Bruce Levine Says There is Interest in Jacque

[questionmarkgrace]

fuld is doing really well in the AFL. the problem is that the AFL, while stocked full of talented young players, the vast majority of them finished the year in double A or below. He's facing younger, less advanced talent. Also al ot of the good young pitchers are resting their arms because teams wont risk them ruining their career. It would be more of an eye opener if he wasnt mashing.

[badnews]

I think people are crapping a little too much on Sam Fuld. The same things people said about Fuld people have said about Reggie Willits and Rajai Davis. Those two are better basestealers, but still, no one thought those two would look like fine leadoff men in the majors. If you compare their numbers at the plate (i.e. not the steals) Fuld looks quite similar to Willits and Davis, in fact, he strikes out less than in the minors. Willits was also not a guy who was exactly a spring chicken for his level, like Fuld.

 

Also, why is Tony Gwynn Jr. considered a "real prospect" but Sam Fuld is considered dung? Tony Gwynn Jr. looks like the next Willie Harris or something.

 

I'm just puzzled by the differing perceptions. Hopefully someone can clear this up.

[Guest]

Do people really think Tony Gwynn Jr is a prospect? Don't listen to those types of people, badnews.

[imb]

I think people are crapping a little too much on Sam Fuld. The same things people said about Fuld people have said about Reggie Willits and Rajai Davis. Those two are better basestealers, but still, no one thought those two would look like fine leadoff men in the majors. If you compare their numbers at the plate (i.e. not the steals) Fuld looks quite similar to Willits and Davis, in fact, he strikes out less than in the minors. Willits was also not a guy who was exactly a spring chicken for his level, like Fuld.

 

Also, why is Tony Gwynn Jr. considered a "real prospect" but Sam Fuld is considered dung? Tony Gwynn Jr. looks like the next Willie Harris or something.

 

I'm just puzzled by the differing perceptions. Hopefully someone can clear this up.

 

Tony Gwynn Jr is not considered a real prospect.

 

Reggie Willits is not good. But still, he was much better than Fuld in the minors.

 

I don't know about Rajai Davis, but he looks terrible.

[haltz]

and that .326 BABIP came back to normal

to his career .322 mark?

[badnews]

Tony Gwynn Jr is not considered a real prospect.

 

Reggie Willits is not good. But still, he was much better than Fuld in the minors.

 

I don't know about Rajai Davis, but he looks terrible.

 

I've never thought anything about Tony Gwynn Jr., but the way a lot of others talk about him, and the crazy trade rumors he's mentioned in... wow.

 

Reggie Willits was "much" better than Fuld in the minors?

 

Fuld's career minor league line - .296 / .377 / .417 for a .794 OPS, 141 strikeouts in 1184 ABs

 

Willits' career minor league line - .301 / .397 / .397 for a .794 OPS, 292 strikeouts in 1596 ABs

 

Let's keep in mind Willits also got to play in the Cal League and spent far more time in a hitter-friendly environment at Triple A than Fuld did. Fuld also had to play in the dead-ball Midwest League.

 

Willits has stolen more bases. Okay, that accounts for "better." But Willits has shown less power than Fuld, and strikes out more, which is important when we're talking about these slap-hitter guys. And I'm somewhat encouraged by the fact that since 2006, Fuld has stolen 34 bases and been caught 6 times. That's some baserunning speed. So I don't know about "much" better.

 

Rajai Davis's major league numbers so far would, if he were a Cub, be the best leadoff numbers the Cubs would've had.

[imb]

Tony Gwynn Jr is not considered a real prospect.

 

Reggie Willits is not good. But still, he was much better than Fuld in the minors.

 

I don't know about Rajai Davis, but he looks terrible.

 

I've never thought anything about Tony Gwynn Jr., but the way a lot of others talk about him, and the crazy trade rumors he's mentioned in... wow.

 

Reggie Willits was "much" better than Fuld in the minors?

 

Fuld's career minor league line - .296 / .377 / .417 for a .794 OPS, 141 strikeouts in 1184 ABs

 

Willits' career minor league line - .301 / .397 / .397 for a .794 OPS, 292 strikeouts in 1596 ABs

 

Let's keep in mind Willits also got to play in the Cal League and spent far more time in a hitter-friendly environment at Triple A than Fuld did. Fuld also had to play in the dead-ball Midwest League.

 

Willits has stolen more bases. Okay, that accounts for "better." But Willits has shown less power than Fuld, and strikes out more, which is important when we're talking about these slap-hitter guys. And I'm somewhat encouraged by the fact that since 2006, Fuld has stolen 34 bases and been caught 6 times. That's some baserunning speed. So I don't know about "much" better.

 

Rajai Davis's major league numbers so far would, if he were a Cub, be the best leadoff numbers the Cubs would've had.

 

Rajai Davis' major league numbers are awful and he's played a total of 95 games. He's Juan Pierre, minus 20 steals and plus 20 points of OBP. He's bad.

 

I was mainly comparing Willits' and Fuld's AAA numbers, which was a mistake, since Fuld only played in 19 games there.

 

The point is, even if Fuld somehow finds a way to duplicate Willits' 2007 MLB season...it's still awful.

 

Even if he finds a way to become exactly the same player that WIllits' is, that's no good. Willits had three good months and three terrible ones. He's no good.

 

EDIT

 

Strike that, two good months. April was just 29 at bats

[badnews]

Rajai Davis' major league numbers are awful and he's played a total of 95 games. He's Juan Pierre, minus 20 steals and plus 20 points of OBP. He's bad.

 

I was mainly comparing Willits' and Fuld's AAA numbers, which was a mistake, since Fuld only played in 19 games there.

 

The point is, even if Fuld somehow finds a way to duplicate Willits' 2007 MLB season...it's still awful.

 

Even if he finds a way to become exactly the same player that WIllits' is, that's no good. Willits had three good months and three terrible ones. He's no good.

 

Awful? I wouldn't characterize those numbers as awful at all if they're coming from a center fielder and he's making the MLB minimum. I'm just curious, at this point, what do think the Cubs realistically have to look forward to as far as a tailor-made leadoff hitter? I don't think we're getting Jimmy Rollins, Hanley Ramirez, or Ichiro numbers. Willits put up a .391 OBP and had 27 steals with 8 caught. A .391 OBP with some threat of stealing a base, and running the bases well? I'd take that for the leadoff spot. Davis' numbers were worse, but looking at what he did with the Giants, a .363 OBP with 17 steals in 51 games, over the course of a year that would look fine in the Cubs' leadoff spot.

 

I think OBP is the most important part of a leadoff man's job, and I agree a .675 OPS guy is not good anywhere even if he has a high OBP, and I probably like speed in the leadoff spot more than the average person on here. So if a guy can play a position of defensive value (like center) and put up a .350+ OBP and an OPS of, heck, at this point, even .720, while stealing 20 bases or so at a reasonable percentage, AND be cheap salary-wise, I'd take that because it's been pretty much crap since Lofton.

 

I think a lot of people would be happy to get a Reggie Willits 2007 season out of Fuld, and I don't see how that is impossible.

[Mephistopheles]

the most important job for a leadoff hitter is being a good hitter. whether or not that includes obp doesnt matter.

[imb]

Rajai Davis' major league numbers are awful and he's played a total of 95 games. He's Juan Pierre, minus 20 steals and plus 20 points of OBP. He's bad.

 

I was mainly comparing Willits' and Fuld's AAA numbers, which was a mistake, since Fuld only played in 19 games there.

 

The point is, even if Fuld somehow finds a way to duplicate Willits' 2007 MLB season...it's still awful.

 

Even if he finds a way to become exactly the same player that WIllits' is, that's no good. Willits had three good months and three terrible ones. He's no good.

 

Awful? I wouldn't characterize those numbers as awful at all if they're coming from a center fielder and he's making the MLB minimum. I'm just curious, at this point, what do think the Cubs realistically have to look forward to as far as a tailor-made leadoff hitter? I don't think we're getting Jimmy Rollins, Hanley Ramirez, or Ichiro numbers. Willits put up a .391 OBP and had 27 steals with 8 caught. A .391 OBP with some threat of stealing a base, and running the bases well? I'd take that for the leadoff spot. Davis' numbers were worse, but looking at what he did with the Giants, a .363 OBP with 17 steals in 51 games, over the course of a year that would look fine in the Cubs' leadoff spot.

 

I think OBP is the most important part of a leadoff man's job, and I agree a .675 OPS guy is not good anywhere even if he has a high OBP, and I probably like speed in the leadoff spot more than the average person on here. So if a guy can play a position of defensive value (like center) and put up a .350+ OBP and an OPS of, heck, at this point, even .720, while stealing 20 bases or so at a reasonable percentage, AND be cheap salary-wise, I'd take that because it's been pretty much crap since Lofton.

 

I think a lot of people would be happy to get a Reggie Willits 2007 season out of Fuld, and I don't see how that is impossible.

 

Willits was worth 11.3 offensive win shares...or less than Macier Izturis. His OPS+ was 97, and considering his less than remarkable minor league career and the drop off he had in the last three months of the season, he probably played way over his head.

[Sammy Sofa]

Also, why is Tony Gwynn Jr. considered a "real prospect"

 

Nobody is saying that.

[nilodnayr]

Jersey - so you are saying the Cubs had no problems with LHP in 2007? In addition, you don't think the Cubs could use a few left handed hitters in the lineup? Jones' numbers weren't so bad against LHP in 2007, maybe he figured something out.

 

So you want the cubs to acquire left handed hitters AND improve against left handed pitchers. You do realize that for the most part those are opposing needs. I'd love for someone to tell me why we need left handed hitters.

[KingCubsFan]

Oh, I agree he handled it very professionally. Jacque seems like a good person, and would likely go the whole year without publicly complaining. Regardless, how is Pie that big of a risk compared to any other young player? He's succeeded at every level in the minors; his only weakness is hitting lefties which, coincidentally, is also Jones's. I'd prefer to have a backup that can actually play against lefties. In my opinion, Pie is a better bet to produce than Soto, who came out of nowhere this year.

 

I don't know that you're correct in saying Pie is a better bet to be an improvement at his position over Soto.

I didn't say that. I just think, overall, Pie has a better chance of producing adequately over a full season. In terms of their respective positions, Soto's bar is set so low in terms of Cubs catchers that he should be able to beat that fairly easily

[Lefty]

He is a solid option in...RF

 

Jacque is solid in RF only in that he is neither a liquid nor a vapor.

 

Post of the year nominee.

[Elrhino]

After these FA's sign their contracts, JJ with 1 year left at $5 million will be quite a bargain. The Rangers are said to be looking to trade for a CF at the GM meetings, becuase they deem the FA class too expensive and under productive. I'd be surprised if they weren't one of the teams sniffing around JJ. Frankly, I wouldn't let JJ go unless it was for good value. He's an asset on a team and should be treated like one. Just dumping him would be supremely idiotic, I don't care if he's going to win Most Popular on an internet message board or not.

[KingCubsFan]

After these FA's sign their contracts, JJ with 1 year left at $5 million will be quite a bargain. The Rangers are said to be looking to trade for a CF at the GM meetings, becuase they deem the FA class too expensive and under productive. I'd be surprised if they weren't one of the teams sniffing around JJ. Frankly, I wouldn't let JJ go unless it was for good value. He's an asset on a team and should be treated like one. Just dumping him would be supremely idiotic, I don't care if he's going to win Most Popular on an internet message board or not.

He's not really much of an asset to this team. He's either going to be holding back Pie, taking playing time away from Murton (they're pretty much equal but at least Murton has the possibility of improving) or sit on the bench where his skills aren't utilized. However, I agree he should be marketed as an asset, and hope a team bites and takes the whole salary.

[javy knows my name]

Jersey - so you are saying the Cubs had no problems with LHP in 2007? In addition, you don't think the Cubs could use a few left handed hitters in the lineup? Jones' numbers weren't so bad against LHP in 2007, maybe he figured something out.

 

So you want the cubs to acquire left handed hitters AND improve against left handed pitchers. You do realize that for the most part those are opposing needs. I'd love for someone to tell me why we need left handed hitters.

 

I believe that term you are looking for is mutually exclusive. Well, that might be a bit strong.

Maybe Abe thinks Jacque's one year of moderate success against lefties means most lefties hit well against other lefties? (Wow, thats a lot of lefties). And no, the Cubs don't need more lefty hitters, righty hitters or switch hitters; they need patient hitters.

[Yanksfan1523]

He is a solid option in...RF

 

Jacque is solid in RF only in that he is neither a liquid nor a vapor.

 

Post of the year nominee.

 

I second that nomination!! THAT IS A CLASSIC!!