The Matt Murton Situation

[MembersOnlyJacket]

This bit from Bruce Miles today:

 

Where’s Murton? Rookie Matt Murton (15-for-35, .429) hasn’t started since July 30, when he played left field against the Diamondbacks. On July 31, the Cubs obtained left fielder Matt Lawton in a trade with the Pirates.

 

The Cubs called Murton up from Class AA West Tenn on July 7, and one has to wonder if he wouldn’t be better off getting at-bats somewhere. He was supposed to start Saturday, but with the Mets replacing lefty Kaz Ishii on the mound with righty Jae Seo, Murton sat in favor of Lawton.

 

Baker seems loath to starting the right-handed hitting Murton against right-handed pitchers. Before the series began, general manager Jim Hendry said Baker is not at fault.

 

“When we traded for Lawton, which was certainly my doing not Dusty keeping Murton out of the lineup, Lawton needed to bat first,” Hendry said. “I think he’s done a good job for us so far getting on.

 

“That’s not a reflection of Dusty doesn’t like young players.”

 

Again, Bruce is the only member in the mainstream media taking these guys to task for their handling of personnel. Why not put Murton in RF for a game or two to give Burnitz a rest as he continues to embarass himself at the plate (2-20) ?

 

While I am pleased that Lawton is on the club and think he will help create runs for this lineup, he has not done a good job so far as Hendry suggests. His OBP is .274 since joining the Cubs; scoring 1 run and driving in none.

 

This club is in desperate need of offense and Murton has provided it when he has played. Considering Dusty only looks at batting average; I think it is fare to conclude that he cannot handle playing Murton on a regular basis because he is 23 years old. Jeff Francour is now the Braves everyday RF and #3 hitter because Bobby Cox eased the kid in and when he was still hitting .400, he put him out there every day. I see no difference in the Cubs situation with Murton other than the Cubs have an idiot running the club.

[frostwyrm]

I totally agree that it's ridiculous that Burnitz starts almost every stinkin' game. He's not a superstar, he's slumping badly, and Murton could use some playing time.

[treebird]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

[10man]

The kid is obviously not going to maintain a .400 average, but the point is you gotta ride a guy when he's hot.

[treebird]

The kid is obviously not going to maintain a .400 average, but the point is you gotta ride a guy when he's hot.

 

i don't think he's hot though. if he was hot, he'd be hitting the ball hard on a more regular basis.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

 

Given that he doesn't hit a lot of home runs, or strike out a ton, that LD% means he could hit .280-.300. Given his walk rate and IsoP, you could project him around an .800 OPS, right around Burnitz's level.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

The kid is obviously not going to maintain a .400 average, but the point is you gotta ride a guy when he's hot.

 

i don't think he's hot though. if he was hot, he'd be hitting the ball hard on a more regular basis.

 

I think that's a difficult statement to make for a batter who's come to the plate 2 times since July 30th.

[treebird]

The kid is obviously not going to maintain a .400 average, but the point is you gotta ride a guy when he's hot.

 

i don't think he's hot though. if he was hot, he'd be hitting the ball hard on a more regular basis.

 

I think that's a difficult statement to make for a batter who's come to the plate 2 times since July 30th.

 

i was only speaking about what he was doing when he was playing. people saw it as a guy on a hot streak, i did not.

[OleMissCub]

I got to know Jeff Francouer when he was here in Mississippi in AA. He's an incredibly kind and humble guy. He deserves everything he gets.

 

on topic, FREE MATT MURTON.....good lord!!!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

 

To be fair, he had a high BABIP at West Tenn and has been legging out tons of IF hits there too.

[treebird]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

 

To be fair, he had a high BABIP at West Tenn and has been legging out tons of IF hits there too.

 

didn't most people agree that he was irrationally lucky there as well?

 

i suppose it's possible that a guy with moderately above average speed has learned the secret of the crap single, but id be pretty surprised.

[OleMissCub]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

 

To be fair, he had a high BABIP at West Tenn and has been legging out tons of IF hits there too.

 

didn't most people agree that he was irrationally lucky there as well?

 

i suppose it's possible that a guy with moderately above average speed has learned the secret of the crap single, but id be pretty surprised.

 

I'm with you Tree, he is about the luckiest player i've ever seen. That still doesn't change my opinion that he should be given a chance.

[treebird]

I'm with you Tree, he is about the luckiest player i've ever seen. That still doesn't change my opinion that he should be given a chance.

 

I'll agree with that. Besides, there's no way Dusty has a clue what any of this stuff is, so it's not like it could be used to defend his decision making. As far as Dusty knows, Matt's hitting .400 and doesn't deserve to start anyway.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm not even beginning to justify murton's non-usage, but I think Murton might be due for a fall. I was thinking to my self that it seemed like he had an awful lot of infield singles and bloopers, so I looked up his babip/ld% numbers.

 

ld% = 20.7

 

babip = .536

 

sometimes your memory is right.

 

To be fair, he had a high BABIP at West Tenn and has been legging out tons of IF hits there too.

 

I don't know the exact number since BA took down Murton's numbers at AA, but I get a .376 BABIP for Matt at AA.

[frostwyrm]

I'm with you Tree, he is about the luckiest player i've ever seen. That still doesn't change my opinion that he should be given a chance.

 

I'll agree with that. Besides, there's no way Dusty has a clue what any of this stuff is, so it's not like it could be used to defend his decision making. As far as Dusty knows, Matt's hitting .400 and doesn't deserve to start anyway.

 

Matt's real problem is that he only bats right-handed. He won't help the Cubs much until Baker is gone, nor will any other RH hitter in the farm system. If Hendry is considering resigning Baker he needs to start trading all RH hitters in the minors whenever he can get good value for them.

[YearofDaCubs]

This whole situatiuon is just ridiculous. The personnel moves are mind-boggling this year. The clown Dusty has to go, and Hendry should fire him and do us and the organization this favor. Nothing makes sense.

[ManCrushOnNomar]

I still don't see why Burnitz isn't playing center every day with Lawton in right and Murton in left.

 

A chimp would make that lineup change.

[frostwyrm]

I still don't see why Burnitz isn't playing center every day with Lawton in right and Murton in left.

 

A chimp would make that lineup change.

 

Apparently Jose Macias is a defensive wizard in centerfield, therefore Matt sits.

[YearofDaCubs]

I still don't see why Burnitz isn't playing center every day with Lawton in right and Murton in left.

 

A chimp would make that lineup change.

You're right. Thats Dusty logic for ya.

[BOJI BOB]

Wasn't that obvious yesterday when a runner tags up and moves to second on a medium fly ball to center? I'm still scratching my head, unless he has something on Dusty and is blackmailing him.

[abuck1220]

i'm not a huge murton fan by any means, as he has been extremely lucky in both AA and with the big league club. that being said, it goes w/o saying that i'd rather have him out there than macias. move burnitz to cf and play murton in rf/lf...

 

speaking of cox, they were just talking about how he handles young guys, and it made my heart pitter patter. francoeur says that when you're 0-20 he treats you like you're 15-20. he also said that anytime he's struggling cox takes the blame. wow, what a concept. on the other hand there's dusty who benches you at the first sign of trouble, and also takes the credit when you do well, saying that he put you in a position to succeed.

 

there has been rumors of dusty leaving/getting fired lately, and i can't believe there's not more. one of the highest payrolls in the NL and you're behind the brewers? come on, what manager in that position wouldn't be on the hot seat?

[Exile on Waveland]

I agree it's very likely Murton has been lucky. But, if it's not a hot-streak, it's a luck-streak. Either way, he's producing, so he should play until the streak ends. For cripes sake, he's got a .500 OBP and a 1.028 OPS -- and a .417 average, which is what Dusty values. Those numbers will obviously go down, a lot, but there's not excuse for him not to be starting over Macias.

 

But, I forgot, Macias is a small and (sorta) fast veteran, so he belongs in centerfield.

[erik316wttn]

I totally agree that it's ridiculous that Burnitz starts almost every stinkin' game. He's not a superstar, he's slumping badly, and Murton could use some playing time.

 

Murton should be the LF starter for the rest of the year. No pressure, just let him hit and give him a shot to see what he's got. Lawton should be in CF and let Burnitz be in right, and have him be the odd man out once/if Corey comes back this year.

[NewUserName]

I do believe that a little of what Murton does is luck. He does however push outside pitches to right. He does hustle out of the box and he works counts to his favor. These are traits that are lacking in the present Cub lineup. I just find it incredible that a kid comes up, hits 4something and can only get 2 ABs in a week. I guess what I am saying is we must have one heck of a lineup or one STUPID manager. I dont think this is to hard to figure out.

 

Also listening to some of Dustys defenders they point to Choi and Hill as why we shouldnt play young kids. 1st of all Choi was easily the best option at 1st in 03. He was hitting alot better than Karros but Dusty was still getting Karros half the ABs. Then the 1st sign of Choi struggling he was benched. Hill just never got a chance. He has it worse in Pittsburgh where he is sat so Rob Mackowiacs can stink up the lineup. This isnt even close to as bad as he did to Bellhorn. Playing Lenny Harris who wasnt even hitting 200 in front of Bellhorn was just horrible. I am not trying to say we shouldnt have traded choi and hill for lee and ramirez but I hate to hear people say that they failed when they didnt even get a fair chance. If we end up trading Murton for Adam Dunn then oh well, but to sit him while we are playing sub 500 ball and playing three guys in their 30s none of whom is an all-star or probably going to ever help the Cubs win a World Series is just plain stupid. Saying that Murton and Cedeno will be helped by watching losing ballplayers should get him fired immediatly.

 

Except for Patterson who was the last Cub rookie to be given a whole month of starts. Jerome Walton? This may explain why the Cubs dont have players from their own organization in the starting lineup because they are never given a chance. This has been going on long before Dusty got here. Its not even like we have really been contending. We have at best played mediocre ball the last 10 years with mostly veteran guys.

 

I am sorry to carry on but this subject really gets under my skin. This is probably the main reason the Cubs are a losing organization.

 

One last kind of off topic thing. Francoer is playing way over his head also. Not saying he will suck but he hasnt drown a walk yet and his k to walk ratio in the minor leagues was something like 100 to 10

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Francoeur maybe playing over his head, but no right-handed batter has done much of anything against Carpenter this season. Of course, Francoeur has driven in 2 of the 3 Braves runs today with a HR and double off the wall against Carpenter.