Category: Derrek Lee

GEO!

September 18, 2008 by cubsnet

Now that's a comeback.

Down by four with two outs in the 9th and no one on, Ryan Braun gave the Cubs life. No one's idea of a stellar fielder, Braun looked less than stellar in trying to shoestring Aramis Ramirez's line drive into rightfield, turning it into a double. Then a bouncer up the middle for Jim Edmonds, scoring Ramirez. Then a base hit to right for Mark DeRosa.

Then, the electric moment. Salomon Torres' first pitch to Geovany Soto landed deep in the leftfield bleachers, tying the game.

Here is the video of Soto's game-tying three-run shot.

Three innings later, Derrek Lee drove in the winning run. Here is the video of Lee's hit.

Cue "Go Cubs Go."

The magic number is down to 2.

This is the year.

Derrek Lee in Two-Month Slump

June 27, 2008 by cubsnet

Has anyone else noticed that Derrek Lee has been a not very good hitter for two months now? At the end of April, Lee was hitting .364/.437/.682 and looked like he did in 2005. Since then, he's hit .246/.303/.398. He has also hit into 17 double plays in that time frame. He only hit into 2 in April and has never before hit into more than 18 in a season. Lee is still hitting 3rd in the lineup. Unfortunately, the Cubs do not really have anyone else to put in that spot in the order.

Derrek Lee's Slump Continues

May 17, 2008 by cubsnet

Derrek Lee has played in every game this year. It may be time to give him a day off. After his 0-for-5 performance in today's 7-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he is hitting .164/.179/.304 in the past 13 games. Prior to that, he had been hitting .352/.433/.639 over the first 30 games.

Thankfully, Alfonso Soriano has heated up significantly during Lee's slump, including 7 home runs in the past 6 games.

Lee's Power Loss

July 5, 2007 by cubsnet

We were treated to a trio of articles this morning in the Chicago dailies on Derrek Lee's month-long home run drought, and the fact that he has just six on the season. (D-H; S-T; Trib.) Not that the power drought has hurt his overall production much. Lee is sixth in the National League in Batting Runs Above Average.

Lee blames his relative lack of power on a lack of fly balls: "Overall I haven't hit a lot of fly balls. Sometimes you get on that streak where you hit a lot of fly balls, and some of them you hit well enough to go out of the ballpark. This year I just haven't hit fly balls in general. That's the main reason my home runs are down."

It is true that Lee's fly ball rate has fallen from previous seasons, but only slightly:

Derrek Lee Gets Five Game Suspension

June 18, 2007 by Squib Hits

The suspensions for Saturday's fight are in. Derrek Lee and Chris Young received five games each; Cubs' hitting coach Gerald Perry received three.

Lee Fails to Control Himself, Hurts Team

June 16, 2007 by cubsnet

Derrek Lee provided a teaching moment today for all parents watching this game with their children. To the left is a picture of what is supposed to be two grown men.

Chris Young threw a fastball up-and-in to Lee in the 4th inning, hitting Lee in the arm. Lee got up, shook it off, and began to walk to first. He appeared calm. But he decided to walk a little too far inside the first base line. And he started speaking with Young. And then Young said . . . something. No one, including Lee and Young, is saying what that something was. Whatever it was, Lee decided that it was worth throwing -- and missing -- a punch over.

I do not pretend to know that I would have kept my cool in that situation. But it would have been my duty to do so. Lee was neither defending himself nor defending others from physical harm. His failure to keep his cool resulted in the Cubs losing him for this game, and certainly for several others. He thus hurt his team because of a few words from an opposing pitcher.

The Cubs simply do not operate with a big enough margin to lose their star first baseman to a suspension, especially with their star third baseman already on the disabled list.

The fight, and Lee's pending suspension, overshadows Carlos Zambrano's complete game gem, in which he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning. It was his third very good game in a row. Unfortunately, the Cubs' offense was completely unable to breakthrough against the Padres' bullpen after Young was ejected, resulting in another one-run loss. The final batter in the game? Jacque Jones (611 OPS), hitting for Cesar Izturis (620 OPS). In Lee's spot in the lineup.

Derrek Lee Might Be Done for Year Due to Daughter's Health Problems

September 17, 2006 by cubsnet

"Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee could be out for the rest of the season because of his 3-year-old daughter's illness," reports the AP. . . . "'My daughter's lost some vision in one eye and we'll find out more at a later time; we have to go through some more tests,' Lee said in a statement. 'Right now we just ask for everyone's prayers. We need a miracle, we need your prayers. We need everyone to believe she's going to be OK.'"

If the Cubs were in contention right now, I would still support Lee's decision. It's just a game. She's his three year old daughter. My prayers are with Lee and his family.