Jacque's live bat

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Many here decided they hated Jones when we traded for him. They will hate him no matter how he does. It is sad.

 

We didn't trade for him, we signed him to a bad contract. What's sad is when people confuse a bad signing (which Jacque was) with hatred for Jacque himself. I don't think any of us "hate" him, but his contract is a much different story.

[Garwilly]

Many here decided they hated Jones when we signed him. They will hate him no matter how he does. It is sad.

[CubDad4Ever]

His contract is not out of line for his production. We will see. The cubs offense was horrid for a stretch with him hitting well. The left handed hitting options were few and far between. Hendry did better than i thought on this one. Look at our rivals choices Wilson and Encarnacion.

 

The vet bashing gets [expletive] sometimes. Guys with 9.00 era s like Hill at 26 get free love from some while JJ got bashed for a contract that is not great but not way out of line. The hypocracy is interesting from some.

Coach L

[Sammy Sofa]

The hell Hill gets "free love." I'll singlehandedly run his awful butt into the ground if I have to.

 

I look at it this way...right now we're seeing "Shock Jones," because his performace is so unbelievable. I have absolute faith "Schlock Jones" will be back eventually, since he's played that role pretty much his entire career. Is he a terrible player? Naaah. Is he anywhere near being worth the deal he got and not having a platoon partner? Well, I'm not batpoop insane, so I'd have to go with "no."

[soapy]

His contract is not out of line for his production. We will see. The cubs offense was horrid for a stretch with him hitting well. The left handed hitting options were few and far between. Hendry did better than i thought on this one. Look at our rivals choices Wilson and Encarnacion.

 

The vet bashing gets [expletive] sometimes. Guys with 9.00 era s like Hill at 26 get free love from some while JJ got bashed for a contract that is not great but not way out of line. The hypocracy is interesting from some.

Coach L

 

Hill is getting love? Where?

 

I don't understand why this is so hard to figure out. People are/where pissed about the Jones signing because it was a bad one, not because they "hate" Jones. Why is this so hard to figure out? IT DOESN'T MEAN PEOPLE ARE ROOTING AGAINST HIM!

[srbin84]

Right now, compared with the Encarnacion and Wilson contracts, Jones was a bargain.

[Sammy Sofa]

THIS BAT STILL LIVE!!!! CHOP-CHOP!!!!

[Ding Dong Johnson]

His contract is not out of line for his production. We will see. The cubs offense was horrid for a stretch with him hitting well. The left handed hitting options were few and far between. Hendry did better than i thought on this one. Look at our rivals choices Wilson and Encarnacion.

 

The vet bashing gets [expletive] sometimes. Guys with 9.00 era s like Hill at 26 get free love from some while JJ got bashed for a contract that is not great but not way out of line. The hypocracy is interesting from some.

Coach L

 

I'm an equal opportunity basher, vet or youngster. I've been on record many times in the past speaking against Hill, and I still think the Jones contract is a bad one. A good month of baseball will not erase the mediocre career he has had up until this point. His contract is not out of line for his current production, but it is when he regresses to his career norms. That said, I hope they both prove me wrong and excel.

 

What gets "[expletive]" around here is that some consistently fail to understand that we want all Cubs players to succeed and exceed our expectations. We get down on everyone when they suck and do something stupid, we give props where they are due, but most of us also remain realistic. If Neifi goes on a stretch where he hits 600 for a week, we should refrain from proclaiming him the next coming of Albert for we know it is short lived and his eternal suckitude will present itself sooner rather than later.

[E.J.]

If he ends up .280/.317/.497 with 31 HRS 95 RBI and no injuries like he is on pace to have, I think that's fair for his salary this year.

 

A .317 OBP is absolutely terrible.

 

Jacque is doing just as much, if not more, than should have been expected out of him. Currently he's on pace to post his highest BA since 2003, his highest SLG since 2002 and his highest OPS since 2002. Like srbin84 brought up, if he ends up with the 31 HR, and 95 RBI's he's on pace to put up, both of those will be career highs.

 

You want to complain about OBP, complain about Ronny Cedeno who is walking even less that Jones this year and isn't even close to Jones in the power numbers. There are bigger fish to fry here goony.

 

Ronny Cedeno makes the minimum and is playing a position where offensive success is a bonus. Jones is making $15M over 3 years and plays a position where above average offense is essential. His long term presence hamstrings us in any attempts to upgrade the offense because he takes up a position where helpful talent is much more readily available. Cedeno needs to be held accountable, for sure, but not so much as Jones does, as the Cubs have much more to lose if Jones tanks than if Cedeno does.

 

We were discussing OBP not salaries. Goony criticized Jones's OBP and I stated that Ronny was worse. That's all. Why the need to bring up salary?

 

I don't know what MLB you are watching, but shortstops are expected to contribute more than they used to. I'm not saying that all shortstops need to put up Tejada numbers but Ronny isn't doing anything at the plate.

 

Right now Ronny is ranked 13th out of 26 MLB SS with a .733 OPS, ahead of players like Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Bobby Crosby, and Jimmy Rollins. He could definitely learn to take a walk more, but in his first full season in the majors he's doing a very decent job. I'd say he's doing better than you're giving him credit for.

Edited June 6, 2006 by E.J.

[KaiserCesar]

Ronny is also very young and has strong chances to improve on his numbers.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Right now Ronny is ranked 13th out of 26 MLB SS with a .733 OPS, ahead of players like Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Bobby Crosby, and Jimmy Rollins. He could definitely learn to take a walk more, but in his first full season in the majors he's doing a very decent job. I'd say he's doing better than you're giving him credit for.

 

Don't forget Jhonny Peralta.

[Banedon]

The vet bashing gets [expletive] sometimes. Guys with 9.00 era s like Hill at 26 get free love from some while JJ got bashed for a contract that is not great but not way out of line. The hypocracy is interesting from some.

Coach L

 

I feel compelled to do this.

 

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

http://www.northsidebaseball.com/PremiumForum/viewtopic.php?t=32550

[Sammy Sofa]

The vet bashing gets [expletive] sometimes. Guys with 9.00 era s like Hill at 26 get free love from some while JJ got bashed for a contract that is not great but not way out of line. The hypocracy is interesting from some.

Coach L

 

I feel compelled to do this.

 

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

http://www.northsidebaseball.com/PremiumForum/viewtopic.php?t=32550

 

Oh, Jesus, God, NO.

 

How many times do we have to repeat this ridiculous little game? He dominates in the minors, but can't do diddly in the majors as a starter. If they HAVE to bring up, try him out as a reliever instead.

[cubfan1955]

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

That tells me Hill is forever a AAA pitcher. Everytime he has come up here he has royally sucked. They should have dealt him when "everyone that called mentioned his name". How Hendry ever tagged him as an untouchable defies logic.

[packiowa]

Current production--> decent deal

Off-season free agent prices--> decent deal

 

The crowd was still booing Jacque as recently as his 2 hr. game. These people are certainly not rooting FOR him. Seriously, if people can't let management decisions go and cheer for a player when he is producing, what future does he have in Chicago? It's just a waiting game for many of these "realists", and guess what? Jones will go into a slump and all these "realists" will feel great about not cheering for Jones since they were right. Then he'll hit the ball again, and the "realists" will remind us of his career averages (instead of enjoying the ride and cheering for Jones) until, once again, he slumps and they were "right". Here's a tip, enjoy the ride, b/c 5 million a year for a veteran in this day and age won't buy a whole heck of a lot.

 

It sure seems that some Cubs fans prefer to root 'against management' as opposed to 'for the team' unless the Cubs are really producing.

[KaiserCesar]

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

That tells me Hill is forever a AAA pitcher. Everytime he has come up here he has royally sucked. They should have dealt him when "everyone that called mentioned his name". How Hendry ever tagged him as an untouchable defies logic.

 

How can you write anyone off completely after a small amount of scattered starts in the majors? I think it could be in his head and he just needs to get consistency with his control like he has in the minors. I think he could be a good back of the rotation guy if he's given a long-term shot.

[cubfan1955]

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

That tells me Hill is forever a AAA pitcher. Everytime he has come up here he has royally sucked. They should have dealt him when "everyone that called mentioned his name". How Hendry ever tagged him as an untouchable defies logic.

 

How can you write anyone off completely after a small amount of scattered starts in the majors? I think it could be in his head and he just needs to get consistency with his control like he has in the minors. I think he could be a good back of the rotation guy if he's given a long-term shot.

A two pitch pitcher in which his out pitch, he can't consistently throw for strikes and a fastaball that is medicore at best. Doesn't look like a recipe for success to me. Maybe in AAA but not the big leagues.

[Peoriaman]

The Hill and Jones bashing makes it difficult to read this site. I'd prefer to focus more on the positive than wallow in misery. To each his own.

[Sammy Sofa]

Try Bleed Cubbie Blue.com. And that's not meant as an insult. If you only want "positive" articles/posts/discussions about the Cubs, you're set for life there. When this team gets me down, I read that page for a little pick me up.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Hill and Jones bashing makes it difficult to read this site. I'd prefer to focus more on the positive than wallow in misery. To each his own.

 

Pointing out faults=Wallowing in misery. Gotcha.

[KaiserCesar]

Pacific Coast League

Rich Hill, Iowa

1-0, 1.29 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 21 SO

Hill received a demotion to Iowa after going 0-4 with a hideous 9.31 ERA over four starts for the Chicago Cubs. Now, he's bidding to once again make it to the Major Leagues. On Tuesday, the 26-year-old left-hander allowed just two hits over seven shutout innings as Iowa edged Nashville, 2-1. Even more impressively, he struck out 14 batters without issuing a walk. Hill has logged 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level and has struck out 61 batters while walking just nine in that span. Is a return trip to Chicago in his future?

 

That tells me Hill is forever a AAA pitcher. Everytime he has come up here he has royally sucked. They should have dealt him when "everyone that called mentioned his name". How Hendry ever tagged him as an untouchable defies logic.

 

How can you write anyone off completely after a small amount of scattered starts in the majors? I think it could be in his head and he just needs to get consistency with his control like he has in the minors. I think he could be a good back of the rotation guy if he's given a long-term shot.

A two pitch pitcher in which his out pitch, he can't consistently throw for strikes and a fastaball that is medicore at best. Doesn't look like a recipe for success to me. Maybe in AAA but not the big leagues.

 

I don't know about you but I've also seen a 76-80 mph changeup. With control, he can be solid.

[Sammy Sofa]

I think he could make an excellent speciality relief pitcher. I think his chances of being anything more than a Rusch-esque starting pitcher are pretty far from good.

[CubDad4Ever]

I have no hate for any cub. I bring up Hill to keep it real and even the playing field. Yeah , its not level with some people, nor do i expect it to be. Thats human nature. Hill needs to show better command in the bigs , end of story . Marshall has very quickly and has kept the cubs in more games , than anyone except Big Z.

 

The team needs production and my point is the idiots that booed Jones after 20 abs and refuse to admit his 900 ops has helped are not providing a level playing field , no matter how they guise the argument. Coach L

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, those stupid idiots! I hope they die! Like idiots!

[Andy]

If he ends up .280/.317/.497 with 31 HRS 95 RBI and no injuries like he is on pace to have, I think that's fair for his salary this year.

 

A .317 OBP is absolutely terrible.

 

Jacque is doing just as much, if not more, than should have been expected out of him. Currently he's on pace to post his highest BA since 2003, his highest SLG since 2002 and his highest OPS since 2002. Like srbin84 brought up, if he ends up with the 31 HR, and 95 RBI's he's on pace to put up, both of those will be career highs.

 

You want to complain about OBP, complain about Ronny Cedeno who is walking even less that Jones this year and isn't even close to Jones in the power numbers. There are bigger fish to fry here goony.

 

Ronny Cedeno makes the minimum and is playing a position where offensive success is a bonus. Jones is making $15M over 3 years and plays a position where above average offense is essential. His long term presence hamstrings us in any attempts to upgrade the offense because he takes up a position where helpful talent is much more readily available. Cedeno needs to be held accountable, for sure, but not so much as Jones does, as the Cubs have much more to lose if Jones tanks than if Cedeno does.

 

We were discussing OBP not salaries. Goony criticized Jones's OBP and I stated that Ronny was worse. That's all. Why the need to bring up salary?

 

I don't know what MLB you are watching, but shortstops are expected to contribute more than they used to. I'm not saying that all shortstops need to put up Tejada numbers but Ronny isn't doing anything at the plate.

 

Right now Ronny is ranked 13th out of 26 MLB SS with a .733 OPS, ahead of players like Jose Reyes, Rafael Furcal, Bobby Crosby, and Jimmy Rollins. He could definitely learn to take a walk more, but in his first full season in the majors he's doing a very decent job. I'd say he's doing better than you're giving him credit for.

Wow. That's outstanding for a player of Ronny's experience level.