Geovany Soto

[BigbadB]

wait, we're starting kendall because he has more experience and we need that in a pennant race? Isn't all of his experience playing for the soap dropping pirates?

 

What am I missing here?

 

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

 

Yadier was 24 in 2006 and hit:

 

NLDS: .308 .308 .385

NLCS: .348 .423 .652

WS: .412 .500 .529

 

Gary Bennett got 1 at bat entirely during the playoffs last year.

 

Sometimes you have to make the decision that veteran leadership doesn't hold a candle to quality production.

 

Jason Kendall in playoffs for his career: .258 .303 .290

 

Ignore the fact that teams with speed can AND will run at will with Kendall behind the plate. He just doesn't provide much when comparing him to Soto. And assuming for a minute that the Cubs make the playoffs and may be contenders for playoffs in future years, wouldn't it be a good idea to get Soto some quality playoff experience now so that he can add that to his resume in coming years?

 

I have been very pleased with Lou this year. But, just because I'm pleased with the end result, it doesn't mean I have to agree with every move he makes. And this move would be a very bad one.

 

Actually, where I see Jason Kendall providing value to the Cubs down the stretch and in the playoffs is as a RH bat off the bench and decent back up catcher for a day game following a night game. His tendency to put the bat on the ball and strike out rarely makes him an ideal bat off the bench in a situation where you have runners in scoring position with less than 2 outs.

 

I'm sold on Soto. I'm not sure what else a guy can really do to prove he's ready for the next step.

[David]

Soto in the lineup today!!!!!!!

 

 

We can only hope this is Lou admitting his mistake quickly and not just the one start he was thinking of giving Soto in the last 5.

[wolf stansson]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

You mention banning to me, and then call me a douche. Nice. You know how you sound?

I didn't call you a douche, I merely pointed out that your behavior was taking on some douche-like qualities.

[Peoriaman]

I said earlier that I thought Soto would play some the last 4 games. I am happy he is.

[BigbadB]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

[Banedon]

Heh...so Lou is just a liar...got it... :D

[Warren Brusstar]

 

Don't be ridiculous. That may be the worst exaggeration on this board all week. I will apologize if someone can produce the stat which backs this up. You don't make your case very well when you make silly statements like this.

 

Well he hasn't thrown out a single guy on a straight steal since coming to the Cubs.

 

 

The odd thing is that I am really not trying to make a case for either of them, I am just saying I trust Lou on this one. Heaven forbid. :)

 

As mentioned before, this is blind faith. Dusty was an expert by your standards as well, but I'll be damned if I didn't criticize every other thing he did (because it was stupid).

 

 

Not blind faith. Sorry. If it was K Hill over Soto, that would be blind faith.

 

What more do you need to see from Kendall? With the exception of a reasonbly decent August, he's been absolutely putrid the entire season. And he hasn't actually been an asset since 2004.

[wolf stansson]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point.

[David]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point.

 

I think in his comparison/analogy, Molina is Soto and Bennett is Kendall.

 

Soto has outproduced (in limited time) and outplayed Kendall just like Molina did.

[BigbadB]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point.

 

Molina out produced Bennett.

Soto has out produced Kendall.

 

Kendall: .244 .301 .312

Soto: .378 .431 .667

 

It's not even close.

[wolf stansson]

Yeah, why the Cardinals went with Yadier Molina in most games last year rather than Gary Bennett during the playoffs was a foolish decision since it cost them the World Series. Oh wait......

That is a terrible comparison. Terrible.

 

Maybe not the best comparison, but there is nothing wrong with going with the better catcher if the production warrants it.

Right, but Molina out produced Bennett last year, so it is a moot point.

 

Molina out produced Bennett.

Soto has out produced Kendall.

 

Kendall: .244 .301 .312

Soto: .378 .431 .667

 

It's not even close.

Ok, I gotcha. You were saying playing Kendall is the hypothetical equivalent of if Tony had played Bennett inexplicably last year.

 

That makes sense.

[BigbadB]

Ok, I gotcha. You were saying playing Kendall is the hypothetical equivalent of if Tony had played Bennett inexplicably last year.

 

That makes sense.

 

Exactly. Bennett isn't the best example since he's always been a back up catcher. But, the point remains that it is foolish to place more value on experience and/or leadership over production.

[Peoriaman]

A big game for Soto today.

[Careless]

Not blind faith, but faith in a lifelong and very successfull baseball man. I am an anomaly of a fan---I generally believe that experts in their field--baseball managers--know more about the game than the casual fan--me. One thing I have learned about the internet fan---their arrogance re: their knowledge of sports is generally not justified.

 

It is no different here than in business---I trust my attorney and insurance guy to give me good advice. I simply don't know as much about these field as they do. I rely on them when I make decisions.

 

I would add that you are looking at a very small sample size when you assume Soto will be the guy the last few games. If Soto had been doing this for longer at the MLB level, I think Lou would go with him.

 

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith.

 

And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old.

 

If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said.

 

 

This is America, you can always disagree, just admit to yourself that the doctor is an expert and you don't know as much as he does.

Homeopaths are experts, but you'd be better off coming to me (not a medical professional) for health advice. If your expertise is based in bad assumptions about what is effective, then you should not be trusted to produce good results. In this case, it's more like Lou is a real doctor who was hit in the head and started prescribing homeopathic treatments as well as real medicine. He'll heal people a lot of the time, but part of the time he's going to screw his patients.

[Peoriaman]

Not blind faith, but faith in a lifelong and very successfull baseball man. I am an anomaly of a fan---I generally believe that experts in their field--baseball managers--know more about the game than the casual fan--me. One thing I have learned about the internet fan---their arrogance re: their knowledge of sports is generally not justified.

 

It is no different here than in business---I trust my attorney and insurance guy to give me good advice. I simply don't know as much about these field as they do. I rely on them when I make decisions.

 

I would add that you are looking at a very small sample size when you assume Soto will be the guy the last few games. If Soto had been doing this for longer at the MLB level, I think Lou would go with him.

 

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith.

 

And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old.

 

If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said.

 

 

This is America, you can always disagree, just admit to yourself that the doctor is an expert and you don't know as much as he does.

Homeopaths are experts, but you'd be better off coming to me (not a medical professional) for health advice. If your expertise is based in bad assumptions about what is effective, then you should not be trusted to produce good results. In this case, it's more like Lou is a real doctor who was hit in the head and started prescribing homeopathic treatments as well as real medicine. He'll heal people a lot of the time, but part of the time he's going to screw his patients.

 

 

^scratches head^^

[Careless]

Not blind faith, but faith in a lifelong and very successfull baseball man. I am an anomaly of a fan---I generally believe that experts in their field--baseball managers--know more about the game than the casual fan--me. One thing I have learned about the internet fan---their arrogance re: their knowledge of sports is generally not justified.

 

It is no different here than in business---I trust my attorney and insurance guy to give me good advice. I simply don't know as much about these field as they do. I rely on them when I make decisions.

 

I would add that you are looking at a very small sample size when you assume Soto will be the guy the last few games. If Soto had been doing this for longer at the MLB level, I think Lou would go with him.

 

But it is blind faith...you're ignoring the numbers and other factors other than Lou's opinion. It's the definition of blind faith.

 

And Lou has been riding the hot hand based on small sample sizes all season long. Even if Soto's just on a hot streak, and next season will just revert to being a crappy minor league catcher, why not ride out the hot streak? There's just no argument for this move that makes any sense. There isn't anything that Kendall does better than Soto. Other than be old.

 

If a doctor gives me a diagnosis, even if he knows more than me about the field, that doesn't mean I can't go and educate myself about what he's told me, and determine if I agree with what he said.

 

 

This is America, you can always disagree, just admit to yourself that the doctor is an expert and you don't know as much as he does.

Homeopaths are experts, but you'd be better off coming to me (not a medical professional) for health advice. If your expertise is based in bad assumptions about what is effective, then you should not be trusted to produce good results. In this case, it's more like Lou is a real doctor who was hit in the head and started prescribing homeopathic treatments as well as real medicine. He'll heal people a lot of the time, but part of the time he's going to screw his patients.

 

 

^scratches head^^

doctors who incorporate magical thinking into part of their practice kill people. Managers who incorporate magical thinking into part of their managing kill playoff chances. Simple enough?

[Peoriaman]

um, OK.

[Careless]

um, OK.

I'm sorry, I expect people who think they can contribute to this board to be able to understand really basic metaphors.

to simplify it still further, lou does smart things that he learned over his many years of baseball, and he does dumb things that he learned over his many years of baseball. stupid actions are bad.

[CubColtPacer]

The Reds series is one series where Lou seriously has to re-think starting Soto. Let's cast all the other debate about who is better in a normal situation aside for the moment. The thing is, the Reds are missing their 2 biggest power hitters. A team that usually relies on the long ball and less on the stolen base (they are 8th in the NL in stolen bases) suddenly finds itself with most of its power gone and using more of a speed lineup. They will be trying to make things happen on the bases.

 

Now, Z is pretty good at holding runners on, so Kendall is fine with starting tomorrow. If you don't start Soto paired up with Hill and Lilly though, the Reds will run all day long.

[soccer10k]

Heh...so Lou is just a liar...got it... :D

 

Day game after a night game. I'm fully expecting Kendall to be in the lineup the next three days. Also, during today's telecast Len and Bob said they thought we would see Kendall starting in Cincinnati.

[TruffleShuffle]

A big game for Soto today.

 

yeah 1-3 (single) with a run scored. And nobody ran on him. What's funny is that a .667 OPS is basically the average production Kendall, yet you're goofing on Soto for doing that today.

[David]

A big game for Soto today.

 

yeah 1-3 (single) with a run scored. And nobody ran on him. What's funny is that a .667 OPS is basically the average production Kendall, yet you're goofing on Soto for doing that today.

 

I don't think he was goofing on Soto. He posted that before the game, I'm pretty sure. And he said he was happy that Soto was playing. I think he just meant that Soto needed to perform today so he could again force himself into the lineup the rest of the way.

[Peoriaman]

The Reds series is one series where Lou seriously has to re-think starting Soto. Let's cast all the other debate about who is better in a normal situation aside for the moment. The thing is, the Reds are missing their 2 biggest power hitters. A team that usually relies on the long ball and less on the stolen base (they are 8th in the NL in stolen bases) suddenly finds itself with most of its power gone and using more of a speed lineup. They will be trying to make things happen on the bases.

 

Now, Z is pretty good at holding runners on, so Kendall is fine with starting tomorrow. If you don't start Soto paired up with Hill and Lilly though, the Reds will run all day long.

 

 

good points

[Peoriaman]

A big game for Soto today.

 

yeah 1-3 (single) with a run scored. And nobody ran on him. What's funny is that a .667 OPS is basically the average production Kendall, yet you're goofing on Soto for doing that today.

 

I don't think he was goofing on Soto. He posted that before the game, I'm pretty sure. And he said he was happy that Soto was playing. I think he just meant that Soto needed to perform today so he could again force himself into the lineup the rest of the way.

 

 

Exactly. Thanks.

[Brian]

Geo bats clean up and goes 3-4... only 3 hits how disapointing

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/photo/2007-09/32895976.jpg