2B in 2007

[ResidentRoyalsFan]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

[baseball7897]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

Grudzielanek is one hell of a player. A perfect 2 hitter on a playoff team. Puts the ball in play, dosent strike out much, and moves the runner over.

[RonnieWooWooSanto]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

I don't think it would even matter atleast in terms of the Cubs. IIRC didn't Grudz part Chicago on pretty bad terms?

[Magnetic Curses]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

Grudzielanek is one hell of a player. A perfect 2 hitter on a playoff team. Puts the ball in play, dosent strike out much, and moves the runner over.

 

grudzielanek is not very good and isn't getting any younger. this notion that he's some kind of small-ball god isn't accurate either. he had 2 sacrifices last year for the cardinals in 563 PA's.

 

he's become a simple slap hitter that doesn't get on base well and would consider himself successful if he hits the ball out of the infield.

 

simply because he has a stubble-beard, short arms and legs, no neck and appears to be a "gritty little ballplayer" that conventional minds would value, doesn't mean that anyoner values him anymore. he's not good.

[Magnetic Curses]

if we want the perfect number 2 hitter, we trade whatever we have and whatever the reds need for ryan freel.

 

that guy is a player.

 

wonder if marshall, cedeno, and novoa would do it.

[baseball7897]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

Grudzielanek is one hell of a player. A perfect 2 hitter on a playoff team. Puts the ball in play, dosent strike out much, and moves the runner over.

 

grudzielanek is not very good and isn't getting any younger. this notion that he's some kind of small-ball god isn't accurate either. he had 2 sacrifices last year for the cardinals in 563 PA's.

 

he's become a simple slap hitter that doesn't get on base well and would consider himself successful if he hits the ball out of the infield.

 

simply because he has a stubble-beard, short arms and legs, no neck and appears to be a "gritty little ballplayer" that conventional minds would value, doesn't mean that anyoner values him anymore. he's not good.

 

Grudzielanek is a good baseball player. Solid with the glove, he will have is BA around .290 each year, his OBP will be around .330. He puts the ball in play. He wont be that 10hr guy, but thats not what kind of player he is. He was a huge factor for the 03 Cubs. Not a vocal guy, but he leads by example.

[KaiserCesar]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

Grudzielanek is one hell of a player. A perfect 2 hitter on a playoff team. Puts the ball in play, dosent strike out much, and moves the runner over.

 

grudzielanek is not very good and isn't getting any younger. this notion that he's some kind of small-ball god isn't accurate either. he had 2 sacrifices last year for the cardinals in 563 PA's.

 

he's become a simple slap hitter that doesn't get on base well and would consider himself successful if he hits the ball out of the infield.

 

simply because he has a stubble-beard, short arms and legs, no neck and appears to be a "gritty little ballplayer" that conventional minds would value, doesn't mean that anyoner values him anymore. he's not good.

 

Grudzielanek is a good baseball player. Solid with the glove, he will have is BA around .290 each year, his OBP will be around .330. He puts the ball in play. He wont be that 10hr guy, but thats not what kind of player he is. He was a huge factor for the 03 Cubs. Not a vocal guy, but he leads by example.

 

These players are a dime a dozen.

 

And in the Cubs org - Ryan Theriot

[don_kessinger_was_good]

I like what little I've seen of Theriot.

[seattlecub]

eff! sulley beat me to it!

 

FREEL FREEL FREEL!!!

 

although i would pencil him in at leadoff, so i could get rid of slappy in CF. then pick up an impact corner OF bat. and then i wouldn't care who was at ss, as long as he was a ss and everything worked monetarily so we could get a frontline starter in FA.

[CoolHandLuke]

Soriano, Ronnie Belliard, and Todd Walker are the cream of the crop FAs.

 

Grudzielanek has a club option next year. My guess, and this is pure speculation, is that the Royals will pick it up.

 

Grudzielanek is one hell of a player. A perfect 2 hitter on a playoff team. Puts the ball in play, dosent strike out much, and moves the runner over.

 

grudzielanek is not very good and isn't getting any younger. this notion that he's some kind of small-ball god isn't accurate either. he had 2 sacrifices last year for the cardinals in 563 PA's.

 

he's become a simple slap hitter that doesn't get on base well and would consider himself successful if he hits the ball out of the infield.

 

simply because he has a stubble-beard, short arms and legs, no neck and appears to be a "gritty little ballplayer" that conventional minds would value, doesn't mean that anyoner values him anymore. he's not good.

 

Grudzielanek is a good baseball player. Solid with the glove, he will have is BA around .290 each year, his OBP will be around .330. He puts the ball in play. He wont be that 10hr guy, but thats not what kind of player he is. He was a huge factor for the 03 Cubs. Not a vocal guy, but he leads by example.

 

Ten homer guys do tend to be really hard to find.

[CuseCubFan69]

How about Fontenot? He should get a shot.

 

He must have made someone very angry because he doesn't seem to get any attention from the Cubs brass.

[mg420]

How about Fontenot? He should get a shot.

 

He must have made someone very angry because he doesn't seem to get any attention from the Cubs brass.

 

if the cubs do go with izzy & cedeno @ ss & 2b next year, why not back them up with theriot & fontenot on the bench? they both seem like good glove guys who can run a little and know how to get on base. i think mike can play 3b too so he can back up aram. maybe one or both of those guys can end up being the cubs version of freel.

[wilk]

why not back them up with theriot & fontenot on the bench? they both seem like good glove guys who can run a little and know how to get on base. i think mike can play 3b too so he can back up aram. maybe one or both of those guys can end up being the cubs version of freel.

 

I think Fontenot is more like Todd Walker. Which also probably means he won't have a place on the team. The Riot as Freel... maybe.

[CuseCubFan69]

How about Fontenot? He should get a shot.

 

He must have made someone very angry because he doesn't seem to get any attention from the Cubs brass.

 

if the cubs do go with izzy & cedeno @ ss & 2b next year, why not back them up with theriot & fontenot on the bench? they both seem like good glove guys who can run a little and know how to get on base. i think mike can play 3b too so he can back up aram. maybe one or both of those guys can end up being the cubs version of freel.

 

If they can move Perez AND Baker. I'd like to see it and a power hitting 4th OF because I doubt Hendry is going to upgrade the starting OF.

[Magnetic Curses]

Of course defense important, but it must always remain in it's proper balance with good pitching and (over hitting) OBP. Defense is 3rd in it's importance (relative to the 3) but still important overall.

• 
  If you have 9 butchers in the field, but good pitchers and the ability to get on base well, you will have a wide range in the scoring of games, but a monster offense that will win some games 12-2 and lose some at 14-13.
   
  If you have the 9 stellar defenders and good pitchers, but no OBP, you're looking at losing 3-1, 2-0 on a fairly regular basis.
   
  If you have the defense and OBP, but no pitching, with the Cubs frequency of flyball pitchers you're going to lose, more often than not, really big. If you had sinkerballers, you'd probably win more than lose, but statistically close to a wash.

 

On the Cubs, we have "stellar" defense, below average pitching (flyball pitchers at that), and a much-much-much below average ability to get on base. So, while our top notch defense might save us on grounders, we'd need superior leapers (think 1000"+ vertical) to save us significantly in the RSA department. It's not measurable, and importance might be minimal, but psychologically, especially in tough situations, it can make a pitcher more confident in the approach to the batter to know that if the ball is hit on the ground, the defense can and will field it, and get the out. It's not something to build a team around, but the idea is valid.

 

Improving defense was not what this team needs, unless the byproduct of our improvement means that Cedeno or Izturis adds a piece to a trade puzzle in the offseason that nets us the impact offensive player or #1/2 starter that we have to have.

 

sulley's hierarchy of baseball needs:

 

1. starting pitching

2. OBP

3. SLG

4. relief pitching

 

everything else is far, far behind these 4.

 

with starting pitching, you could break it down further:

 

1. whip

2. strikeouts per 9

3. G/F ratio

4. K/BB ratio

[BigbadB]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

[C.C.]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

Walker wasn't on the 2003 team...That was a team that was built on starting pitching.

[CuseCubFan69]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

Walker wasn't on the 2003 team...That was a team that was built on starting pitching.

 

I think that team was built on pitchers that could K a lot batters too. You'd need to with that defense.

[baseball7897]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

[goonys evil twin]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

 

And yet Gonzo was considered a good defender by most, which would seem to indicate that even if you get good defenders they aren't going to win you games with the glove.

[Outshined_One]

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

 

Isolated incidents don't prove a point. That team would have never made it to the NLCS if they sacrificed offense for defense.

[frostwyrm]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

Are you suggesting it's smart to construct a team based on the results of one play?

[BigbadB]

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

 

I seem to remember Aramis fumbling, bumbling and stumbling his way around 3b most of the 2nd half of the 2003 season. The Cubs still made the playoffs.

 

I watched Sammy miss the cut off man on just about every throw he made from RF.

 

I watched Moises fall down on routine fly balls.

 

The Cubs defense in 2003 was beyond horrid. Yet, they made the playoffs.

 

The Cubs offense in 2006 is dead last in just about every major offensive category. But, hey! They're fielding the ball pretty decent.

 

The Cubs tried speed and defense and they have proven that a speedy, defensive minded team sucks. It's time to try OBP, SLG, quality starting pitching, and management with half a clue.

 

Unfortunately, the idiots in charge haven't figured that out yet.

[BigbadB]

Look at the stellar defensive unit the Cubs trotted out in 2003, which was almost a trip to the World Series. I'd take the 2003 horribly defensive team over the 2006 decently defensive team.

 

Moises Alou=pathetic

Sammy Sosa= pathetic

Lofton=weenie arm

Aramis=error after error

Simon/Karros=need I say more?

Grudz/Walker=average

Gonzalez=slightly above average

Miller=good

 

Agreed with Sulley that defense is way, way down the list of importance of improvement areas.

 

I seem to remember Gonzalez dropping a routine DP in game 6 of the NLCS. Yeah, I guess defense isnt important.

Are you suggesting it's smart to construct a team based on the results of one play?

 

Hehe. I knew someone would fall into my trap.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

The Cubs tried speed and defense and they have proven that a speedy, defensive minded team sucks. It's time to try OBP, SLG, quality starting pitching, and management with half a clue.

 

Nobody can suck faster than the 2006 Cubs.