Juan Uribe, who on Wednesday re-enlisted with the White Sox, and Ryan Theriot look like second-division regulars.
Both are solid fielders—the unorthodox Uribe is both reliable and uses a powerful throwing arm to get outs on grounders to his right that many shortstops, including Theriot, could not; Theriot combines toughness with hustle to overcome marginal tools. But neither was a plus for their team at the plate in 2007.
...
White Sox general manager Ken Williams reluctantly re-signed Uribe to a one-year, $4.5-million contract because he was not sure he could find a better alternative through free agency or trades… At their organizational meetings, the Cubs gave some thought to trying to upgrade over Theriot, who in his first full season in the big leagues took a job away from Cesar Izturis by batting .266 with 28 stolen bases and 80 runs scored. How could they not?
Theriot is the same guy whom they didn’t trust enough to pencil in at second base after 2006, when he hit .328 and stole 13 bases in 53 games. He was good enough to help LSU win the College World Series in 2000 but needed 567 games in the minor leagues before being finally judged ready for the big leagues.
Cubs GM Jim Hendry confirms that Lou Piniella is comfortable with the 27-year-old Theriot as his shortstop. Hendry points out Theriot’s 2007 season looked much better before he batted .202 in September, and that the Cubs still were winning while he was showing signs of fatigue. He believes Theriot will be able to deliver more impact in ‘08.
But it’s also true Theriot and Uribe are retaining their positions because there just aren’t many shortstops available.
NTNgod
Posted: November 11, 2007 at 07:12 AM |
11 comment(s)
Login to Bookmark
Tags:
cubs,
white sox
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. Dan The Mediocre Posted: November 11, 2007 at 04:46 PM (#2611635)And it's not like those games in September were important or anything, were they?
A team can do fine with a guy like Theriot at short (Lugo had a worse season offensively), but obviously it's one of the spots where the Cubs could get the most bang for their buck if they upgrade.
But where else can they spend the money to upgrade? They're as good as they're going to find on the market at C, 1B, 2B, 3B, and LF. Their pitching staff is solid 3 starters deep, their bullpen's one of the best out there (not to mention that the bullpen's a stupid place to invest big money).
If the Cubs have money to burn, their choices are to burn it at SS, RF, or on another starter. It's not my money, so as far as I'm concerned, they ought to be looking to fill all of those holes. But in terms of big-money guys, it seems to me that the two best options out there for the Cubs are A-Rod (if they think he can still play SS) and Tejada. I can see saying A-Rod's not worth the money, but if the Cubs can acquire Tejada in exchange for a couple of starters (Zambrano/Lilly/Hill excepted, of course), I think they'd be stupid not to.
edited to add that i forgot tejada would probly be moved. maybe thats why they said towards the end of the season they werent really looking to spend on free agents but rather trade
Maybe if that aaa player is Pie. Otherwise, no. Pie, Cedeno, and Marshall seems reasonable.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main