Barney: The new, half-Asian 2006 Theriot

[apete6]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/5743638-417/darwin-barney-is-why-you-should-keep-watching-the-cubs.html

 

What a load of crap. I hate baseball writers and their stupid traditions.

 

He's a good player because he is making $500k and producing at an OK level. End of story. NOT a "reason to keep watching the Cubs".

[jersey cubs fan]

I saw that and wanted to rip it to shreds, then I took a peak at everybody's batting lines and it's not as ridiculous as I was thinking.

 

 

 

But it's still pretty stupid, most notably the "best player on the team" comment.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I keep promising myself not to hate Barney just because other people like him irrationally, but that article makes it really, really hard. As will the $3 million/year deal he gets to buy out his arbitration years.

[tfarks]

This is what happens when you have a middle infielder who bats .300. People can't control themselves.

 

Or Wittenmeyer is just on troll mode for the rest of the season.

[soapy]

‘‘We’ll take 25 of him,’’ said bench coach Pat Listach

 

haha

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I'm curious, though. Are there any comps for a middle infielder his age just hitting .290 and OPSing 700 at every stop up through the majors, then continuing it in the major leagues?

[DivineBovine]

This is what happens when you have a middle infielder who bats .300. People can't control themselves.

 

Or Wittenmeyer is just on troll mode for the rest of the season.

 

 

 

Yeah, like that guy at SS.

 

I agree the article is ridiculous. But one can argue Castro hasn't shown much either, and not too many people seem outraged at the hype.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This is what happens when you have a middle infielder who bats .300. People can't control themselves.

 

Or Wittenmeyer is just on troll mode for the rest of the season.

 

 

 

Yeah, like that guy at SS.

 

I agree the article is ridiculous. But one can argue Castro hasn't shown much either, and not too many people seem outraged at the hype.

 

If Darwin Barney were to de-age 4.5 years tomorrow and add 40 points to his SLG, I'd be significantly more excited about him.

[soapy]

As Kyle said, Castro is four years younger. He's also shown much better slugging, both in the minors and majors.

 

eta: I guess Kyle said all of that. Glad I could contribute.

[jersey cubs fan]

This is what happens when you have a middle infielder who bats .300. People can't control themselves.

 

Or Wittenmeyer is just on troll mode for the rest of the season.

 

 

 

Yeah, like that guy at SS.

 

I agree the article is ridiculous. But one can argue Castro hasn't shown much either, and not too many people seem outraged at the hype.

 

The justification for the hype is completely different.

[tfarks]

Listach wants 25 Barney's not 25 Castro's

[tfarks]

I'm curious, though. Are there any comps for a middle infielder his age just hitting .290 and OPSing 700 at every stop up through the majors, then continuing it in the major leagues?

 

No. It's weird.

[SouthSideRyan]

Theriot's gotta be fairly close to that doesn't he? He had the mitigating factor of being a switch hitter at earlier stops though.

[CubColtPacer]

Theriot's gotta be fairly close to that doesn't he? He had the mitigating factor of being a switch hitter at earlier stops though.

 

Theriot was a .271/.355/.337 minor league hitter and a .285/.348/.355 major league hitter. His best season in the minors was .304/.365/.391 and his best season in the majors was .307/.387/.359. So almost exactly the same hitter.

 

I really don't think it's that unusual for a low strikeout, low power player to have their minor league numbers translate pretty well to the majors. They aren't dependent on pitcher mistakes to generate power and they tend to hit line drives that will fall in on any level.

[tfarks]

Barney in 2009 - .293 .339 .369 .708

Barney in 2010 - .299 .333 .378 .711

Barney in 2011 - .303 .325 .383 .709

 

I figured it out. He's a robot.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Theriot's gotta be fairly close to that doesn't he? He had the mitigating factor of being a switch hitter at earlier stops though.

 

Theriot was a .271/.355/.337 minor league hitter and a .285/.348/.355 major league hitter. His best season in the minors was .304/.365/.391 and his best season in the majors was .307/.387/.359. So almost exactly the same hitter.

 

I really don't think it's that unusual for a low strikeout, low power player to have their minor league numbers translate pretty well to the majors. They aren't dependent on pitcher mistakes to generate power and they tend to hit line drives that will fall in on any level.

Guys like Theriot and Barney are perfectly acceptable for a good team to have at the 7-8 spot in the lineup, maybe even 6. When the manager decides that they're more than that is when the wiser fans begin to turn on them.

[SouthSideRyan]

Theriot's gotta be fairly close to that doesn't he? He had the mitigating factor of being a switch hitter at earlier stops though.

 

Theriot was a .271/.355/.337 minor league hitter and a .285/.348/.355 major league hitter. His best season in the minors was .304/.365/.391 and his best season in the majors was .307/.387/.359. So almost exactly the same hitter.

 

I really don't think it's that unusual for a low strikeout, low power player to have their minor league numbers translate pretty well to the majors. They aren't dependent on pitcher mistakes to generate power and they tend to hit line drives that will fall in on any level.

Guys like Theriot and Barney are perfectly acceptable for a good team to have at the 7-8 spot in the lineup, maybe even 6. When the manager decides that they're more than that is when the wiser fans begin to turn on them.

 

To build on this, a team can win with them in the 7-8 spots, but they shouldn't actively use this as a reason to acquire/keep status quo with players like this.

[Guest]

Theriot was so frustrating because he was a slappy hitter, the end. Barney can play defense, and so if he's doing well he's worth all the praise(25 3-win players? Yes please.), and even if his bat levels off, then he's still got value outside of satisfying fans who want to see players with dirty uniforms.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

And with offense doing what it's doing these days, a 700 OPS from a good defensive 2b doesn't seem all that bad.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Theriot's gotta be fairly close to that doesn't he? He had the mitigating factor of being a switch hitter at earlier stops though.

 

Theriot was a .271/.355/.337 minor league hitter and a .285/.348/.355 major league hitter. His best season in the minors was .304/.365/.391 and his best season in the majors was .307/.387/.359. So almost exactly the same hitter.

 

I really don't think it's that unusual for a low strikeout, low power player to have their minor league numbers translate pretty well to the majors. They aren't dependent on pitcher mistakes to generate power and they tend to hit line drives that will fall in on any level.

Guys like Theriot and Barney are perfectly acceptable for a good team to have at the 7-8 spot in the lineup, maybe even 6. When the manager decides that they're more than that is when the wiser fans begin to turn on them.

 

To build on this, a team can win with them in the 7-8 spots, but they shouldn't actively use this as a reason to acquire/keep status quo with players like this.

Exactly. Its great when a guy like this comes up through your system and gives you some good years. However, if they go after the big money, your probably better off letting them go when the time comes. Alternately, you don't want to go out of the way to offer them a 2/4.5 deal when you can pull another one out of the farm.

[jersey cubs fan]

And with offense doing what it's doing these days, a 700 OPS from a good defensive 2b doesn't seem all that bad.

 

It's pretty much average for a 2B in the NL right now, although that average is likely to go up as the season progresses. Cubs are above average at 2B and that is fine, as long as they don't wed themselves to that longterm.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Barney in 2009 - .293 .339 .369 .708

Barney in 2010 - .299 .333 .378 .711

Barney in 2011 - .303 .325 .383 .709

 

I figured it out. He's a robot.

 

No, he's not a robot. He's Mickey Morandini.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

This is what happens when you have a middle infielder who bats .300. People can't control themselves.

 

Or Wittenmeyer is just on troll mode for the rest of the season.

 

We're down to .298 now. Order is restored.

[Outshined_One]

And with offense doing what it's doing these days, a 700 OPS from a good defensive 2b doesn't seem all that bad.

 

It's hard to complain about a guy like that who's making the league minimum. An article like this is ridiculous, but Barney's actually a decent player.