Soriano to DL; Patterson to Chicago

[YearofDaCubs]

This is why we are never going anywhere with a monkey like Hendry as a GM. Absolutely terrible GM!

 

Here we go again, jump all over Hendry and give Lou a pass. All of these negative posts about Hendry's decision to call up Patterson over Murton are ridiculous. I'm sure Lou told Hendry who to call up. For all of Hendry's flaws, allowing the manager to make all of the personnel decisions might be his biggest flaw.

Yeah, I will jump on Hendry because he is a terrible GM like it or not. If Lou is calling the shots or Hendry it doesn't matter, it is still a terrible move.

[Wilson A2000]

How hurt is Hoffpauir? I wonder what would have happened if he had been healthy and playing in AAA. I could handle Hoffpauir over Murton. I can handle Patterson over Murton provided he is used properly (i.e. playing everyday).

 

I thought I heard that Hoffpauir was going to be out 4-6 weeks which was what, 2 weeks or so ago?

[Guest]

How hurt is Hoffpauir? I wonder what would have happened if he had been healthy and playing in AAA. I could handle Hoffpauir over Murton. I can handle Patterson over Murton provided he is used properly (i.e. playing everyday).

 

Expected out another 2-4 weeks, he hasn't even taken BP in Mesa.

[biittner77]

Even as AAA filler Murton's value is questionable at this point. Once an org lets the world know that it projects a player's ceiling as a 6th or maybe 5th OF with no CF capability then he's just a waste of space at any level higher than A ball. Trade him for a PTBNL, waive him, release him, whatever. It makes little difference anymore.

 

I completely disagree. Other teams have their own scouts. Why would they care what the Cubs think? It might make them think they can get Murton on the cheap and perhaps reduce offers but Hendry doesn't seem to be willing to sell low on Murton otherwise he would have already done so.

[soapy]

i'm somewhat surprised at how many people are defending this move. it's so incredibly stupid that i can hardly fathom it. anyone who thinks that having Patterson/Fontenot in the lineup is better than having Murton in the lineup (and thus keeping Derosa in his "natural" position) is out of touch with reality.

[Backtobanks]

This is why we are never going anywhere with a monkey like Hendry as a GM. Absolutely terrible GM!

 

Here we go again, jump all over Hendry and give Lou a pass. All of these negative posts about Hendry's decision to call up Patterson over Murton are ridiculous. I'm sure Lou told Hendry who to call up. For all of Hendry's flaws, allowing the manager to make all of the personnel decisions might be his biggest flaw.

Yeah, I will jump on Hendry because he is a terrible GM like it or not. If Lou is calling the shots or Hendry it doesn't matter, it is still a terrible move.

 

My point is that everyone jumps on Hendry for decisions that are made by Lou. The fact that you think Hendry is a terrible GM is one thing, but don't blame him for decisions that are made by "teflon" Lou. Not only is calling up Patterson over Murton a bad decision, but playing DeRosa in LF and Fontenot at 2B (over Murton and DeRosa) is also a terrible decision. Both of those decisions were made by Lou.

[RynoRules]

Just a thought:

 

If Murt comes up and doesn't start frequently, his AB's will decrease. Does this hurt his value? If he stays in AAA and plays everyday, doesn't that ultimately maintain his relative value?

[soapy]

Just a thought:

 

If Murt comes up and doesn't start frequently, his AB's will decrease. Does this hurt his value? If he stays in AAA and plays everyday, doesn't that ultimately maintain his relative value?

 

i think the difference is negligible. he's performed at the MLB level when given regular ABs. i think anyone interested in him would do their homework and know that.

 

the bottom line is he is the best option to help the team offensively and (despite some people's opinion to the contrary) defensively while Soriano is out.

[The Voice of Reason]

The view form Rotoworld.

 

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/features/column.aspx?sport=MLB&columnid=13&articleid=30205&PrintFriendly=Y

 

It seemed reasonable to assume that the Cubs would call up Matt Murton if they placed Alfonso Soriano on the disabled list following a calf injury Tuesday night, because Murton should never have been demoted to Triple-A in the first place after batting .296/.365/.455 in 289 career MLB games. Instead, Soriano headed to the DL on Wednesday and the Cubs left Murton to rot in Iowa while calling up Eric Patterson.

 

Patterson is a good prospect with solid long-term fantasy potential because of his power-speed combination, but the Cubs refused to play him when they called him up last year and he figures to spend much of his time on the bench this time around too. While Patterson watches from the dugout and Murton continues to waste away in the minors, expect Mark DeRosa to see most of the starts in left field and Mike Fontenot to take over for him as the regular second baseman.

 

DeRosa was already playing nearly every day, so his value won't change much, but Fontenot is now a solid NL-only option. He started at second base and led off Wednesday, going 1-for-5 with an RBI. Fontenot isn't nearly as strong a hitter as Murton and can't compete with Patterson in the steals department, but has batted .277/.338/.410 through his first 285 plate appearances in the majors after putting up similarly decent numbers in the minors.

 

As for Soriano, no timetable has been established yet for his return, but it's safe to assume that he'll be out for longer than the 15-day minimum. Following up last year's quadriceps problems with a calf injury can't be good news for his speed, so don't expect many steals when he does return.

 

While the Cubs do everything they can to ruin the career of a perfectly solid hitter in Murton, here are some other notes from around baseball

[Jon]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

 

Bruce[/url]"]General manager Jim Hendry wouldn't rule out exchanging Patterson for Murton as early as this weekend.

 

"Just a situation, really, where we've talked about being a little too right-handed," Hendry said. "Eric gives us some dimension from the left side, gives us some speed, gives Lou (manager Piniella) a little more flexibility on double switches. He can literally play four positions.

 

"At the same time, we're not making any promises that we won't mix and match, too, if the situation changes."

I literally just suffered some brain damage.

[Tracer Bullet]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

 

Bruce[/url]"]General manager Jim Hendry wouldn't rule out exchanging Patterson for Murton as early as this weekend.

 

"Just a situation, really, where we've talked about being a little too right-handed," Hendry said. "Eric gives us some dimension from the left side, gives us some speed, gives Lou (manager Piniella) a little more flexibility on double switches. He can literally play four positions.

 

"At the same time, we're not making any promises that we won't mix and match, too, if the situation changes."

I literally just suffered some brain damage.

 

Having 5 second basemen gives Lou the flexibility we need. And since this team kills left-handed pitching, we clearly need another LH hitter. What don't you understand?

 

/sarcasm

[Backtobanks]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

 

Bruce[/url]"]General manager Jim Hendry wouldn't rule out exchanging Patterson for Murton as early as this weekend.

 

"Just a situation, really, where we've talked about being a little too right-handed," Hendry said. "Eric gives us some dimension from the left side, gives us some speed, gives Lou (manager Piniella) a little more flexibility on double switches. He can literally play four positions.

 

"At the same time, we're not making any promises that we won't mix and match, too, if the situation changes."

I literally just suffered some brain damage.

 

Obviously, Hendry is the beneficiary of the frequent flyer miles on the corporate credit card. As I poster said, I'm done believing anything positive that Hendry or Lou say about Murton. Actions speak louder than words.

[CoolHandLuke]

I wish he would mention the dimension that Murton brings to the table of being a proven major league hitter.

 

And shouldn't he say that EPatt plays 5 positions? I mean, leadoff is a position, right?

[Tedward]

Steve (IL): Keith, the Cubs called up Eric Patterson instead of Murton. I don't agree with Murton being in the minors at all, but at the same time I'm anxious to see what Patterson can offer. Any chance he can become a capable leadoff hitter in the big leagues? He's got good speed and has posted a pretty good OBP while in AAA.

 

Keith Law: (2:32 PM ET ) I've always seen Patterson as an extra guy - he's been old for his levels since he got into pro ball, so perhaps that's part of why I grade him low. I have no idea why they hate Murton. Just release the kid and let him play somewhere already.

[Soul]

It's hard to let go but at some point we should think about getting something for Murton if he's never going to get an opportunity here.

[ChiCubsFan]

It's hard to let go but at some point we should think about getting something for Murton if he's never going to get an opportunity here.

 

Agree. If we arent even going to let him play when our starting LF goes on the DL, there is no point in him even being in this organization. Trade him for whatever and let the kid have a real opportunity. This is ridiculous.

[17 Seconds]

I hate our organization.

[CubColtPacer]

I would hope they would at least call Murton up after today's game to start against Gorzelanny and Duke over the weekend, especially since he has very good numbers against both of them.

[Backtobanks]

I would hope they would at least call Murton up after today's game to start against Gorzelanny and Duke over the weekend, especially since he has very good numbers against both of them.

 

Calling him up doesn't mean Lou would play him.

[MikeG]

Christina Kahrl from Baseball Prospectus has another take on this situation: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=840

Picking Murton because he has the most experience would have been the easy choice, but it wouldn’t have been the one that really helps the Cubs in terms of who’s making the majority of left-field starts during Soriano’s absence. In contrast, calling up Eric Patterson does exactly that, while offering other possibilities as well. Patterson can play center and second, and while nobody wants to condemn him to the Jerry Hairston Jr. career path, the more important single-season consideration the Cubs might have to resolve in terms of their lineup isn’t who plays left over the next two weeks, but who’s going to be their center fielder.

 

In the same way the Cubs have already decided that Murton is a bargaining chip, not a keeper, they need to figure that out about Patterson and Pie as well, because it will have a much larger impact on the remainder of the season than getting two weeks out of Murton in the majors right now. Better to invest the time to look at Patterson, let Murton see if he can finally hit with any authority to improve his value in trade, and see if Pie can get turned around. Two weeks from now, they’ll have a better idea of what they’ve got and what they might want to do than they would if they simply catered to what a segment of the analysis community believes.

[jersey cubs fan]

Christina Kahrl from Baseball Prospectus has another take on this situation: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=840

Picking Murton because he has the most experience would have been the easy choice, but it wouldn’t have been the one that really helps the Cubs in terms of who’s making the majority of left-field starts during Soriano’s absence. In contrast, calling up Eric Patterson does exactly that, while offering other possibilities as well. Patterson can play center and second, and while nobody wants to condemn him to the Jerry Hairston Jr. career path, the more important single-season consideration the Cubs might have to resolve in terms of their lineup isn’t who plays left over the next two weeks, but who’s going to be their center fielder.

 

In the same way the Cubs have already decided that Murton is a bargaining chip, not a keeper, they need to figure that out about Patterson and Pie as well, because it will have a much larger impact on the remainder of the season than getting two weeks out of Murton in the majors right now. Better to invest the time to look at Patterson, let Murton see if he can finally hit with any authority to improve his value in trade, and see if Pie can get turned around. Two weeks from now, they’ll have a better idea of what they’ve got and what they might want to do than they would if they simply catered to what a segment of the analysis community believes.

 

That's just a bunch of nonsensical words. Invest two weeks to take a look at Patterson in spot duty? What the heck is that going to do for you?

[Jon]

Yeah, I couldn't disagree with that more.

 

If the Cubs need two weeks of scattered playing time to evaluate a prospect, they either have no faith in their scouts or they have no idea what they're doing.

 

Or both.

 

We've already seen that Piniella places a lot of value in Spring Training performance, though. Hendry, as well.

[frostwyrm]

I'm not sure if this has been posted yet:

 

Bruce[/url]"]General manager Jim Hendry wouldn't rule out exchanging Patterson for Murton as early as this weekend.

 

"Just a situation, really, where we've talked about being a little too right-handed," Hendry said. "Eric gives us some dimension from the left side, gives us some speed, gives Lou (manager Piniella) a little more flexibility on double switches. He can literally play four positions.

 

"At the same time, we're not making any promises that we won't mix and match, too, if the situation changes."

I literally just suffered some brain damage.

 

Lou is like a little kid these days. He can't make up his mind and stick to the decision more than a few days. Though I wanted Murton called up, I think it's lame for Lou to be talking about dumping Patterson already. If you're not willing to give the guy a fair chance you shouldn't call him up in the first place.

[soapy]

I really can't stand this whole "versatility" thing being used to justify this. Patterson can play LF, CF and 2B. So what? Murton plays LF, so let's look at the others:

2B: Derosa, Theriot, Fontenot, Cedeno

CF: Pie, Johnson, Fukudome, and Cedeno in an emergency

 

Why do they need Patterson's versatility again?

 

They can still salvage this to some extent and call up Murton to start in LF on Saturday and Sunday. Do it, Jim.

[Backtobanks]

I really can't stand this whole "versatility" thing being used to justify this. Patterson can play LF, CF and 2B. So what? Murton plays LF, so let's look at the others:

2B: Derosa, Theriot, Fontenot, Cedeno

CF: Pie, Johnson, Fukudome, and Cedeno in an emergency

 

Why do they need Patterson's versatility again?

 

They can still salvage this to some extent and call up Murton to start in LF on Saturday and Sunday. Do it, Jim.

 

There's an old saying.....Jack of all trades and master of none. That sums up the "versatility" idea.