Surprise, surprise: "Everything Man" over Cedeno's

[sonofsamiam]

From today's Trib:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060330cubsbits,1,6511313.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed

 

It IS a Sullivan article, so maybe it's somewhat out of context. But quotes like this terrify me:

 

"Cedeno is going to get the first nod, but it's up to him to keep the job without us putting pressure on him," Baker said. "We're not in the giveaway business. We think he earned the situation that he's in, but …"

[louisvillecub]

From today's Trib:

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-060330cubsbits,1,6511313.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed

 

It IS a Sullivan article, so maybe it's somewhat out of context. But quotes like this terrify me:

 

"Cedeno is going to get the first nod, but it's up to him to keep the job without us putting pressure on him," Baker said. "We're not in the giveaway business. We think he earned the situation that he's in, but …"

 

Oh, yeah, you're not putting any pressure on him. Right......

[Cubfanintheknow]

I think it's right to put Ronnie Cedeno on a leash, considering the poor spring he's had.

 

But the leash better extend through the entire month of April.

[Larry Horse]

Could someone explain Dusty's love affair with this guy?

 

I heard that Neifi was originally signed to a minor-league deal. So not only was there no interest from any other club, he had to take a minor league deal with the Cubs. And now, he'll probably ending up starting at short.

 

Good thing Dusty's not putting any pressure on Ronny.

[Peoriaman]

Baker is just dying to get Perez in there...

[Backtobanks]

Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

 

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soapy wrote:

According to Sullivan , Baker will have Cedeno on a short leash. Why am I not surprised he's so anxious to get his boy Neifi in there?

 

 

I'm a big Cedeno fan, but let's be honest. Cedeno should have the starting job and be given every opportunity to continue in that role, but I don't think the Cubs' offense is strong enough to cover Cedeno if he continues hitting .200 for two more months. I am the first to criticize Baker, but Cedeno needs to prove he belongs as the starter at some point in the first month or so. Another problem is that it looks like Cedeno has carried his offensive woes out to the field with him. Poor hitting combined with poor defense will certainly put him on the bench. Let's just hope that Cedeno gets it together and that this discussion will be moot.

[YearofDaCubs]

And what do you guys expect from Neifi? Not much better even if Cedeno slumps. Neifi and his .300 obp can stay on the bench. Maybe it wasnt a great idea to ship out Cedeno in the winter leagues and play there either. Has he had any break at all from last season?

[J.R.]

Worst manager in the bigs.

 

Period.

[moorecg]

Could someone explain Dusty's love affair with this guy?

 

I heard that Neifi was originally signed to a minor-league deal. So not only was there no interest from any other club, he had to take a minor league deal with the Cubs. And now, he'll probably ending up starting at short.

 

Good thing Dusty's not putting any pressure on Ronny.

If I remember correctly he got an outright release from colorado...How does a guy who couldn't make the Rockies get a 2 year deal with us?

[YearofDaCubs]

Worst manager in the bigs.

 

Period.

duly noted.

[TB_11]

Posted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

 

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soapy wrote:

According to Sullivan , Baker will have Cedeno on a short leash. Why am I not surprised he's so anxious to get his boy Neifi in there?

 

 

I'm a big Cedeno fan, but let's be honest. Cedeno should have the starting job and be given every opportunity to continue in that role, but I don't think the Cubs' offense is strong enough to cover Cedeno if he continues hitting .200 for two more months. I am the first to criticize Baker, but Cedeno needs to prove he belongs as the starter at some point in the first month or so. Another problem is that it looks like Cedeno has carried his offensive woes out to the field with him. Poor hitting combined with poor defense will certainly put him on the bench. Let's just hope that Cedeno gets it together and that this discussion will be moot.

 

He's had a tough spring, but he deserves the starting nod and deserves it for more than a month for two reasons.

 

1) His offensive struggles in ST have occured in less than 60 PAs. He had a great year in Iowa last year, and was ROY in Venezuela's Winter League. A year of solid performance should trump a month of spring training struggles.

 

2) He's not Neifi. Basically the other option at short is inept at the plate.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

With Neifi you know what you're going to get - above average D and low OBP.

 

That's actually way better than Cedeno's performance right now, who is sucking it up defensively and killing himself at the plate.

 

If he wasn't playing such shoddy D, he'd get a longer leash. I can't really blame Dusty for this. Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

[CUBZ99]

Could someone explain Dusty's love affair with this guy?

 

I heard that Neifi was originally signed to a minor-league deal. So not only was there no interest from any other club, he had to take a minor league deal with the Cubs. And now, he'll probably ending up starting at short.

 

Good thing Dusty's not putting any pressure on Ronny.

If I remember correctly he got an outright release from colorado...How does a guy who couldn't make the Rockies get a 2 year deal with us?

 

This was went over at length during the offseason, but Neifi's offensive #'s were average for a National League SS last year. The thing that makes me mad about the whole ordeal is that Hendry did nothing to solidify the SS position and is now stuck with potentially two players that can't hit.

 

Here's to hoping that Cedeno is just in a funk right now and will turn it on once the season starts. Otherwise, I couldn't fault Dusty for benching him, just wish Dusty had a better option than Neifi.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

 

He absolutely did by looking at the alternative. Cedeno struggling = Neifi.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

 

He absolutely did by looking at the alternative. Cedeno struggling = Neifi.

 

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Could someone explain Dusty's love affair with this guy?

 

I heard that Neifi was originally signed to a minor-league deal. So not only was there no interest from any other club, he had to take a minor league deal with the Cubs. And now, he'll probably ending up starting at short.

 

Good thing Dusty's not putting any pressure on Ronny.

If I remember correctly he got an outright release from colorado...How does a guy who couldn't make the Rockies get a 2 year deal with us?

 

This was went over at length during the offseason, but Neifi's offensive #'s were average for a National League SS last year. The thing that makes me mad about the whole ordeal is that Hendry did nothing to solidify the SS position and is now stuck with potentially two players that can't hit.

 

Here's to hoping that Cedeno is just in a funk right now and will turn it on once the season starts. Otherwise, I couldn't fault Dusty for benching him, just wish Dusty had a better option than Neifi.

 

I totally agree.

[erik316wttn]

Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

 

He absolutely did by looking at the alternative. Cedeno struggling = Neifi.

 

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

 

The payroll of this team should be irrelevant, too.

[Jehrico]

Worst manager in the bigs.

 

Period.

 

I'm sure the Shawn Esteses, Jeff Fasserros, and Jose Maciases of the world would disagree with you :D

[Shawon12]

I would hope that if Cedeno is struggling and hurting the team, he would temporarily replace him!

 

Where's the controversy? Ronny is still young and can continue to mature. The Cubs need to get out of the gate relatively fast. They can't afford to babysit.

 

I really want Ronny to succeed, but I'd rather have them win.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

 

And the alternative was? Aside from drastically overpaying for Furcal, who else was out there to provide for a significant upgrade at SS? Lugo? Renteria? Tejada? Every other option was highly overrated, way too expensive, or both.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

 

He absolutely did by looking at the alternative. Cedeno struggling = Neifi.

 

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

 

The payroll of this team should be irrelevant, too.

 

Why? It directly effects what players you can and cannot afford.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

 

And the alternative was? Aside from drastically overpaying for Furcal, who else was out there to provide for a significant upgrade at SS? Lugo? Renteria? Tejada? Every other option was highly overrated, way too expensive, or both.

 

A significant upgrade over Cedeno/Neifi? Just about any ML SS qualifies as a significant upgrade.

[atcfootball]

I understand the people looking for reasons to rip Baker and say he has a butt thing with Perez... But I do think that this is taking it a little far....

 

Let me see if I understand this.

1. Young player hits for a poor average in ST.

2. Young player makes more errors in ST then expected.

3. Manager says if young player don't pick it up in the field and with the bat he may be replaced.

 

Okay, were is the problem? If you look at it like this, without names it would seem to be a good policy in my opinion..... Kind of the "Perform or we will find someone that will"..

 

I just don't understand..

People are unhappy if the young guys don't get a chance to play.

People are unhappy if they get a chance, don't perform and Baker says he may replace them.

So would this be better? Leave Cedeno and his .216 avg/error every 3/4 days in to continue to play? Play Perez and his .270 avg, no errors? To me the numbers would favor Perez. Maybe I have lost my mind.

 

How can anyone be afraid because the manager wants the best playing at each position? (It sucks but Perez would seem to be the best option on the team to replace Cedeno should he fail).. I DO NOT care much for Perez myself, but I have to think his 270 average and D would be better than .200 and no D....

[erik316wttn]

Cedeno really didn't deserve the starting job at 2B/SS based on one good offensive year in the minors and the VWL plus 80 ML AB.

 

He absolutely did by looking at the alternative. Cedeno struggling = Neifi.

 

How does that mean Cedeno deserves a starting job on a 100M team? Neifi's presence is irrelevant.

 

The payroll of this team should be irrelevant, too.

 

Why? It directly effects what players you can and cannot afford.

 

Whether your team payroll is 10 million or 100 million, your best players should play. Period. Not your highest-paid.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

A significant upgrade over Cedeno/Neifi? Just about any ML SS qualifies as a significant upgrade.

 

That's a load of crap. There are some pretty bad SS in the ML, and none in our price range are a "significant" improvement (since you brought up payroll). Lugo is an older Cedeno. Renteria is overrated and too expensive. Tejada would have cost way too much. Who else was available?