Cubs Sign 1B Daryl Ward

[treebird]

Am I the only one completely dumbfounded as to how people can think this is a good signing?

 

I will grant that it's not a horrible one for money or years, but Ward just isn't much of a performer with the exception of last season. He's got to hit for a very high BA to have much offensive value.

 

i'm pretty much with you. i guess it's an okay signing, as long as we're willing to cut bait quickly if he shows up and sucks, but since i doubt that's the case, it's hard to get excited.

[Rob]

Am I the only one completely dumbfounded as to how people can think this is a good signing?

 

I will grant that it's not a horrible one for money or years, but Ward just isn't much of a performer with the exception of last season. He's got to hit for a very high BA to have much offensive value.

 

Yeah, but how often do you think a signing is a good one? Rarely, IIRC.

 

Unless I'm forgetting somebody, I've thought 37.5% of our signings this season were very good.

 

Aramis

Wood

Miller

 

So let's cover the rest.

 

Soriano - Not a bad player, but nobody will debate the money and years are horrible.

 

Blanco - Redundant. Soto could do almost the exact same thing at a mere portion of the cost. This isn't a horrible signing, as we can absorb the money without taking a real hit... but it's certainly not a good one.

 

DeRosa - Not too horrible on the money or years, but for that kind of money I would have expected a real upgrade over Theriot. DeRosa is nearly as unlikely to repeat his numbers from last season as Theriot is. Again, not a bad signing, but certainly not a good one once you figure who else was available on the FA market.

 

Lilly - This is the kind of signing that should be made to help push a team over the hump, not in a last ditch attempt to bring them up to a competitive level. He's an oft-injured guy with a high strikeout rate, high walk rate, and flyball tendencies... the exact sort of guy that hasn't gotten our pitching staff anywhere in the last few seasons. While the talent itself isn't too bad, the money and years are horrible... even if that is what the market dictated he would go for.

 

Ward - He's coming off a career year at age 31 where he hit .308/.380/.546. Yeah, that's a great line. Let's see what he did in the year before that.

 

.260/.318/.405

 

That kind of line is simply not acceptible, especially if DLee goes down again. The scary thing? That's essentially Ward's career line, minus about 40 points of slugging. So which is more likely, that he'll hit like he did in 2005, or that in 2006 at the age of 31 he suddenly established a new career baseline for himself? I'm inclined to believe his performance isn't going to look much like 2006 did.

 

There's simply better options out there. Is it a bad signing? No. But it's not a good one, either.

 

 

 

I don't irrationally hate all the Cubs signings. The only one I'm real peeved about is the Lilly one, and I've loved a good chunk of them. So don't act as if I'm going to hate everything that comes my way, regardless of whether there's a good reason behind it.

[TruffleShuffle]

.260/.318/.405

 

That kind of line is simply not acceptible, especially if DLee goes down again. The scary thing? That's essentially Ward's career line, minus about 40 points of slugging. So which is more likely, that he'll hit like he did in 2005, or that in 2006 at the age of 31 he suddenly established a new career baseline for himself? I'm inclined to believe his performance isn't going to look much like 2006 did.

 

There's simply better options out there. Is it a bad signing? No. But it's not a good one, either.

 

Give me a break. What are the better options? Craig Wilson? He'll cost a lot more. Name some others. Show me where you can get a guy like Ward for that price.

 

And yeah, I'd love to have a great hitter waiting in the wings in case Lee gets hurt, but it's not realistic. Teams have budgets, and we can't just expect the Cubs to sign amazing hitters to back up every position on the team.

[CubsWin]

Am I the only one completely dumbfounded as to how people can think this is a good signing?

 

I will grant that it's not a horrible one for money or years, but Ward just isn't much of a performer with the exception of last season. He's got to hit for a very high BA to have much offensive value.

What other left-handed pinch hitter would you have signed?

[CubsWin]

Against RH pitching, Ward has been steadily trending upward over the past three seasons. I'm not saying that this trend is likely to continue because if it did, he would be one of the best hitters in baseball next season. He'll likely regress a bit from his numbers last year, but 3 years of stats trending upward is a good thing.

 

Many people trust career stats over recent ones because the sample size is larger. I understand that a larger sample size is better than a small one, but there comes a point in time when the sample size gets so large, or more importantly old, that it contains stats that no longer accurately reflect who the player is today.

 

Over the last 3 seasons, off the bench Ward has hit .292/.375/.494. It should be said that Ward has been starting until recently which can be looked at two ways. One, I don't want him because his career stats are disappointing and his bench stats are mostly recent and therefore skewed by one good season, or two, I'd rather have a guy who was recently a starter on my bench and who recently did very well as a pinch-hitter than a guy who has been a career bench player because he was never really good enough to win a starting job.

 

Either way, Ward's signing is nothing to get excited about, but he sure seems to be an improvement over John Mabry who he is replacing, and isn't that the idea? Unless there is some obviously better choice still out there for the LH pinch-hitter spot, is this move really worth criticizing Hendry over?

[E.J.]

It's like some sports writers don't even try.

 

Dave van Dyck (Tribune)[/url]"]Ward, 31, replaces John Mabry as a left-handed corner outfielder, first baseman and pinch-hitter. He hit .308 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 78 games with the Nationals last season. In 2005 with the Pirates he hit .318 with 12 homers and 63 RBIs.

 

Ward could be a starter if Jacques Jones is traded, although Hughes said Thursday that free agent Cliff Floyd "will probably never be off our radar."

 

What, is Ward going to play CF for us? There's no chance he's a starter if Jones gets traded. Do some homework Mr. van Dyck. Geez.

[Soul]

Am I the only one completely dumbfounded as to how people can think this is a good signing?

 

I will grant that it's not a horrible one for money or years, but Ward just isn't much of a performer with the exception of last season. He's got to hit for a very high BA to have much offensive value.

 

i'm pretty much with you. i guess it's an okay signing, as long as we're willing to cut bait quickly if he shows up and sucks, but since i doubt that's the case, it's hard to get excited.

 

At $1m in this market they'll dump him in ST if he can't cut it.

 

I'm actually dumbfounded how anyone could think this isn't a solid, low-risk high reward, signing.

[XZero771679666304]

Am I the only one completely dumbfounded as to how people can think this is a good signing?

 

I will grant that it's not a horrible one for money or years, but Ward just isn't much of a performer with the exception of last season. He's got to hit for a very high BA to have much offensive value.

 

i'm pretty much with you. i guess it's an okay signing, as long as we're willing to cut bait quickly if he shows up and sucks, but since i doubt that's the case, it's hard to get excited.

 

At $1m in this market they'll dump him in ST if he can't cut it.

 

I'm actually dumbfounded how anyone could think this isn't a solid, low-risk high reward, signing.

 

I'm with you. Hard to imagine why anyone would be down on this deal.

[ThePenguin11]

Seriously, he's a bench option. People are picking this thing apart as if these transactions even matter. I actually think some posters here believe you can sign a guy like Cliff Floyd who would start on 15-20 teams and make him your 25th man. This transaction barely even warrants discussion.

[goonys evil twin]

 

At $1m in this market they'll dump him in ST if he can't cut it.

 

No they won't. There's no chance of that. The Cubs don't cut guys with guaranteed deals.

 

I'm actually dumbfounded how anyone could think this isn't a solid, low-risk high reward, signing.

 

It's a fine acquisition, as long as he stands no chance of starting more than a handful of games.

[UMFan83]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

[TheDude]

Unless I'm forgetting somebody, I've thought 37.5% of our signings this season were very good.

 

Aramis

Wood

Miller

 

So let's cover the rest.

 

Soriano - Not a bad player, but nobody will debate the money and years are horrible.

 

Blanco - Redundant. Soto could do almost the exact same thing at a mere portion of the cost. This isn't a horrible signing, as we can absorb the money without taking a real hit... but it's certainly not a good one.

 

DeRosa - Not too horrible on the money or years, but for that kind of money I would have expected a real upgrade over Theriot. DeRosa is nearly as unlikely to repeat his numbers from last season as Theriot is. Again, not a bad signing, but certainly not a good one once you figure who else was available on the FA market.

 

Lilly - This is the kind of signing that should be made to help push a team over the hump, not in a last ditch attempt to bring them up to a competitive level. He's an oft-injured guy with a high strikeout rate, high walk rate, and flyball tendencies... the exact sort of guy that hasn't gotten our pitching staff anywhere in the last few seasons. While the talent itself isn't too bad, the money and years are horrible... even if that is what the market dictated he would go for.

 

Ward - He's coming off a career year at age 31 where he hit .308/.380/.546. Yeah, that's a great line. Let's see what he did in the year before that.

 

.260/.318/.405

 

That kind of line is simply not acceptible, especially if DLee goes down again. The scary thing? That's essentially Ward's career line, minus about 40 points of slugging. So which is more likely, that he'll hit like he did in 2005, or that in 2006 at the age of 31 he suddenly established a new career baseline for himself? I'm inclined to believe his performance isn't going to look much like 2006 did.

 

You're wrong about Soto equalling Blanco. Sure offensively, but Blanco is the best back-up caller in the game by most folks evaluations. Soto doesn't bring that experience and game-calling.

 

Ward is a solid bench player signing. You are evaluating it as a starter, which is not the proper perspective.

 

The signings that I would say are accurately questionable are Lilly, DeRosa, and Soriano. But with Soriano it was a matter of being forced to pay the price for the impact player - something the Cubs never do. Regardless of whether or not the contract will suck in 2011, his signing represents a change in front-office mentality, and that makes it a positive signing for now.

 

The Cubs probably could have done better than DeRosa or Lilly, but not dramatically better. There are marginally better choices out there, so these don't really qualify as bad or good signings. They do improve the team.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

It's a good signing. He's a decent option for the bench, has the ability to step in for a starter in the case of injury, and actually has some pop in his bat. He brings some additional value since our line-up is so heavily right-handed, having Ward as an option could neutralize teams from riding hard-throwing righties late in the game.

 

If we could get a hitter who brings similar skills from the right side, I might actually like our bench this year.

[TruffleShuffle]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

 

so why do people crap their pants over Bynum/Neifi/Blanco/Pagan?

[NoDak]

Soriano - Not a bad player, but nobody will debate the money and years are horrible.

 

I am not too terribly concerned when I think about the money as $17M per season if it were for 4-5 seasons. Eight is what worries me. Then there is the fact that Hendry fell into the trap of handcuffing himself with a contract whose cost will go up as the players abilities likely deteriorate preventing him from being able to make financial signings or able to trade him without picking up most of his contract.

[goonys evil twin]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

 

so why do people crap their pants over Bynum/Neifi/Blanco/Pagan?

 

Well, Ward brings at least a threat for productivity, those others are practically guaranteed outs with no side benefits.

[TruffleShuffle]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

 

so why do people crap their pants over Bynum/Neifi/Blanco/Pagan?

 

Well, Ward brings at least a threat for productivity, those others are practically guaranteed outs with no side benefits.

 

Exactly, so if we're going to freak out over those guys, we should applaud Hendry for getting somebody worthwhile for a cheaper price than at least two of those players. As we all know, the alternatives could clearly be worse.

 

And chances are, with pinch hitting, spot starts and injury replacements, Ward will probably get at least 150 PAs, which makes his contribution non-negligible.

[NoDak]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

 

so why do people crap their pants over Bynum/Neifi/Blanco/Pagan?

 

Well, Ward brings at least a threat for productivity, those others are practically guaranteed outs with no side benefits.

 

Exactly, so if we're going to freak out over those guys, we should applaud Hendry for getting somebody worthwhile for a cheaper price than at least two of those players. As we all know, the alternatives could clearly be worse.

 

And chances are, with pinch hitting, spot starts and injury replacements, Ward will probably get at least 150 PAs, which makes his contribution non-negligible.

 

Also Hendry traded Perez for slightly more than a dixie cup of used tobacco juice and, with his contract guaranteed for this year, cannot sign him back (until next winter)!

[TheDude]

Dude who cares, hes not a starter, hes a $1million option off the bench. If Lee goes down, then you worry but seriously this signing is not something to worry about

 

so why do people crap their pants over Bynum/Neifi/Blanco/Pagan?

 

Well, Ward brings at least a threat for productivity, those others are practically guaranteed outs with no side benefits.

 

Exactly, so if we're going to freak out over those guys, we should applaud Hendry for getting somebody worthwhile for a cheaper price than at least two of those players. As we all know, the alternatives could clearly be worse.

 

And chances are, with pinch hitting, spot starts and injury replacements, Ward will probably get at least 150 PAs, which makes his contribution non-negligible.

 

The freak out has usually not been because one of those players is on the bench (there is a solid argument for having one versatile defensive player on the bench) - the freak out has come from having an entire bench full of those type of players.

 

It compounds.

[goonys evil twin]

The freak out has usually not been because one of those players is on the bench (there is a solid argument for having one versatile defensive player on the bench) - the freak out has come from having an entire bench full of those type of players.

 

It compounds.

 

That's the truth. One of them is an annoyance, several of them is painful.

[erik316wttn]

Seriously, he's a bench option. People are picking this thing apart as if these transactions even matter. I actually think some posters here believe you can sign a guy like Cliff Floyd who would start on 15-20 teams and make him your 25th man. This transaction barely even warrants discussion.

 

Unfortunately with this team bench options do matter.

 

Neifi, Macias, and Bynum were all supposed to be "bench options." Look how that turned out.