BigbadB

Maybe this opens the door for Patterson to make the big league squad. If DeRosa is needed in more of a super sub role (whatever that is), I'd like to see Patterson get some reps at 2b rather than Fontenot. And I'm especially not keen on the idea of a middle infield of Cedeno/Theriot if DeRosa is spelling someone else.

I think the strongest argument for Cedeno is that he was fast tracked to the majors and just didn't get the quality development time he realistically needed. Cedeno got 384 at bats at AA and 245 at bats at AAA before they brought him up to the big club in '06. I'm certainly not saying Cedeno will be an above average major league SS. All I'm saying is we just don't know what we really have in Cedeno. Until we know what we have in Cedeno, I'd like to see him get another chance. And it's not like you have to kick Theriot off the team to make that happen. If Cedeno falters this year, then replace him with Theriot.

You are right. The key phrase is potential, which Theriot possesses about zero of. Granted, the hopes for Cedeno to do anything at the major league level don't look much like anything more than a longshot at this point, but it's Jim Hendry that put this organization in this position at SS. When all you have for depth at SS is a utility backup and an aging prospect who hasn't done much at the major league level, maybe, just maybe the solution is to look outside of the organization for a more productive fix. All offseason, he has looked at every other position of need, and in some cases positions that are not in need of an upgrade, and ignored the biggest need.

While Felix Pie has really crushed the ball in the major leagues, right? So I guess it's safe to assume he'll be horrible, too? As I said in another post, when the Chicago Cubs start playing the Omaha Royals - let me know. Cedeno raked in the minor leagues - why isn't he starting in front of Theriot? His minor league stats suggest he should... Interesting argument that you make here, because I would start Cedeno at SS if the choice is Cedeno or Theriot. We know exactly what we have in Theriot. He's a light hitting utility infielder, much like the dozens upon dozens of other light hitting utility infielders throughout the league. Cedeno and Pie have potential to be much more.

You really think so? Let's play "who looks like a better hitter game". Player A: .300 .355 .469 .824 Player B: .271 .352 .337 .689 The numbers above are career minor league numbers, one guy who posted his numbers all the way to age 26, the other guy who posted them by the age of 22.

Wouldn't Cedeno be released through waivers, therefore allowing the Orioles to be one of the first teams to grab him? A few teams would probably have shot ahead of Baltimore, but how many want a guy who probably takes a back seat to a veteran in a utility infield role with most teams?

Other guys to keep an eye on are Troy Percival and Brian Wilson. Only thing with Wilson is the Giants won't win many games. I picked up Lyon (Percival and Accardo both got drafted). Is C.J. Wilson or Brian Wilson a better option? Should I pick up either? I've got Blanton as a 6th starting pitcher after Peavy, Young, Hill, Pedro, Burnett in a 1250 IP max league. If I want to pick up a 3rd closer, I'd either have to drop Blanton or my only backup at 2nd or C, Orlando Hudson or Mike Napoli. If I had to pick between Brian and CJ, I'd probably pick CJ. As far as keeping a 3rd closer, I'd MUCH rather have a 3rd closer than a back up catcher. A lot of times, you can insert an extra closer in a "P" position and have all 3 collecting points, depending on the type of league you are competing in. Even in daily roster change leagues, it's almost impossible to know if your starting catcher will be having an off day other than maybe a team being scheduled off one day, but your back up's team could be off that day as well. And if your starting catcher gets hurt, you can usually find replacement catchers on the waiver wire. I rarely see teams keep a back up catcher unless there is a plethora of bench spots at your disposal, or unless they decided to hoard the best catchers for trade later.

If you had "good" bats all the way through the line up, I'd agree with you. However, I'm not sure how you can argue that there wouldn't be a big difference in production if Theriot is getting anywhere from 60-80 more plate appearances over the course of the season than Lee or Ramirez. If the argument was whether Theriot batted 7th or 8th, then I would agree that line up placement wouldn't make that big of a deal. However, we saw just how horribly it affected Derrek Lee's production in 2005 when Neifi Perez and Corey Patterson were getting the bulk of the at bats at the top of the order. Bottom line. Poor OBP guys with little power belong at the bottom of the order. Period. As long as you start out building your line up with those guys at the bottom of the order, then I would agree that it doesn't matter all that much where everyone else bats.

GOD dag nabbit LOU. When will the love affair with Theriot end? I, for one, am actively rooting for Theriot to totally suck from the start. It might take a while, but eventually Theriot will get moved down in the line-up and we might even be shopping for a SS at the trade deadline or (GASP) give DeRosa a chance. It's almost as if Lou is more interested in sparing Theriot's feelings than DeRosa's and that's just ridiculous. We have to just hope the front office finds out what we already know before it really hurts our team. I certainly won't be rooting against Theriot. At this point, all I can really hope for is Cubs management was right and Theriot proves to be much more than I imagine. I can't help but think there must be more to this guy than I see for Cubs management to completely ignore the glaring problem I envision at SS.

If Great American was the only good hitter's park in the NL Central, I might agree. But, most of the parks in the NL Central are good hitter's parks, so I think he could be worth it.

Other guys to keep an eye on are Troy Percival and Brian Wilson. Only thing with Wilson is the Giants won't win many games.

27 is the age you generally get a guys best production. In other words, it's a make or break year for Lopez. I like the upside Lopez provides over Theriot. But, you're right. They are probably looking at him at 2nd rather than short.

I'm going to go ahead and claim now that if the Cubs get Lopez, that I do NOT have inside sources. It's simply coincidence that I brought Lopez up in another thread a few days back.

Like the guys the Giants got for Pierzynski and so forth? I don't get this line of thinking. If a guy isn't in Baseball America's Top 10 he isn't worth anything. Look at what players have been traded for lately - guys like Tejada and Roberts *shouldn't* be getting these fantastic packages people are raving about. They balked on the Tejada deal for a long time and that's why they got what they did. So more balking hardly seems to be the answer. If you read my post again, you'll see that I said Angelos has plenty of reason to balk on this deal. They will suck before the season starts, they will suck at midseason and they will still suck at season's end. There is no sense of urgency on Baltimore's part to trade Roberts. Thus, Hendry just needs to move on. He's playing their game.

Jose Cruz Jr. can usually be found on the waiver wire at different points during the regular season. I have to agree that Marquis is worth more than that. And why are we posting Spring Training numbers?

Cool. Ryan Theriot will come to the plate approximately 60-80 more times than Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. I can't wait to count the times Theriot makes the last out in a game, also.

Hendry is returning Dombrowski's call in this scenario. It's the Tigers who are calling on us for relief help. Or are you trying to tell me that Hendry initiated a call to the Tigers to see if they might need relief help? And technically, Hendry gets the first laugh when Detroit asks for bullpen help. Yeah, doesn't just about every team in baseball need bullpen help?

What do the Cubs need? Well, the Tigers have two guys that could fill the Cubs most glaring hole. A - Hendry doesn't seem to think it's a glaring hole. B - So do the Yankees, but no one's suggesting that we trade for Cap'n Jetes or ARod. The Tigers went out and got a SS early in the off-season b/c they recognized the need to get Guillen out of there (and simultaneously get rid of Casey) and added Renteria. I don't think they did that b/c they didn't think they'd get Cabrera - I think they went into the off-season with the intention of creating one of the best lineups in baseball. They replaced their holes at 3B and 1B and did just that. I just don't see how anyone can suggest with a straight face that Hendry call up DD and say "you want a RP? Give us Renteria or take a hike." No one is saying Hendry should do that. The Tigers called the Cubs for relief help. If they aren't willing to part with Renteria for bullpen help, farm help and salary relief help, then there's really nothing else to discuss.

Excellent! =D> His plan appears to be swing and swing often. Walks clog the bases, dude. :good:

Exactly. They contacted Hendry, not the other way around. If they want bullpen help, we can help them with that. If they need some salary relief to go along with bullpen help, we can help them with that as well. The salary relief allows them to spend even more to fix their pen. But, if Renteria is untouchable to Detroit, there's really nothing more to talk about. "Good luck, I hope you find the bullpen help you need from someone else."

It's Joey Votto. In response to Jay Bruce getting sent down....... "The more things change, the more they stay the same" Tom Kiefer (Cinderella)

Have you seen their bullpen? They will lose a lot of games late due to the lack of any quality relief. The one thing they can afford to part with is offense. Inge has been on the market all offseason and no one wants him. Teams need 3b's out there, but they aren't willing to spend talent and the contract money necessary to take on Inge or Crede. If Detroit wants relief help, it will cost them their SS, otherwise I'd tell them to keep looking. We could happily send them a SS back in exchange if that really left them without a SS. Why would they trade their SS? Because when they traded for their SS, they did it before they knew they were getting Cabrera, Willis and Jacque Jones. Had the Tigers traded for Cabrera and Willis first, they probably would have spent more effort improving the pen instead of trading Omar Infante for Jacque Jones and farm talent to Atlanta for Renteria. Renteria isn't a difference maker for this offense. They will score enough runs to win games with or without Renteria. Renteria cannot pitch the 7th, 8th or 9th inning, however, which very well could be Detroit's undoing. while i definitely agree with this post...i still would be shocked if they swapped renteria I'd be shocked too. But, that's the only player I would be talking to Detroit about if they want relief help. I'd rather go into the season with one of the best bullpens in baseball rather than a deeper bench and a weaker bullpen.

If I had to guess, Detroit overspent their budget this offseason. They can't move Inge, so they may not have any money to spend to improve the pen. Inge and Renteria appear to have comparable contracts.

Have you seen their bullpen? They will lose a lot of games late due to the lack of any quality relief. The one thing they can afford to part with is offense. Inge has been on the market all offseason and no one wants him. Teams need 3b's out there, but they aren't willing to spend talent and the contract money necessary to take on Inge or Crede. If Detroit wants relief help, it will cost them their SS, otherwise I'd tell them to keep looking. We could happily send them a SS back in exchange if that really left them without a SS. Why would they trade their SS? Because when they traded for their SS, they did it before they knew they were getting Cabrera, Willis and Jacque Jones. Had the Tigers traded for Cabrera and Willis first, they probably would have spent more effort improving the pen instead of trading Omar Infante for Jacque Jones and farm talent to Atlanta for Renteria. Renteria isn't a difference maker for this offense. They will score enough runs to win games with or without Renteria. Renteria cannot pitch the 7th, 8th or 9th inning, however, which very well could be Detroit's undoing.

Okay, I timed how long it would take for Hendry to find out if Detroit would be willing to part with Renteria. 30 seconds. 8 seconds for Detroit's GM to pick up the phone, 12 seconds to explain that we have oodles of relievers but a need to upgrade SS and 10 seconds to decide whether Detroit is willing to part with their SS to improve their pen. If Hendry has 3 months worth of time to salivate over Brian Roberts, surely he has 30 seconds to ask about Renteria.