Junior Spivey

[Bear Cub]

He must be #3 on the Nationals depth chart at 2b. He sure should be available and has always killed the Cubs if I remember right.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

We already have Neifi, why would we want Spivey?

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Neifi - 301 OBP / 681 OPS

Spivey - 354 OBP / 790 OPS

 

Anywho, talk about your injury risks...

[Diffusion]

Spivey had the makings of a good player after 2002. Here's a guy that can reasonably be expected to hit around .275, draw enough walks to get his on-base up to .350+, and has enough pop to slug about .440. On top of that he plays fine defence at second base, and he's reasonably fast, if not a great basestealer or anything. He's 27 already, but he's probably still got a few good years left in him yet. Sure he'll strike out a bit more often than you'd like, which is why he's only really a .275 hitter (and why you should have been wary of overestimating him based on his impressive BABIP, HBP and 3B-fuelled 2002 line), but once every six plate appearances is manageable if not great.

 

In 2003 though he struck out nearly once every four plate appearances. In 2004 he seemingly got back on track, once every five and a half, but apparently not, for in 2005, he was at at nearly once every three! Striking out that often just makes it completely impossible to hit for anything even remotely resembling an average, and that compromises on-base and slugging too. His defence is still handy, and he's still not slow, the patience at the plate is still there, and the pop too. But right now, as long as he can't be relied upon to hit even .260, say, because he's striking out so frigging often, he's not worth owning. Strikeouts are bad, folks. They've ruined what could have been a pretty useful career for Spivey.