Why can't Theriot play SS?

[Jehrico]

OMG, THERIOT PLAYED SS TODAY AND THE WORLD DIDN'T END WHEN BALLS WERE HIT TO HIM!!!

 

I would hope he would make those plays. He really did not have to range into the hole to make a play. Everything was hit right at him. Im still not that confident with him at ss.

 

Are you confident with Cesar Izhoribble at SS?

 

 

Not trying to pick on you directly dude, but I really can't stand the philosophy of "good" defense making up for a pathetic bat...I really can't.

Im confident with Izzy making the defensive plays at the ss position. However, im not confident with him swinging the bat. I value defense pretty high on a baseball team. The ss position, in my opinion, is a very demanding spot on the field that needs to be filled by someone who fields the ball consistently. Can Theriot be that guy? We will find out. He is athletic enough to play it, but can he play consistently like Izturis has shown he can?

When has Izturis shown that? He's been injury prone for awhile. In addition to his horrible bat and recently spotty D, he's a liability to go down at any given time for an extended period. He's not as injury prone as Wood, but expecting him to miss at least 40-50 games a year is not unrealistic. I don't understand why we think he can be a reliable everyday shortstop. He has had half of one good season, that was about it.

[Laura]

Yay Theriot!!!! Best news I heard all week.

[sethuel1]

Im confident with Izzy making the defensive plays at the ss position. However, im not confident with him swinging the bat. I value defense pretty high on a baseball team. The ss position, in my opinion, is a very demanding spot on the field that needs to be filled by someone who fields the ball consistently. Can Theriot be that guy? We will find out. He is athletic enough to play it, but can he play consistently poorly like Izturis has shown he can?

fixed

[OleMissCub]

OMG, THERIOT PLAYED SS TODAY AND THE WORLD DIDN'T END WHEN BALLS WERE HIT TO HIM!!!

 

I would hope he would make those plays. He really did not have to range into the hole to make a play. Everything was hit right at him. Im still not that confident with him at ss.

 

Are you confident with Cesar Izhoribble at SS?

 

 

Not trying to pick on you directly dude, but I really can't stand the philosophy of "good" defense making up for a pathetic bat...I really can't.

Im confident with Izzy making the defensive plays at the ss position. However, im not confident with him swinging the bat. I value defense pretty high on a baseball team. The ss position, in my opinion, is a very demanding spot on the field that needs to be filled by someone who fields the ball consistently. Can Theriot be that guy? We will find out. He is athletic enough to play it, but can he play consistently like Izturis has shown he can?

When has Izturis shown that? He's been injury prone for awhile. In addition to his horrible bat and recently spotty D, he's a liability to go down at any given time for an extended period. He's not as injury prone as Wood, but expecting him to miss at least 40-50 games a year is not unrealistic. I don't understand why we think he can be a reliable everyday shortstop. He has had half of one good season, that was about it.

 

Funny what a gold glove will do for you.

[IWU_CUBS_FAN]

OMG, THERIOT PLAYED SS TODAY AND THE WORLD DIDN'T END WHEN BALLS WERE HIT TO HIM!!!

 

I would hope he would make those plays. He really did not have to range into the hole to make a play. Everything was hit right at him. Im still not that confident with him at ss.

 

Are you confident with Cesar Izhoribble at SS?

 

 

Not trying to pick on you directly dude, but I really can't stand the philosophy of "good" defense making up for a pathetic bat...I really can't.

Im confident with Izzy making the defensive plays at the ss position. However, im not confident with him swinging the bat. I value defense pretty high on a baseball team. The ss position, in my opinion, is a very demanding spot on the field that needs to be filled by someone who fields the ball consistently. Can Theriot be that guy? We will find out. He is athletic enough to play it, but can he play consistently like Izturis has shown he can?

When has Izturis shown that? He's been injury prone for awhile. In addition to his horrible bat and recently spotty D, he's a liability to go down at any given time for an extended period. He's not as injury prone as Wood, but expecting him to miss at least 40-50 games a year is not unrealistic. I don't understand why we think he can be a reliable everyday shortstop. He has had half of one good season, that was about it.

 

Funny what a gold glove will do for you.

 

this is the most true statement ever about judging cesar the horrible on his one good half season in LA. Cubs aren't scoring runs, Theriot is a table setter, and honestly can theriot have a weaker arm that david eckstein...i think not and that works pretty well for the cardinals cuz eckstein gets on base

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Why does everyone cite gold gloves as proof that someone still is a good defender?

 

Even if I did believe that gold gloves were proof of the best defender at that position for that season (which is dubious, but for the sake of avoiding that argument, I'll concede), isn't it possible for defensive ability to rise and fall like hitters often do with their hitting prowess.

 

Izturis has not won a gold glove since 2004. It's possible that his defense has slipped. It's not like he was an annual winner. He won one gold glove. Even if that was a recognition of his ability in that season, could it be akin to a hitter having a career year and then returning to earth?

 

What is known is that Izturis is a black hole with the bat. Theriot provides some value with the bat.

 

Taking offense and defense into account, Theriot >>> Izturis, and it's not even close.

[Backtobanks]

Why does everyone cite gold gloves as proof that someone still is a good defender?

 

Even if I did believe that gold gloves were proof of the best defender at that position for that season (which is dubious, but for the sake of avoiding that argument, I'll concede), isn't it possible for defensive ability to rise and fall like hitters often do with their hitting prowess.

 

Izturis has not won a gold glove since 2004. It's possible that his defense has slipped. It's not like he was an annual winner. He won one gold glove. Even if that was a recognition of his ability in that season, could it be akin to a hitter having a career year and then returning to earth?

 

What is known is that Izturis is a black hole with the bat. Theriot provides some value with the bat.

 

Taking offense and defense into account, Theriot >>> Izturis, and it's not even close.

 

I totally agree. It's not like you're putting Adam Dunn or Randall Simon at SS. Even if Izturis is still a Gold Glove SS, Theriot is miles ahead of him with good offense and average defense.

[Bull]

OMG, THERIOT PLAYED SS TODAY AND THE WORLD DIDN'T END WHEN BALLS WERE HIT TO HIM!!!

 

I would hope he would make those plays. He really did not have to range into the hole to make a play. Everything was hit right at him. Im still not that confident with him at ss.

 

Lou said that Theriot is the SS and for good reason. At least he can get on base.

 

And by the way, MVP is a real solid game for the computer. I do have 30 homers with Lee at the end of May though :lol:

 

I missed that. When did he say that.

[jmajew]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

[Soul]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

 

Looks like Lou visits nsbb :)

[C.C.]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

 

So bascially he's Eckstein. Just make the plays your supposed to make. I have no problem with that.

[CubColtPacer]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

It's tough to judge. There weren't any plays where he had to make a long or quick throw, and the only play to show off any range was charging on a soft hit ball (there wasn't really a ball where he had to move left or right).

Theriot did all that he could do though yesterday-he made all the plays that were hit to him flawlessly.

[Soul]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

 

So bascially he's Eckstein. Just make the plays your supposed to make. I have no problem with that.

 

If he can be Eckstein and hit well, then I'll take it over the dark, seething abyss that is Izturis.

[C.C.]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

 

So bascially he's Eckstein. Just make the plays your supposed to make. I have no problem with that.

 

If he can be Eckstein and hit well, then I'll take it over the dark, seething abyss that is Izturis.

 

:crosses fingers:

[jmajew]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

He looked fine. No errors. He made the plays you would expect the SS to make.

 

So bascially he's Eckstein. Just make the plays your supposed to make. I have no problem with that.

 

If he can be Eckstein and hit well, then I'll take it over the dark, seething abyss that is Izturis.

 

:crosses fingers:

 

I'm just hoping he can make the plays that he can. I don't expect him to make any spectacular plays or have the best range I just want him to make the plays. Low amount of errors with a little range and good offense is all I ask for.

[Chocolate Milk]

Suntimes

 

''We're not scoring many runs, and I need something that can hopefully jump-start us a little bit, so we're trying this out,'' Piniella said. ''The kid can swing the bat and he's got some energy, and I like the way he plays the game. The problem is, where do you put him? Well, he came up as a shortstop, so we'll play him at shortstop and see what he can do.''

 

''He did exactly what we wanted,'' said Piniella, who said Theriot will be back at short this weekend in St. Louis. ''That's what we were looking for.''

[YearofDaCubs]

Suntimes

 

''We're not scoring many runs, and I need something that can hopefully jump-start us a little bit, so we're trying this out,'' Piniella said. ''The kid can swing the bat and he's got some energy, and I like the way he plays the game. The problem is, where do you put him? Well, he came up as a shortstop, so we'll play him at shortstop and see what he can do.''

 

''He did exactly what we wanted,'' said Piniella, who said Theriot will be back at short this weekend in St. Louis. ''That's what we were looking for.''

Good. Theriot, please don't struggle and do well at SS. I would HATE to see Izturis back playing SS again for us.

[OleMissCub]

I don't think we should really worry that he's going to somehow not be able to play SS adequately. The guy played SS his entire life except the past couple of seasons in the minors. He'll do fine.

[Soriano12]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-070425cubsbrite,1,6699854.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines

 

For Theriot, this could be the start of a long stay in his new position. Izturis is in the final year of his contract, and the Cubs likely will give him a $300,000 buyout instead of exercising his $5.45 million option in 2008. With Mark DeRosa at second, Theriot has nowhere else to go

 

http://www.harrythecat.com/graphics/b/smile8.gif

[YearofDaCubs]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/cs-070425cubsbrite,1,6699854.story?coll=cs-cubs-headlines

 

For Theriot, this could be the start of a long stay in his new position. Izturis is in the final year of his contract, and the Cubs likely will give him a $300,000 buyout instead of exercising his $5.45 million option in 2008. With Mark DeRosa at second, Theriot has nowhere else to go

 

http://www.harrythecat.com/graphics/b/smile8.gif

Crossing my fingers. Izturis being here was just wrong from the start.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

It's tough to judge. There weren't any plays where he had to make a long or quick throw, and the only play to show off any range was charging on a soft hit ball (there wasn't really a ball where he had to move left or right).

Theriot did all that he could do though yesterday-he made all the plays that were hit to him flawlessly.

 

And the key is that those plays are few and far between. If he fails to make that really difficult play once every 3-5 games but is getting on base once more every game or two than Izturis or Cedeno, the defense is something you can definitely live with.

[biittner77]

Dusty would've never started Theriot at SS, props to Lou for doing so. I hope he sticks with him there, because he really needs to be in the lineup everyday at this point.

 

I disagree. Dusty would have done it once but would have benched Theriot the next day because Izturis "Needs to hit his way out of his slump"

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Dusty would've never started Theriot at SS, props to Lou for doing so. I hope he sticks with him there, because he really needs to be in the lineup everyday at this point.

 

I disagree. Dusty would have done it once but would have benched Theriot the next day because Izturis "Needs to hit his way out of his slump"

 

Theriot started 2 games at SS last season.

[CubColtPacer]

I was unable to watch the game yesterday. . . How did Theriot look at SS? Did it look like he can handle the position?

 

It's tough to judge. There weren't any plays where he had to make a long or quick throw, and the only play to show off any range was charging on a soft hit ball (there wasn't really a ball where he had to move left or right).

Theriot did all that he could do though yesterday-he made all the plays that were hit to him flawlessly.

 

And the key is that those plays are few and far between. If he fails to make that really difficult play once every 3-5 games but is getting on base once more every game or two than Izturis or Cedeno, the defense is something you can definitely live with.

 

I'm not talking about the really difficult play-I'm just talking about the play where for example the shortstop has to take 3-4 steps to the right or left, pick up the ball, set and throw. My guess is that Theriot will be better at that going towards the second base bag then going away from that, but it was rather unusual that none of those types of plays happened yesterday.

 

If he continues to hit, his defense will certainly be something that the team can live with though-because the addition of his bat will help give the Cubs one of the best offenses in the NL.