Bobby Hill signs minor league deal with Cubs

[Schwarber Fan]

1/26 Bobby Hill (3B) Signed to a Minor League Contract

 

From FoxSport's Cubs transaction page

 

Bruce confirmed it on pg 4.

Edited February 9, 2007 by Rondon Fan

[Schwarber Fan]

SI.com reports the same thing...

[bhogg]

i guess we no longer need soriano to lead off :)

[Bruno7481]

The savior has returned!

[BigbadB]

Glad I didn't throw away my Bobby Hill jersey. What are the chances he gets his old number (17) back? Not one of my better sound investments.

[Bruno7481]

Hill was just another in the long line of overhyped "prospects" the Cubs built up. That is why I am always skeptical with prospects, especially with this organization.

 

The best thing Hendry ever did was turn overhyped prospect #1, Hill, into Ramirez.

 

and...

 

Overhyped prospects #2, Choi, for Lee.

[abuck1220]

lemme guess, you were vehemently opposed to the karchner/garland trade and the willis trade?

[RynoRules]

To be fair, I recall several folks still pining for Willis and Hill...

[CUBZ99]

If this transaction did happen, I'm pleasantly suprised with Hendry.

 

IMO Hill is a better option than Tomas Perez as the 25th man on the roster. BTW does anyone know why Hill has never gotten a shot at being a starter? His OBP is not bad for a middle IF.

[Schwarber Fan]

If this is true and he makes it to the Cubs at some point - do we see R. Hill and B. Hill jerseys??

[Bear Cub]

I agree with Cubz99, Hill is a decent option for the 25th man. Let him battle it out with Pagan, Perez, and whoever for that spot.

[NoDak]

I agree with Cubz99, Hill is a decent option for the 25th man. Let him battle it out with Pagan, Perez, and whoever for that spot.

 

From what I have read I think it is more like he will be battling Cedeno and Theriot for the last 1-2 spots on the roster. I would not mind having Hill and Theriot in the last couple of spots on the roster.

[CuseCubFan69]

Hill was just another in the long line of overhyped "prospects" the Cubs built up. That is why I am always skeptical with prospects, especially with this organization.

 

The best thing Hendry ever did was turn overhyped prospect #1, Hill, into Ramirez.

 

and...

 

Overhyped prospects #2, Choi, for Lee.

 

I think he had the talent to be a decent player but not the work ethic.

[Bruno7481]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

[CuseCubFan69]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

He's actually the opposite of Neifi. Well, they both can't hit but I thought Hill was a pretty good OBP guy that could steal some bases.

[CubColtPacer]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

He's actually the opposite of Neifi. Well, they both can't hit but I thought Hill was a pretty good OBP guy that could steal some bases.

 

Yeah-Hill is more like a slightly worse version of Theriot without Theriot's power explosion he had in the majors last year.

[CUBZ99]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

Where is unfounded optimism? I've yet to see anyone comment that Hill had a shot to be anything but a 24th or 25th man.

 

Hill has a career (.343)OBP 45 pts higher than Neifi (.298) and over 50 pts higher than Tomas (.298). That is hardly anything to scoff at.

 

As far as his glove is conerned, with Izturis and Derosa, I'm sure that he is not going to be coming in as a defensive replacement very often. His OBP and speed may be a nice addition to the bench.

[Bruno7481]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

He's actually the opposite of Neifi. Well, they both can't hit but I thought Hill was a pretty good OBP guy that could steal some bases.

 

Not really.

 

Hill has 6 career SB's, they all came with the Cubs. He hasn't had a SB since leaving Chicago.

 

Also, his OBP is ok, but does it really matter if your OPS is below .700? He has had one year with an OPS above .700. That was with, you guessed it, the Cubs. It was .701.

 

Again, he's Neifi without the defense.

[Bruno7481]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

Where is unfounded optimism? I've yet to see anyone comment that Hill had a shot to be anything but a 24th or 25th man.

 

Hill has a career (.343)OBP 45 pts higher than Neifi (.298) and over 50 pts higher than Tomas (.298). That is hardly anything to scoff at.

 

As far as his glove is conerned, with Izturis and Derosa, I'm sure that he is not going to be coming in as a defensive replacement very often. His OBP and speed may be a nice addition to the bench.

 

He can't hit. A good pinch hitter has to do more than just occasionally take a walk.

[baseball7897]

Bobby Hill is garbage at best.

[abuck1220]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

He's actually the opposite of Neifi. Well, they both can't hit but I thought Hill was a pretty good OBP guy that could steal some bases.

 

Not really.

 

Hill has 6 career SB's, they all came with the Cubs. He hasn't had a SB since leaving Chicago.

 

Also, his OBP is ok, but does it really matter if your OPS is below .700? He has had one year with an OPS above .700. That was with, you guessed it, the Cubs. It was .701.

 

Again, he's Neifi without the defense.

 

again, no he's not. you just making the proclamation that he is doesn't make it so.

 

hill has 45 points on him for career obp and 20 points in ops. and he's five years younger.

[Rob]

There would be nbo sense of optimism whatsoever about this if Hill had never been in the Cubs sytem to begin with.

 

Everyone that is happy with this is just basing it on old feelings and unfounded optimism that he was once the future of the Cubs middle infield.

 

He's Neifi without the good defense.

 

He's actually the opposite of Neifi. Well, they both can't hit but I thought Hill was a pretty good OBP guy that could steal some bases.

 

Not really.

 

Hill has 6 career SB's, they all came with the Cubs. He hasn't had a SB since leaving Chicago.

 

Also, his OBP is ok, but does it really matter if your OPS is below .700? He has had one year with an OPS above .700. That was with, you guessed it, the Cubs. It was .701.

 

Again, he's Neifi without the defense.

 

While OPS is a decent indicator of overall performance, many of the top sabermetric minds have determined that the OBP part of that equation is severely underrepresented. I have seen systems that use 1.8*OBP + Slug and even 3*OBP + Slug.

 

Again, OPS isn't bad for eyeballing a guy... but it is certainly possible to be useful with a sub .700 OPS. Hell, a guy could be so proficient in fouling off pitches that he draws a walk six or seven out of every ten times he gets to the plate and still be very useful even if he grounds out weakly to the pitcher every single plate appearance he doesn't draw a walk.

[Wheelimus]

There were two glaring holes in the 2006 Cubs. Slugging, and OBP.

 

We've probably addressed the slugging issue with Soriano and Floyd, nevermind it looking like Soriano will play center and Jacque will be in right.

 

The OBP issue, sadly, wasn't addressed much. Hill might help a tiny bit in that regard.

 

If the final bench spot comes down to Hill, Pagan, or Cedeno, Hill is probably the way to go.

 

We'll find out in spring training I suppose.

 

It is at least mildly worth noting that he had a bit of a resurgence at AAA Portland last year. A line of .282/.396/.395/.791. And it appears to be because of improved patience. He drew one less walk than his wonderful 2002 year at Iowa, in 45 less at bats.

 

There might be something left here worth having.

[BigbadB]

If the final roster spot comes down to Tomas Perez, Ronny Cedeno or Bobby Hill, I'll take Hill every time.

 

Cedeno should only get the call once it's determined Izturis doesn't belong in a major league starting line up. Otherwise, he's better suited to play everyday at AAA. Perez should have trouble making it on a AAA roster, let alone a major league one.

 

Last year at Portland, Hill hit .282/.396/.395. Definitely not much in the power department, but I'll take a guy with the ability to get on base starting off an inning in the pitcher's spot with Soriano on deck.

 

Soriano really changes the dynamics of the pinch hit roles at the bottom of the order, IMO. If you have guys on base and the pitcher's spot is coming up, you can stick Floyd, Murton, Ward or Barrett in there to bring in the runner. Teams aren't going to pitch around those guys to get to Soriano like they would have with Neifi or Pierre on deck.

 

If the pitcher's spot is leading off an inning, which will probably happen a lot with Izturis in the line up, a guy like Theriot or Hill can try to set the table for Soriano.

 

A bench of Floyd, Ward, Theriot, Hill and Blanco is a quality bench, IMO.

 

Lifetime as a PH, Hill is: .268/.363/.381/.744

 

Still missing is the SLG, but to me he's an upgrade over Bynum, Pagan, Neifi, Izturis and the many other OBP-lacking bats that don't provide any SLG either.

 

Hill hits LHP better than RHP, and he appears to still be switch hitting for the time being.

[CuseCubFan69]

If the final roster spot comes down to Tomas Perez, Ronny Cedeno or Bobby Hill, I'll take Hill every time.

 

Cedeno should only get the call once it's determined Izturis doesn't belong in a major league starting line up. Otherwise, he's better suited to play everyday at AAA. Perez should have trouble making it on a AAA roster, let alone a major league one.

 

Last year at Portland, Hill hit .282/.396/.395. Definitely not much in the power department, but I'll take a guy with the ability to get on base starting off an inning in the pitcher's spot with Soriano on deck.

 

Soriano really changes the dynamics of the pinch hit roles at the bottom of the order, IMO. If you have guys on base and the pitcher's spot is coming up, you can stick Floyd, Murton, Ward or Barrett in there to bring in the runner. Teams aren't going to pitch around those guys to get to Soriano like they would have with Neifi or Pierre on deck.

 

If the pitcher's spot is leading off an inning, which will probably happen a lot with Izturis in the line up, a guy like Theriot or Hill can try to set the table for Soriano.

 

A bench of Floyd, Ward, Theriot, Hill and Blanco is a quality bench, IMO.

 

Lifetime as a PH, Hill is: .268/.363/.381/.744

 

Still missing is the SLG, but to me he's an upgrade over Bynum, Pagan, Neifi, Izturis and the many other OBP-lacking bats that don't provide any SLG either.

 

Hill hits LHP better than RHP, and he appears to still be switch hitting for the time being.

 

Who do you have backing up Izturis?