Wrigley is a little overrated when it comes to HR's. If he play's alot of games with the wind blowin in he has no shot at 40. But he is still getting better so 35 is a very reasonable projection IMO.
derrek lee is likely to have his best hitting year yet with the cubs. he is not just hitting in wrigley, when he is on the road half the time it will be in st. louis, milwaulkee, houston, cincinnati and pittsburgh. all except pittsburgh are great for power hitters, especially cincy and houston. before the division he was in put him in new york, philadelphia, atlanta and montreal which are pretty much all parks that favor the pitcher. the other thing that sticks out is how much sosa walks, you can pick any hitter on florida even pudge from last season and they still arent comparable in terms of walks with sosa. if lee hits behind sosa he is going to get a lot of rbi opportunities there. the division he is in now only consists of one really solid pitching club in houston, everywhere else there is weak pitching really. i see him having a really good year because of all of these facotrs, plus the fact that he is just coming into his prime age-wise. he might not run that much but 10+ steals at a lock for 1b is gravy on top of the 35+ homers and 110+ rbi i think he will get easily as long as he stays healthy (which has never been a problem for him).
the fact is that derrek lee has always been seen as a guy that hadn't achieved what many expected of him yet, and all the arrows are pointing upwards for him now. this isn't the small ballin marlins anymore either, this team is out to be bashin and smashin not getting people on and over. i like lee to have a great year nad hve him ranked ahead of the likes of sexson, palmeiro and bagwell because of the steals.
obiehislop wrote:derrek lee is likely to have his best hitting year yet with the cubs. he is not just hitting in wrigley, when he is on the road half the time it will be in st. louis, milwaulkee, houston, cincinnati and pittsburgh. all except pittsburgh are great for power hitters, especially cincy and houston. before the division he was in put him in new york, philadelphia, atlanta and montreal which are pretty much all parks that favor the pitcher. the other thing that sticks out is how much sosa walks, you can pick any hitter on florida even pudge from last season and they still arent comparable in terms of walks with sosa. if lee hits behind sosa he is going to get a lot of rbi opportunities there. the division he is in now only consists of one really solid pitching club in houston, everywhere else there is weak pitching really. i see him having a really good year because of all of these facotrs, plus the fact that he is just coming into his prime age-wise. he might not run that much but 10+ steals at a lock for 1b is gravy on top of the 35+ homers and 110+ rbi i think he will get easily as long as he stays healthy (which has never been a problem for him).
the fact is that derrek lee has always been seen as a guy that hadn't achieved what many expected of him yet, and all the arrows are pointing upwards for him now. this isn't the small ballin marlins anymore either, this team is out to be bashin and smashin not getting people on and over. i like lee to have a great year nad hve him ranked ahead of the likes of sexson, palmeiro and bagwell because of the steals.
very, very good call on Lee. Though his SB's will be down. I agree with obiehislop. Lee is going to bust out ...
JoeSoCal wrote:how would you guys compare derrek lee and richie sexson?
who would you take and why (ignore salaries)?
Sexson has hit 45 hrs twice. Lee's best is 31. While he will hit more in Wrigley, i think 40 is a bit high. I think 35-37 is more reasonable. Sexson has the raw power to reach 50.
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Whew Thanks for bringing me back to the real world Hootie.
I guess what worries me about Sexson is the new contract, the new pressure, the new team, not much more lineup protection than in Milwaukee - especially if Luis makes one wrong move.
EYoung
Podsednik
Sexson
Jenkins
...Helms?
RAlomar
Cintron
Gonzo
Sexson
S Finley
Hillenbrand
I know that Milwaukee situation wasn't true all season, but it was for the majority. In my opinion, I like the Milwaukee scenario better - and again, Gonzo one wrong move away from lost for season.
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by RyneSandberg » Fri Jan 30, 2004 12:11 am 
Thanks for bringing me back to the real world Hootie.
