Austin Kearns News

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http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/news_story.asp?ID=145970

 

It looks like Casey to the Pirates is a done deal.

[Guancous]

That's probably news Cubs fans do not want to see but it makes the most sense for the Reds, especially considering they don't have to trade within the division.

 

The Pirates are still in the Reds' division. They just aren't contenders. Bay... Casey... a healthy Craig Wilson... if they sign Nomar, they could show signs of life on offense. They'll have a healthy Oliver Perez and a full season of Zach Duke. They're starting to look like the 2004/2005 Brewers. Signs of life.

Edited December 7, 2005 by Guancous

[nilodnayr]

Soriano was absolutely horrendous last year, and very bad the year before. Plus hes a butcher defensively. All he has going for him is 2 good years that are completely based on his batting average and home runs totals which can be attributed to the fact that he was thrown balls very much over the plate considering Jeter and Giambi were hitting after him.

 

That is not even close to the truth.

 

Look, I'm not a Soriano fan. I was initially intrigued when all he was was a name with the hype in the minors. But after seeing his game, I quickly soured, and his change of age didn't help matters.

 

However, last year he hit .268/.309/.512, in 2004 it was .280/.324/.484. For his career he is at .280/.320/.500. Now, none of this is amazing, worthy of $10 million or all the hype he has received. But, he is nowhere near horrendous or very bad. He's a good baseball player who can help a team if used properly. He's no leadoff hitter or top half of the order guy. He is basically Corey Patterson if Corey hadn't fallen off the cliff. Throw him in the 6 hole with a decent threat behind him (Barrett or Murton) and he could help the Cubs.

 

 

Interestingly, in 2001, at the age of 25, Soriano put up an OPS+ of 92, the year before in limited duty he was at 35. In 2005, Corey, at age 25 put up an OPS+ of 56, the year before he was at 92 (116 in 2003). Juan Pierre was 84 last year, and is just 87 for his career. He has Willie Wilson written all over him. Willie had some decent years in his mid 20's, only to turn into a has been pretty quickly. Only Willie actually had some good SB skills, maintaining an 80+% rate throughout his career - Pierre is well below that benchmark.

 

If the Cubs can't get Wilkerson or Bradley for CF, I think they have to consider that their best option might be to try and go big in RF, and settle on Corey with competition in CF, batting 8th. Have Hairston and Greenberg ready to step in anyday, with Pie as the carrot on the end of the stick.

 

two words: road splits...

 

2005: 224/265/374, he was an extreme liability to his team for half the games

2004: 244/291/444, less so, but still a liability to his team of half the games

 

He would have been a good player if used properly those years...that is benched when on the road.