Murton

[Jazz]

He might be the best pure hitter on the team, but his home-away splits scare the crap out of me. What is the final verdict on him, and what do you think we can expect from him next year. Should we explore trading him?

[Fred Hornkohl]

Nor surprisingly, his rbi% follows that trend.........

 

Murton             BDI  LOB   RBI%
Home                29   78  0.271
Road                18   89  0.168

overall             47  167  0.220

[PrimeTime]

Im up for doing it if we can get someone like C. Lee,Soriano,Cabrera in place of him...Im sure 99.9% of people will disagree and say keep him because the man love for Matt Murton is ridiculous now..Everyone seems to think this guy is the second coming of christ..He will become good a above average player..but nothing spectacular..Id rather have a guy who can put up 30+ HR and 100+RBI's

[Backtobanks]

Im up for doing it if we can get someone like C. Lee,Soriano,Cabrera in place of him...Im sure 99.9% of people will disagree and say keep him because the man love for Matt Murton is ridiculous now..Everyone seems to think this guy is the second coming of christ..He will become good a above average player..but nothing spectacular..Id rather have a guy who can put up 30+ HR and 100+RBI's

 

The Cubs need power, but I'm not so sure on CLee anymore. I think there are ways of addressing the power issue (Andruw Jones, Soriano at 2B or CF, Craig Wilson in a platoon with Jones, Jones in CF with a power hitter in RF, etc.) without replacing Murton.

[Balsa]

Murton has steadily gotten better since his bad month, and is a low cost alternative to many players. I like him in our OF.

[rynefan]

Well, I've posted threads on "Murton's the Man" before, and I will say it again.... I say for sure we keep him, no question. Numbers aren't the whole picture. Look at him... he's got it, that quality that makes you a great player, team leader and team asset. KEEP HIM. I am SICK AND TIRED of these "veterans" who are disappointing.

[CubsWin]

I'm okay on trading him. He is far from untouchable in my book. But the right pieces have to be coming in before he can be considered expendable.

[bhogg]

Morton in the 2nd half:

 

203 ABs

9 HR

35 RBI

.320 avg

.392 obp

.527 slugging

.919 ops

 

 

He's not been in the middle of the order, but his RBI are still not too bad (especially considering the poor cubs lineup).

 

Also, I know a season is 2 halves long, however, we're talking about a rookie here. . . . it looks to me like he's growing, learning from his mistakes, and getting better each day.

 

 

 

Carlos Lee in the 2nd half

 

283 AB

11 HR

43 RBI

.311 avg

.358 obp

.512 slg

.870 ops

 

Definitely he's been good, and he was even better in the 1st half. I copare Murton to CLee because all indications are that we are a likely spot for Lee. In my opinion, it is better to keep Murton at a reduced salary compared to the 10-12 million (or more) that you'd pay Lee. That extra money could be a big help in building the pitching staff.

 

 

For my tastes, I'd like to see Pierre go away --- not that I think he's terrible, but he'll be too expensive. I'd move Jones to CF, try to sign Sorianno or Loretta for 2b, and look for a a RF'er.

 

At least the Cubs appear to have options for the off season . . . . . how Hendry will use them is anyone's guess.

 

 

 

 

Something else that's probably been mentioned about Murton, but thus far in his career, he's had what amounts to a full season's worth of work --- 591 total ABs. In that time he's hit .303 / .371 / .835. His RBI total is low (76) but he's not been put in a ton of RBI situations. His 20 homers would put him about where most thought he'd be.

 

 

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

 

As long as he's traded smartly for a real upgrade, he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. I like the guy and he's been pretty good, but there seems to be quite a few people who are on the verge of declaring him "untradeable."

[bhogg]

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

 

As long as he's traded smartly for a real upgrade, he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. I like the guy and he's been pretty good, but there seems to be quite a few people who are on the verge of declaring him "untradeable."

 

 

I agree. . . . all depends on what we could get for him. If you were a GM what would you give for someone like Murton?

[Jazz]

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

 

As long as he's traded smartly for a real upgrade, he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. I like the guy and he's been pretty good, but there seems to be quite a few people who are on the verge of declaring him "untradeable."

 

 

I agree. . . . all depends on what we could get for him. If you were a GM what would you give for someone like Murton?

 

I think he could be the centerpiece to a Andruw Jones and Tim Hudson deal.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

 

As long as he's traded smartly for a real upgrade, he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. I like the guy and he's been pretty good, but there seems to be quite a few people who are on the verge of declaring him "untradeable."

 

 

I agree. . . . all depends on what we could get for him. If you were a GM what would you give for someone like Murton?

 

I think he could be the centerpiece to a Andruw Jones and Tim Hudson deal.

 

Sold.

[bhogg]

i'd not complain about that kind of deal :)

[Jazz]

I think the Braves would have to jump on a Murton and Marshall for Hudson and Jones type deal. They'd be cutting over 18 mil this year, and 13 mil in 08 and 09. I think that would make Hendry more willing to part with Pierre, since Andruw was a serious MVP canidate last year, and had a pretty good season this year. It would also allow us to go after another big bat like Lee to put in LF.

[Monco]

I think the Braves would have to jump on a Murton and Marshall for Hudson and Jones type deal. They'd be cutting over 18 mil this year, and 13 mil in 08 and 09. I think that would make Hendry more willing to part with Pierre, since Andruw was a serious MVP canidate last year, and had a pretty good season this year. It would also allow us to go after another big bat like Lee to put in LF.

 

Thats way too high of a price to pay for a 18 million salary dump.

[Jazz]

I think the Braves would have to jump on a Murton and Marshall for Hudson and Jones type deal. They'd be cutting over 18 mil this year, and 13 mil in 08 and 09. I think that would make Hendry more willing to part with Pierre, since Andruw was a serious MVP canidate last year, and had a pretty good season this year. It would also allow us to go after another big bat like Lee to put in LF.

 

Thats way too high of a price to pay for a 18 million salary dump.

 

I'd be willing to bet the Yankees/Angels would be willing to match that, or come close to it.

[A New Era]

I'm no expert by any means, but Murton looks like the real deal. I'd hate to see him set the league on fire for another team.

 

As long as he's traded smartly for a real upgrade, he can do whatever he wants wherever he wants. I like the guy and he's been pretty good, but there seems to be quite a few people who are on the verge of declaring him "untradeable."

 

Yes but if you use him to get a player for another position, you have just DOWNGRADED LF at an incredible discounted salary. Murton is above average in almost every stat if not all stats in the NL for LF. And is being paid near league minimum, and is showing great ability to take walks and hit for some power. He looks like he can improve. We do not need to trade an average to above average LF being paid minimum salary. We need to let go or upgrade the likes of Jones, Izturis, and Pierre.

 

If you were to keep Murton in LF and Theroit at SS. You'd have alot more money to upgrade 2B and CF. Murton should be a small peice of a very good line-up. The likes of Izturis and Pierre, should not. Remember, Murton is ABOVE average for LF, and shows all signs of being able to imrpove. He is not a HOLE, you do not need to trade him even if you get someone good for CF you have created another HOLE, in LF.

[Sammy Sofa]

I'd trade Murton for an upgrade in the OF, a la Dunn, Cabrera, Andruw Jones, etc.. It makes no sense to trade him for a non-OFer.

[QCMan5]

I think that he would make a great #2 hitter until he puts on some extra weight. He uses all sides of the field very well. Now that there is some extra money from the Neifi trade, the Cubs have some money to spend.

My biggest concern is Ramirez, there are teams lined up to sign him and since there is really no one else ready to be the everyday 3rd baseman, this can cause a problem.

[A New Era]

I'd trade Murton for an upgrade in the OF, a la Dunn, Cabrera, Andruw Jones, etc.. It makes no sense to trade him for a non-OFer.

 

If he's part of a package for jones, cabrera? Heck yeah. Dunn? No. What is dunn getting paid again? Dunn is not near enough of an upgrade over murton considering salary differences.

[rynefan]

No way. We need to take a chance on quality youth in some positions, and I like Theriot and Murton. The rest I don't really care about. Keep some good rookie types and bring veterans in elsewhere, like right field and shortstop. I like Theriot at second and Murton in left. If we don't figure out the pitching staff none of it will matter anyway, so why not get a guy that is at least HUNGRY to prove himself instead of a veteran that is more concerned with the bottom line?

[A New Era]

No way. We need to take a chance on quality youth in some positions, and I like Theriot and Murton. The rest I don't really care about. Keep some good rookie types and bring veterans in elsewhere, like right field and shortstop. I like Theriot at second and Murton in left. If we don't figure out the pitching staff none of it will matter anyway, so why not get a guy that is at least HUNGRY to prove himself instead of a veteran that is more concerned with the bottom line?

 

I agree. I like Murton Theroit also. These 2 are quality guys who can provide really nice OBP while being paid minium. Also Murton's power could improve next year too. That Izturis trade is looking worse and worse. Where we now have a player who gets paid league minimum who could provide better OBP at SS than someone who is injury prone and getting paid what, $4 million? You could either add Soriano at 2B or a power bat at CF while keeping Murton and Theroit and greatly improve the team offense.