Sammy Sofa

Are you talking about Fukudome? A typically productive player? Are you watching the same games I am? 715 OPS in May and dipping to an abomination like 552 OPS this month. This happens EVERY YEAR. He starts off hot (fukudome), and everyones like oh hey he gets on base he's a pretty preductive guy. Then the wheels fall off in late may/early june and its downhill fukucopter drilling into the batters box from then on. Fukudome was better in the second half of the year last year than the first half. He could easily end up doing that again this year. Right. June has been one of his weakest months both of the last two seasons for whatever reason, but then he bounced back last year and was very good in July and August.

Who is completely writing him off? And if his minor league numbers skewed, isn't it a reasonable expectation to actually prove that they were skewed?

You mean right now? Nothing. He still has a ton of work ahead of him in the minors and he's only 20.

I'm not convinced at all we're teaching our players concurrent approaches from the minors to the bigs, fwiw. I always feel like we don't adequately prepare our prospects for the bigs anyway, so it's pointless. And on top of that, what's Rudy Jaramillo for? Rudy's here to coach hitting. Colvin still needs coaching beyond just his hitting. Unless he's going to keep hitting out of his mind, any hopes of him being a productive starting OF will be dashed if his defense doesn't improve. Look, the Cubs just don't need to start Colvin right now. The team as it stands simply isn't worth forcing him into a position that's almost certainly going to be over his head at this point. He hasn't proven he can be a productive starting OF in the minors yet (in terms of his potential as a starter in the majors), so why assume he can be a productive starting OF based on a very limited sample size as a part time player in the majors?

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You may think he blows, but the odds are much, much more in his favor in regards to being more productive for the Cubs this season than Colvin. It also makes little sense to bench him if you expect or hope the Cubs to trade him and get a decent return and/or not to have to pick up too much of his salary.

He's been horrendous over the last month. His history before his surge couple with his peripherals as well as his recent history would argue much more in favor of "prolonged fluke" than anything else. He was a pleasant surprise, but he's definitely still a work in progress. I hope he pans out, but his recent struggles plus how many of his key numbers trended in the second half last year indicate that nobody should really have a conclusion about him at this point. Because he needs to be coached well and he needs to show that he can have the type of success he's had so far, or some variation thereof, as a full time player. It's simply much smarter to do that in the minors when your team is set in terms of starting OF and it's with a player who hasn't demonstrated anything like this when he has been a full time player. I agree with the final point, which is one of the reasons I'd prefer him starting in the minors. It's better for him and the Cubs in terms of the bigger picture. I think you're really overstating that final part. The Cubs are not lacking for quality starting OF players and this team as it's constructed really isn't worth potentially sidetracking a player's development. If there's a chance Colvin can be a productive starter then he needs to be doing in full time in the minors since he's yet to demonstrate down there that he could be a productive starter. Colvin's success so far this season is by no mean proof in that regard, and it simply isn't realistic or smart to plug him in as one of the Cubs starting OF right now. Why possibly waste any potential he has on a team this bad? Let him get the coaching he needs.

Come on. McGehee is not a good player. We should be praying that Colvin isn't another McGehee. I'm not saying he's a good player! I'm saying Milwaukee has the brains, unlike us, to ride the hot hand until it's over. Of course Casey won't keep this up forever, but he is right now! So is Colvin! But that's really not "brains." It's the Brewers not having a better option. They got lucky that McGehee had the stretch that he did, but in the big picture it's basically meaningless. Colvin, unlike McGehee, actually has a shot at being a productive part of this team for an extended period of time, even if his ceiling does end up being basically a 4th OF. With a player like Colvin you don't "ride his hot hand;" you get him in the minors starting full time working with the coaches to see if his new found power isn't a fluke and what type of player he can ultimately be. The answer isn't to prop him to be some kind of short term savior or boost because he hasn't demonstrated anything before this year that showed he can be that player. This current team isn't worth potentially wasting whatever potential he has. RIGHT NOW isn't and should not be important with this team.

Come on. McGehee is not a good player. We should be praying that Colvin isn't another McGehee.

It's not a catch-22; you don't bench a typically productive player you hope to trade for an unproven one who has to keep hitting at or around his current ridiculous level to justify his starts due to his defensive shortcomings. Colvin will still get plenty of AB's up here even if he's not starting regularly over one of the other OF.

The point, that you completely missed, is that what a young player accomplishes in the majors in a relatively small sample size very early in their MLB career often gives little indication as to what kind of player they will turn out to be. If the Cubs seriously want to explore the idea of Colvin as a starting OF then he needs to be back in the minors starting full time. There's no place for him to start regularly with the Cubs right now unless Fukudome is traded, and even then it wouldn't necessarily be better for him to be starting for the Cubs as opposed to playing full time in the minors and consistently having success down there. I know you have a new player that you irrationally crush on nearly every week, but there's really no justification for the Cubs going out of their way to clear up a regular starting slot for him at this point in Colvin's career.

Lou has never handled a bullpen well over the course of his managing career.

That's not the point. The point is he's our best option right now. No, he's not. Hes 1 of 2 consistant hitters this teams had all season, the other 1 being Byrd, so yeah, hes the best option right now. He'll never be as good of a defensive outfielder as Kosuke, but the main problem for this team has been offense, not defense and as long as he can provide some, he deserves to play. Over who? If you seriously expect them to be able to trade Kosuke for anything of value it makes absolutely no sense to effectively bench him for Colvin. Colvin will get plenty of AB's between pinch hits and starting for Byrd and Soriano when they get days off. If he's going to be playing full time he needs to go back down the minors.

It is a long shot. I have no desire to see him end up a bust, but the simple fact of the matter is that it's a long shot that he would pan out to be a starting OF right now. Just because he was a 1st round pick doesn't make him any kind of lock, especially with the Cubs' drafting history. His performance so far this year also isn't any kind of guarantee of what he'd be as a starter. Fox is a great example of someone who set the world on fire with a relatively limited collection of AB's.

Boooooooooo.

That's not the point. The point is he's our best option right now. No, he's not.

Yes, because Colvin's performance thus far this season is an accurate projection as to how he'll perform as a starter with the book out on him.

Plenty of people give a damn. It's more just how awful these threads tend to be.

That's still a loooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng shot.

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minor league career vs lhp: 0.277/0.308/0.460/0.768 minor league career vs rhp: 0.276/0.324/0.461/0.785 Fine. He can't hit righties either Will he also play his entire career with a torn elbow ligament? No, but he will play his entire career with mediocrity.

So get him more starts after Fukudome is traded.

minor league career vs lhp: 0.277/0.308/0.460/0.768 minor league career vs rhp: 0.276/0.324/0.461/0.785 Fine. He can't hit righties either Exactly. Hence the *BARF*. Colvin as a starter is almost a lock to be depressing.

The point isn't whether Theriot should or shouldn't have thrown it to 2nd; the point is that the runner was smart enough to stop as soon as Theriot was on the base path with the ball so he couldn't be tagged. I believe it was Soto who recently botched a similar scoring opportunity recently for the Cubs by just charging like a goon.

Everything about that is so... *BARF*