A Brand New Cubs Rumor from My West Coast Source

[goonys evil twin]

Some of us were saying a LONG time ago that Walker was doomed in Chicago because of his attitude. Many here dismissed that notion, I'm still not sure why.

 

Were people really dismissing the notion that the Cubs might get rid of Walker because of his supposed attitude, or were they dismissing the notion that his attitude justified a move? I know that long before he was resigned people were questioning how the front office would perceive the guy who kept having stuff to say to anybody who would listen. But if the Cubs were that concerned with his attitude, why did they choose him over Grudz when they had the chance? Walker was a little cheaper, but the Cubs have shown a willingness to spend more to get rid of the bad guys and replace them with others.

[goonys evil twin]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

[brfahey]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

Amen.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

Ours is trying awfully hard to be one...

[abuck1220]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

and working in underwriting is exactly the same as being on a baseball team.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

1B - 184 games

LF - 47 games

RF - 246 games

C - 40 games

 

Wow, I didn't know Craig Wilson could catch. How big is that you say?

 

What happens on the days Henry Blanco starts? Barrett sits on the bench and goes unused. Or occasionally, instead of getting the full day off behind the plate, Dusty puts him in for the late innings to get his bat in the game. Which is fine, except it defeats the purpose of resting your primary catcher.

 

If you have Wilson though, who can be your 3rd catcher, now things change. On days Blanco starts, you can give Barrett the time off from the tools of ignorance. BUT, you can use him confidently as a pinch-hitter off the bench. Put that bat to use. The Cub bench instantly gets better.

 

I'm really liking the sound of this Walker for Wilson thing now. Do it.

 

You dont want Wilson back there unless it is an emergency. Yes he was drafted as a catcher, by Toronto, and the Pirates almost got him killed trying to make him one. He has a horrible "POP" time and is poor defensively. On the bright side he is an idiot in the truest sense of the word and will run through a brick wall because that is how you play, as long as someone will pat him on the back afterwards. :roll:

[Wild_Cubs04]

1B - 184 games

LF - 47 games

RF - 246 games

C - 40 games

 

Wow, I didn't know Craig Wilson could catch. How big is that you say?

 

What happens on the days Henry Blanco starts? Barrett sits on the bench and goes unused. Or occasionally, instead of getting the full day off behind the plate, Dusty puts him in for the late innings to get his bat in the game. Which is fine, except it defeats the purpose of resting your primary catcher.

 

If you have Wilson though, who can be your 3rd catcher, now things change. On days Blanco starts, you can give Barrett the time off from the tools of ignorance. BUT, you can use him confidently as a pinch-hitter off the bench. Put that bat to use. The Cub bench instantly gets better.

 

I'm really liking the sound of this Walker for Wilson thing now. Do it.

 

You dont want Wilson back there unless it is an emergency. Yes he was drafted as a catcher, by Toronto, and the Pirates almost got him killed trying to make him one. He has a horrible "POP" time and is poor defensively. On the bright side he is an idiot in the truest sense of the word and will run through a brick wall because that is how you play, as long as someone will pat him on the back afterwards. :roll:

 

You grow up next to him or something?

[RynoRules]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

and working in underwriting is exactly the same as being on a baseball team.

 

I think his point - that co-workers with poor attitudes can have a negative effect on the work environment - is universal. How much of an effect I think depends not only the type of employment but also on how beligerent or nasty the person is.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I wonder how much the Angels really value Kennedy. They've seemingly been trying to deal him for a couple years, he's an impending FA, and they have short and long term remplacements for him. If you could get him for a pitching prospect or two(lower ceiling higher performance guys like Connolly or to a lesser extent Brownlie) then that would be a good use of resources to turn that into Kennedy and Wilson.

[Dirt Dog Sparly]

1B - 184 games

LF - 47 games

RF - 246 games

C - 40 games

 

Wow, I didn't know Craig Wilson could catch. How big is that you say?

 

What happens on the days Henry Blanco starts? Barrett sits on the bench and goes unused. Or occasionally, instead of getting the full day off behind the plate, Dusty puts him in for the late innings to get his bat in the game. Which is fine, except it defeats the purpose of resting your primary catcher.

 

If you have Wilson though, who can be your 3rd catcher, now things change. On days Blanco starts, you can give Barrett the time off from the tools of ignorance. BUT, you can use him confidently as a pinch-hitter off the bench. Put that bat to use. The Cub bench instantly gets better.

 

I'm really liking the sound of this Walker for Wilson thing now. Do it.

 

You dont want Wilson back there unless it is an emergency. Yes he was drafted as a catcher, by Toronto, and the Pirates almost got him killed trying to make him one. He has a horrible "POP" time and is poor defensively. On the bright side he is an idiot in the truest sense of the word and will run through a brick wall because that is how you play, as long as someone will pat him on the back afterwards. :roll:

 

You grow up next to him or something?

 

No did his laundry for two seasons in the minors. ARams too.

[RynoRules]

1B - 184 games

LF - 47 games

RF - 246 games

C - 40 games

 

Wow, I didn't know Craig Wilson could catch. How big is that you say?

 

What happens on the days Henry Blanco starts? Barrett sits on the bench and goes unused. Or occasionally, instead of getting the full day off behind the plate, Dusty puts him in for the late innings to get his bat in the game. Which is fine, except it defeats the purpose of resting your primary catcher.

 

If you have Wilson though, who can be your 3rd catcher, now things change. On days Blanco starts, you can give Barrett the time off from the tools of ignorance. BUT, you can use him confidently as a pinch-hitter off the bench. Put that bat to use. The Cub bench instantly gets better.

 

I'm really liking the sound of this Walker for Wilson thing now. Do it.

 

You dont want Wilson back there unless it is an emergency. Yes he was drafted as a catcher, by Toronto, and the Pirates almost got him killed trying to make him one. He has a horrible "POP" time and is poor defensively. On the bright side he is an idiot in the truest sense of the word and will run through a brick wall because that is how you play, as long as someone will pat him on the back afterwards. :roll:

 

You grow up next to him or something?

 

No did his laundry for two seasons in the minors. ARams too.

 

Which guy had worse b.o.? I am guessing Wilson. :compress:

[CubfaninCA]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

 

Yep, should have kept Grudz. Too bad Hendry went the Moneyball route. :(

[brfahey]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

 

Yep, should have kept Grudz. Too bad Hendry went the Moneyball route. :(

 

That's a good one.

[goonys evil twin]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

 

Yep, should have kept Grudz. Too bad Hendry went the Moneyball route. :(

 

Hendry, Moneyball? I'm sure he never read it, and I know he's never filled his roster that way.

[craig]

I like the concept of acquiring Craig Wilson, and I think it makes some sense. As we've all noticed, Jones has extreme splits. If you limited Jones to facing RHP and RHP only, Jones would look a lot more promising. I think the prospect of a Jones/Wilson platoon could end up with a remarkable number of K's, and obviously with poor defense on Wilson days. But offensively that kind of platoon could be pretty productive, and likely get the best out of both players.

 

Hoops' source may have it right that all of baseball hates walker because of attitude stuff. But I think it's also reasonable to attribute his situation to baseball factors only. He's not a good fielder, we've all seen that. Nor a good baserunner or situational fundamentals type guy. What he's good at doing is what he does in the batter's box, if his skills in the box were like his skills outside the box, he'd be in AA, not the majors.

 

Offering Walker for Wilson does not suggest a dump-Walker-at-all-costs approach. Nor does considering Walker for Orlando Hudson, or Walker for Aaron Heilman, or Walker for Adam Kennedy, or Walker for Milton Bradley, or Walker for Affeld or MacDougal type rumors. All of those kind of rumored names involve guys with significant value, not "dump at any cost" discussions.

 

Wilson's salary, combined with his incredible K-rate and poor defense, might make Pittsburgh relatively open to dealing him.

 

He'd almost certainly frustrate Cub fans; runner on 3rd, one out, and Wilson K's again! But I think he'd be a lot less frustrating than Jones facing LHP, and his OBP/slugging/OPS are all pretty solid.

 

He's got a remarkable batting profile. Unlike most Cubs, he crowds the plate, so that he can use his pull power on almost any fastball strike, even those on the outside half. But because he crowds the plate, he gets beaned all the time. He got beaned 30 times in 2004, and has gotten hit 81 times in less than 1600 AB's! Hhis career Iso-D is almost .100, which is amazing, and of course he does walk a lot. A cat like Corey has a career Iso-D of 0.039. Wilson's got 0.032 in beanballs alone, and another 0.064 in walks, really amazing.

 

I'd be happy if Walker stays. I think his bat could help the offense so much. But I think Walker for Wilson could also help the team, certainly more so than a Walker-functioning-as-3rd-string. And I certainly think that a bad-fielding 2B does a lot more damage than a low-range RF. I admt it would also be kind of a relief to have Walker's situation resolved one way or another. And finally, while their are good reasons to appreciate walker, I think replacing his defense and fundamentals dumbness would be of some value.

Edited January 4, 2006 by craig

[Magnetic Curses]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

you never worked with a jerk who was awesome at what he did, made the company a lot of money, and was avalued employee?

 

jeez, you make it sound like these people do nothing but think up ways to show off their bad attitudes, while avoiding work.

 

being nice isn't exactly the first priority for a lot of people in the working world. i'm sorry to break it to you.

[oldcubsfan]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

 

Yep, should have kept Grudz. Too bad Hendry went the Moneyball route. :(

 

Hendry, Moneyball? I'm sure he never read it, and I know he's never filled his roster that way.

He missed the bible of baseball? Hard to believe.

[CubfaninCA]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

and working in underwriting is exactly the same as being on a baseball team.

 

I think his point - that co-workers with poor attitudes can have a negative effect on the work environment - is universal. How much of an effect I think depends not only the type of employment but also on how beligerent or nasty the person is.

 

Lots of talent can overcome some bad apples is universal as well.. Unfortunately, lots of the Cubs talent was sitting on the DL. :(

[Magnetic Curses]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

The improved morale really helped results form 2004 to 2005. If Walker hurt the team's morale, and thus hurt their chances, a less stupid GM would have chosen to stay with that gutty team guy Grudz when he had the chance instead of resigning Walker.

 

Yep, should have kept Grudz. Too bad Hendry went the Moneyball route. :(

 

yep, grudz really eclipsed walker with his offensive prowess.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

and working in underwriting is exactly the same as being on a baseball team.

 

I think his point - that co-workers with poor attitudes can have a negative effect on the work environment - is universal. How much of an effect I think depends not only the type of employment but also on how beligerent or nasty the person is.

 

Lots of talent can overcome some bad apples is universal as well.. Unfortunately, lots of the Cubs talent was sitting on the DL. :(

 

So, you're arguing both sides? :?

[Magnetic Curses]

if there's one thing we've learned here, it's:

 

1. hendry wrote moneyball.

 

2. little gutty guys that can only get on base by slapping the ball the other way and have no power are better than guys who are good and don't bunt or play pranks on rookies for the sake of clubhouse chemistry.

[CubfaninCA]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

you never worked with a jerk who was awesome at what he did, made the company a lot of money, and was avalued employee?

 

jeez, you make it sound like these people do nothing but think up ways to show off their bad attitudes, while avoiding work.

 

being nice isn't exactly the first priority for a lot of people in the working world. i'm sorry to break it to you.

 

Thanks for "breaking it to me." *shrug*

 

I don't ever recall Walker being awesome, but do recall an egomaniac named Sammy who put up some awesome numbers that greatly benifitted his team.

 

The lack of interest for Walker this offseason provides more evidence as to why he's a $2.5 million player.

[CubfaninCA]

Players w/ crappy attitudes affect team morale/performance. Those who have been in the workforce for some time can surely agree. Not every GM in baseball is a moron.

 

and working in underwriting is exactly the same as being on a baseball team.

 

I think his point - that co-workers with poor attitudes can have a negative effect on the work environment - is universal. How much of an effect I think depends not only the type of employment but also on how beligerent or nasty the person is.

 

Lots of talent can overcome some bad apples is universal as well.. Unfortunately, lots of the Cubs talent was sitting on the DL. :(

 

So, you're arguing both sides? :?

 

No. I'm triangulating. ;)

[CubbieSouthpaw]

I like Kerry Wood's mulletted twin, and wouldn't have a problem with this trade, assuming Walker was gone one way or another. They still would have to find a way to limit Neifi's time in the lineup.

 

Gooney, don't scream too loud. But I see a Hendry small trade before his big trade. This Tejada thing is still sticking in my crawl.

I'd like to have Miggy, but not at Prior's expense.

Meaning, with Walker gone, move Cedeno to 2B and Tejada at SS.

 

Its just a thought.

[craig]

The lack of interest for Walker this offseason provides more evidence as to why he's a $2.5 million player.

 

I don't know exactly what evidence it provides. Yes, that he's not a highly valued player, for whatever reason.

 

The simplest reason would seem to me that Walker is viewed a poor defensive 2B, and nobody wants to acquire a poor-fielding 2B to be a starter. Or pay much for the privilege. (No different from Hendry's view).

 

The view around here is that Walker's hitting is so good that it more than makes up for whatever defense he lacks. Most GM's don't seem to agree.

 

If Walker doesn't start, then $2.5 for a non-starter is no longer bargain money. And he's problematic as a bench guy, since 2B is the only position he plays and he doesn't even play that well. Maybe a little bit of 1B. But he's got no multi-position flexibility.

 

It's evident that he isn't valued very highly around GM-dom.

 

But I don't know that indicates any problem with his attitude. Just with his defense.