Neifi's back

[delroy lindo]

2-year deal...should break pretty soon. Solid backup, hopefully that's what he'll be.

[rawaction]

damnit!

[abuck1220]

only two years? why not throw six at him?

[stitchface]

they better sign a shortstop then. neifi won't backup Cedeno. of course, cedeno doesn't need a neifi to back him up either. sigh. if they re-sign macias, I'm not watching next year.

[Tim]

So much for Cedeno starting at 2B after they sign Furcal as the big move of the winter.

[delroy lindo]

Id' be shocked if they didn't get Furcal. The backlash will be fun when this is done. But Neifi's a fine backup, he can play 3 IF positions and is a terrific defender. People always moan that these guys are a dime a dozen, but if I have no problem giving more money to Neifi, when dime-a-dozen guys like Enrique Wilson, Rey Ordonez, Ramon Martinez, etc. do worse offensively, and much worse defensively.

 

Rob Neyer's had a column recently discussing the Gold Gloves, and the Gold Glove winners at shortstop got some attention, where he disagreed with Derek Jeter and Omar Vizquel winning. Anyhow he went about ranking the NL GG contenders by three different sabermetric formulas - Win Shares, Ultimate Zone Rating, and Fielding Runs over Replacement. Here's how the NL shortstops stacked up:

 

Win Shares:

 

1. Rafael Furcal

2. Neifi Perez

3. Jack Wilson

 

 

 

Ultimate Zone:

 

1. Adam Everett

2. Neifi Perez

3. ????

4. Rafael Furcal

 

 

 

Fielding Runs:

 

1. Neifi Perez

2. Rafael Furcal

3. Jack Wilson

[abuck1220]

i have no problem w/ neifi as the 25th man. problem is, dusty does.

 

better sign nomar/furcal and keep walker or it's 500 abs of neifi in the 2 hole...getting on base 28% of the time.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Neifi is a great fit for a club with a mediocre defensive SS who you want to remove from the game in the 7th or 8th inning. His value skyrockets defensively at his position and you insert it a hitter who is marginally above average offensively (at SS in the NL) for 2 innings.

 

However, if the SS ends up being Rafael Furcal, this acquisition makes little sense. The manager, especially Dusty Baker, is not going to take Furcal out of the game, ever. That leaves Neifi Perez as a backup second baseman. At second base, Perez is below the league average (-2). Perez is certainly an upgrade over Walker if used as a defensive replacement at the position. Thus, if Walker is not traded and Cedeno is not ready to play the position, you can make the case for Perez on the club (if used in this capacity).

 

The end result is you have a player who played at his Colorado numbers last season and is being rewarded with a two year contract for a year of good performance. The club is committing two years (and probably $3m+) to a player who may not be that much better overall than Ronny Cedeno (~600k).

[rawaction]

I hate the fact that Hendry has spent over $5M on possibly the 2 most replaceable players on the team. Cedeno could easily fill whatever role Neifi is gonna fill (starter of backup MIF), and Rich Hill could easily fill whatever role Glendon Rusch is gonna fill (5th starter or long relief), with a small enough dropoff, if any, to justify saving the $5M+.

 

It's just sickening that he signed Perez and is looking to trade Walker away. There's no question who is the better player, and unfortunately, we know Jim Hendry has the wrong answer.

[abuck1220]

I hate the fact that Hendry has spent over $5M on possibly the 2 most replaceable players on the team. Cedeno could easily fill whatever role Neifi is gonna fill (starter of backup MIF), and Rich Hill could easily fill whatever role Glendon Rusch is gonna fill (5th starter or long relief), with a small enough dropoff, if any, to justify saving the $5M+.

 

It's just sickening that he signed Perez and is looking to trade Walker away. There's no question who is the better player, and unfortunately, we know Jim Hendry has the wrong answer.

 

exactly. he's given neifi the same $ that walker's getting. now he's going to trade walker...which means neifi will probably start and hendry's saying neifi > walker. 2.5 mil for a slick fielding, no hit backup? good lord.

 

and i don't want to hear that guys like giles are out of the cubs' price range at $12 mil/year when hendry just pissed $5 mil down the drain to two guys that could be easily replaced at the league minimum.

 

how about this quote?

 

"I've decided I really like the guys who catch the ball," Hendry said.

 

could he sound any more like an idiot?

[stitchface]

that quote reminds me of your signature. I'm sure derek lee groaned today. more solo homeruns!!! Whoooppeeee! These moves really solidify my opinion that hendry is not the man to build a championship team. we better have some dominant pitchings, because we ain't gonna score much.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Sorry, I underestimated Neifi's wealth. He will be making in excess of $5m the next two seasons.

 

The Cubs have committed at least $11m to Glendon Rusch and Neifi Perez in the 2006 and 2007 seasons. [expletive] them.

[BigbadB]

A masochist couldn't have it any better if they were a Cub fan.