Walker Ready for the Competition: Cubs.com Article

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Link

 

In an article on Cubs.com, Walker discusses his feelings about competing for the secondbase job and things in general.

 

Baker says Walker is the frontrunner for the job.

 

"I just approach it as it's time to go to work," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said Monday. "[Walker] knows we have some competition for that job. He's probably the frontrunner for that position. It's a matter of how he looks, how healthy he is. We've got room for everybody."

 

That is good news, in my opinion.

 

Walker discusses how he puts it all in perspective.

 

"If you put it in perspective," Walker said, "it's really not that big of a deal. I love baseball; I love the city of Chicago. I took a trip to Mexico this past winter [with my church] and handed out little Christmas boxes to these little kids who live in cardboard boxes. You start thinking about your own life, and you're pretty blessed just to have an opportunity to be here. All the other stuff -- should I be upset at having competition at second base, or be upset at maybe I was going to a team I wouldn't want to play for? That's all kind of minute in the grand scheme of things."

 

Walker also says he wasn't invited to the Cubs convention until the day before the event. That seems strange to me.

 

Walker later in the article defends his defense some. Finally, he says he doesn't mind the competition.

 

"If you're afraid of a little competition, you should go back and play softball somewhere," Walker said. "If Jerry's out there, I'm going to pull for him. I'm not going to sit there and be bitter or jealous about it.

 

"We're a team, we're all together. I'm 32 years old and I've learned that," he said. "The team's way more important than any individual who's on that team. Derrek [Lee] will be the first to tell you that you can have a great individual year, but if the team doesn't win, it doesn't really mean much."

 

We were waiting on Walker to speak. It didn't take long.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Bruce also has an article about Walker.

 

Link.

 

Some of the same quotes, but I found this one great.

 

“Ultimately, this is the only team I want to play for, and if I get moved, I would be very disappointed. But I don’t see that happening, in the short term at least.”

[ManEatingTarp]

Reports here in Chicago (Bruce Levine so take it at face value) are that Walker won't break camp with the Cubs.

It can't be a good situation.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-cub21.html

But Walker also is a realist. Asked if he expected to be with the Cubs at the end of spring training, Walker conceded, ''I'd be surprised.''

[wade]

I found it interesting that in at least one of the articles Baker said he talked to Walker several times over the winter. Walker later said that he and Baker played phone tag and never got to talk.

 

This is not the first time a player has directly refuted a conversation that Baker claimed to have with them. I just don't get it.

[moorecg]

Anybody else notice that he's said several times that "if its Jerry out there" I'm going to be rooting him on to do well?

 

He didn't say Jerry or Neifi, or that it didn't matter who was out there...

is that a veiled shot at Neifi? or at Dusty's ability to make up a lineup card?

Or am I just making something out of nothing.

[CuseCubFan69]

Anybody else notice that he's said several times that "if its Jerry out there" I'm going to be rooting him on to do well?

 

He didn't say Jerry or Neifi, or that it didn't matter who was out there...

is that a veiled shot at Neifi? or at Dusty's ability to make up a lineup card?

Or am I just making something out of nothing.

 

Or Perez is the SS.

[moorecg]

Anybody else notice that he's said several times that "if its Jerry out there" I'm going to be rooting him on to do well?

 

He didn't say Jerry or Neifi, or that it didn't matter who was out there...

is that a veiled shot at Neifi? or at Dusty's ability to make up a lineup card?

Or am I just making something out of nothing.

 

Or Perez is the SS.

 

I'll pretend like you didn't type that.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Anybody else notice that he's said several times that "if its Jerry out there" I'm going to be rooting him on to do well?

 

He didn't say Jerry or Neifi, or that it didn't matter who was out there...

is that a veiled shot at Neifi? or at Dusty's ability to make up a lineup card?

Or am I just making something out of nothing.

 

Probably just an assumption that Neifi is there as the backup SS/utility man, as everyone has been stating. I really don't think Neifi is a serious contender for the everyday 2B job or to be forced into a platoon.

[Andy]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. If it is really more important to Jim Hendry that no one on his team be the least bit outspoken than to field the best team he can possibly put out there, he should be fired RIGHT NOW.

[GlassCow]

Walker rules. I look forward to him having another great season. I just hope that it is with the Cubs.