Results tagged ‘ Blake DeWitt ’
JUST RANDOM THOUGHTS
The Chicago Cubs appear to content with the lineup we currently have. I was kind of hoping we would trade Fukudome, but that does not seem like it will happen. I was also a little bit interested in Michael Young to play second over the platoon of Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker, but that is not going to happen either. Another possible “solution” for second would be Luis Castillo if the Mets were willing to part with him. Personally, I don’t like this idea at all. The one move I still think the Cubs could make is acquiring Chris Davis from the Rangers. I think it would take catcher Wellington Castillo and another high minor league player.
RANDOM STUFF
I’ve got a few things I want to touch base on today before I enjoy some spring training baseball and college basketball.
A LITTLE CATCHING UP
My internet hasn’t worked right the last few days so, I haven’t been able to write any posts. I guess I can blame it on the winter weather the midwest has experienced. I didn’t even call my internet provider because I know they would probably give me some lame excuse. Anyway, here’s a few thoughts I’ve had the last couple of days.
The Rangers are shopping Michael Young to the Rockies. Why in the world won’t the Cubs make an offer?! We could package Soriano, Jeff Baker or Blake DeWitt and Wellington Castillo for Michael Young, Chris Davis and Darren O’Day. Soriano and Young each have bad contracts. The Cubs would probably have to eat around $9 million of his contract during the final year of his deal, but it would be worth it to me. It’s just a thought.
Blake DeWitt. I read that Greg Maddux had a role in the Cubs acquiring DeWitt. So, while I have been skeptical of DeWitt, I am willing to give him more of a chance. I trust Maddux’s judgement. I hope he’s right.
Carlos Marmol and the Cubs are working on a multiyear extension that will give our closer a substantial raise and avoid any more arbitration years. I think we should do the same thing with Matt Garza and get both players locked up so we don’t have to go through this again with either of them any time soon.
Aramis Ramirez is getting older as is probably playing for a contract this year. (I don’t see the Cubs picking up his option for 2012) I wonder if the Cubs will try to sign him to a multiyear deal after the season or will we let him walk? Should we let him walk and hope Josh Vitters can replace him? I think this summer will give us a better clue on what to do.
I’ve got more, but I wanted to get this post in before my internet stops working again. I will leave with this thought……..WHY HAVEN’T THE CARDS SIGNED PUJOLS YET? HE’S THE BEST PLAYER IN THE GAME!!!!!!!!!!!
BATTING LEADOFF????
My beloved Cubbies don’t have a leadoff man for the upcoming season. Ideally, you want someone who knows how to get on base and has enough speed to steal some bases. Well, we really don’t have a guy that fits those categories that will be an every day player. We don’t have any true base stealing threats at all. Some of the players that will have a chance to bat leadoff are Marlon Byrd, Blake DeWitt, Kosuke Fukudome, Jeff Baker and Starlin Castro.
Marlon Byrd is one of my favorite choices of the players I just mentioned. I know he’s not much of a base stealing threat nor is he known for getting to first base by base on balls. Even though his OBP last season was a respectable .346, it’s not what you would want from your leadoff hitter. Here’s why I would consider him at leadoff though…..he does whatever the team needs of him and doesn’t complain. That’s a very simple reason and something that other players could learn from.
The case for Blake DeWitt is a pretty weak one. His OBP is lower than Byrd’s, fewer stolen bases and not much speed for a middle infielder. He did have a high of 8 stolen bases in the minors though in 2006. But Byrd stole 41 bases in single A ball in 2000. Why Quade is considering him at leadoff is beyond me.
Next is Jeff Baker. I’m guessing that Baker and DeWitt will be platooning at second base. Baker bats right and DeWitt bats left. The only reason I see Baker also hitting leadoff is to leave the rest of the lineup alone. Baker has never been a base stealing threat in his career. He’s a poor option to leadoff in my opinion.
Starlin Castro has more promise than any of the other players, but I dont want to put that type of pressure on him at this point in his career. I like him batting in the 2 hole anyway. He’s got some speed, but doesn’t know how to use it just yet. I think he could hit leadoff if needed to and would be as successful as Byrd if given this responsibility.
Kosuke Fukudome isn’t a bad option. His OBP has been in the .370s the last two seasons. However, he fades each year as the season progresses and he strikes out too much for me. I like him better as a someone to be traded before spring training! Plus, if Fukudome is playing everyday then that means Tyler Colvin is probably sitting on the bench. I guess we could put Tyler Colvin at leadoff, but I would like to have him bat around 6th personally.
Anyway, here’s my lineup for the Cubs that I think would produce the most runs this season. And remember, the Giants proved last year that you don’t have to have a true leadoff hitter to win the World Series.
1. Marlon Byrd-CF
2. Starlin Castro-SS
3. Aramris Ramirez-3B
4. Carlos Pena-1B
5. Alfonso Soriano-LF
6. Tyler Colvin-RF
7. Geovany Soto-C
8. Blake DeWitt-2B
9. Pitcher
POTENTIAL FREE AGENTS AFTER THIS SEASON
Jim Hendry and the Cubs filled the needs we had this offseason by signing Carlos Pena to play first base, Kerry Wood to bolster the bullpen and trading for Matt Garza to strengthen the rotation. I don’t think we will make any more major moves, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see another trade or two go down. I can see us trading Carlos Silva, Randy Wells and/or Tom Gorzelanny to make room in the starting rotation for Jeff Samardzija, Andrew Cashner and/or Casey Coleman.
Now that I am looking ahead I want to take a look at potential free agents after this upcoming season. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but there are a lot of players out there that we could sign to make our team one of the leading contenders in 2012. We have a lot of money coming off the books at the end of this season and there are some big names that would be available that I would love to see playing for the Cubs. So, here’s my list of players in no particular order. If I’ve missed a player or two let me know.
Okay, I know that thinking we could land Albert Pujols is more of a dream than even close to reality. But this is my dream and I’m in control of it. Albert is the best player in baseball. It sucks for me because he plays for our Arch rival, the Cardinals. Yet, you have to love watching him hit. I’ve been to several games at Busch Stadium, I live a lot closer to St. Louis than Chicago, and the ball just sounds different when he hits it. So, if for some amazing reason, Pujols is a free agent after this season I say we load up an offer that would dwarf Alfonso Soriano’s deal. However, I see the Cards signing him before spring training, but I could be wrong.
If Pujols isn’t available, I say we go after Adrian Gonzalez. He hasn’t signed an extension with Boston yet, and he’s a stud too. He’s been an obsession of mine for quite some time now. He’s a great hitter and I think he would hit 40+ homers in Wrigley every year. Plus, he plays great defense. He’s two years younger than Pujols and a lefty. I don’t see this one happening either. Instead, I see Gonzalez pounding out homers and playing gold glove defense in beantown for several years to come. With Pedroia and Crawford batting in front of him I think he’s a potential leader for RBIs in the American League if not all of baseball.
Since I don’t think we have a realistic chance to sign Pujols or Gonzalez, I will give you my first serious potential free agent. It’s obviously Prince Fielder if you’ve looked at the picture to your left. If you can’t tell, I think the Cubs need to focus on first base at the end of this season. I am not completely sold on Carlos Pena as the long term solution at first base for the Cubs. Fielder is younger than Pujols and Gonzalez and would provide us with power from the left side of the plate. His defense is no where close to the previous two firstbasemen, but I can live with that if we are able to sign him. Just imagine Fielder, who will be 28 in 2012, as our everyday first baseman for the next 5 or 6 years. He would definitely give the Cubs a power bat in the middle of the lineup.
Since we traded Hak-Ju Lee to the Rays in the Matt Garza deal, it appears we will no longer look to move Starlin Castro to second base. So, we could easily sign another Brewer to play for the Cubs in Rickie Weeks. Attempting to sign both players may increase our chances instead of trying to sign only one of them. Weeks is a tremendous athlete with power and speed. He’s a better option at second than Blake DeWitt in my opinion and would give the Cubs another good player under the age of 30. He’ll be 29 in September of this year.
So far, I think we should seriously consider Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks. That would cover first and second base. Starlin Castro is our shortstop and we could re-sign Aramis Ramirez to play third. There aren’t any thirdbasemen that interest me that will be free agents after this season. I would like to think we could hold on to Ramirez until Josh Vitters is ready.
The only outfielder that interests me is Grady Sizemore. He’ll be 29 in August this year and when healthy, is one of the better players in the game. With Marlon Byrd signed through the 2012 season I don’t see this one happening. However, Sizemore is a legitimate 30/30 threat and would give us another lefthanded bat in our linuep. We have Soriano signed through 2014 and I doubt we are able to move him unless we take on a huge chunk of his contract. Tyler Colvin is our rightfielder for the future. He’s also lefthanded and possesses some power, but I want to see what he does in a full season for us. We also have Brett Jackson who I see as our centerfielder of the future. While signing Sizemore sounds applealing, I doubt it happens. The main reason for this doubt is the Indians have a club option on Sizemore for 2012 at $8.5 million. I see them exercising this option. So, don’t count on Sizemore being a Cub.
There are a few starters I would love to add if the price was right. I personally have a mild interest in Edwin Jackson and Wandy Rodriguez. The only pitcher that I think would make a big impact is Roy Oswalt. Adding him to our rotation would be great. Maybe a 2-3 year deal would work, but I have a feeling he will stay in Philly.
Overall, I think we will have some moves to make after this upcoming season. We need to build our team for the long haul. Adding Weeks and Fielder would be a step in the right direction.
TRADES??????
Okay, since the Rangers signed Adrian Beltre there’s been a lot of speculation that Michael Young would be on the trade market. I don’t know if he is, but I think the Cubs should take a look at making a deal for him. He could play second base next year and provide us with another good bat. The last time we got an infielder from Texas was when we signed free agent Mark DeRosa. That worked out okay and I think Young would too.
The Cubs have already discussed a deal with the Rangers for corner infielder Chris Davis and pitcher Darren O’Day. Why not throw Young into the mix and make it a big deal? If Hendry has proven anything in his time as GM for the Cubs, it’s his ability to make good trades. Remember, that’s how we got D. Lee and Ramirez!
Looking closer at Young, he’s 34 years old and won’t be a free agent until after the 2013 season. He’s due $16 million each of the next three years. That’s a lot of money for a guy who hasn’t played second base in several years and who is in his mid 30s. So, who would we trade in a deal for Young that the Rangers would want?????
My first guess would be Alfonso Soriano. He could play outfield or more than likely be a DH. With his fielding abilities I think he’s better suited to be a DH and just focus on hitting. He’s signed through 2014 at $18 million each year. If we traded him in a deal for Young we would have to compensate the Rangers some to cover his salary.
Getting back to the Davis and O’Day deal, I read that the Rangers wanted minor league catcher Robinson Chirinos. I say let’s trade him! He’s got Soto, Hill and Castillo in front of him. No sense wasting his talent in the minors.
So, adding these two potential deals together means the Rangers trading us Davis, O’Day and Young for Soriano, cash, Chirinos and maybe another player or two. I don’t think this deal will happen. Plus, I believe the Cubs are set on having DeWitt at second base for the time being. My only other guess is that they are waiting for Hak-Ju Lee to take over shortstop and Castro to move to second in the near future. If this is true, and works out, then I’m okay with having DeWitt at second for now.
I still keep reading that we have an interest in Matt Garza and Fausto Carmona. Well, I have wanted the Cubs to trade for Garza ever since the winter meetings. But after second thoughts, I think it’s best we hold on to our young talent. That goes for Carmona too! We have a bunch of young players that are close to making it to the big leagues.
While I like the idea of getting Young, Garza and Carmona, I feel they would cost us too much. However, I think we can get Davis and O’Day for a fair price. So, go ahead Jim and make a deal. It’s been a quiet winter and I know you are not finished dealing yet.
WHO’S ON FIRST, WHAT’S ON SECOND…..
Remember Abbott and Costello’s baseball comedy routine that had “who” on firstbase, “what” on secondbase and “I don’t know” at thirdbase. If you don’t remember this or have never seen it I suggest you google it. Anyway, the Cubs have their answer at thirdbase for next season in Aramis Ramirez. We now have Carlos Pena at firstbase, but, as of right now, it appears we will have a platoon at secondbase with Blake DeWitt and Jeff Baker. Just a couple weeks ago Scot, at A Diehard Cubs Fan, wrote about the possiblity of the Cubs signing Orlando Hudson. While I still like this idea, I don’t think that Jim Hendry is considering such a thing….unfortunately. His deal with Baker to avoid arbitration leads me to believe that the Cubs are willing to continue using a platoon at second. I would like to see the Cubs offer Hudson a 1 or 2 year deal myself. He’s an excellent defensive player and his offense is solid. He’s a career .280 hitter. Last season, Hudson only made $5 million playing for the Twins. So, it’s not like he would be an expensive addition to the team. I still think the Cubs could sign Hudson and keep DeWitt as your lefthanded hitting utility infielder and Baker as the righthanded hitting utility infielder. But that may hurt Darwin Barney’s chance of making the big league team and I really like him a lot too.
When it’s all said and done, Hudson is not likely to happen. Heck, I didn’t even consider this idea until Scot wrote about it. Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to think about it the move makes a lot of sense. We need to upgrade defensively. Hudson would provide that. I think Barney would too, but I don’t see him winning the starting job in spring training. Personally, I don’t like using platoons. Quade should determine who will be the everyday secondbaseman in the spring between DeWitt, Baker and Barney and let the other two be utility infielders.
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