Joey Gathright, who was non-tendered by the Royals on Friday, is likely to join the Cubs as a reserve.

Assuming that they do sign a right fielder, the Cubs' bench already seem to be pretty crowded with Mike Fontenot, Ronny Cedeno, Reed Johnson/Kosuke Fukudome, Micah Hoffpauir and the backup catcher. It wouldn't make sense to bump any of those guys for Gathright.


Whew! Now the Sox need Willy Tavaras to sign with the Nats or Reds and they'll be in the clear.

With the Cubs success teaching hitters how to hit in clutch situations, Gathright won't have to steal first base...

The guy does have speed, but if they sign him, it strengthens the notion that DeRo will be traded in a package for a LH bat or SP and therefore moving Fontenot into the starting lineup.
Who knows at this point?

_________________
Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

Are they signing him to a major league or minor league deal? It might just be a no risk/some reward type signing if it's a minor league deal. He's a career 260 hitter who averages around 15 steals a year. His OBP is typically in the 320 range.

Sounds like the kind of guy that should be leading off for the Cubs .
But I think this is kind of unnecessary. The Cubs got better pieces available than this don't they?

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yeah this guy seems like a worse hitting Juan Pierre....if that's even possible. The thing is his skill set mirrors that of Fukudome but with a little more speed. Seems like a redudant piece of the puzzle to me.

_________________

Pie is certainly gone now. I wonder if the "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda" machine can show us who would be on the roster instead of Pie had we dealt this untouchable at the peak of his value.

Crap.

_________________
Stupidity irritates the crap outta me... and yes, I irritate myself far too often.

With Soriano.....Fukudome....Reed Johnson.....Gathright....Pie.....DeRosa.....and Bradley/Abreu/ lefty bat x......its getting to be quite the collection of mediocre outfielders the Cubs are collecting

_________________

well, Cubs fans, meet your new leadoff guy. Fuk bats 8th playing center at the beginning of the season I guess.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

this guy leads off for 162 games, the Cubs don't make the playoffs. I say that knowing he doesn't start at all.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

I sense a.........as the reason why you guys don't like Gathright.

_________________

The fact that he can't hit?

_________________

If MLB adds car jumping to the stat categories, the Cubs are WS bound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cySfw8f0beg

_________________
Either they do not know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood.

This is what we get?!! I'm trying to get the bad taste of past failures out of my mouth, and Joey fuckin' Gathright is NOT gonna give me a sunny outlook on the '09 season - Dammit, I'm so miserable! Good job, Hendry - what a steal

Lets see if the guy even makes the team out of camp. I'm sure Hendry is not done yet either. Gathright is just a candidate for the last spot on the roster. Perhaps they might use him as a defensive replacement late in games for Soriano and to pinch run in key spots. He's definitely NOT the new Cubs leadoff man, on a daily basis. If the Cubs do not get Roberts or another legitimate leadoff man, it will continue to be Soriano.

_________________
Go Cubs!!!!

They are paying himn 800K. If they cut him before the season, it's an 800K loss, not a big deal. I don't think it's a bad signing - just don't think he's the final piece of the puzzle.

Gathright: The final rock in Championship Mountain

_________________

You have to put things in perspective. No one is saying Gathright is a superstar.
Just as Jason Marquis is one of the best 5th starters in baseball, I think you could
do a lot worse having someone else beside Joey Gathright as the 25th man on your roster.

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Agreed. Though I must say that unless Hendry plans to make some trades (or one bigtime deal), what he has done so far this offseason is certainly a headscratcher.

_________________

Frank, you agreed with me?
That warms my heart.
Merry Christmas, my friend!

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Get a room you two

_________________

This signing is an outrage! They clearly signed him to take over center field and get 600 AB's and bat leadoff, and I for one think it isn't going to work! I don't buy for a minute that they signed him to fight out for a job as maybe a 5th outfielder, as a typical bench guy with speed! When a team signs somebody, that means they are starting and they are then going to trade away everyone else! Teams don't ever sign guys for depth on the bench, they obviously want him to be the everyday center fielder and bat leadoff! Don't you see it? This team has so many holes, they clearly are not ready for the 2009 season! They are terrible! Now they are even in worse salary trouble with this terrible Gathright signing! They can't afford this guy! They have no business signing guys like this! Oh my god, this is a horrible mistake! Hendry should be fired! The whole front office should be fired! All fans should be outraged, and make many negative comments on sports message boards, stating such!

AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!


PANIC! PANIC!! PANIC!!!

THE CUBS ARE FUCKED - THIS SIGNING IS THE WORST THING EVER!!!

_________________
IT IS OFFICIALLY TIME TO PANIC!
DO NOT REMAIN CALM!
DO NOT MOVE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION!

I luv me sum PANIC!!!

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Yeah now that the Panic Button has arrived I can sleep easier. All of my fears of this sigining have been confirmed. Thank you PANIC!!!!

_________________

While I appreciate your...candor - I did intend to convey my extreme displeasure with the lack of progress made in this offseason, so settle down, Mildred - it was tongue-in-cheek...

Gathright is simply one of the fastest guys in MLB.

He stole 21 in just 279 AB's playing for the Royal.

HIS OBP has always been above .300.

GREAT! Late Inning Replacement.

I have been yelling for a guy like this for years. If anyone ever watched Bobby Cox use Otis Nixon late in games, it is exactly what can help the Cubs.

_________________
"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I recently heard an interview with Brenly on the score, and he said he thinks Gathright is going to be a huge contributor this season.

With Soriano and Bradley in the OF he'll certainly play a lot. Not sure how much he'll 'contribute' though.