Cubs Hits Of The Week (Monday, 6/16 through Sunday, 6/22)
The five hits from the past week that did the most to enhance the Cubs' chances of winning, according to Win Probability Added as calculated by Fan Graphs:
#5.) Tuesday, 9th inning at Tampa, man on first, one out, Cubs trailing the Rays, 3-1. Kosuke Fukudome doubles against Troy Percival, sending Mark DeRosa around to third. It's so obvious the Cubs will at least tie up this game and send it to extra innings. It's so very, very obvious...right up to the moment the Rays retire Reed Johnson to lock down the 3-2 win. Fukudome double = WPA .150
#4.) Saturday, 4th inning vs. White Sox, men on first and second, one out, Cubs trailing the Sox, 4-3. Fukudome hits a ground single to right, scoring Ryan Theriot from second base to tie the game 4-4, with much more run-making yet to follow in this fourth inning. Fukudome single = WPA .159
The countdown continues after the jump.
#3.) Friday, 7th inning vs. White Sox, none on, none out, Cubs trailing the Sox, 3-2. Moments after Derrek Lee has homered off Octavio Dotel to cut the visitors' lead to 3-2, all Cubdom is perched on its edge of its collective seat, wondering, "Can Aramis Ramirez tie up this game with one swing of his bat and in so doing, earn $7,000 for the lucky entrant in WGN Radio's Back-to-Back Jacks Contest?" The answer is yes and yes! Ramirez home run = WPA .222
#2.) Thursday, 7th inning vs. Tampa, men on first and second, one out, Cubs trailing the Rays, 1-0. Mike Fontenot connects for a ground-rule double off the new age artificial turf at Tropicana Field—give me the good ol' days when games were played on 100% real AstroTurf!—to score the tying run, put the Cubs in position to eventually claim a 3-1 lead, and give Carlos Marmol an opportunity to prove he's a human being. Fontenot double = WPA .258
#1.) Friday, 9th inning vs. White Sox, none on, none out, game tied 3-3. Scott Linebrink, who has been virtually unhittable all season long, throws a low fastball to Aramis Ramirez, who promptly deposits it over the centerfield wall, earning the Cubs a 4-3 win and leaving Sox announcer and lifetime .239 hitter Ken Harrelson utterly speechless, which is an achievement so profound, not even Win Probability Added can fully measure its significance. Ramirez home run = WPA .358
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