CubsWin

Well, all Cub minor leaguer starters are on pitch counts. I don't know whether his pitch count might be lower than other starters or not but it's not surprising that he didn't make it through 4 since he struck out 7. Also, Simpson threw 3.2 last time out. At first, I thought his start got cut short due to a rain delay. There was a 56 minute delay in that game. But the opposing pitcher went 6 IP, then I didn't know what to think. At least we know he's not hurt. Speaking of which, has anyone gotten confirmation that McNutt only had a blister?

Whew...

In the 12th now, Peoria trailing 12-9. Sczzur is not injured, has gone 2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 driven in, a walk and a stolen base so far. Pierre LePage continues his hot start going 3-for-4 with another double, 2 runs, 1 batted in and his 4th walk in 3 games against no strikeouts. He's seeing it, right now. Robinson Lopez's rocky spring carried over into his first start. 4 IP, 8 H, 6 ER. Good news? No walks. Dallas Beeler impressed with 4 strong innings giving up 3 hits, 1 run (earned), no walks and a strikeout.

I know. I didn't know how much I missed it until I wandered into the minor league forum yesterday and saw the box scores. It's extra nice to have decent results to talk about as well...

Austin Kirk with 4 innings of scoreless, no hit, 3 K, 2 BB ball in his debut.

Thanks, O_O for putting up box scores again this year. Not to nitpick, but one typo, according to the box score Whitenack had 8 ground ball outs, not 13. Still, pretty darn impressive ratio...

Me too. It's good to see him pitch and do well no matter what level. God it was good to see minor league box scores again. I had no idea how much a missed it until I opened this thread. And it's always nice to see wins, too.

It said the Rangers want Cashner, not that the Cubs were considering dealing him for Young. That just means that the Rangers aren't dumb. Crazy yes, but not dumb...

Seriously. We grumble about Soriano's contract, but Young's is godawful as well (albeit with one fewer years remaining). Outside of Arlington he's probably about league average as a SS or 2B, and below average as a 3B. Well, that's why the Cubs are asking for money in return. His away splits for last season were pretty bad. But just one year earlier they weren't. And for his career they're not. Was last year a harbinger or an aberration? Michael Young Career Road splits: .279 .322 .411 .733OPS Blake Dewitt Career stats: .259 .335 .378 .713 OPS Young has definitely had a better career than Dewitt so far, and probably will when its all said and done. But trading anything for Young at this point, at his age, cost, and him leaving Arlington, makes little sense to me. Dewitt is 10 years younger and has a chance at getting better, while Young is on the downside of his career. Oops, I thought I was looking at his career splits, but I must have been looking at something else. Never mind. Carry on. Nothing to see here.

Seriously. We grumble about Soriano's contract, but Young's is godawful as well (albeit with one fewer years remaining). Outside of Arlington he's probably about league average as a SS or 2B, and below average as a 3B. Well, that's why the Cubs are asking for money in return. His away splits for last season were pretty bad. But just one year earlier they weren't. And for his career they're not. Was last year a harbinger or an aberration?

Okay. I personally wouldn't go that far. He's a good fit for the Cubs for several reasons just not at his current price. The latest reports say the Cubs are interested, but only if the Rangers eat some salary. How much is not yet clear. However, I see little reason why he would need to accept a platoon at 2B. His offensive production at 2B would be a vast upgrade and improve the Cubs chances of winning this year. I like Jeff Baker, but Young's bat is clearly better. And whereas DeWitt still has some projectability left at age 25, he pretty much is what he is. Young's positional versatility fits what the Cubs need and will need in the next couple years. He provides cover for Ramirez at 3B if ARam gets injured, which he is apt to do, or underperforms again. If Ramirez does under perform, the Cubs wouldn't have to exercise their club option on him and would have leverage in negotiations to bring ARam back at a lesser price if they chose to bring him back at all. If Vitters isn't ready after this season and the Cubs don't bring back ARam, the team would be able to move Young to 3B and work Vitters in slowly if he shows he's ready down the line. If/Once Vitters shows he's ready, they wouldn't lose Young's production. On the days that Vitters plays, Young slides over to 2B. With other 3B who don't have Young's versatility, it would be an either/or proposition to get Vitters playing time. Plus, the Cubs would have better than average offensive production at 2B to take pressure off of the rookie having to put up typical 3B numbers right away. Finally, if ARam does perform well and the Cubs pick up their club option on him for 2012, they have leverage in FA negotiations with any 1B out there. If someone's price becomes just too high, Young can slide over to 1B. So his bat and his versatility fill many needs the Cubs have and open up several possibilities down the road. The questions I need answered are: how bad is he defensively? How much will the Rangers eat in salary? How much and how quickly will Young's offensive abilities decline? And what in the way of personnel would the Cubs have to give up to get him?

Interesting tidbit from Ken Rosenthal. Michael Young has added the Cubs and Phillies to the list of 8 teams he would accept a trade to. Link

If he can stick at 2B, yeah. Camp Colvin strikes again!

I'm with you... If Vitters is a great season, let him get called up in Sept. to have a few ABs this year to let him get an idea on what it's like in MLB and then let him play AAA all next year (let Smith play 3B for a year if A-Ram is gone) and get called up again in Sept., but let him play more this time around. By this time, he will still only be 23 years old and 6 seasons in the minors under his belt. Heck I would be fine if Vitters stay at AAA again (for his 7th minor season for like some fine tuning on his approach at the plate and defense) after next year. He's still young enough (and shown enough potential at times) that you can't give up on him until he's 24. Some players take a long time to get through the minors and some don't (Castro for example). Vitters is the guy who will take awhile. As for DJ, I'm hoping he stays at 2B as well, but I'm just worried that he just might be too big for that position. Is there a 2B out there that's like 6'4"??? Put me in this camp. Vitters spends most of this season if not all of it at AA. The only way he gets a promotion is if he kills it all season long and even then the earliest it should happen would be after the all-star break. Otherwise keep him there all year. Maybe a cup of coffee if he earns it. Next season, the Cubs can pick up Ramirez's option (if he does well this season). If not, they can either bring Rammy back at a lower cost, or let Smith and a 1yr FA signee battle it out in ST. Meanwhile, Vitters refines things at AAA. I, too, hope LeMaheiu can stick at 2B. Even if he doesn't develop great power, if he is defensively solid at the position, his ability to hit for average should be good enough to make him an asset.

True. I use it a bit differently than some, I guess. It's means hard to believe for me, as in not credible but still true. But there is often a positive connotation attached. Sorry if I misled anyone.

ESPN.com

I went to high school with the guy that just stepped down from the PA job. His name is Paul Friedman. It doesn't pay a lot.

McNutt's BB/9 profile is odd. He has issues with it in Peoria, then substantially cut down on them significantly after moving up to High A and AA. Miller has the overall edge and the comparative edge when looking at both pitchers during their stints in the MWL in BB/9, but some of it depends on whether you put more stock into McNutt's first half or second half. HR/9 is the third stat I'd throw in there. McNutt has a substantial edge over Miller there. Both guys do a good job of keeping the ball in the park, though. The reason I like Miller is I buy into his profile. In a loaded 2009 draft pitching-wise, he had one of the best pure arms. However, he was very raw; pretty much all fastball. Given his numbers this past season, it is abundantly clear that he has progressed substantially since being drafted. He still has his share of kinks to work out, but the guy has an impressive ceiling, especially if he continues growing like this. And I absolutely hate that he's a Cardinal. Ugh, I hope they do something stupid like trade him for Mark Buehrle. But then he'd be on the White Sox. That's almost as bad...

The Cactus League opened today with the Giants topping the D-Backs 7-6. The Cubs play their first game on Sunday. Does anyone have plans on attending any games. I'm going March 17th - 20th. Got my tickets. Can't wait.

Ramirez would probably have to be injured or have a terrible year to settle for $8-$10 million. Beltre (granted coming off of a great year) just signed for $96 million over 6 years and has career numbers less than Ramirez. Probably, but if he misses a few weeks again and doesn't OPS over .800 again, I don't think he'll get a lot of offers better than that. Beltre go a contract not many would have given him, doesn't have the injury concerns Ramirez does, is a year younger is a GG defender and had an OPS over .900. Ramirez has been a much more consistent offensive force, but this is a big year for him. If he doesn't come up fairly big, his rep may be as a past his prime player, and in the same position as Pena was this offseason. Hitting behind Pujols for a year to boost his value might be very appealing in such a scenario. Now I think he will rebound, but it's a distinct possibility he doesn't. Yeah, those were my thoughts as well. If Rammy performs like he did before and it's clear that Vitters isn't ready, then pick up the club option on him. If he doesn't produce near his previous level, you can always renegotiate and bring him back for less. As far as Pujols goes, I think the Cubs can easily afford him next season. And it gets even easier in the future if guys like Cashner, McNutt and Simpson come through as starting pitchers.

What? Ryan Ludwick's got grit and Juan Pierre can really run.

There's something about Byrd that makes me wonder what the Cubs would do if they're out of it at the deadline this year. Relative to his performance last year, his contract is an absolute bargain. I could see a number of teams having interest in Byrd at the deadline this season if the Cubs are out of it and Byrd is producing near the level he was in 2010. I also could see the Cubs seriously consider trading him if Jackson is hitting the crap out of the ball in AAA. He's certainly tradeable, if that is even a word. And if the Cubs are out of it or if Jackson is killing it, then sure. But regardless of whether it is Byrd or some other more proven OFer, I wouldn't want to go into 2012 with Soriano, Jackson and Colvin and the starters and no other options.

If Vitters isn't ready after this season and Ramirez performs well in 2011, instead of taking a chance on Smith for a season, why not pick up the option on Rammy? With all the other money coming off the books next season and the level to which Ramirez performs when healthy, I think the Cubs could afford it and it would likely be worth it, especially if Ramirez plays more than 130 games. For 6 consecutive seasons prior to last year, he posted an OPS of .898 or higher. Setting the money aside for a moment, ask yourself if the Cubs could find a replacement at 3B who could put up that kind of production? If it were possible to have Ramirez on the team in 2012 and still sign Pujols, I would want to do it. Fukudome 13.5 million Silva 9.5 million (11.5 million - 2 million buyout) Pena 10.0 million Grabow 4.8 million Samardzija 2.0 million Total 39.3 million The nice part about the players above is that their replacements are already on the team or in the system, meaning they're all expendable and they won't cost anything to replace. Sign Pujols for 30 mill and use the 9.3 million for raises, and keep Ramirez. C Soto 1B Pujols 2B ? SS Castro 3B Ramirez LF Soriano CF Jackson RF Colvin SP Garza SP Dempster SP Zambrano SP Cashner SP Wells RP Marmol RP Wood RP Marshall ? ? ? That's not a bad team. The Cubs are only paying 6 million for Silva this year with Seattle paying the other 5.5 so that takes some money out of the equation. But I would agree that they would at least consider keeping Ramirez even if it meant raising the payroll a little bit (or maybe trading Byrd who you don't have in your lineup). I like keeping Byrd due to the unproven ability of both Colvin and Jackson, but that is certainly an option. And thanks on the Silva update. I thought that was applied last season. Oops.

Put him in there. 2B is just the least settled position of them all. If it's not Jackson in CF it will be Byrd, but that would be the only change. If DeWitt doesn't perform, it could be anybody. A trade. A free agent signing. Barney. Another minor leaguer. I guess if Colvin struggles, they could be looking for another OFer...

If Vitters isn't ready after this season and Ramirez performs well in 2011, instead of taking a chance on Smith for a season, why not pick up the option on Rammy? With all the other money coming off the books next season and the level to which Ramirez performs when healthy, I think the Cubs could afford it and it would likely be worth it, especially if Ramirez plays more than 130 games. For 6 consecutive seasons prior to last year, he posted an OPS of .898 or higher. Setting the money aside for a moment, ask yourself if the Cubs could find a replacement at 3B who could put up that kind of production? If it were possible to have Ramirez on the team in 2012 and still sign Pujols, I would want to do it. Fukudome 13.5 million Silva 9.5 million (11.5 million - 2 million buyout) Pena 10.0 million Grabow 4.8 million Samardzija 2.0 million Total 39.3 million The nice part about the players above is that their replacements are already on the team or in the system, meaning they're all expendable and they won't cost anything to replace. Sign Pujols for 30 mill and use the 9.3 million for raises, and keep Ramirez. C Soto 1B Pujols 2B ? SS Castro 3B Ramirez LF Soriano CF Jackson RF Colvin SP Garza SP Dempster SP Zambrano SP Cashner SP Wells RP Marmol RP Wood RP Marshall ? ? ? That's not a bad team.