Soriano permanently finished with CF?

[davearm]

Unless Pie is traded, this move was inevitable. I don't see why people are surprised about it.

 

If Soriano is really an adequate CF then by all means Pie should be traded while his value is high. LF is an easy position to fill and Soriano's offense is far more valuable coming from CF. People who say positions are unimportant don't understand the economics involved. How valuable would Pujols be if he played CF? Certainly more valuable than at 1B or LF.

Define "valuable". Like as in trade value? Soriano's not getting traded. And his value on the FA market is obviously irrelevant now.

 

Soriano does not have more value to the Cubs as a CF, if they're sold on Pie.

 

Similarly, Pujols is not getting traded, and he doesn't have value to the Cards as a CF (or at least hasn't in the past), because of Edmonds.

 

For Soriano to have value as a CF to the Cubs, you'd need to find a trade involving Pie that nets a LF that's better than Pie, both offensively and defensively. Only then would the Cubs be better off as a team with Soriano in CF.

 

Value is production (and salary) relative to average for the position. There are a lot of LF'ers who hit at near the level Soriano does, but there are few CF'ers, and even fewer 2B. So when he is in LF the Cubs are paying him an enormous sum to be not that far above average for the position. Offensively, Alsonso would be an elite CF, but not so with LF.

So the Cubs would be that much better by switching Pie to LF and Soriano to CF (as Garwilly suggested earlier)?

 

The point is, the same 8 guys hitting in the same spots in the lineup are going to generate the same number of runs regardless of where each one stands when it's the Cubs' turn in the field.

 

So if playing Soriano in CF allows you to upgrade from Pie to someone better (considering hitting, baserunning, defense, age, salary, etc etc), then having Soriano play CF provides value *to the Cubs*.

 

Short of that though, this whole discussion of "value" is off base. There's no value unless/until it enables a better and/or cheaper option to be plugged into the lineup (and they don't come any cheaper than Pie).

[VanceJergins]

I think RF is the best spot for him. That way Murton and Floyd can play LF, Pie can play center, and Jones can be traded.

[Garwilly]

Unless Pie is traded, this move was inevitable. I don't see why people are surprised about it.

 

If Soriano is really an adequate CF then by all means Pie should be traded while his value is high. LF is an easy position to fill and Soriano's offense is far more valuable coming from CF. People who say positions are unimportant don't understand the economics involved. How valuable would Pujols be if he played CF? Certainly more valuable than at 1B or LF.

Define "valuable". Like as in trade value? Soriano's not getting traded. And his value on the FA market is obviously irrelevant now.

 

Soriano does not have more value to the Cubs as a CF, if they're sold on Pie.

 

Similarly, Pujols is not getting traded, and he doesn't have value to the Cards as a CF (or at least hasn't in the past), because of Edmonds.

 

For Soriano to have value as a CF to the Cubs, you'd need to find a trade involving Pie that nets a LF that's better than Pie, both offensively and defensively. Only then would the Cubs be better off as a team with Soriano in CF.

 

Value is production (and salary) relative to average for the position. There are a lot of LF'ers who hit at near the level Soriano does, but there are few CF'ers, and even fewer 2B. So when he is in LF the Cubs are paying him an enormous sum to be not that far above average for the position. Offensively, Alsonso would be an elite CF, but not so with LF.

So the Cubs would be that much better by switching Pie to LF and Soriano to CF (as Garwilly suggested earlier)?

 

The point is, the same 8 guys hitting in the same spots in the lineup are going to generate the same number of runs regardless of where each one stands when it's the Cubs' turn in the field.

 

So if playing Soriano in CF allows you to upgrade from Pie to someone better (considering hitting, baserunning, defense, age, salary, etc etc), then having Soriano play CF provides value *to the Cubs*.

 

Short of that though, this whole discussion of "value" is off base. There's no value unless/until it enables a better and/or cheaper option to be plugged into the lineup (and they don't come any cheaper than Pie).

 

Just want to make sure it was clear I was being searcastic.

 

 

 

Go on..

[Yestheydo]

I think RF is the best spot for him. That way Murton and Floyd can play LF, Pie can play center, and Jones can be traded.

 

That would be nice. But I think the fear is that he's uncomfortable in center and right and that's why he hasn't been hitting. They need to get him producing because if the Greatest Fans In The World start booing him and throwing stuff and he goes all Corey Patterson on us then holy crap that's really gonna suck.

 

They assumed he'd be fine in center or right. They were wrong. Major screw-up.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

They assumed he'd be fine in center or right. They were wrong. Major screw-up.

 

Maybe you can say that about center, but definitely not right.

 

If people think Soriano's struggles are due to his position, I think they need to take a minute to think about what type of hitter Soriano really is. The guy has had prolong stretches of sucking many times in his career. He's had slow starts before, he's had slow finishes, and he's had slow mid-months as well. Soriano's struggles have a lot more to do with his tendency to be an easy out free swinging hacker, than what position he's playing.

[frostwyrm]

Unless Pie is traded, this move was inevitable. I don't see why people are surprised about it.

 

If Soriano is really an adequate CF then by all means Pie should be traded while his value is high. LF is an easy position to fill and Soriano's offense is far more valuable coming from CF. People who say positions are unimportant don't understand the economics involved. How valuable would Pujols be if he played CF? Certainly more valuable than at 1B or LF.

 

So trading away a cheap internal solution for CF is the best way to manage payroll? Soriano is already on the team. We're going to have to pay him. Trading away Pie, puting Soriano at CF, and finding an outside option for the coner outfield isn't going to save the Cubs any money.

 

"Cheap internal solution for CF" is what other teams would see in him too, which is exactly why he would fetch a lot in trade. Bear in mind there's an opportunity cost attached to every trade you DON'T make. If you have Soriano doing a good job at CF then the opportunity cost of not trading Pie outweighs what he could contribute from a corner OF position. You would have to work the phones and at least investigate what you could get for Pie.

[Yestheydo]

 

Maybe you can say that about center, but definitely not right.

 

If people think Soriano's struggles are due to his position, I think they need to take a minute to think about what type of hitter Soriano really is. The guy has had prolong stretches of sucking many times in his career. He's had slow starts before, he's had slow finishes, and he's had slow mid-months as well. Soriano's struggles have a lot more to do with his tendency to be an easy out free swinging hacker, than what position he's playing.

Then why on earth would they move him to the one position where they already have a glut? (Don't bother; I already know the answer)