense. (Lopez,Durocher,Marion etc.)

Dusty is 1,000,000 X better at his job than after hour's dude Hendry is at his. Maybe it's prejudice, Im not sure but I'm flabbergasted at the northsider blame game centering on Dusty and not the man that is really responsible!
F for2n8john10+ posts
I'm not sure how good Dusty really is. Again, he doesn't appear to have the same number of bullets in the gun as other teams with great Managers. But, he seems to be a different Manager later in the season when the games are more crucial. We were treated to some very good BB during the Cubs run into the playoffs. (How long ago was that?)

I feel that in early & mid-Season, Dusty seems to take less of an interest in "managing" to win. Its like he just lets things unfold. Some believe "...your best moves are the ones you don't make". Conversely, he doesn't appear to be a believer in the adage, "every game you when in April is one less you must win in September."
FastballDadFastballDad1,000+ posts
In my case it certainly isn't prejudice. I like Ozzie.

We'll dissagree on Dusty...giving guys days off early in the season when they are on fire just because you scheduled it that way, even if you have another starter out of the lineup due to injury is just one of the many questionable things Dusty does on a regular basis. The other thing is that he demands nothing out of his players in terms of playing the team game. It may or not be his fault as to the overuse of some young pitchers.

Add Reply

Post
.

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Advanced Search
Advanced Search
Link copied to your clipboard.
×