RichHillIsABeast

Murton: Dude is raking since the ASB. If the power and XBH outburst continues, he should get the nod in LF next season. The biggest difference I've seen in the second half is his lack of hitting into DPs and more flyballs than groundouts. Murton's defense is above average for ML LF (only because some truly awful players patrol LF), but is by no means a GGer. Cedeno: It's surprising to me that he isn't walking more like he did in the minors. Well, we have Clines and Baker whispering in his ear, so maybe it isn't so surprising. His D has been surprisingly overrated. Great range, but sloppy footwork at times and everchanging arm angle. His D isn't so great that he'll make up for Neifi-like offense. Maybe he'll turn it around before the end of the season. Pagan: Did this guy bulk up in the offseason? Great job scouting by the Cubs organization. Is this power outburst a fluke? He went deep to straightaway CF today, so I don't know. He should definitely make the bench if only because of his speed and power in limited ABs. Marshall: I'd like to see him in AAA next season. He's done a great job, but let's not forget that he was only supposed to be in the bigs until our horses got healthy, which never happened. Put him in AAA to get his body used to the innings and call him up next season if any of our starters goes down. He's got the stuff to win some games in the bigs right now, no doubt, but let's not ruin a good pitcher by putting too many innings on it with a notorious arm abuser like Baker calling the shots. Guzman: Great outting today, but that's only one. I'd like to see more domination before penciling him into the starting rotation. Putting him in the pen is a waste. You don't stick a guy with 3 plus pitches in the rotation unless you don't have a choice. He may be trade bait. Mateo: He needs another out pitch to remain a starter. Hill: Dude is a stud. S T U D. Those minor league numbers will translate to the bigs. He just had to get over the hump mentally. He can be an innings eater for us next season, hopefully as a 4 or 5 starter. You don't trade a guy like Hill. Let him flop or flourish, but don't watch him dominate on another team. If he improves his change up or cutter, watch out. His ceiling has got to be at least a 2 starter. Our farm system isn't great, but if even one of Hill, Marshall, or Guzman reaches his ceiling, we're going to have a great rotation for the playoffs, assuming Z sticks around.

Has anyone ever asked Hendry about clogging the bases with walks? I know he doesn't value OBP as highly as BA with RISP, but what exactly is his take on OBP? I'm assuming he thinks it's tied to BA, or why get Pierre? Even Hendry would admit OBP is important for a leadoff hitter (as well as plus speed). *FWIW, I don't think OBP is tied to BA. It's all about walk rates. Eh, whatever, a couple more years of losing and Hendry will get the can. A couple more years and then we can dream about a GM that doesn't use the square wheel to build a baseball team.

I too prefer Murton. But your argument is based on the idea that the Cubs only option is to sign one free agent (who, by the way, they most likely won't even come close to getting). There's also the little issue of whether it makes any sense to move Soriano back to 2B, or if he even would. He seems pretty comfortable out there now, and if money isn't the issue, I could see him wanting to stay in LF. Then again, if you do sign Soriano, you could let Pierre go and move Jones to CF, allowing you to keep Soriano out there. You could also trade Izturis and put Cedeno back at SS. All I'm saying is it would be foolish to get locked into the notion of having to replace Cedeno because he was bad in his first extended stay in the majors at 23. The Cubs believe defense up the middle is of paramount importance, even with flyball and strikeout pitchers. Soriano is a butcher at 2B. I don't see Hendry going with Soriano at 2B, especially at the price Soriano is going to get in FA. As bad as Cedeno has been offensively, the Cubs org is probably in the crowd that thinks defense is 30-50% of the game. Cedeno has the label of being a slick fielder (I haven't seen it other than his great range), so i wouldn't doubt he and Izturis are our MI of the future. :(

I don't think you can expect linear progression. Guys are going to have ups and downs. Expecting him to get better each month, or expecting him not to have consecutive bad months, is not a very good way to judge a player. It seems to me that he's looking at trends, not linear progression/regression. Cedeno is trending downward. Murton had one horrible month, but other than that, he's been pretty solid. If Cedeno even had a marginal uptick the last couple of months that would be something. However, his D has been worse than advertised while he's offered nothing with the lumber.

That really stinks. This was his shot. It's not like a fringe prospect like O'Malley is going to get a few more chances in the bigs. I feel bad for the guy. :cry: