Bleacher Bums Forum

Cubs should try and sign Scott Kazmir.  He can't be any worse than most of the other guys we have thrown out there.

From Phil Rogers new column:

-- Convince Aramis Ramirez he'd really rather spend August and September in some place like San Francisco, Milwaukee or Detroit. Ramirez isn't the guy he once was but with a strong run between now and then he could still be a valuable commodity at the trade deadline, provided he backs away from his position on using his no-trade clause to stay in Chicago. Third base is a wasteland around the major leagues. Consider this: With Ramirez as the primary guy, the Cubs have a .743 OPS at third, which is the sixth best in the majors. Given that the Cubs aren't going to exercise their $16 million option on Ramirez for 2012, Hendry has to find a way to get a prospect or two for him.

Even I know (admittedly, from reading this board) that he would need to waive his right to have his option vest.  You would think that the Trib's Cubs beat writer would know this.

But he could be right when he picks Matt Kucher to win the U.S. Open

You'd also think a Cubs writer would know Ramirez has already said he won't be waiving his no-trade clause this year.

Yea, and I'm betting that he has also said he would hustle during games.

He said he won't waive it.  That is not the same as refusing to waive it.  He might refuse, but it would make sense to try.

No problem.  We can put LeMahieu out there again.

I think the point about how weak 3B is overall is fascinating.  What are the numbers in LF, I wonder?  How about 1B? 

As a prospects guy, I think these issues especially pertinent.  Prospect boards often take the attitude that if some guy ends up underqualified to play SS/2B defense, that if he doesn't project to hit 20 HR and hit .280 that he's worthless as a 3B prospect.  So that Lemahieu or Flaherty, for example, are only useful if they can stick at 2B (or perhaps SS or 2B in case of Baez.)  And that Vitters only chance to be useful is if he somehow magically and impossibly makes himself into an acceptable 3B, but that if you move him to 1B or LF that he's got no chance to be useful. 

Maybe we over-expect production at some of these positions, and as a result undervalue prospects who might need to end up at 3B, LF, or 1B but won't be able to be .900-OPS guys. 

Craig-  Go to "splits" in the link below and you can find stats for each position (among other things).

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/split/81/sort/OPS/order/true

Thanks for the link, Reb.

Interesting results.  In only one position are the Cubs in the top 9 in OPS (besides 3B), and that's LF, where they are #5.    I was surprised to see the Cubs (that is, Soriano) that high. SS is #10, 2B is #12 and RF is #13.

It seems to me that most people here primarily evaluate players based on their offensive numbers.  That's the only reason someone could suggest that DeWitt (or anybody else on the Cubs) is a better 2B than Barney.  Yet, by position, Soriano is outperforming every other Cub, offensively, by a long ways.

I totally get the frustration with Soriano, who is something of a shadow of the player he was when the Cubs got him, before he started getting injured and getting older.  He can often be maddening at the plate,  his defense is bad (though not as bad as Adam Dunn for example - who some wanted the Cubs to acquire), and his contract is horrible.   But still, the antipathy toward him among many here seems to me to be over the top.