i am surprised this article isn't receiving more commentary by the denizens of bbtf.

He sure passes the eyeball test. Barney gets to every ball he should, and many balls that look like hits off the bat turn into outs because of Barney's positioning. Phillips is still the gold standard, but this year Barney's been the better defender.

i am surprised this article isn't receiving more commentary by the denizens of bbtf.

There have been a fair number of (heated!) discussions on Darwin Barney's WAR - there are probably a couple of links in the Gonfalon Cubs section, though I am also surprised that this one hasn't taken off in the same vein.

Cubs suck and they'll suck for awhile. There is no more energy left to quibble about such slight things.

There have been a fair number of (heated!) discussions on Darwin Barney's WAR - there are probably a couple of links in the Gonfalon Cubs section, though I am also surprised that this one hasn't taken off in the same vein.

Right - the power of the shift... Which does give me some hope that the dugout staff (presumably, in conjunction with data they're getting fed from upstairs) knows what it's doing. I don't think it's merely a matter of Barney shifting into other coverage areas - Castro seems to be getting solid to better dWAR numbers, too.

That said, Barney is toting an 86 OPS+ with an OBP that's barely straddling .300 -- so he needs to be stellar defensively to deserve an everyday job, but at the moment - he seems to pulling more than his weight with the leather.

They'll get another cheap year out of him next year, and he's probably going to worth his contract even the first year or two of arb unless something crazy happens.

I'm content to say that 2B isn't a spot to focus on for improvement, at least for the next 2-3 years. 2B do seem to wear out defensively sooner than elsewhere, so it's certainly worth a look at the market regularly... but I can Barney perhaps being a part of the next good Cubs team.

In sense, the Cubs pretty fortunate in that 2B, SS, and (granted, this is a reach given his K issues) CF are fairly well covered. Add Rizzo/1B, and if you think Clevenger/Castillo are a perfectly fine backstop combination (I do) -- and really, the Cubs biggest needs are pitching and a sizeable corner OF bat or two. They could also use a 3B, of course, too.

I think starlin will get pushed to 2nd or third when Baez eventually makes it up.

That said, Barney is toting an 86 OPS+ with an OBP that's barely straddling .300 -- so he needs to be stellar defensively to deserve an everyday job, but at the moment - he seems to pulling more than his weight with the leather.

That's my take on it, basically. My guess is that Barney's jaw-dropping numbers are likely an outlier, if not an artifact due to the shift, and that he is merely quite good to excellent with the glove. I expect 2011 to be a typical Barney year for the next few seasons, and at pre-arb cost at a time when the Cubs are not going to contend, a perfectly cromulent starting middle infielder. Your classic fun to watch but not all that good player on a losing team.

I think starlin will get pushed to 2nd or third when Baez eventually makes it up.

I've heard Baez is the one who might find himself moving over to 3B - if only because he grades out to having more power and power hitters play 3B, not SS. He's played SS exclusively in his pro career thus far, though (aside from a few DH turns).

Baez raked at Peoria, but has struggled since coming up to high A Daytona. Still - his power certainly looks legit (career .543 SLG and 12 HRs in just 235 Midwest league ABs). I'm allowing myself to be mildly interested in him, even with the Cubs longtime struggles finding quality HS bats.

I suppose it didn't take off because the DRS (or whichever it is) gave in and dropped "shift" plays too. One suspects Barney's big number is still a mix of good range and good positioning. Fangraphs has him at a more believable +12 but that still works out to 2.4 WAR in 431 PA this year after 2.2 WAR in 571 PA last year. In the absence of a young stud 2B squirreled away in the Cubs system, I'll take it.