Cubs Avoid Arbitration With Koyie Hill

[Wheelimus]

I was hoping that "avoided arbitration" meant "avoided even having arbitration because they released him"

 

Or even better meant "avoided because they traded him for a long shot low A prospect"

[Cubswin11]

But, but we have like a .750 win percentage when Koye Hill starts games dudes. Winners Win!

[Cubs Fan Dan]

But, but we have like a .750 win percentage when Koye Hill starts games dudes. Winners Win!

 

I know that the Cubs win percentage is good with Hill but any idea why the hell this is? Is this just an example of a freakish coincidence? It is obviously not Koyie Hill helping.

[hardcorecubfan]

Please tell me it's the kind of contract where The Cubs can release him in spring training and not owe him much money.

I'm pretty sure this is the case.

 

That still makes it a waste of $133,000. There is no good reason for this. None.

 

Rumors have it that his coffee making skill rival Neifi Perez's

[Guest]

But, but we have like a .750 win percentage when Koye Hill starts games dudes. Winners Win!

 

I know that the Cubs win percentage is good with Hill but any idea why the hell this is? Is this just an example of a freakish coincidence? It is obviously not Koyie Hill helping.

 

Where did you get that the Cubs record is good with Hill playing? They were 24-36 in games Hill started last year.

 

Soto was 50-48 last year as a starter.

[Cubswin11]

But, but we have like a .750 win percentage when Koye Hill starts games dudes. Winners Win!

 

I know that the Cubs win percentage is good with Hill but any idea why the hell this is? Is this just an example of a freakish coincidence? It is obviously not Koyie Hill helping.

 

Where did you get that the Cubs record is good with Hill playing? They were 24-36 in games Hill started last year.

 

Soto was 50-48 last year as a starter.

I was joking around, there was that stretch in either 08 or 09 where the team had a really good W-L record when Hill started games. People on Cubs.com and boards of the like point to that stat a lot for why Hill has value to the team.

[Guancous]

It's almost hard to fathom someone that bad getting 231 plate appearances.

 

Coincidence, Aaron Miles was a Cub too.

[Guancous]

Hill, 32 in March, hit .214/.254/.298 in 231 plate appearances as Geovany Soto's backup last year. He threw out 18% of would-be base stealers, down from his career average of 28%. Welington Castillo and recent pickup Max Ramirez could also compete for a 25-man roster spot this spring.

 

There is so much failure in that paragraph that Japanese automakers study it for efficiency.

 

Couldn't the Cubs have released Hill then sign him to a March minor league NRI? It's not like there was a bidding war taking place.

[CubsWin]

There is so much failure in that paragraph that Japanese automakers study it for efficiency.

=D>

 

Couldn't the Cubs have released Hill then sign him to a March minor league NRI? It's not like there was a bidding war taking place.

Yes, yes they could have. Of course, that might've hurt Koyie's feelings a bit, but into every life a little rain must fall. The dude nearly sliced his hand in half and came back to make to the bigs, I think he can handle a little disappointment.

 

Starlin Castro will be on the next Cubs team that wins a World Series.

As a coach or a manager?

[chopsx9]

Last year, Koyie had the lowest WAR for any catcher with at least 200 plate appearances.

 

Not to be too obvious but the real crime here is that he achieved the necessary threshold.

 

How low can you go before someone has lower? 12?

[SouthSideRyan]

Last year, Koyie had the lowest WAR for any catcher with at least 200 plate appearances.

 

Not to be too obvious but the real crime here is that he achieved the necessary threshold.

 

How low can you go before someone has lower? 12?

 

Koyie had a negative WAR, it would be harder to achieve such a WAR with fewer ABs. According to Fangraphs, Koyie had the lowest WAR out of any catcher anywhere.

 

ETA: baseballreference agrees.

[Backtobanks]

I can't believe the Cubs will keep 2 defensive players (Hill and Perez) on their bench. At least one has to go.

[TruffleShuffle]

Hill, 32 in March, hit .214/.254/.298 in 231 plate appearances as Geovany Soto's backup last year. He threw out 18% of would-be base stealers

 

yeah this pretty much says it all

[dew1679666265]

Responses to a fan saying we could get Hill's production at a league minimum from someone else (Castillo or Ramirez, for instance):

 

From Bruce Miles' blog

"...When you get into signing people like Koyie Hill, I'd have to gladly disagree with you, totally. For $850,000, you've got a guy who does a lot of things you don't notice from the stands. You've got a guy, who up until last year, threw out about 40 baserunners in his career. Tremendous asset to the pitching staff. Great defender. Great leader for his position. I would beg to differ that you could find a guy like that for the league minimum that would be better in his role. He was very good in Geo's progression. He's been very good in some of the younger pitchers' (progression) last year. When Mike (Quade) took over, he (Hill) was very good with Andrew Cashner, things that don't go noticed. I'd like to think that we know enough about those kind of decisions that he's well worth it."

 

"The value of experience, the extra two or three years, in the clubhouse and on the field and in Koyie's case, handling the pitching, you're bench is huge. Over the course of 162 (games), all the day games and all the rest of it, it (experience) is huge."

[jersey cubs fan]

Couldn't disagree more. They sucked balls with all that experience he supposedly brought to the table. He's worthless but willing to talk to the media everyday. And why the media insists on taking quotes from a terrible backup catcher everyday is beyond me.

[Soul]

Before Koyie was around, we had a slew of other catchers about whom similar things were said.

 

How can Bruce quantify these things that go unnoticed, and place a value on them compared to what a replacement player would bring?

 

I'm sure Koyie is a great guy and all, but it doesn't seem like a huge task to bring in a catcher that can also do well at those elements of the game. League minimum? OK, maybe that's a stretch.

[dew1679666265]

Before Koyie was around, we had a slew of other catchers about whom similar things were said.

 

How can Bruce quantify these things that go unnoticed, and place a value on them compared to what a replacement player would bring?

 

I'm sure Koyie is a great guy and all, but it doesn't seem like a huge task to bring in a catcher that can also do well at those elements of the game. League minimum? OK, maybe that's a stretch.

 

Bruce?

[Cubswin11]

If Hill brings all this "knowledge, leadership, and wisdom" to the team all year round why not just make him the [expletive] bullpen catcher/coach or some made up coaching position so he can still be part of the team to enlighten everyone, but not actually have to play?

[SouthSideRyan]

If we had Koyie in '09, he wouldn't have let Milton Bradley poison the clubhouse.

[dew1679666265]

If we had Koyie in '09, he wouldn't have let Milton Bradley poison the clubhouse.

 

We did have Koyie in 2009. According to B-R, he was signed in November of 2006 and received 284 PAs in 2009.

[Garwilly]

Does anyone know how many PAs Hill had in 2009?

[dew1679666265]

Does anyone know how many PAs Hill had in 2009?

 

284

[Garwilly]

Does anyone know how many PAs Hill had in 2009?

 

284

 

Its not as much fun when you delete your triple post.

[dew1679666265]

Does anyone know how many PAs Hill had in 2009?

 

284

 

Its not as much fun when you delete your triple post.

 

I actually didn't delete my triple posts - actually didn't even know I did triple post.

 

I guess I should thank a mod.

[Illini Iceman]

Even if Hendry is correct about all the things he said (very unlikely) I still find it very hard to believe that Hill would have enough value to any other team that he couldn't have non-tendered him and still gotten him back on a spring training invite since a lot of the intangible worth he is claiming is based on specific knowledge of the Cubs roster.