soapy

This thread/discussion reminds me of all the Choi/Karros, Grudz/Walker/Hill, DuBois/Hollansworth arguements. The point isn't that Murton or Choi or B. Hill or DuBois are studs. The point is they are better than or at least equal to the alternative.

So then doesn't this indicate to you we need a power bat in the OF? Or shall we attempt to catch the biggest HR-hitting team in the league with the likes of Matt Murton and Angel Pagan? If your only other options are Floyd and Jones, yes. That's the point. It's not Murton vs. some stud RFer. It's Murton vs. Floyd/Jones becuase those are the only options until/unless someone else is acquired.

he probably makes the most sense out of all the potential targets mentioned to date IF he can play RF. he's only had 15 abs as a RF in the last three years, so I'm not sure how likely that is.

I may have missed it, but I don't recall Floyd dropping routine fly balls. Murton is a horrible outfielder. ](*,) You're probably right. I'm sure Floyd has never made an error in his career. My bad. I mean, after all, you don't recall it.

I think: Soriano LF Murton RF Lee 1B Ramirez 3B DeRosa 2B Kendall C Cedeno/Theriot SS Pagan CF Is better than what they are putting out there against LHPs now. Against RHP, start Floyd in RF (when healthy), Jones in CF (if he stays hot until he's traded) and possibly Fontenot at 2B or SS. It's not great by any stretch, but it's an improvement, and that's the point, no?

but don't you think murton is a better bet to provide that missing power vs. a LHP than Floyd, Pagan or Fontenot? none is likely too, but murton at least gives you the best chance.

To me what you have posted there is the biggest cause of the problems when people call someone a "Murton lover" or whatever (not that you are one of them). Murton is not going to be a superstar. He's not going to be great. But what he will do, if past performance is any predictor of future performance, is get on base, hit a few HRs, and hit for good average. These are all things the Cubs need. He might not be better than Floyd, but he probably will be healthier and he's cheap so the Cubs can look to spend money elsewhere. I don't think anyone thinks the Cubs are holding down a potental star, but I think they are making poor decisions. Those poor decisions started way back in the offseason. he would be fine if the team was getting power from more than two spots in the order. If Lee had 18 HR right now, then fine, stick him out there. But people can't say a) we really need more power and b) how dare we don't play Murton in RF you're acting like people are making a choice between murton and griffey or something! the choice is murton or pagan/floyd/jones/some other mediocre RFer who can't hit. of course the cubs should attempt to find someone who can outproduce murton (from a SLG standpoint) if they can. but for now, he's the best option that they control. why not have him in there vs. LHP, at an absolute minimum? Wouldn't you rather have Murton's bat in there against LHP instead of Floyd, Pagan or Fontenot? That's essentially the choice being made here.

haha...yes. we should all just pretend that fox being called up had nothing to do with him being able to play 1B with Lee out. you're right. murton sucks.

Except he's already produced in the big leagues over nearly a full season. exactly. further, what is there to lose by (at least) putting him in RF against lefties? not to mention the fact that floyd can't stay healthy enough to play everyday anyway.

Then why use him all last year(with a good deal of success)? It's not as if Murton has been permanently oppressed, he performed in an extended period last year, and this year he got banished for a poor month. i'm just posing the possibility that there is more to it than "a poor month". certainly it's 'possible', but how likely is it? it's not like he's not producing at AAA right now. considering the cubs past, i'm inclined to lean toward mis-management rather than some mysterious problem nobody seems to know about.

I don't think it's people necessarily want to compare Murton to everyone, but when you start talking about acquiring guys like Craig Monroe and Jeff Conine, people are going to bring up Murton. The point being that it's stupid to give up something (anything) to get guys like that when you have a 25 year-old under your control who can match or surpass the production those players will give you. Similarly, Cedeno is/will be brought up every time someone suggests picking up a mediocre SS.

i went with 2nd place, no playoffs. despite the recent success, i'm still not convinced they have enough to overtake the brewers and/or win the wildcard. the pitching has been great, but the pessimistic side of me doesn't expect marquis and/or marshall to maintain their success. additionally, if the cubs don't start hitting homeruns, they are going to have trouble scoring. if they upgrade the offense, i'll like their chances a whole lot more.

it absolutely astonishes me that people keep bringing up murton's defense as a reason for him not to be with the cubs while floyd is currently the starting RFer (when healthy). wtf? back on topic, i'd certainly be interested in church. although the nats were allegedly asking for the moon in the off-season.

This is also being discussed here. Non-premium interface

pena might be a decent platoon option in RF with floyd if the cubs aren't going to call up murton and they think they can work out pena's issues this year. the price would have to be cheap though.

I'm guessing Moore starts today vs. the RHP, with Pagan in RF (assuming Floyd is out).

DeRo is scheduled to be off today. We'll se how it plays out for the rest of DLee's suspension. yeah. I saw that after I posted.

interesting. i'm wondering if this means DeRosa can/will play RF with Moore/Fox splitting time at 1B. Fontenot then starts at 2B.

not that i'm worried too much about the development of Fox, but i hate to see Lou make a decision on whether or not the team "needs another bat" based a two week stretch. especially when you consider Fox isn't likely to play much during that stretch. that's extremely short-sighted. anyone can have a hot or cold two week stretch.

Preferrably, but not a must.

assuming this is true, i wonder if cedeno will be called up soon. right now there is only one SS on the roster, unless Lou is willing to put Fontenot at SS again.

you should probably stop clicking on threads with the words "Adam" or "Dunn" in the title. just a suggestion.

Pagan in July: .258/.273/.387 He's 26 now, in the beginning of what should be his best years. But he's yet to show anything close to a sign that he's capable of providing decent production to justify starting in CF over any sustained length of time, in place of a guy like Felix Pie, who at leasts offers the hope of something greater than mediocrity. That being said, I'm fine with Pagan staying on as 5th OF for as long as he's still a minimum wage player. I'm fine with Pagan as a 5th OF as well. And Pagan's July is slightly better than I thought, though still not good enough to warrent holding back Pie.

Jesus, I wish people would stop making this ridiculous arguement. Winning and playing young guys are not mutually exclusive.