Hill to replace Soto

[cubstitlelives]

Geo said this:

 

"That's something I don't have any control over," he said. "I've just got to go about my business and work hard and whatever happens, happens."

 

Sure you have control over it, Geo. Don't hit .212 with sad power numbers and don't come in out of shape. If you do that, maybe you'll get your job back. If not, Jerome Walton says hello. :wave:

[treebird]

Geo said this:

 

"That's something I don't have any control over," he said. "I've just got to go about my business and work hard and whatever happens, happens."

 

Sure you have control over it, Geo. Don't hit .212 with sad power numbers and don't come in out of shape. If you do that, maybe you'll get your job back. If not, Jerome Walton says hello. :wave:

 

check your pm's, i just sent you a bunch of swear words

[Rob]

Goodness...

 

I don't know if you're trolling or really just adamantly remaining ignorant. But I hope either you or the mods resolve the issue of these blatantly moronic posts.

[SouthSideRyan]

Geo said this:

 

"That's something I don't have any control over," he said. "I've just got to go about my business and work hard and whatever happens, happens."

 

Sure you have control over it, Geo. Don't hit .212 with sad power numbers and don't come in out of shape. If you do that, maybe you'll get your job back. If not, Jerome Walton says hello. :wave:

 

Geo should come back next year as a worse whiter hitter.

[cubstitlelives]

Goodness...

 

I don't know if you're trolling or really just adamantly remaining ignorant. But I hope either you or the mods resolve the issue of these blatantly moronic posts.

 

Wait. So Geo hasn't had a bad season? Did I say something wrong. And what's wrong with the Walton reference? He was a one year wonder as well.

Edited September 1, 2009 by cubstitlelives

[Rob]

Goodness...

 

I don't know if you're trolling or really just adamantly remaining ignorant. But I hope either you or the mods resolve the issue of these blatantly moronic posts.

 

Wait. So Geo hasn't had a bad season? Did I say something wrong. And what's wrong with the Waton reference? He was a one year wonder as well.

 

Sure he's had a disappointing season... but he's done everything in his power to have a decent one.

 

He's got a batting average on balls in play of .240 despite a line drive percentage of 19.5%. Say it with me now... there is no way to explain away that kind of discrepancy without bad luck being a very significant factor.

 

Hill has been terrible with the bat too, but his peripherals say he's really just been that bad. Soto's numbers have been bad too, but his peripherals say he's simply hitting the ball on a line right at people. Packing an extra 15 pounds doesn't have a damn thing to do with that.

[cubstitlelives]

And no where did I say that I wanted Hill as our starting catcher next year, never said it once. I am saying that Geo has regressed. Call it bad luck, call it whatever the heck you want, but he is not getting the job done. If he was doing the job, we would not be having this discussion and Cubs brass would not have benched him.

 

Oh, and FYI, trolling? Never. I'm a season ticket holder.

[Rob]

And no where did I say that I wanted Hill as our starting catcher next year, never said it once. I am saying that Geo has regressed. Call it bad luck, call it whatever the heck you want, but he is not getting the job done. If he was doing the job, we would not be having this discussion and Cubs brass would not have benched him.

 

Oh, and FYI, trolling? Never. I'm a season ticket holder.

 

Bad luck isn't regression. It's bad luck.

 

If you maintain your insistence on blaming Soto despite all the indications that he's done everything in his power to perform his job duties, that is absolutely trolling... something you've got a nice little history of already. You constantly dismiss good statistics and use bad ones to back up stupid opinions even after people politely correct you. At a certain point it passed you simply being stubborn. You're a troll.

[17 Seconds]

If he was doing the job, we would not be having this discussion and Cubs brass would not have benched him.

 

Hill has done the job even worse, and he got rewarded for it.

[Flames24Rulz]

I'm a season ticket holder.

 

That explains a lot.

 

And because of that statement, I don't think he's trolling at all. He really believes the nonsense he's spewing.

[DiamondMind]

I refuse to get into a slapping duel with the Soto homers on here, but this move didn't come soon enough. Hill's outplayed Soto all year. Spare me the OPS+, please.

 

Get Soto's head on straight, make him play winter ball, etc etc, and we'll see him behind the plate on opening day '10. There's just..ugh...there's no purpose in his plump self being out there right now .

 

So you don't want us to use stats that prove you wrong?

 

Pretty much. Can't anything be said for benching a player that (obviously) did not bring his best effort this year? Is that not a good example to set for a (supposedly) winning franchise?

[DiamondMind]

If he was doing the job, we would not be having this discussion and Cubs brass would not have benched him.

 

Hill has done the job even worse, and he got rewarded for it.

 

One could also say that Soto has played far, far below expectations, and Hill has been exceeding them. The pitchers and players have also made comments about enjoying games where Koyie's behind the plate. Is that all nonsense?

[wvcbxl]

I'm a season ticket holder.

 

In what ballpark? 8-)

[TruffleShuffle]

I'm a season ticket holder.

 

That explains a lot.

 

yeah like the idiots who boo bradley after he rakes for all of august and gets on base 8 times in a row.

[abuck1220]

i'd rather fox replace soto actually.

[SouthSideRyan]

I refuse to get into a slapping duel with the Soto homers on here, but this move didn't come soon enough. Hill's outplayed Soto all year. Spare me the OPS+, please.

 

Get Soto's head on straight, make him play winter ball, etc etc, and we'll see him behind the plate on opening day '10. There's just..ugh...there's no purpose in his plump self being out there right now .

 

So you don't want us to use stats that prove you wrong?

 

Pretty much. Can't anything be said for benching a player that (obviously) did not bring his best effort this year? Is that not a good example to set for a (supposedly) winning franchise?

 

How do you know he didn't bring his best effort this year?

[Keener98]

I'm a season ticket holder.

 

That explains a lot.

 

And because of that statement, I don't think he's trolling at all. He really believes the nonsense he's spewing.

 

Exactly what I started thinking as soon as I read that also.

[CarolinaCubFan]

I refuse to get into a slapping duel with the Soto homers on here, but this move didn't come soon enough. Hill's outplayed Soto all year. Spare me the OPS+, please.

 

Get Soto's head on straight, make him play winter ball, etc etc, and we'll see him behind the plate on opening day '10. There's just..ugh...there's no purpose in his plump self being out there right now .

 

So you don't want us to use stats that prove you wrong?

 

Pretty much. Can't anything be said for benching a player that (obviously) did not bring his best effort this year? Is that not a good example to set for a (supposedly) winning franchise?

 

How do you know he didn't bring his best effort this year?

 

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

[soapy]

I can't believe there's as much support for this move as there is, really. In his last 623 MLB PAs before this season Geo went 296/371/520 after putting up 353/424/652 in AAA in 2007, and with reasonable success before that (though with far less power).

 

Could 2007 and 2008 be a fluke? It's possible. But there's a damn good chance he's capable of recapturing that success (particularly figuring in some of the bad luck he's had this year). One thing I do know, Koyie doesn't have a chance in hell at coming close to what Soto has done. Even in an absolutely abysmal season by Soto, Hill hasn't really been any better than him. Even if you think Geo isn't likely to do better down the stretch, it's still more beneficial for your team in the long-run to get him as many PAs as possible finishing up the season. Hill is absolutely no more than a back-up and you already know that. At least Geo may benefit from the extra playing time and potentially end the season on a personal high-note.

 

This season is lost so I suppose it really doesn't matter, but I don't believe for a second there's a better long-term option available that would be better than Soto. I was amazed last night that Len and Bob were wondering whether Geo would assume the starting role in 2010. If the Cubs do something stupid like trade him or something, I'll freaking lose it.

 

It's reasonable to be disappointed that Soto seemed to come into camp overweight/out of shape since that was one of the reasons credited for a big improvement from him in 2007. But I don't see any reason why he can't get back to that this off-season. He should have plenty of motivation with the season he's about to wrap up.

Edited September 1, 2009 by soapy

[Tyrant]

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

 

Yeah, I think this move is dumb, but we shouldn't pretend that Soto is faultless this year. Liking a player doesn't mean you can't be disappointed when they show up for the season completely out of shape and not ready to play.

[Guest]

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

 

Yeah, I think this move is dumb, but we shouldn't pretend that Soto is faultless this year. Liking a player doesn't mean you can't be disappointed when they show up for the season completely out of shape and not ready to play.

I don't think anyone who posts here knows for sure that Soto showed up to camp out of shape and not ready to play. So can you guys please stop the nonsense.

 

The problem that Soto had was the WBC where he didn't play regularly. In a sense he didn't have a spring training, or only had 1/2 of a spring training. I think it's safe to assume that it contributed to his slow start. Then he got injured. Then he came back and stared playing better. Then he got injured. Then Lou in his best ADHD gives up on him in favor of a journeyman who is performing worse than him. It makes little sense.

[jersey cubs fan]

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

 

Yeah, I think this move is dumb, but we shouldn't pretend that Soto is faultless this year. Liking a player doesn't mean you can't be disappointed when they show up for the season completely out of shape and not ready to play.

I don't think anyone who posts here knows for sure that Soto showed up to camp out of shape and not ready to play. So can you guys please stop the nonsense.

 

There's nothing nonsensical about noting that Soto was a fatass when he reported this year.

[Guest]

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

 

Yeah, I think this move is dumb, but we shouldn't pretend that Soto is faultless this year. Liking a player doesn't mean you can't be disappointed when they show up for the season completely out of shape and not ready to play.

I don't think anyone who posts here knows for sure that Soto showed up to camp out of shape and not ready to play. So can you guys please stop the nonsense.

 

There's nothing nonsensical about noting that Soto was a fatass when he reported this year.

You can tell from your TV?

[Roast]

Showing up to camp overweight might be a good place to start? :hello:

 

Yeah, I think this move is dumb, but we shouldn't pretend that Soto is faultless this year. Liking a player doesn't mean you can't be disappointed when they show up for the season completely out of shape and not ready to play.

I don't think anyone who posts here knows for sure that Soto showed up to camp out of shape and not ready to play. So can you guys please stop the nonsense.

 

There's nothing nonsensical about noting that Soto was a fatass when he reported this year.

He was a fatass last year too. Go back and watch some highlights from last year, he was pretty chunky then, too.

 

Here is a pic from april of 08:

http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/files/2008/05/geovany-soto-cubs-catcher_nc.jpg

 

Here is one from sometime in 08, as well:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3331211385_9ddc283421.jpg

 

Now here is one from this year (just the other day against the mets):

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/rids/20090828/i/r2731223723.jpg

 

Granted, pictures always can add/take away lbs based on the angle it's taken at. But still.

[Guest]

Have we really fallen down to looking at pictures of Geo's butt to see if we can tell if he's in worse shape than last year?

 

There are certainly valid reasons that the Cubs could have for benching Geo. He could still be struggling with one of the injuries he's had this year and they don't see any reason for him to play through it anymore. They may feel that he is starting to press and is falling into bad habits they want him to avoid. They may sense that the slump has started to affect his confidence and want to give him some time in the cages to work through things and come back strong. There could have been disciplinary actions they want to keep private.

 

What we do know is that they haven't publicly stated any reasons that make sense. The justifications used so far by the Cubs and most of the ones suggested in this thread don't make sense. I won't rehash the reasons why as others have done a fine job of poking the holes in those arguments.

 

What will be interesting to me is to see how long this lasts and how Geo does when Lou inevitably changes his mind again.