"All Cubs Know Is Who's On First"

[soapy]

Murtons lack of power for a corner OF, not his BA, is what concerns me the most.

Over the last three years, Murton and Floyd have an almost identical slugging percentage. 462 to 466.

And Murtons is dropping when a player of his age should be on the rise. .521 in 2005, .444 in 2006, and .327 thus far this year but then 2005 and 2007 are small sample sizes so...

 

People need to quit quoting 3 year splits with Murton. In 2005 he was only in 51 games and only 23 this year so far, His 3 year splits are more like 1.5 year splits.

Well it's all we have to go on (re: Murton's splits). It's his entirety in the majors, so what would you propose?

 

Do you really expect Murton's SLG to keep dropping if he got regular playing time? I sure don't. I think it's more a matter of small sample size from this year.

[cubfan1955]

Well it's all we have to go on (re: Murton's splits). It's his entirety in the majors, so what would you propose?

But his 3 year splits are about 300 AB's fewer than Floyds so it's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

Do you really expect Murton's SLG to keep dropping if he got regular playing time? I sure don't. I think it's more a matter of small sample size from this year.

Well I hope not but the pattern the Cubs are using him isn't working out so well. Right now I wouldn't mind seeing him do a stint in Iowa where he can get some regular AB's and maybe get his stroke back and then when Floyd does go down, as we all know he will, maybe Murton could come back and contribute.

 

I'm wondering too if the Cubs didn't tell Cliff he would be a regular when they signed him and maybe that's why Murton is seeing so muuch bench time. I do agree it is not going to be easy to start hitting with his frequency of playing time he's getting now.

[soapy]

Well it's all we have to go on (re: Murton's splits). It's his entirety in the majors, so what would you propose?

But his 3 year splits are about 300 AB's fewer than Floyds so it's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

Do you really expect Murton's SLG to keep dropping if he got regular playing time? I sure don't. I think it's more a matter of small sample size from this year.

Well I hope not but the pattern the Cubs are using him isn't working out so well. Right now I wouldn't mind seeing him do a stint in Iowa where he can get some regular AB's and maybe get his stroke back and then when Floyd does go down, as we all know he will, maybe Murton could come back and contribute.

 

I'm wondering too if the Cubs didn't tell Cliff he would be a regular when they signed him and maybe that's why Murton is seeing so muuch bench time. I do agree it is not going to be easy to start hitting with his frequency of playing time he's getting now.

I really don't understand what Murton has left to prove in the minors. If they told Floyd he'd be a starter, than they are stupid, which wouldn't surprise me.

[jersey cubs fan]

Well it's all we have to go on (re: Murton's splits). It's his entirety in the majors, so what would you propose?

But his 3 year splits are about 300 AB's fewer than Floyds so it's like comparing apples to oranges.

 

That is completely nonsensical. A 300 AB difference over a 3 year period does not mean you can't compare two players' SLG. It's a rate stat, not a counting stat like HR or RBI.

 

 

Cliff Floyd is playing too much, plain and simple. I like Cliff. I've wanted him to be a Cub for a long time. And I was pro-Floyd this offseason. But it had to be as only a part time player. He's simply not anywhere close to the guy he was in his prime, let alone who he was a couple years ago. He was bad last year, and so far he's been the same. Hopefully he can recover to put up some halfway decent numbers, but that won't happen as an everyday man. Time has not been kind to him.

 

Murton needs to play more than 50% of the time. He's got a far greater chance of putting up a significantly better than average line than Floyd does. His numbers look like crap right now, but that is largely meaningless, as I would never expect an everyday playing young player just entering his prime to be able to handle such limited and sporadic use. Neither Floyd nor Jones are doing anything remotely irreplacable right now. There's no reason why they have to be the default everyday guys. And that's especially true when you consider the type of financial hit the Cubs will take if Floyd does continue to play this frequently.

[cubfan1955]

Murton needs to play more than 50% of the time. He's got a far greater chance of putting up a significantly better than average line than Floyd does. His numbers look like crap right now, but that is largely meaningless, as I would never expect an everyday playing young player just entering his prime to be able to handle such limited and sporadic use. Neither Floyd nor Jones are doing anything remotely irreplacable right now. There's no reason why they have to be the default everyday guys. And that's especially true when you consider the type of financial hit the Cubs will take if Floyd does continue to play this frequently.

Again, why do people assume that? I could see it if his AB's were looking great and he was just unlucky but he's looked horrible.

[Drew Doughty]

And Murtons is dropping when a player of his age should be on the rise. .521 in 2005, .444 in 2006, and .327 thus far this year but then 2005 and 2007 are small sample sizes so...

 

People need to quit quoting 3 year splits with Murton. In 2005 he was only in 51 games and only 23 this year so far, His 3 year splits are more like 1.5 year splits.

 

tIn the second half of 06 he slugged 522 btw. and i can't find it now for some reason, but i know he hit righties a lot better than he hit lefties in the second half of last season as well.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Murton needs to play more than 50% of the time. He's got a far greater chance of putting up a significantly better than average line than Floyd does. His numbers look like crap right now, but that is largely meaningless, as I would never expect an everyday playing young player just entering his prime to be able to handle such limited and sporadic use. Neither Floyd nor Jones are doing anything remotely irreplacable right now. There's no reason why they have to be the default everyday guys. And that's especially true when you consider the type of financial hit the Cubs will take if Floyd does continue to play this frequently.

Again, why do people assume that? I could see it if his AB's were looking great and he was just unlucky but he's looked horrible.

 

maybe because Murton is likely only going to improve upon what he did last year while Floyd is on the wrong side of his prime

[Mizzou]

Murton needs to play more than 50% of the time. He's got a far greater chance of putting up a significantly better than average line than Floyd does. His numbers look like crap right now, but that is largely meaningless, as I would never expect an everyday playing young player just entering his prime to be able to handle such limited and sporadic use. Neither Floyd nor Jones are doing anything remotely irreplacable right now. There's no reason why they have to be the default everyday guys. And that's especially true when you consider the type of financial hit the Cubs will take if Floyd does continue to play this frequently.

Again, why do people assume that? I could see it if his AB's were looking great and he was just unlucky but he's looked horrible.

I think it's obvious that Murton is not a good pinch hitter. I think it's also obvious that it's pretty silly to draw conclusions on Matt based on random at bats here and there.

[frostwyrm]

I've actually stopped caring about Murt's future as a Cub and want him traded while he still can fetch good value. The Cubs organization obviously doesn't have any faith in him but no doubt there would be other teams willing to acquire him in order to give him a shot to be an everyday player, which means his value as trade bait almost certainly outweighs his value as a Cubs player. Just get rid of him and be done with it before his marketability can decline any further.

[Wolverineman]

It's no wonder why the Cubs are absolutely terrible at developing young hitters. If you don't hit very well, consistently, from the instant you're called up/season starts, you get benched for the first crappy veteran player the team can find. If you struggle at all to start you're benched. That's some insane pressure to put on anyone. I wouldn't be surprised, if Theriot does poorly for a week or so, if Izturis is back in there every single day. It saddens me that the only difference between Lou and Dusty in that regard is Dusty wouldn't have given them a week of struggling before benching the young player.

 

I'm starting to agree with the idea that we should just trade away any offensive prospects we have before we let the ML team ruin them. We'll still suck, but at least we won't be pissed off about letting more promising young players rot on the bench.

[cubfan1955]

That is completely nonsensical. A 300 AB difference over a 3 year period does not mean you can't compare two players' SLG. It's a rate stat, not a counting stat like HR or RBI.

You are wrong that 300 ABs less is comparable. If Murton had those 300 ABs his slugging could be higher or lower or the same. No one knows what he would do in those 300 mythical ABs. In Floyd's case we KNOW what he did with those 300 ABs.

 

I think it's a chicken and egg scenario. Lou won't play him unless he hits and he won't hit unless he gets to play. Maybe...

 

I certainly am not convinced he's ever going to be a good everyday outfielder but on THIS team he should be playing. And anyday there is a LHP facing the Cubs Soriano should move over to CF and Murton play either RF or LF. I'd even consider sticking Barrett in LF and letting Blanco catch when healthy before ever see Jones face a LHP again in my lifetime.

 

Edit: I've changed my mind. Murton doesn't deserve to be playing on this or any other team. If he's going to play defense like Manny Ramirez he could at least hit a little. Can't hit, can't play defense = trip to Iowa.