Bleacher Bums Forum

SB Nation concludes Darwin Barney is the third least feared hitter in baseball this year:

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/6/2/2203886/the-ten-least-feared-hitters-of-the-2011-season-to-date

Also in the top 10: Ryan Theriot (5th) and Sam Fuld (8th).

If the pitchers fear Barney less than they fear Hill, the pitchers are stupid.

There's little to be happy about with the Cubs this year, but their SS-2B combination is one thing.  There's a piece on the pair at chicagocubsonline.com that has a number of video clips of the two guys.   It's really nice to have guys who can make really outstanding plays in the middle infield positions (when is the last time that was true?), and have hit well to boot. 

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2011/06/cubsvideo060211.php#more


Len Kasper thinks that Barney is for real and is a keeper.  I hope he's right, because it would be a very good thing to have really solid middle infielders in the coming years.

One value with Barney as the 2B starter is that you don't have to keep a crappy utility SS on the bench as a backup SS.  Barney is a legit SS defensively, so you can move him over there if necessary.  Instead of the crappy SS bench guy, you can keep a different kind of bench guy around (who may be crappy too, but maybe not).

I see Barney as a #8 hitter long-term.  It's true--he does "play the game right" but liikely that he's always going to be a limited offensive player.  With two strikes, he's a severe hacker--seems like he gives up too many potential walks by swinging at balls out of the zone deep in the count.  But, good defense, good baserunning, good fundamentals.  I like the guy but hopefully other guys like B.Jackson, Szuzur, Castro will be good enough to push Barney down in the order.  And, I would still always be looking toward finding a real offensive 2B to replace him down the road.

I see Barney as a #8 hitter long-term.  It's true--he does "play the game right" but liikely that he's always going to be a limited offensive player.  With two strikes, he's a severe hacker--seems like he gives up too many potential walks by swinging at balls out of the zone deep in the count.  But, good defense, good baserunning, good fundamentals.  I like the guy but hopefully other guys like B.Jackson, Szuzur, Castro will be good enough to push Barney down in the order.  And, I would still always be looking toward finding a real offensive 2B to replace him down the road.

That pretty much sums up my view of Barney.  Good kid, valuable roster player.  Probably not a starter on a good team, unless you're content with someone whose OPS is never likely to rise about the 600's.

One value with Barney as the 2B starter is that you don't have to keep a crappy utility SS on the bench as a backup SS.  Barney is a legit SS defensively, so you can move him over there if necessary.  Instead of the crappy SS bench guy, you can keep a different kind of bench guy around (who may be crappy too, but maybe not).

I see Barney as a #8 hitter long-term.  It's true--he does "play the game right" but liikely that he's always going to be a limited offensive player.  With two strikes, he's a severe hacker--seems like he gives up too many potential walks by swinging at balls out of the zone deep in the count.  But, good defense, good baserunning, good fundamentals.  I like the guy but hopefully other guys like B.Jackson, Szuzur, Castro will be good enough to push Barney down in the order.  And, I would still always be looking toward finding a real offensive 2B to replace him down the road.

I think Barney shows an appropriate amount of patience at the plate.  He's generally very selective when ahead in the count.  Perhaps he goes too far in trying to avoid K'ing in 2-strike counts, but that isn't a terrible flaw.  I agree that he needs to either increase his BB rate or maintain a high BA.

But he puts the bat on the ball.  And he's one of the better Cubs hitters with runners in scoring position.  I think he's an excellent #2 hitter.

For every Barney basher I've heard other people say, including Brenly, that right now who else do you want up with the game on the line?

Yes, Barney's a weak player.  So I find that he's the guy many would want up there right now as downright sad.

On another board I'm being  accused of not being a diehard fan because I'm disgusted with this product.  I guess it boils down to whether I diehard will tolerate even this level of ineptitude or whether a true diehard will refuse to tolerate it. 

His OPS in May was only .658 and he's causing worm genocide with all his ground outs.

He needs to pick it up a lot now that pitchers have figured out he won't take a walk and that he can't hurt them with any real power.

He can't hide behind that .300 batting average forever.  He's going to have to be more productive.  He's been pretty good so far but he has to prove he belongs in the Majors as a regular and not just as a utility infielder with a decent glove that can give you an empty .300 average.

His defense has slipped a little recently, as well.  He has made some really bad mistakes and hasn't gotten to all the balls that he was getting to early in the season.  Maybe he's tired.  I don't know.

I hope he gets straightened out and can remain productive.