fromthestretch

His 2003 season is a bit worrisome. The good thing is, he's still on the right side of 30. His reminds me a bit of Derrek Lee* prior to Lee's 2005. He'll strikeout a lot, walk a lot, and probably hit between 25 and 35 homers. *By no means am I saying that Burrell will have the kind of breakout year that Lee had.

I believe I've seen his name has been brought up sporadically on this board, but I haven't really heard his name elsewhere as an option for the Cubs. Burrell hasn't played right field...at least in the big leagues. However, he has a good arm, good power, and isn't afraid to take a walk. Chances are, it wouldn't take as much to get him in a trade as it would get Abreu...although, the cost would probably still be high. My questions are: 1. Does anyone think the Phillies would even be willing to deal him, especially considering he's pretty much the only right-handed power bat they have (Abreu, Utley, and Howard are all left-handed hitters)? 2. Would you be comfortable with Burrell in RF? 3. What would you be willing to give up to acquire him? Looking at the options available via free agency and most of the options available via trade, I'm not really excited about what's out there. Just thinking out loud.

Joan Rivers oh yeah, joan jett. James Jett (that took me a while) James Andrews. Thea Andrews Thea Hackett. she's a character in one of my short stories. Buddy Hackett Buddy Love.

You can't exactly plan for timely hitting. If Pierre hits only .280, with his walk rate, he'll get on base about 33% of the time. While that's an improvement over what the Cubs got from the leadoff spot last year, it's still not what I would consider acceptable from the leadoff spot. Pierre's walk rate isn't high. He'd have to hit about .300 or higher to get his OBP over .350.

Can he spark the offense? Yes. At the same time, there's a chance he could repeat his 2005 numbers. Regardless of your distate for stats, I'd think you'd have to agree that a .326 OBP at the top of the order is pathetic. And it's not like 2005 was his first bad year; he also struggled in 2002. If Pierre can keep his OBP over .350, preferably over .370, then you probably won't hear anyone complaining. His speed is worth absolutely nothing if he's not getting on base to use it. Wow. Count me on the side that actually would like for Walker to be pencilled in as the Cubs' starting second baseman in 2006 and as someone who actually values statistical analysis. However, I would never compare Walker to Rod Carew, and I guarantee no one else on here would either. It's absurd to even claim that people would do that. Are stats lying to me when they tell me that Juan Pierre had a horrible OBP last year? Stats tell you exactly what happened. While I don't think you can rely solely on stats, to throw them out the window is foolish. There's a lot to be said for actually watching someone play the game. However, stats are a hell of a lot more important than you are claiming. Combine the fact that he has had some, albeit limited, success at the major league level with the fact that he's only 25, and there is a decent chance he could rebound and put up OK numbers. There's also a chance he could repeat his 2005 numbers. Playing him everyday certainly is a gamble at this stage. Corey is a "tools" guy. He's fast, athletic, and has some power. His prospect status was largely due to his athletic ability rather than his stats. People saw with their eyes what he was capable of. His minor league stats showed that his plate discipline wasn't ideal. He struggled at the higher levels, while still retaining his prospect status due to people's perception of his physical ability. You appear to be a person that doesn't care for statistical analysis, rather relying on your own eyes to tell you how good/bad a player is, and you don't think Patterson has any future. Define irony.

Good thing this isn't a thread about Mientkiewicz or Pierzynski then.

You're right. It wasn't Konerko's monster second half, or Jermaine Dye's 31 homers, or a 3.61 team ERA, or a career year for Dustin Hermanson, or the emergence of Bobby Jenks and Neal Cotts. Nope, it was Podsednik.

I don't think Green would waive his NTC to play in Chicago. From what I understand, he wants to stay in the Southwest. I thought Green was from around Chicago...or am I making that up? I think someone posted in another thread that Green was born in or around the Chicago area, but his family moved away from there within a year or so of his birth. To my knowledge he grew up in California.

I don't think Green would waive his NTC to play in Chicago. From what I understand, he wants to stay in the Southwest. Green started in Toronto and Chicago is southwest of Toronto? Am I reaching here? :D One point for creativity. :D

I don't think Green would waive his NTC to play in Chicago. From what I understand, he wants to stay in the Southwest.

While I agree that LF shouldn't be viewed as a hole, it's more of a hole than 2B is right now. 2B only becomes a hole if Walker is dealt.

Believing something posted on an ESPN message board will get you nowhere in a hurry. Unless many actually heard XM report this, I'm guessing there is not a lot of truth there. I heard it on XM, as well. Not sure how valid it is, but I did hear them mention it.

The best shortstop in all of baseball is currently playing third base.

Bo Fuliniti, the former Daytona Cubs broadcaster (he recently accepted a position with the Stockton Ports), answered some questions about Mateo here. He did the Q&A for NSBB in early August. There's been other discussion of Mateo in the Minor Leagues Forum, but it would be difficult to track down without the search function. Thanks for the Mateo info. His numbers were good...high strikeout, low walk, so I was curious what his fastball was like. The way they talked on XM after the draft, it sounds like the Cardinals might give him a legit shot to stick in the bullpen in 2006. Hope this one doesn't haunt the Cubs.

:shock: Stolen bases aren't worth $10 million a year. Coleman only had two seasons in his entire career where he got on base at a 35% or better rate. Career .324 OBP. That's pathetic for a leadoff hitter.

Does anyone know anything about Juan Mateo? Looking at his stats at Daytona, he had about 10 K's/9 IP and has pretty good control. He's 22 years old.

I believe someone selected Juan Mateo from the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft this morning. I didn't hear Brandon Sing's name come up. The Cubs selected pitcher Carlos Jan from the Orioles in the AAA portion of the draft.

No one has ever implied that, and it's ridiculous to even make that claim that anyone would say that. Guys that draw walks tend to do so year after year. Even if their batting average is less than stellar one season, their OBP remains respectable due to the number of walks. That's why a guy like Wilkerson, despite seeing his batting average plummet below .250 last season due to injury, was able to keep his OBP over .350. On the other hand, Pierre hit 28 points higher, yet had an lower OBP by 25 points. The NUMBER ONE thing you need in a leadoff hitter is the ability to get on base. Pierre is certainly capable of getting on base 37% of the time, but he'll need to hit .320 to do it since he doesn't typically draw more than 45-50 walks in a season. I'm not going to speak for everyone who was hoping for Wilkerson, but the reason I would prefer him is that he's a safer bet to post an OBP of .360 or higher next season than Pierre is. That doesn't mean Pierre won't have a great season, but his chances of having an OBP lower than .350 are greater than Wilkerson's. Another reason to like Wilkerson is that he can play all three outfield positions and first base AND can hit for power. If/when Pie is ready, Wilkerson could slide to a corner outfield spot to allow Pie to play CF.

I don't see why the Cubs need another middle infielder at this time. If they deal Walker, then they need to find someone who is capable of starting everyday at 2B. The Cubs have Cedeno and Neifi to play SS, with hopefully Cedeno getting most of the time there. They have Walker, Hairston, Neifi, and Cedeno to play 2B. I'd say that, at least for now, middle infield is covered.

I saw Wilkerson play a lot last year at Nationals games and I'd be hard pressed to say he is a better hitter than too many people other than Christian Guzman. One could say he had a bad year and will rebound, but he he made Preston Wilson look good last year. He played hurt last year...forearm injury. Tough to hit well with an injured forearm. If he's healthy, you're looking at a player that can draw 80-100 walks, hit 20-30 homers, and is capable of playing any of the three outfield postions or first base.

Soriano might have snapped in half if Carlos Lee had slid into him as hard as he did into Walker. Walker is ok...maybe slightly below average, Soriano is absolutely horrible.

Depends how they're used. Walker's the better 1-2 hitter. Sori the better 4-5-6 hitter. Soriano in the 4 hole? No thanks. Walker is the better hitter. Soriano would be okay in the 6 hole. But he costs 4X as much, while being nowhere near 4X the player. Please say that your argument regarding Walker and Soriano is based solely on money. Because if it isn't and you're saying that flat out Walker is a better player, you are way off. Even in the precious OPS catergory Soriano is 30 point higher over the course of their careers. All Walker does better than Soriano is walk, that's it. He gets on base at a rate 50 points higher. Considering that a point of OBP is worth roughly 1.5 of SLG, I'd say that makes up for the SLG difference. Plus Soriano was garbage outside of his home hitters park. Not only that, but Soriano makes Walker look like a defensive wizzard.

Cantu has played more games at 2B than he has at 3B.

They had a perfect chance to get a long look at him last season, and they gave him a whopping four starts.

Confirmed. Cool. 2 confirmations and 2 denials. Which is it? Did Juan Pierre get caught stealing 2nd or 3rd 17 times last season, or was he picked off 1st base half of those times? Or, was he caught stealing 17 times and picked off maybe another 3 or 4 times? From what I remember whenever a player is picked off they also add that as caught stealing as well. No they don't. A caught stealing is only recorded if the runner makes an effort to advance to the next base.