Cubs Acquire Juan Pierre

[jmajew]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, I don't feel like reading the entire thread, but I read somewhere if the Cubs get either Wilkerson or Bradley they would move Pierre to Left and put Murton in Right. I think they would do that to help hide the fact Pierre has one of the weakest arms in baseball. Does this make sense to any of you?

 

No. Zero chance Pierre plays LF. Zero chance Murton plays RF.

 

Here is where I read it.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2223628

 

I didn't think it made all that much sense either, but i just wanted to throw it out there.

[JeffH]

Olney cracks me up.

 

If our outfield is Bradley, Murton, and Pierre, why would I put the strongest throwing arm in CF, where it would be the least useful?

[SeldomSeen]

I'm a little late to the party, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents to the conversation- I'm sure you were all eagerly awaiting this moment.

 

He's a clear upgrade at the leadoff spot, and he won't kill us with his defense in center.

 

It took a little more than I expected to get him, but the Marlins have done well on all of their sales- I mean trades- so no real shock, I guess.

 

If we had to give up 3 arms, we could certainly have done worse. All of these guys seem to have a comparable replacement just behind them in the system, and it's not likely there would have been room for all of them.

 

It's nice to see one more need checked off the list so that the primary focus can be RF. Hendry has succeeded in following plan, addressing real needs on this team. It may not be the plan I would've followed (nor many of the posters here), but after the Neifi/ Middle relief brainfart, it's good to be back on course.

 

Juan Pierre looks like a little kid, and hey- little kids are easy to cheer for. Until further notice he is my new favorite Cub. My 5 year old daughter says so.

 

The real downside to this deal is that I can't get the stupid phrase, "wiggly feel" out of my head.

 

Get a LH RF with pop, and we may be on to something.

[Blueheart05]

I wonder if anyone heard this interview or read the transcript about Hendry's plans for Pierre and Pie:

 

Q. Seeing he has one year left in

arbitration and you have a kid in the Minor

Leagues pushing to get up, what's your

strategy?

JIM HENDRY: Our strategy, we certainly didn't look at Juan as a guy that we were going into it that we would have him for one year. We love Felix Pie and if Felix does what we hope he can do and we're fortunate enough to keep Juan longer, I see no problem with Felix being able to play somewhere else besides centerfield, too. We certainly did not go look at Juan Pierre as a guy that, oh, we'll just keep him for a year and move him along. We're thrilled to have him. If it works out the way we hope it will, we'll find plenty of room for our own guys, too.

 

So it sounds like I was wrong. Hendry will try to sign Pierre longterm and play Pie (if his development continues) in RF in 2007 (if Pierre extends).

 

Read the rest of the transcript here (you need Acrobat Reader)

[Mark_R]

Could this be a precursor to a major deal involving Pie?

[A New Era]

I wonder if anyone heard this interview or read the transcript about Hendry's plans for Pierre and Pie:

 

Q. Seeing he has one year left in

arbitration and you have a kid in the Minor

Leagues pushing to get up, what's your

strategy?

JIM HENDRY: Our strategy, we certainly didn't look at Juan as a guy that we were going into it that we would have him for one year. We love Felix Pie and if Felix does what we hope he can do and we're fortunate enough to keep Juan longer, I see no problem with Felix being able to play somewhere else besides centerfield, too. We certainly did not go look at Juan Pierre as a guy that, oh, we'll just keep him for a year and move him along. We're thrilled to have him. If it works out the way we hope it will, we'll find plenty of room for our own guys, too.

 

So it sounds like I was wrong. Hendry will try to sign Pierre longterm and play Pie (if his development continues) in RF in 2007 (if Pierre extends).

 

Read the rest of the transcript here (you need Acrobat Reader)

 

 

WOHOOOOOOOOOOO! Awesome!! I'm glad JH feels that way. If we had a huge bopper in RF, it wouldn't be bad at all to have 2 speedsters in the OF. After all you have alot of power in 1B, 3B, and C. Well atleast that leaves us options knowing Hendry thinks this way. You at some point see Murton, Pierre, and Pie play and you just see who is the best player overall. If Murton turns into a 30 HR .300 .360 guy then you stick with him, simularly if Pierre improves his SB%, and OBP you could stick with him over Pie. Very good JH, very good.

[Blueheart05]

Could this be a precursor to a major deal involving Pie?

 

It's possible or he could be telling the truth about keeping him for the future. if Pierre is signed longterm Pie could be a big bargaining chip.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

wow, two of the biggest power slots are going to Murton and potentially Pie? with a noticeable lack of power from Pierre in CF?

 

color me unimpressed. but hey, speed is worth more than power, so it's all good. :D

[A New Era]

wow, two of the biggest power slots are going to Murton and potentially Pie? with a noticeable lack of power from Pierre in CF?

 

color me unimpressed. but hey, speed is worth more than power, so it's all good. :D

 

Nobody ever said it was going to all three, all at the same time. :P So it's good to see Hendry isn't against Keeping Pierre if Pie does not impress. It's just nice to hear him say that after all those months of hearing "Pie is JH baby"

[Diffusion]

I just don't get the fawning over Wilkerson, I really don't. He can take a BB--wow, so could Mark Bellhorn, and I don't want HIM back.

 

Wilkerson takes a ton of walks, and he hits for a good deal of power. He plays a serviceable center field. He's no Milton Bradley defensively, but he's better than Pierre. What don't you like about him? AVG? K's?

 

I saw Wilkerson play last year in the nationals games I attended in DC and he had little power (11 HRs in 565 ABs), played poor defensively (the Nats prefered he play corner or first), and he would K a lot in contact situations.

 

While I think he may turn it around a be a solid ball player. He would not have satisfied our need for a leadoff hitter and barely looked better than Christian guzman in many of the games.

 

I saw Pierre play last year. He had no power, was slightly below average defensively with his unspectacular range and awful arm, and didn't strike out at all, instead specialising in slapping the ball to the fielders with swinging bunts. On top of that, he didn't get on base because he doesn't walk much and when he was on base he ran into outs or was picked off far too often. But hey, he was fast.

 

Oh, and Pierre didn't have the excuse that he was playing through injury, as far as I'm aware.

[brfahey]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

[TrueBlueCubFan]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

great post!

[WrigleyinEngland]

i think one of the main arguments people have here about Pierre V Wilkerson ( Apart from Jps rubber arm , awful range, bad routes to the ball, literally no power and inability to walk) is value. We could of had Wilkerson for a number of years and look at the numbers OBP wise Wilkerson would of made more sense than Pierre in CF for me as anumber 2 hitter.

[Magnetic Curses]

I just don't get the fawning over Wilkerson, I really don't. He can take a BB--wow, so could Mark Bellhorn, and I don't want HIM back.

 

Wilkerson takes a ton of walks, and he hits for a good deal of power. He plays a serviceable center field. He's no Milton Bradley defensively, but he's better than Pierre. What don't you like about him? AVG? K's?

 

I saw Wilkerson play last year in the nationals games I attended in DC and he had little power (11 HRs in 565 ABs), played poor defensively (the Nats prefered he play corner or first), and he would K a lot in contact situations.

 

While I think he may turn it around a be a solid ball player. He would not have satisfied our need for a leadoff hitter and barely looked better than Christian guzman in many of the games.

 

yeah, and he didn't bunt enough or steal enough, and forget about sac flies! he's worthless!

 

i bet he had a "bad attitude" too.

 

better than christian guzman? what freaking joke.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Please, show me the evidence that Pierre is better than Wilkerson.

[WrigleyinEngland]

Last year I believe he played hurt in the worst Hitters park in baseball. You question his power? He dinged 32 the year before. His OBP would look sweet in front of D lee and Aram not to mention the amount of fastballs wilkerson would get to demolish.

[soapy]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Hello hyperbole. It's fine that you think Pierre is better than Wilkerson (obviously), but I think it's ridiculous for you to say that there is "no arguement" IMO. Of course there is an arguement. Wilkerson is superior in some catagories and Pierre is superior in some catagories. There is most difinitley and agruement.

 

I also disagree with your "I'm not paying them" arguement. Guess what, you aren't paying them, but the Cubs are (or would be if they got them). Like it or not, the Cubs have a budget.

 

Look at it this way, would you rather have Pierre + Soriano + a weak RF or Walker + Wilkerson + a significant bat in RF? Because you are probably going to spend about the same amount of money on those two scenarios. I personally choose the second option. If you choose the first, fine. But don't tell me there's "no arguement" because there sure as hell is.

[Magnetic Curses]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

your numbers suck is why.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Please, show me the evidence that Pierre is better than Wilkerson.

 

pierre has more hits.

[WrigleyinEngland]

Anyone who comes back with the 'speed kills' quote from dustbag can stick it because pierre will kill more rallies than he will ignite.

[RynoRules]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

your numbers suck is why.

 

That's helpful. Can we please stop fighting fire with fire?

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

your numbers suck is why.

 

That's helpful. Can we please stop fighting fire with fire?

 

why? it works for fighting forest fires? :D

[brfahey]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Please, show me the evidence that Pierre is better than Wilkerson.

 

Not taking the bait. I've made my statement. I'll quote numbers and then you'll tell me they don't mean anything and then you'll quote numbers and tell me why they prove Wilkerson is better. Blah blah blah blah. We went through this yesterday regarding Soriano and Walker when you misrepresented some numbers about their difference in OBP. Then we talked about it regarding Wilkerson and Pierre when you initially said Pierre was superior only in stolen bases and then admitted he had better numbers in other categories. It comes down to opinion, and my is as valuable as yours. And judging from your user name, maybe you don't have such a good history of evaluating players.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Please, show me the evidence that Pierre is better than Wilkerson.

 

Not taking the bait. I've made my statement. I'll quote numbers and then you'll tell me they don't mean anything and then you'll quote numbers and tell me why they prove Wilkerson is better. Blah blah blah blah. We went through this yesterday regarding Soriano and Walker when you misrepresented some numbers about their difference in OBP. Then we talked about it regarding Wilkerson and Pierre when you initially said Pierre was superior only in stolen bases and then admitted he had better numbers in other categories. It comes down to opinion, and my is as valuable as yours. And judging from your user name, maybe you don't have such a good history of evaluating players.

 

This is just great. You make the claim that Pierre is better than Wilkerson and you won't back it up. Let's avoid all discussion because we don't have the same opinion.

 

Trying to slight my username is also great.

[soapy]

It seems sometimes that many people who post on this board think the only way to get on base is to get a walk. I swear to God if a guy hit .150 but walked much many here would be telling us he was better than Lee or Ramirez. In the recent past here, we have been inundated by less than stellar comments regarding Pierre while Brad Wilkerson has been spoken of as if he was the real answer. The Sun-Times stated this morning that that Pierre has the most hits in the majors since 2001 except for Pujols and Ichiro. I don't care what anyone says: that makes him pretty good.

 

Wilkerson may well be a good player, but the facts are he has not produced to date at the major leaguie level the way Pierre has. There's no argument. And I don't care about their salaries. I am not paying them. It just seems sometimes that some of the posters here want to show how much they know by latching onto a guy fewer people may have heard of than others and then proclaim this guy as superior to a more well-known guy. Wilkerson/Pierre is one example, and Spriano/Walker is another. I'll take Soriano and Pierre every time over Wilkerson and Walker, and I think most people would as well. Some people seem to be obsessed with certain numbers but willfully ignore other numbers which do not support their contentions.

 

Please, show me the evidence that Pierre is better than Wilkerson.

 

Not taking the bait. I've made my statement. I'll quote numbers and then you'll tell me they don't mean anything and then you'll quote numbers and tell me why they prove Wilkerson is better. Blah blah blah blah. We went through this yesterday regarding Soriano and Walker when you misrepresented some numbers about their difference in OBP. Then we talked about it regarding Wilkerson and Pierre when you initially said Pierre was superior only in stolen bases and then admitted he had better numbers in other categories. It comes down to opinion, and my is as valuable as yours. And judging from your user name, maybe you don't have such a good history of evaluating players.

 

What's the point of that?