Outshined_One

A quick Matt Murton update for those of you wondering about everyone's favorite redhead. Through 118 ABs, he has posted the following numbers in AAA... 5 2Bs, 1 3B, 1 HR, .356/.449/.441, 10/17 K/BB, 2/2 SB/CS Four things are worth noting... -All but three (all doubles) of his XBHs have come in the past 10 games. -He's hitting LHPs to the tune of .485/.553/.606. Against RHPs, he's hitting .306/.410/.376. -The great news is that he has an IsoD of .093. He's not only doing a very good job of being selective in terms of not striking out very often, but he's also walking at a very good rate. -The bad news is that his IsoP is .085. If you're looking at a decent power hitter like, say, Tyler Colvin (probably will hit 20-25 HRs in the majors if he pans out), he is currently sporting a .130 IsoP despite having a down year. While Murton's power stroke seems to be coming back, as seen in his performance in the past 10 games, his trade value and future potential depend heavily on his ability to develop a respectable level of power. It's not just HRs, but it's also XBHs. If Murton wants to become a LF version of Fukudome, he needs to start hitting line drives again. What does this mean? Frankly, if he comes back up with the Cubs, it'll be because someone is injured. Reed Johnson is the resident OF specialist against LHPs and can play every position. Considering Daryl Ward went down, Hoffpauir was clearly called up because he can hit for power. So, unless someone else gets hurt, I don't see Murton coming up to the Cubs any time before the roster expansions in September. I feel kind of bummed saying this, but I think there's a really good chance he'll be traded at some point this season. There's nowhere to put him on the Cubs.

Hello old thread.

I feel that one of Hendry's weakest areas has been with the bench. He's gotten a number of players who... -Play to his manager's weaknesses, such as Dusty Baker's love of veterans over young players (Neifi Perez over Ronny Cedeno) and Lou Piniella's lack of willingness to platoon guys, despite clear splits (Reed Johnson and Pie). -Are, quite frankly, terrible players who should never have been bench options for this team in the first place (Neifi Perez, Damian Jackson, Jose Macias, etc.). -Are overpaid (Henry Blanco). -Are well beyond any past success they once had (Ben Grieve, Todd Hollandsworth, Jim Edmonds). It's not to say that Hendry has been all bad with the acquisitions. Reed Johnson would have been a good pickup if he were used solely against LHPs. Daryl Ward has come up with some big hits and has been productive in a limited role. Henry Blanco would have been a decent pickup if he hadn't been paid so much. However, it seems like Hendry has had a lot of misses in this area. His draft history has also been...underwhelming. Since 2003, here's a list of Hendry's draftees who have signed and attracted attention, either through being in the majors or being named a top prospect: 2003: Ryan Harvey, Jake Fox, Sean Marshall 2004: Grant Johnson, Mark Reed, Eric Patterson, Mitch Atkins, Sam Fuld, Sean Gallagher, Jeremy Blevins 2005: Mark Pawelek, Donnie Veal, Mark Holliman 2006: Tyler Colvin, Jeff Samardzija, Chris Huseby 2007: Josh Vitters, Josh Donaldson, Tony Thomas Granted, there still is plenty of time left before we can pass a final verdict on most of these guys. However, the returns over the past five years have not yielded very good results. None of these guys have been bona fide superstar prospects for much longer than two years after they were drafted, losing their status due to injuries or ineffectiveness. Some of those guys who are close to the majors could become above average major leaguers down the line, but none of them seem like a surefire bet to be above average. Those guys with big ceilings either have a long way to go before they reach those ceilings or there are enough red flags to cause someone to mitigate any optimism for those guys. I don't know if it's been bad scouting, bad luck, or what, but in spite of Hendry being able to up the scouting budget and personnel, it has not paid dividends to the Cubs. It's a bit worrying seeing a number of prospects the Cubs have passed on or been unable to sign have gone on to have success in the major leagues while the Cubs' draftees have not seen that same level of success. Maybe five years from now we'll be talking about Josh Vitters as the Cubs' All Star 3B with Donnie Veal and Mark Pawelek vying for the Cy Young. But, unfortunately, I worry that scenario is rather unlikely.

Box Scores Iowa won 9-2 Box Score 2B E. Patterson 3/4, 2 RBI, 3B (3) CF F. Pie 0/5, K LF M. Murton 0/2, 2 BB RF J. Kroeger 1/4, R, K C C. McGehee 2/4, 2 R, 2B (11), K SP R. Wells 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6/3 K/BB, 6-6 GO-FO Daytona lost 3-2 Box Score CF J. Wyatt 0/3, K 2B T. Thomas 2/3, BB, R, 2B (9), K, SB (8) LF T. Wright 1/4, 2 K RF R. Harvey 0/4, 3 K C M. Reed 2/3, R, 3B (1), K PH Y. Carter 0/0, BB 3B J. Lansford 0/3, BB, K SS J. Mota 0/2, BB, K SP A. Maestri 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4/2 K/BB, 6-8 GO-FO RP B. Petrick 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1/0 K/BB, 0-3 GO-FO RP C. Lambert 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, 2-3 GO-FO Peoria lost 3-2 Box Score DH E. Lara 1/4, K, SB (3) SS N. Samson 0/3, RBI, K, SB (2) LF B. Guyer 0/4, K 1B D. Johnston 1/4, R, 2B (8), 2 K 3B M. Smith 1/3, BB, K, CS (3), E (9, fielding) PR J. Donaldson (no stats, but he returned after a few off days due to injury today) RF C. Andersen 0/4, K CF L. Johnson 0/3 PH J. Rosa 0/1, K 2B G. Guzman 2/3, R, 2B (1) SP H. Chen 6 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4/0 K/BB, WP, 7-7 GO-FO RP J. Latham 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3/0 K/BB, 2-0 GO-FO OVERALL: 1-2

Thanks for this one, Lou.

Lou Piniella is out-strategizing himself.

Um...what?

You in your playing days would have had that!

*Golf clap for Lou*

Don't worry. He'll go 11 if he has to do so.

Did he seriously just try to bunt for a hit? :lol:

Thank the offense for blowing that one. They've had plenty of opportunities throughout the game and squandered them. Sorry. When your closer comes in with a save opportunity and again hits the leadoff man and gives up a run to the bottom of the order.....it is on him. It's also on the offense for not driving anyone in when you draw two straight walks without any outs. It's on Soriano for getting picked off 2nd. It's on DeRosa for striking out with the bases loaded. It's on Marquis for continuing to pitch down to his numbers. This one isn't just on Wood.

Ascanio.

That was Grabow.

Thank the offense for blowing that one. They've had plenty of opportunities throughout the game and squandered them.

That inning sucked.

That was nearly a disaster.

Yeesh.

NOW would be a decent time to bunt.

Bunting Soto over for Blanco is a dumb idea, imo.

Let him hit, Lou.

Inane comment, inane comment, comment that might be sarcasm, but no one knows for sure, dude.

That double switch brought a smile to Dusty's face.

This smells like Eyre walking in the winning run.

Shaky, but effective.