Joe Orr Road Rod wrote:
Elmhurst Steve wrote:
I'm not sure the Cubs have an entire team of guys in the minor leagues that is capable of playing at the big league level sucessfully, much less a team of superstars. However, in recent years, the Cubs have done a reasonably good job of developing talent. That gives some hope for the future. But I had NO hope the Cubs were going to contend this season. There was no angst ridden period for me. I expected them to finish no better that 3rd-4th.
ONE decent player every 20 years?? Theriot was/is a decent player. Casey McGahee (now doing very well with the Brewers) is better than just a decent player (.287 20 82) Colvin is a decent player with the potential to be better than average. Soto was the rookie of the year in 2008 and the All-Sar game's starting catcher. After a disappointing 2009, he's having a decent season. Starlin Castro is already well past decent, even though he's the youngest player in the major leagues.
That's the Cub fan optimism that I'm talking about. You see all these guys at their best. A normal fan sees them for what they really are. Theriot is a marginal big leaguer. He's a utility infielder who doesn't have enough arm to play third. Most teams wouldn't call that "decent". Colvin looks a lot like Matt Murton to me. And Soto is so great yet he is barely good enough behind the plate to play everyday. Castro has had what? 350 AB? Obviously he looks promising, but I wouldn't go any further than that right now.
Decent to me means average. A decent player is an average major leaguer. Theriot in 2008 hit .307, in 2009 .284 in 2010 his average is .284....his career average is .287. He is on his way to his 4th straight season with 20 or more SB's. Was I sorry to see him traded??..No. But he's a decent player. He's not a good or great player, but he's decent. Colvin is a far better run pruducer than Murton, with much more power. Colvin has 18 HR's in just 295 AB's (half a season basically) and 44 RBI. In 2006 with the Cubs, Murton had his MOST productive season. In 2006 Murton had just 13 HR's and 62 RBI. Murton has just 29 HR's in 952 career at bats. The comparison between the two is a poor one. Soto-did I say he was GREAT?? No. I said he had been ROY and an All-Star and is having a fairly good season. He's a decent player. Castro-yeah, he has just 345 at bats, but you can't tell me you don't think he's special? The guy started out fairly well. Then teams made some adjustments to him and he struggled a bit. He made adjustments and is hitting better in the last month than he did when he was first called up. He's the youngest player in the league and he's already making adjustments. At 6 foot 190lbs, the kid has the frame to hit for more power in the future too. He's got a plus arm too. Please don't tell me you don't think this kid is the real deal? You would just lose credibility . He's hitting .316 and just a few at bats short of qualifying for the # of at bats needed to be listed in the top hitters (average) in the league.