fromthestretch

Isn't Young abysmal on defense, too? As a SS yes, I thought he was avg. defensively as a 2B, although I haven't seen the stats. Is he really that bad? I know his fielding percentage at SS is around league average, but I honestly know nothing about what kind of range he has.

Probably because there is a level of comfort, albeit minimal. If you think Maddux wouldn't have had a Hall of Fame career pitching to guys like Barrett his entire career, then you are giving pitchers way too little credit and catchers way too much. One of the other reasons Maddux typically likes pitching to the backup catcher is that Maddux can spend at least three of his days between starts sitting next to the backup catcher on the bench during games and discussing things. Having that time certainly doesn't hurt. And the fact that you can't see one side of the story doesn't make it false. That's not even close to the first move they should be making UNLESS, the return for Barrett solves at least one much more important problem. I really like how people who don't agree with you are dubbed "flamers." Perhaps if you actually read through some of the responses to your posts, you would realize that no one on here is claiming that Barrett is the end all be all to catching. I'm sure a lot of people would probably prefer Hernandez, but that decision can't be made without answering some other questions. What impact would adding Hernandez have on the Cubs ability to take care of more pressing needs (in other words, how much more/less would they be spending on their starting catcher)? What would/could the Cubs get in return for Barrett in a trade?

DING DING DING Well said. People can bring up all the stats they want about Barrett but the thing that bothers me the most about Barrett is exactly what you said. He just doesn't seem to be on the same page with the pitchers and he doesn't seem to posess that "Catchers mentality" or the toughness or Leadership it takes to be a Catcher. There's a lot of things that going into being a good Catcher and most of those things you can't see in stats. Obviously to be a great Catcher you need to have a good %of throwing runners, low PB and WP etc etc etc, but it's the intangibles that, clearly to me anyway, Barrett just doesn't have and I personally don't feel the Pitchers enjoy pitching to him. I know I wouldn't have. He'd be better suited as a DH IMHO, that's all I'm saying. A good pitcher should be able to pitch to any catcher, and Barrett is hardly the worst defensive catcher out there. As for calling pitches...unless a pitcher has been specifically told by his manager or pitching coach that he is never to shake off his catcher, then pitch-calling by a catcher is an overrated skill. The pitcher himself should know better than anyone what he has and doesn't have working well on any given day and knows what he's comfortable throwing in any given situation. The starting pitcher is the one with 4-5 freaking days of nothing between starts to prepare a plan of attack for his next start. Don't get me wrong...I would certainly like to see Barrett get better defensively. I'd like to see him get better at blocking balls in the dirt, simply because I do believe that would improve a pitcher's confidence. There are situations where a pitcher may be able to get a hitter out by getting him to chase a ball in the dirt, but if the pitcher isn't comfortable with his catcher's ability to block it with a runner on, then he may have to do something else. Outside of that, Barrett's ability to throw out runners is mediocre at best but could be helped immensely if our pitchers could actually hold runners on. Wood is the only starter I can think of that has a decent pickoff move. Maddux is and always has been slow to the plate. All of that being said, Barrett's defense is nowhere near the top of the list of problems with this team.

My thoughts: Would Pierre be an improvement over what the Cubs had in 2005? Most likely, yes. Is ANYONE asking for Hairston to be the everyday leadoff man in 2006? No. Is the difference between Pierre and Hairston over the last few years that significant that it's worth trading two players AND taking on some more salary to get Pierre? Probably not. Some other points to consider: 1. Just because people don't want to include Hill in a deal with Patterson to get Pierre doesn't mean that people aren't open to the idea of dealing Hill at all. It just means that people think that Hill is worth more than that. 2. UK is right about Jason Michaels. He (Michaels, not UK...sorry UK) is a better leadoff option than just about anyone mentioned in this thread, and could most likely be acquired for less than Hill/Patterson, assuming the Phillies are open to the idea of trading him. 3. Could Giles ability to hit well behind Furcal be more of a result of his ability rather than having someone with speed on first? I think so.

Regardless of whose decision it is to throw a certain pitch in a certain situation, it's up to the pitcher to execute.

You're the first person I've ever heard begging to hear McCarver.

Why no concern with Chipper's fragile body? If durability and the perception that laziness leads to the injuries causes you to want to deal Ramirez, how can then turn around and acquire a guy coming off 2 straight injury marred seasons (who happens to cost much more than the guy you'd be replacing)? Not only that, but (correct me if I'm wrong) I believe he had multiple injuries this season. If I remember correctly, he had a foot issue AND some problems with his throwing arm (shoulder, I think). A move to first base may be in the cards for Chipper within the next few years if his arm continues to bother him.

Something involving Howie Kendrick would be a start. They could move Aybar to 2B and let Brandon Wood play SS. Or if they're interested in dealing Wood...

Hmmm, 3/24 maybe? Like many things this offseason, it would depend how the rest of the offense is shaping out. I wouldn't sign him. What would you do with him in 2007 or 2008, when Pie will likely be here? Move him to the corner? Damon has played quite a bit of left field in his career...over 300 games I believe. With his arm, I certainly wouldn't want him in right field, but he could play left. That said, you'd probably want a bit more power from a corner spot, so if he's in left, you'd want to have some extra power at a position you don't normally get it from...such as 2B or SS.

IIRC, he was actually drafted as a somewhat light-bat, good defense SS. Then the kid worked his tail off to improve his hitting or the Angels have some great coaching in the minors...or both. It's reasonable to expect him to improve as he matures, but his numbers took a huge jump. I would imagine he's destined for AA next season, but if he continues to hit like this, he probably won't be there for too long.

IIRC, he was actually drafted as a somewhat light-bat, good defense SS. I knew they had a good farm system, but I didn't realize just how good. I notice they have a second baseman named Howie Kendrick that looks like a very good hitter, as well. The Angels could be getting strong production from their middle infield very soon.

His numbers this year were sick: .321, 53 2B, 43 HR, 116 RBI, in 134 games (130 at high-A, 4 at AAA) His minor league numbers in 2003 were OK, but nothing to write home about. His stats weren't impressive at all in 2004. Would like to see him walk a little more, but other than that, his numbers this season were eye-popping. And he hasn't slowed down a bit in the fall league. Anyone know how good he is with the glove? Just curious if he will remain at SS, or if people think he is destined for a position change. If he's going to stay at SS, I bet the Angels wish that Cabrera contract was about two years shorter.

I believe the original intent of the rule was to prevent pitchers from blatantly deceiving baserunners. However, it's gone far beyond that. Like you mentioned, there are little things that really cause no harm but are called as balks, such as moving the ball from your glove to your pitching hand while on the rubber. Hell, I believe that if you get blown off the mound by a strong gust of wind while in the set position, you will be called for a balk, even though everyone knows there was no intent to deceive the runner.

Knowing the best approach to hitting and actually being able to use that approach as a player are two completely different things. Look at Billy Beane's career numbers as a player. Not exactly impressive.

The rule actually is:

Selling this team isn't going to change things. The amount of money being spent is fine. They just need people who know how to spend the money wisely.

A lot of people seem to think the replacement will be Bob Geren. I won't pretend to know anything about him beyond the fact that he's currently the A's bullpen coach. http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gerenbo01.shtml

Eric Milton isn't a good pick-up for any team, regardless of the stadium they play in.

Is there a yawning emoticon? If Walker isn't back, I hope we can replace him at 2B with someone who can hit a "soft .300," matching what I assume you view as a weak .475 SLG and .355 OBP.

They are saying that Clemens will not be pitching in this series now. Apparantly, he has a leg problem. He's been scratched from the start tomorrow.

Sounds like he had to be helped off the field. We'll be seeing a lot of Macias over the next few days.

Walker's hurt. They think it's his knee.

They should consider it. That lineup looks a lot better if you replace Erstad with Delgado and move Figgins up into the leadoff spot. Doesn't Figgy already bat leadoff? Just looked it up, and I stand corrected. I thought Erstad had led off more often, but it appears that Figgins has nearly 500 at-bats from the leadoff spot. Erstad has 138 at-bats as a leadoff hitter, which is about 138 too many.

They should consider it. That lineup looks a lot better if you replace Erstad with Delgado and move Figgins up into the leadoff spot.

stabbing the first base ump and urinating on the mascot isn't illegal under baseball rules either...but you can't do either of those things. steroids are illegal (by america rule book standards), and they gave him an unfair advantage over other players. he probably would have been a HOFer w/o the steroids, but we can never know for sure. I posted this awhile back. Gives a little more info as to what is and isn't exactly legal regarding steroids. This was found on baseballmusings.com. Edit: According to Baseball Musings, that was from "A trial attorney with extensive experience in federal and state courts as both prosecutor and defense counsel."