[UBlink]

Seems his college coach didn't think of him as a "natural" shortstop:

 

While he may have been better suited for second base, Bertman sometimes wondered, Fontenot — the fabulous freshman — had that spot and Theriot could handle short.

[Skyballer]

Seems his college coach didn't think of him as a "natural" shortstop:

 

While he may have been better suited for second base, Bertman sometimes wondered, Fontenot — the fabulous freshman — had that spot and Theriot could handle short.

Notice the words may and wondered, seems like he wasn't sure about moving him from short. Being a natural SS doesn't mean you have a good arm it means that's where you're most comfortable and used to playing.

[Abe Frohman]

Theriot doesn't necessarily have a bad arm.

[Skyballer]

Theriot doesn't necessarily have a bad arm.

No but it is slightly below average for a SS. My argument is that he's a natural SS, and that has nothing to do with his arm at all.

[David]

Him feeling comfortable at a position has nothing to do with him being a 'natural' SS. Your definition of this term is just completely different from mine and anyone else's I've ever heard.

 

Being a natural shortstop means you have the natural tools (arm, range, glove, etc.) to field SS well. If I feel comfortable playing SS in the major leagues, but I'm really, really bad, does that make me a 'natural' SS?

 

Theriot is a passable SS, at best, and I'm glad Piniella is using him there because he's better than the alternative. Hopefully, Ronny can solidify that position by hitting as well as Riot while fielding it a little better.

 

Again, I'm not too concerned about Riot's defense, because I don't really care that much about defense as long as the guy can make the routine plays, but to say that Riot is a 'natural' SS is more than a reach, IMO.

[UBlink]

Seems his college coach didn't think of him as a "natural" shortstop:

 

While he may have been better suited for second base, Bertman sometimes wondered, Fontenot — the fabulous freshman — had that spot and Theriot could handle short.

Notice the words may and wondered, seems like he wasn't sure about moving him from short. Being a natural SS doesn't mean you have a good arm it means that's where you're most comfortable and used to playing.

 

I only pulled one quote from the article. If you saw anything in there that indicated his college coach considered him a natural SS please point it out. I got the feel that the coach was saying he was a natural second baseman who played adequate (if unnerving) defense at short.

 

During the College World Series that year, Bertman described Theriot’s high-wire defense as “by the seat of his pants” and just enough to do the job while making “a cup of coffee nervous.”

 

I have no problem with Theriot's performance with the Cubs this year. If he can keep up the offense I think his defense is perfectly adequate. But in my mind a natural shortstop is one that doesn't make his manager or the fans (or a cup of coffee) nervous.

[brinoch]

Please take the Theriot/Natural SS argument back to its original thread. That's a fine debate to have, and I encourage everyone to participate and offer their opinion. However, repeating arguments from controversial threads in a completely thread is trolling, and it is not acceptable. Nor will it be accepted.

 

Continuing this trend will result in warnings, suspensions and bans.

[brinoch]

The proper place for a debate about Theriot's status as a "natural SS" is in this thread. In Baseball Discussions. Not scattered across repeated threads throughout several different forums. Please keep discussions as topical as possible, and do not continue debates in new/different threads.

 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

[Exile on Waveland]

No.

[rickrolled]

his wiki tells me yes

[jersey cubs fan]

what a silly discussion. Who cares? It's an arbitrary definition.

[davearm]

what a silly discussion. Who cares? It's an arbitrary definition.

Exactly.

 

The answer depends entirely upon how "natural SS" is defined.

[David]

what a silly discussion. Who cares? It's an arbitrary definition.

 

This is true.

 

...but I still say it's ridiculous to essentially call Theriot a prototypical shortstop.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

He's no Eckstein, I'll give you that. I could throw harder than that guy.

[CyHawk_Cub]

what a silly discussion. Who cares? It's an arbitrary definition.

Exactly.

 

The answer depends entirely upon how "natural SS" is defined.

 

x3... The original point is based on one person's arbitrary definition of "natural" anyway... A person's who's "logic" doesn't appear to be all that sound either. The fact is, Theriot is playing SS now and that's where he needs to get the job done. Whether that's his "natural" position is immaterial.

[YearofDaCubs]

Natural SS? Does it really matter? The guy has played good at SS, that's all I need to know.

[Abe Frohman]

I think I've mentioned this before, but a good friend of mine was a teammate of Theriot's at LSU - and when he tells me that Theriot hit 91 on the gun, I'm thinking there is nothing below average about his arm.

 

I can't remember him making any costly errors, and I think his defense has been good enough to not question his ability at SS.

 

Most importantly, Theriot at SS has been working - hasn't it?

[Skyballer]

Yes it has.

[Abe Frohman]

Funny story - Theriot actually gave LSU Coach Skip Bertman a "heart attack."

 

Was watching the Cubs/Cards tonight with the friend of mine (that I mentioned played at LSU with Theriot). He told me this story when I mentioned this thread to him.

 

When Theriot was a freshman at LSU, he made some boneheaded play that really pissed Bertman off. Bertman kinda flipped out and ended up hitting his head and actually had a small heart attack or some kind of heart murmur or something. I think he required medical attention too.

 

Kinda humerous, and fitting for this thread.

[NCCubFan]

Funny story - Theriot actually gave LSU Coach Skip Bertman a "heart attack."

 

Was watching the Cubs/Cards tonight with the friend of mine (that I mentioned played at LSU with Theriot). He told me this story when I mentioned this thread to him.

 

When Theriot was a freshman at LSU, he made some boneheaded play that really pissed Bertman off. Bertman kinda flipped out and ended up hitting his head and actually had a small heart attack or some kind of heart murmur or something. I think he required medical attention too.

 

Kinda humerous, and fitting for this thread.

Um, yes, I've never heard of anyone having a heart attack and not requiring medical attention. :D

[Abe Frohman]

Good point.