Cubs Sign 1B Daryl Ward

[WrigleyinEngland]

Per Bruce levine ESPN1000. Will be announced in 2 days........

[erik316wttn]

I'll always remember the day we signed Daryl Ward.

 

Fifty years from now I'll be telling my grandkids the story of the Cubs 2007 World Series Chamipionship season and telling them Daryl Ward was the key to it all. Their eyes will fill with wonderment as I tell them about the day of the December 7, 2006 signing of the second coming of Babe Ruth.

[WrigleyinEngland]

I can tell u r thrilled , it's for 1 year no financial details guess he's just Mabury mark 2??

[illiniguy]

Why? Was this a big league contract?

[Guest]

Give me a break.

 

Every team has to fill out its bench and none of those signings are anything to get excited about. I don't see the need for the heavy sarcasm.

 

Ward's a decent bench bat, nothing more. If he ends up playing full time, then we've got an issue. But that's true with just about any bench player.

 

-- edited to add

 

It does continue a trend of the Cubs overrating one year, flukey performances, though.

Edited December 7, 2006 by Tim

[Mark_R]

Most from last night when this was posted thought it was good to get a guy who mashes righties off the bench.

[goonys evil twin]

Is he the LH bat that will play a little LF this year? It doesn't make any sense to have a guy on the roster who is strictly a backup 1B. He's got to play somewhere else, and LF seems like the only logical choice (when looking at his career defensive stats).

[hawkeyecub]

He's an upgrade over Mabry if nothing else. He's not real patient, but has some pop.

Over the last 3 years he's hit .277/.340/.492 in 654 AB's against RH'ers.

[moorecg]

One of the best bench bats we've had in a while....not that its saying much.

[mg420]

he had an awesome year off the bench last year with a .947 ops. he should make a good backup for murton & lee and pinch hit.

 

good signing for the cubs.

[XZero771679666304]

What does this mean if the Cubs sign Cliff Floyd?

[fromthestretch]

He's a decent bat off the bench. Can play 1B and LF and provides some power from the left-side. Kind of eliminates the "need" for Cliff Floyd now. Edited December 7, 2006 by grassbass

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

My problem with Ward is if he can only play 1b, he's not going to see much time unless Lee gets hurt. If Lee is healthy, he's going to be out there every day. Ward will simply be a LH pinch hitter, and he can do that well.

 

If Ward is capable of playing some LF or RF, then he'll have a little more value to this team.

[erik316wttn]

Yeah, I really don't have issue with the signing. I just felt like being a smartass.

[rocket]

My problem with Ward is if he can only play 1b, he's not going to see much time unless Lee gets hurt. If Lee is healthy, he's going to be out there every day. Ward will simply be a LH pinch hitter, and he can do that well.

 

If Ward is capable of playing some LF or RF, then he'll have a little more value to this team.

 

Ward had 35 at bats as a LF or RF last year opposed to 28 as a 1B.

 

Since Ward can spell the outfielders and Lee, plus he's a great option off the bench (even assuming a regression to career norms), I like the signing.

[cbbryan]

Is he the LH bat that will play a little LF this year? It doesn't make any sense to have a guy on the roster who is strictly a backup 1B. He's got to play somewhere else, and LF seems like the only logical choice (when looking at his career defensive stats).

 

He actually played more games in RF last year. He can play both corner OF positions and 1B.

[C.C.]

Is he the LH bat that will play a little LF this year? It doesn't make any sense to have a guy on the roster who is strictly a backup 1B. He's got to play somewhere else, and LF seems like the only logical choice (when looking at his career defensive stats).

 

He actually played more games in RF last year. He can play both corner OF positions and 1B.

 

Is he taking Jones' place?

[cbbryan]

Here's the link for his positions played breakdown:

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6002/career;_ylt=AtyX2AV.s8eRJcEN6Qt1sJeFCLcF

[cbbryan]

Is he the LH bat that will play a little LF this year? It doesn't make any sense to have a guy on the roster who is strictly a backup 1B. He's got to play somewhere else, and LF seems like the only logical choice (when looking at his career defensive stats).

 

He actually played more games in RF last year. He can play both corner OF positions and 1B.

 

Is he taking Jones' place?

 

Mabry's I would think

[goonys evil twin]

My problem with Ward is if he can only play 1b, he's not going to see much time unless Lee gets hurt. If Lee is healthy, he's going to be out there every day. Ward will simply be a LH pinch hitter, and he can do that well.

 

If Ward is capable of playing some LF or RF, then he'll have a little more value to this team.

 

A) Lee won't play everyday. Lou has talked a lot about getting guys some rest. I see Derrek getting 8-15 days on the bench, so that's a few starts.

 

B) Ward has 1700 innings at 1B, and 1560 in LF (296 in RF), so he's capable of playing out there.

[goonys evil twin]

Since Ward can spell the outfielders and Lee, plus he's a great option off the bench (even assuming a regression to career norms), I like the signing.

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. For his career, he's hit .267/.318.457 against RHP, so, if he does revert to career norms, he's far from a great option off the bench. He's fine, and probably much better than most anybody they've had there in years, but he's not great (unless he repeats his career year #s against RHP).

[C.C.]

My problem with Ward is if he can only play 1b, he's not going to see much time unless Lee gets hurt. If Lee is healthy, he's going to be out there every day. Ward will simply be a LH pinch hitter, and he can do that well.

 

If Ward is capable of playing some LF or RF, then he'll have a little more value to this team.

 

A) Lee won't play everyday. Lou has talked a lot about getting guys some rest. I see Derrek getting 8-15 days on the bench, so that's a few starts.

 

B) Ward has 1700 innings at 1B, and 1560 in LF (296 in RF), so he's capable of playing out there.

 

It's a good deal. I was surprised by his numbers last year. Not bad.

[rocket]

Since Ward can spell the outfielders and Lee, plus he's a great option off the bench (even assuming a regression to career norms), I like the signing.

 

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. For his career, he's hit .267/.318.457 against RHP, so, if he does revert to career norms, he's far from a great option off the bench. He's fine, and probably much better than most anybody they've had there in years, but he's not great (unless he repeats his career year #s against RHP).

 

Well, great compared to the Macias's, Neifi's, and Mabry's of the world, which is what Cubs fans are used to.

[WindyCity]

I like this signing - much better having a guy like Ward on the bench than Mabry, Bynum, Macias, Lenny, ...

[JeffH]

He's a nice addition to the team, but let's wait until we see the money before we call it a "good deal".