Results tagged ‘ Jeff Baker ’
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Cubs have had a difficult season so far and I can’t help but wonder….What’s Next?!?! We had a lot of trouble with our defense in spring training and that has continued into the regular season to some extent. We had Andrew Cashner and Randy Wells go on the DL in early April. We’ve lost Marlon Byrd, Matt Garza, Reed Johnson, Geovany Soto (he’s back now) and Jeff Baker to the DL as well. Afonso Soriano injured his quad yesterday and I don’t know if he will be the next to visit the DL, but wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
With all of these injuries, the Cubs have won 23 and lost 29 as of this post. That’s six games under .500 and puts us in second to last in the division. However, we are only 7.5 games out of first.
The frustration for me is that we are signing and trading for Doug Davis and Rodrigo Lopez to help our starting rotation. I know they probably weren’t that expensive, but I would rather us go young. We did with Casey Coleman, but he wasn’t getting the job done. We also tried James Russell, but I believe he’s better a relief pitcher than starter and his stats prove it. I know it may be too early, but I would love to see the Cubs bring up Trey McNutt who is pitching great at AA Tennessee.
Overall, I think we need to get healthy to see what we this club can really do this season. And if we don’t, then I would hope the Cubs bring up more of our younger players and let them get a taste of the big leagues and see what they need to work on. I don’t want to hinder their development, but it would be nice to see some of these young players get a cup of coffee. They are our future, right?
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
MARK PRIOR, KERRY WOOD AND OTHER STUFF
One of my favorite Cubs is Mark Prior. When he was drafted by the Cubs I was overjoyed. He had the makings of a legitimate Cy Young caliber pitcher. And he lived up to those expectation initially. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out and he’s battled health problems for several years with his pitching shoulder. Now that he is attempting one last comeback it’s nice to see him sign with the Yankees. He will be reunited with Larry Rothschild this spring and I hope he’s able to finish his baseball career on his own terms as opposed to his ailing shoulder preventing him for playing.
On another note, I read today that Kerry Wood wants a two year deal. I think it would be a wise move for the Cubs to sign Wood to a two year deal and offer incentives as well. I think he will sign with the Cubs or Yankees. Either way, I hope his career continues to rebound and that he stays healthy.
What a dynamic due Wood and Prior could have been if they had stayed healthy. Wood’s 20 strikeout game in 1998 will be one of my favorite games ever! He was lights out that day against the Astros. And Prior put together an amazing year in 2003. That’s what I expected from him every year if he had not been injured.
Anyway, enough dreaming about what might have been. There is still work to do. We have several guys that are trade candidates in my eyes. Fukudome, Wells, Gorzelanny, Baker and Carlos Silva are just a few guys I think we should consider trading. We need to bring in a pitcher like Matt Garza. (Yes, I’m fixated on him!) We could also use an upgrade at secondbase, but I don’t see that happening. Bottom line, we need to get rid of some of our older guys that don’t fit into our longterm plans. We need to evaluate which minor leaguers we want to keep and who we are willing to trade. And finally, we need to spend our money wisely! Like I’ve said before, let’s build a dynasty!
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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