Is Fontenot the real deal?

[Amazing_Grace]

Fontenot was one of our first round picks wasn't he?

 

Does anybody remember it, why we picked him, what he was projected to do, and why we picked him?

 

We got him from Baltimore for Sosa.

 

So, 3 years later, we finally get something positive out of the Sosa trade.

 

no, the Cubs got instant payoff when Burnitz outperformed Sosa for a few dollars less than the Cubs would have had to pay Sosa and by getting him to opt out of the rest of his contract so they weren't hung with 18M in dead weight for 2006.

 

This is true. Make a player unhappy enough and they'll do anything to get out of a city, up to and including giving money away. I'm not saying it was a bad decision to trade him. Any trade that got someone to assume his contract, as Balitmore did, would have been a fine trade. I meant payoff in the traditional baseball sense, where the players you acquire end up contributing something.

[Chocolate Milk]

Z was funny in his post game interview he said something like (paraphrasing):

 

"I did not know short man can hit the ball that far. He is swinging the bat like real man."

[Soriano12]

19. Baltimore (from New York - AL) -- Mike Fontenot, 2B, LSU

After going for a pitcher with their first selection, the Orioles grab an experienced college hitter. Fontenot is just 5-8, but has fine power due to great bat speed and strike zone judgment. His defense is sound at the keystone, and he's a good baserunner as well. He'll be pressing Jerry Hairston Jr. at second base within two years.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2001/0605/1209936.html

[Sammy Sofa]

He'll be pressing Jerry Hairston Jr. at second base within two years.

 

To be fair, so could a diseased tree stump.

[killthegoat06]

19. Baltimore (from New York - AL) -- Mike Fontenot, 2B, LSU

After going for a pitcher with their first selection, the Orioles grab an experienced college hitter. Fontenot is just 5-8, but has fine power due to great bat speed and strike zone judgment. His defense is sound at the keystone, and he's a good baserunner as well. He'll be pressing Jerry Hairston Jr. at second base within two years.

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/2001/0605/1209936.html

 

Good find.

[BigbadB]

And on top of it all, Lou hasn't been afraid to let the kids play and allow millons of dollars to sit on the bench. That would not have happened in, oh, the past four years. The two things I like about Piniella are his flexibility and creativity. And he's not afraid to throw young players in at key times.

 

I really like this trait in Lou, but I have to admit I was a bit nervous considering what I saw in Tampa. Lou was running broken down veterans out there everyday instead of the kids, even though the broken down vets were putting up broken down production.

 

I think a lot of the old school baseball minds tend to go with a veteran for an array of different reasons.

 

One being to show respect to a guy who has managed to hold down a major league job for an extended period of time.

 

Two, because they view a veteran as someone who is more likely to come up with a key hit because the veteran player has seen the pitcher on the mound before where the rookie hasn't.

 

I have been pretty happy with Lou to this point. He's made a few boneheaded decisions, but I'm sure any manager would be guilty of that over the course of a long season.

 

All one really has to do is to look around at the rest of the league and see that the kids are making contributions at a record pace. Cleveland is loaded with youth and battling Detroit for 1st in the AL Central. Arizona is young and battling for the NL West. Florida has a bunch of guys who are closer to their teenage years rather than their 30's, and while they aren't doing great in the standings, they have performed admirably considering.

 

Jason Marquis is probably directly responsible for Cesar Izturis still wearing a Cub uniform. Lou runs Izturis out there when Marquis is on the mound, and this is a move I actually agree with. At least until Cedeno gets the call.

 

I can tell that Lou values offensive production. I love Murton, but Floyd has produced much better than Murton. As Theriot's offensive struggles continue, Lou is finding more playing time for guys who are more productive. Yet, when Theriot was on fire, Lou was getting him out there very frequently. He rides out the hot streaks. If Murton put together a hot streak at any given time, I'm pretty certain Lou would ride it out with Murton in the starting line up.

 

This is a breath of fresh air.

[TruffleShuffle]

And on top of it all, Lou hasn't been afraid to let the kids play and allow millons of dollars to sit on the bench. That would not have happened in, oh, the past four years. The two things I like about Piniella are his flexibility and creativity. And he's not afraid to throw young players in at key times.

 

willingness to give the kids a chance, plus the awareness that sometimes pitchers get tired and should be removed from the game (starters) or given a day off (relievers), are the two things I like most about Lou. Or I guess I should say, like about Lou over Dusty Baker.

[soccer10k]

And on top of it all, Lou hasn't been afraid to let the kids play and allow millons of dollars to sit on the bench. That would not have happened in, oh, the past four years. The two things I like about Piniella are his flexibility and creativity. And he's not afraid to throw young players in at key times.

 

willingness to give the kids a chance, plus the awareness that sometimes pitchers get tired and should be removed from the game (starters) or given a day off (relievers), are the two things I like most about Lou. Or I guess I should say, like about Lou over Dusty Baker.

 

Not to mention that if you expect your reliever to be effective that they should sit on the bench for a week in between outings (obviously 2007 Eyre is an exception here). I remember when Dusty gave Guzman two outings in a week and a half at one point last year and he was just sitting in the pen.

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Related to the SS question: I am pretty sure Fontenot has played some SS in Iowa. DeRosa would indeed seem to be the more logical choice, given his big league (and minors) experience at the position, but I think Fontenot is a possibility, as well.

 

Frankly, after watching both of them the last few weeks, I don't care WHICH combination they choose, so long as a Fontenot/DeRosa DP combo is the outcome. I love their bats, their style of play, and.....(wait for it)....grittiness.