By: Editor Andrew Lange

Lou Piniella has always been an old school-type of manager. One that relies on the little things like being patient at the plate and doing whatever it takes to get on base. That philosophy has been one that historically the Chicago Cubs have not followed. During his 10-year stretch in Seattle, Piniella had some great teams and a lot of that success came from both walks and on-base percentage. From 1993-2002, the Mariners ranked third in the majors in walks and OBP. In his brief three-year stint (2003-05) with the Tampa Bay Devil Ray, Piniella’s teams improved from 27th in the league in OBP to 15th his last year on the job. Keep in mind how poor some of the D-Ray teams were. During those three years combined, Tampa Bay ranked 27th and 28th, respectively, in walks and on-base percentage and won an average of 67 games per year. The Chicago Cubs, with a ton more talent, ranked 24th and 26th, yet won 85 games per year. Imagine how good the Cubs could have been had they developed a more patient and controlled approach to hitting? Since 2003, Chicago’s team OBP is a mere .323. The two leaders during that span were Boston and the New York Yankees, at nearly .360.

This brings us to the present and Piniella’s second year with the Cubs. Last season, Chicago won 85 games, reached the playoffs, but were a dismal 15th out of 16 NL teams in walks and ninth in on-base percentage (.333). Those factors logically played a role in the Cubbies scoring just six runs combined in the three-game division series sweep at the hand of Arizona. This season, however, we are starting to see some of Sweet Lou’s philosophies take hold. As of 4/24, the Cubs rank first in the NL in OBP (.373), second in base on balls (94) and first in pitches seen per at-bat (3.95). Newcomer Kosuke Fukudome is the type of hitter Chicago has longed for as he leads the league at 4.70 pitches per plate appearance. In addition, it is important to note, not only does patience at the plate result in more walks and base runners, it obviously forces opposing pitches to throw more pitches. We’ve seen a multitude of weak bullpens exposed through the first few weeks of the season and what better way to exploit them than to have a starting pitcher reach 80 pitches by the fifth inning. The Cubs certainly utilized that philosophy during their recent six-game winning streak. In those six games, no opposing pitcher made it past the sixth inning, while averaging nearly 19 pitches per inning.

Some of the Cubs’ improvements can also be pointed towards hitting coach Gerald Perry, who was with Piniella in Seattle and in 2006 helped Oakland lead the American League in walks en route to the AL West Pennant. We’ll also bring up the Alfonso Soriano issue. Piniella may be a bright mind when it comes to the game, but he seems locked in to the theory that Soriano can be an effective leadoff hitter long term. The reality is, not only has Soriano’s recent injury been a blessing in disguise, but it’s proved that free-swinging guys like that have considerably less value – especially in the lead-off spot. Soriano’s replacement, Reed Johnson, who has been a borderline every day player for much of his career, is sporting a hefty .394 OBP – over .150 higher than Soriano. Johnson has struck out five times in 61 at-bats, whereas Soriano fanned 11 times in 57 at-bats. Will Soriano produce better overall numbers than Johnson throughout the season? Yes. However, it will be interesting to see if the Cubs recent play and bevy of baserunners will effect Piniella’s decision on where to bat Soriano. Another issue Piniella has is when and where to bat Felix Pie. Pie has plenty of speed, something the Cubs don’t have lot of, but with only 15 walks in 212 career at-bat and a current season ratio of one walk to 15 strikeouts, he coupled with Soriano are exactly what the Cubs are trying to avoid.

Ironically as we wrap up this writing the Cubs scored a run in the second inning against the Colorado Rockies. They scored by Fukudome and Mark DeRosa earning back-to-back walks which resulted in a run thanks to a RBI base hit by Pie. It’s 2008 and the Chicago Cubs are finally playing smart baseball. What 100-year curse?

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