Murton and Cherry recalled from Iowa

[moorecg]

He had a bad 2 months then a very solid 3rd month, considering his past, why are you so dead set on believing the first two were the "real" Kendall.

OPS......he's never been an OPS guy, he's been an OBP guy, and that's what I've been talking about...Don't just pick a particular stat b/c it suits you. If he can put up an OBP of .350 he'll be an asset no matter what his OPS is.

 

His best OBP month this year is .326.

 

He's been sub .250 in April, May and July. It's not a 2 month bad streak. It's 3 months of complete suckitude. Not Neifi like .295 OBP suckitude, but new and improved suckitude the likes of which the Cubs don't even seen.

 

Don't give me BS about "picking a stat". OPS matters. The fact that Kendall only provides one part of the package when he's going good, and that he hasn't even put up a good OBP in any month this year tells you he's worthless.

 

I'm dead set on believing he's done because I'm dead set on not being naive enough to think the Cubs can coax the best out of an aging ballplayer.

 

Catchers age quickly and disappear. Kendall is an old catcher with many miles on him and he has shown over the course of this entire season that he's done.

 

Posada, I-Rod, Loduca, Veritek...and that's only off the top of my head a list of 4 catchers 35 or older who tend not to suck...Kendall just turned 33, its not like he's pushing 40.

[Balsa]

Posada, I-Rod, Loduca, Veritek...and that's only off the top of my head a list of 4 catchers 35 or older who tend not to suck...Kendall just turned 33, its not like he's pushing 40.

It's not just the years, it's the mileage. He was playing almost every day.

[jersey cubs fan]

Posada, I-Rod, Loduca, Veritek...and that's only off the top of my head a list of 4 catchers 35 or older who tend not to suck...Kendall just turned 33, its not like he's pushing 40.

 

That's a short list. There aren't many.

 

Also it should be noted that only IRod has been catching in the majors for as long as Kendall. JK has more innings behind the plate than all but IRod. He also doesn't have the DH to fall back on as a rest. And finally, all of those guys have something in their game that helps older plays stay relevent, a spot of power.

 

Pudge is the one exception currently playing. Fisk is another from history. But very few catchers last as long as Kendall has, in terms of years of service and innings caught, without a steep decline. Kendall was a one dimensional player in recent years. It shouldn't shock anybody if a one dimensional player with a history of physical problems at a position like catcher could deteriorate quickly.

[moorecg]

Posada, I-Rod, Loduca, Veritek...and that's only off the top of my head a list of 4 catchers 35 or older who tend not to suck...Kendall just turned 33, its not like he's pushing 40.

 

That's a short list. There aren't many.

 

Also it should be noted that only IRod has been catching in the majors for as long as Kendall. JK has more innings behind the plate than all but IRod. He also doesn't have the DH to fall back on as a rest. And finally, all of those guys have something in their game that helps older plays stay relevent, a spot of power.

 

Pudge is the one exception currently playing. Fisk is another from history. But very few catchers last as long as Kendall has, in terms of years of service and innings caught, without a steep decline. Kendall was a one dimensional player in recent years. It shouldn't shock anybody if a one dimensional player with a history of physical problems at a position like catcher could deteriorate quickly.

 

I never suggested keeping him beyond this year, I think that woudl be a bad idea, but the month prior to the trade he hit .295; had a .330 OBP and a .750+ OPS (if you want to use that stat)...considering those numbers, what we had, and what we had to give up for him, I'm won't call Hendry out for making the deal, or say Kendall is going to suck the rest of the year just yet....if he does, well fine...he does, but I'm all for giving him more than 5-6 games to make that determination.

[jersey cubs fan]

I never suggested keeping him beyond this year, I think that woudl be a bad idea, but the month prior to the trade he hit .295; had a .330 OBP and a .750+ OPS (if you want to use that stat)...considering those numbers, what we had, and what we had to give up for him, I'm won't call Hendry out for making the deal, or say Kendall is going to suck the rest of the year just yet....if he does, well fine...he does, but I'm all for giving him more than 5-6 games to make that determination.

 

In the month of June he hit .295/.326/.432. And it barely put a dent in his terrible season. He hit 2 of the 3 HR he's hit in 3 years during that month to inflate those numbers. We can't realistically expect him to hit even 1 the rest of the way. And I think there's very little hope of him even putting up a .300 OBP the rest of the way.

 

Why do you insist on pretending people are only giving him 5-6 games? He's played 86 this year with well over 300 AB and his numbers have been absolutely atrocious. Not struggling. Not off. Absolutely freaking atrocious.

 

Old guys disappear in baseball. How many times do you have to see marginal players finish their careers in a Cubs uniform before admitting they have an awful tendency of thinking guys have more left in the tank than they actually do? Jim Hendry pays far too little attention to the negatives involved in older players. He's convinced himself that guys peak in their 30s when all the evidence indicates it's well before that. Why is it so hard to imagine that he and his scouting friends were impressed by, and fooled by Kendall's 3/3 1HR day against the Yankees and therefore mistakenly thought he could help?

 

I don't see why anybody would want to give the benefit of the doubt to an old catcher who is obviously nowhere near the player he once was and is going through not just a slump, but a completely terrible season.

[moorecg]

I never suggested keeping him beyond this year, I think that woudl be a bad idea, but the month prior to the trade he hit .295; had a .330 OBP and a .750+ OPS (if you want to use that stat)...considering those numbers, what we had, and what we had to give up for him, I'm won't call Hendry out for making the deal, or say Kendall is going to suck the rest of the year just yet....if he does, well fine...he does, but I'm all for giving him more than 5-6 games to make that determination.

 

In the month of June he hit .295/.326/.432. And it barely put a dent in his terrible season. He hit 2 of the 3 HR he's hit in 3 years during that month to inflate those numbers. We can't realistically expect him to hit even 1 the rest of the way. And I think there's very little hope of him even putting up a .300 OBP the rest of the way.

 

Why do you insist on pretending people are only giving him 5-6 games? He's played 86 this year with well over 300 AB and his numbers have been absolutely atrocious. Not struggling. Not off. Absolutely freaking atrocious.

 

Old guys disappear in baseball. How many times do you have to see marginal players finish their careers in a Cubs uniform before admitting they have an awful tendency of thinking guys have more left in the tank than they actually do? Jim Hendry pays far too little attention to the negatives involved in older players. He's convinced himself that guys peak in their 30s when all the evidence indicates it's well before that. Why is it so hard to imagine that he and his scouting friends were impressed by, and fooled by Kendall's 3/3 1HR day against the Yankees and therefore mistakenly thought he could help?

 

I don't see why anybody would want to give the benefit of the doubt to an old catcher who is obviously nowhere near the player he once was and is going through not just a slump, but a completely terrible season.

 

 

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games. His hitting coach from when he was pretty solid is our current hitting coach, I give some creedence to the idea that that could play a role...he also put up quite a bit better numbers on the road than he did in Oakland...so I take that into consideration, again his June was solid, he's much better against righties than lefties so if we play our switch hitting back up against lefties his overall numbers go up and he gets some of that rest you spoke of earlier, strangely enough, he's put up great numbers the 2nd time he sees a pitcher in a game so that tells me he has a pretty good approach at the plate...

 

To be worth while he didn't need to be better than Johnny Bench, he needed to be better offensively than Koiye Hill. I'm willing to give him the chance to do that.

[USSoccer]

I never suggested keeping him beyond this year, I think that woudl be a bad idea, but the month prior to the trade he hit .295; had a .330 OBP and a .750+ OPS (if you want to use that stat)...considering those numbers, what we had, and what we had to give up for him, I'm won't call Hendry out for making the deal, or say Kendall is going to suck the rest of the year just yet....if he does, well fine...he does, but I'm all for giving him more than 5-6 games to make that determination.

 

In the month of June he hit .295/.326/.432. And it barely put a dent in his terrible season. He hit 2 of the 3 HR he's hit in 3 years during that month to inflate those numbers. We can't realistically expect him to hit even 1 the rest of the way. And I think there's very little hope of him even putting up a .300 OBP the rest of the way.

 

Why do you insist on pretending people are only giving him 5-6 games? He's played 86 this year with well over 300 AB and his numbers have been absolutely atrocious. Not struggling. Not off. Absolutely freaking atrocious.

 

Old guys disappear in baseball. How many times do you have to see marginal players finish their careers in a Cubs uniform before admitting they have an awful tendency of thinking guys have more left in the tank than they actually do? Jim Hendry pays far too little attention to the negatives involved in older players. He's convinced himself that guys peak in their 30s when all the evidence indicates it's well before that. Why is it so hard to imagine that he and his scouting friends were impressed by, and fooled by Kendall's 3/3 1HR day against the Yankees and therefore mistakenly thought he could help?

 

I don't see why anybody would want to give the benefit of the doubt to an old catcher who is obviously nowhere near the player he once was and is going through not just a slump, but a completely terrible season.

 

 

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games. His hitting coach from when he was pretty solid is our current hitting coach, I give some creedence to the idea that that could play a role...he also put up quite a bit better numbers on the road than he did in Oakland...so I take that into consideration, again his June was solid, he's much better against righties than lefties so if we play our switch hitting back up against lefties his overall numbers go up and he gets some of that rest you spoke of earlier, strangely enough, he's put up great numbers the 2nd time he sees a pitcher in a game so that tells me he has a pretty good approach at the plate...

 

To be worth while he didn't need to be better than Johnny Bench, he needed to be better offensively than Koiye Hill. I'm willing to give him the chance to do that.

 

And what about his 2007 suggests that he should be given a chance to do anything?

[moorecg]

I never suggested keeping him beyond this year, I think that woudl be a bad idea, but the month prior to the trade he hit .295; had a .330 OBP and a .750+ OPS (if you want to use that stat)...considering those numbers, what we had, and what we had to give up for him, I'm won't call Hendry out for making the deal, or say Kendall is going to suck the rest of the year just yet....if he does, well fine...he does, but I'm all for giving him more than 5-6 games to make that determination.

 

In the month of June he hit .295/.326/.432. And it barely put a dent in his terrible season. He hit 2 of the 3 HR he's hit in 3 years during that month to inflate those numbers. We can't realistically expect him to hit even 1 the rest of the way. And I think there's very little hope of him even putting up a .300 OBP the rest of the way.

 

Why do you insist on pretending people are only giving him 5-6 games? He's played 86 this year with well over 300 AB and his numbers have been absolutely atrocious. Not struggling. Not off. Absolutely freaking atrocious.

 

Old guys disappear in baseball. How many times do you have to see marginal players finish their careers in a Cubs uniform before admitting they have an awful tendency of thinking guys have more left in the tank than they actually do? Jim Hendry pays far too little attention to the negatives involved in older players. He's convinced himself that guys peak in their 30s when all the evidence indicates it's well before that. Why is it so hard to imagine that he and his scouting friends were impressed by, and fooled by Kendall's 3/3 1HR day against the Yankees and therefore mistakenly thought he could help?

 

I don't see why anybody would want to give the benefit of the doubt to an old catcher who is obviously nowhere near the player he once was and is going through not just a slump, but a completely terrible season.

 

 

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games. His hitting coach from when he was pretty solid is our current hitting coach, I give some creedence to the idea that that could play a role...he also put up quite a bit better numbers on the road than he did in Oakland...so I take that into consideration, again his June was solid, he's much better against righties than lefties so if we play our switch hitting back up against lefties his overall numbers go up and he gets some of that rest you spoke of earlier, strangely enough, he's put up great numbers the 2nd time he sees a pitcher in a game so that tells me he has a pretty good approach at the plate...

 

To be worth while he didn't need to be better than Johnny Bench, he needed to be better offensively than Koiye Hill. I'm willing to give him the chance to do that.

 

And what about his 2007 suggests that he should be given a chance to do anything?

 

Um...exactly what I just typed.

[jersey cubs fan]

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games.

 

He's been terrible all season. I don't see the point in pretending that people are making a judgement over 5-6 games. They are judging him on his numbers, all season long. He's been awful, all season long.

[moorecg]

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games.

 

He's been terrible all season. I don't see the point in pretending that people are making a judgement over 5-6 games. They are judging him on his numbers, all season long. He's been awful, all season long.

 

Except June.

[USSoccer]

 

And what about his 2007 suggests that he should be given a chance to do anything?

 

Um...exactly what I just typed.

 

There's nothing about Gerald Perry, or changing scenery that's going to make the 2007 Jason Kendall turn into the 2001 Jason Kendall.

 

He's old, having a godawful season, and plays a position where we have 2 better options in house. Not only do I believe Soto is better both offensively and defensively, but I believe Koyie Hill is at least as good offensively, and much, much better defensively. So why bother to give a terrible, old, bad, broken down player we got for nothing any more chances in the middle of a playoff chase?

[rickrolled]

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games.

 

He's been terrible all season. I don't see the point in pretending that people are making a judgement over 5-6 games. They are judging him on his numbers, all season long. He's been awful, all season long.

 

Except June.

 

a .758 OPS is really not too good.

[USSoccer]

Because for the last week (hell, after his first game) there has been a ton of "See, he's awful"...and that has been over 5-6 games.

 

He's been terrible all season. I don't see the point in pretending that people are making a judgement over 5-6 games. They are judging him on his numbers, all season long. He's been awful, all season long.

 

Except June.

 

A .326 OBP with a .295 BA is pathetic. And his June didn't budge his overall awful numbers.

 

People need to get past the name "Jason Kendall" and realize that he isn't any good anymore.

[Rob]

OPS+ by age.

 

Pudge:

 

19 - 75

20 - 88

21 - 98

22 - 117

23 - 102

24 - 104

25 - 114

26 - 120

27 - 125

28 - 152

29 - 130

30 - 123

31 - 124

32 - 135

33 - 94

34 - 98

35 - 93

 

Posada:

 

25 - 102

26 - 114

27 - 97

28 - 134

29 - 119

30 - 123

31 - 146

32 - 133

33 - 105

34 - 127

35 - 149

 

Varitek:

 

26 - 85

27 - 100

28 - 84

29 - 124

30 - 94

31 - 120

32 - 121

33 - 125

34 - 85

35 - 104

 

LoDuca:

 

27 - 68

28 - 75

29 - 144

30 - 100

31 - 92

32 - 99

33 - 92

34 - 105

35 - 82

 

Kendall:

 

22 - 102

23 - 115

24 - 131

25 - 137

26 - 125

27 - 80

28 - 83

29 - 115

30 - 110

31 - 77

32 - 89

33 - 45

 

Posada is the only one of the five who is still hitting much anymore.

Edited July 27, 2007 by Rob

[RegulusBlue]

/clears voice

 

BOOYA. MATT MURTON IS BACK. HOORAY FOR HAVING A BRAIN.

 

 

Now I have to change my sig.

[inari]

You're going to have to explain that Ron Zook picture to me.

[bdutts]

You're going to have to explain that Ron Zook picture to me.

 

He's trying to lock down the Illinois boarders by getting all the top Illinois players to come to the home state school.

 

Pardon the threadjack.

[CubmanPi]

So the original link has Paul "cream of the sports journalism crop" Sullivan saying the Cubs plan to recall Murton and Cherry, but he couldn't even go so far as to speculate on who goes down.

 

Do we have any other indications as to whether or not this is actually going to happen or when?

Sullivan didn't cite a source. Anyone?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So the original link has Paul "cream of the sports journalism crop" Sullivan saying the Cubs plan to recall Murton and Cherry, but he couldn't even go so far as to speculate on who goes down.

 

Do we have any other indications as to whether or not this is actually going to happen or when?

Sullivan didn't cite a source. Anyone?

 

Petrick and Fox would be the obvious choices, but I don't know anything officially.

[Soriano12]

You're going to have to explain that Ron Zook picture to me.

 

He's trying to lock down the Illinois boarders by getting all the top Illinois players to come to the home state school.

 

Pardon the threadjack.

 

It's a cool pick, but the size of it is more annoying than Bruce Weber's puberty voice...I'm just sayin......

[Skyballer]

We want Murton, We want Murton :!: :D

[inari]

Not if he's not starting every single day we don't. Lou better not mess this up. My Matt Murton autographed bat isn't going to accrue any value by him sitting on the bench.

[Bruce Miles]

Great morning for beating mlb.com to the punch. Sully and I were on the connecting flight out of Chicago to St. Louis with Matt and Rocky. They were in great spirits. So we both put something on our Web sites. The Trib's was a little faster, but no longer is mlb.com the sole owner of breaking news. No, I don't know the corresponding roster moves yet.

[Skyballer]

Great morning for beating mlb.com to the punch. Sully and I were on the connecting flight out of Chicago to St. Louis with Matt and Rocky. They were in great spirits. So we both put something on our Web sites. The Trib's was a little faster, but no longer is mlb.com the sole owner of breaking news. No, I don't know the corresponding roster moves yet.

Thank you fro the confirmation Bruce

[Laura]

awesome, Bruce!

 

So ... did you happen to spot any other interesting players on the flight? :)