Results tagged ‘ Aramis Ramirez ’
Fire Sale Series: Aramis Ramirez
Our look at the potential Chicago Cubs fire sale continues today, as we look at another one of the top paid players on the roster that fans are dying to be rid of. A year ago, you would be hard pressed to find a single fan that would be in favor of getting rid of Aramis Ramirez. However, after a dismal first half of the season, fans are starting to grumble about him and wishing he would become a former Cub sooner rather than later.
When the Cubs first acquired the third baseman from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the middle of 2003, he was known in some circles are Erroramis Ramirez due to his high error totals. With those errors, however, came a very potent bat. As the years went by, Ramirez grew as a player, improving on his defense and even shed the tag that he was a lollygagger on the base paths. The Cubs re-signed him, and finally appeared to have solved the void they had at third base since Ron Santo retired. Once again, when his contract expired, this time due to having a clause that would let him opt out of his deal; the Cubs signed him to a new contract worth $75 Million over five years. This was considered a steal, a player with his power potential signing for an average of $15 Million a year. However, fast forward four years, and fans are calling him over paid.
With him performing worse than anyone could ever have imagined, his name has now been thrown into the mix by some fans as a player they want to be traded. Much like Alfonso Soriano though, this is much easier said than done. After Soriano, Ramirez may very well be the hardest player to trade on the roster, mainly due to the various clauses in his contract.
Much like with Soriano, there is a full no trade clause built into his contract. Unlike the Soriano deal, Ramirez has a few option years, which will definitely make teams think twice about making a deal for him; especially when you take into account how old he is looking, and how far his performance has fallen.
Unfortunately for the Cubs, these are not both team options. They can not just decide to let him walk at the end of the year and be done with him. The first option year, is a player only option, which will pay Ramirez $14.6 million in 2011. This was initially done, in hopes that like last time he would opt of his contract and negotiate a new deal. However, this time, the clause is going to bite the Cubs squarely in the ***. With Ramirez hitting under .200 on the season, there is very little doubt that he will pick up the option. With the way his performance has fallen off, he is not going to get anything close to the money he will make next year on the free agent market. He would be a complete idiot if he turned down this option.
Before you say cut him before he picks up the option, you should understand that is not a possibility. Because the decision sides with the player, the option year counts as a regular year. If you cut him, you have to pay him for that year. The only way the Cubs get out of that year, is if he decides to press his luck, or the Cubs find a way to trade him.
Trading him is made all the more difficult though, because of the second option year; which is a team option. While in other situations teams would trade for him in the chance he turned his game around in 2011, then turn down the 2012 option if things didn’t work out, that is not the case with Ramirez. Another unfortunate aspect of Ramirez’s contract is if he is traded, the club option year is automatically picked up in the case that Ramirez picks up his 2011 option (which there is no reason to believe he wouldn’t) and he is traded. No team will want to trade for Ramirez with the way he has been playing this year, while also picking up the $30.6 million he is owed over the remainder of the contract.
Much like with Soriano, the Cubs would have to eat at least half of his remaining contract if they want to get rid of him, which would be about $8 million a year. Not to sound like a broken record, but that is $8 million that will get cut off the top of the team’s payroll for 2011. Add that to the $9 million for Soriano, if you want him gone as well, and you have a total of $17 million a year that you will be spending on payroll for players not on your team, limiting how much can and will be spent on other needs. That is, if he even wants to go anywhere.
Still want a fire sale? Even if the Cubs find themselves severely handcuffed for the next several years?
This is the mess we find ourselves in Cub fans; a fire sale with highly priced players is not going to be easy. However, the two players I have gone over so far (Soriano and Ramirez) have got to be the two most difficult players to move. That’s not to say the other players will be easy to trade, but they won’t be quite this hard.
When the Cubs and Cardinals Get Together, Throw Out the Record Book, as Well as Streaks
Today marks the first meeting of the season for the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals for the 2010 baseball season. I can not remember time, when their first meeting of the year was almost two months into the season, though I am sure there have been times when they have met later. As the old saying goes, when these two teams get together, you can throw out the record books. No matter how much better one team appears to be doing than the other, you are sure to see a battle on the field. The intensity always seems to pick up when these two teams face off. No matter who is winning, you can surely bet the other team has a comeback in them, to make the game close, and I would not expect anything different in this upcoming series.
Currently, the Chicago Cubs are playing some of their best baseball of the season, going 7-10 against some of the National League’s better teams, as well as one of the top teams in the American League. Granted, they did not face two of the leagues best pitchers in Ubaldo Jimezez and Roy Halliday when they played the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies, but they still were able to get the job done, winning three of those four games. If the Cubs were able to hit a fly ball in the final game against the Phillies, they might have been able to have swept both brief two game series, instead of just the one against the Rockies. In this stretch, they have also been able to win a series from both the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Cubs could not be hotter heading into yet another very tough series with another one of the better teams in the National League.
With the Cubs currently sitting in third place, behind both the division leading Cincinnati Reds, and the Cardinals the Cubs have a great opportunity to move closer to second place, and possibly even first if the Houston Astros are able to do anything worthwhile against the Reds. However, what happens in that series is out of the Cubs hands, all they can do is focus on the team they are playing. If the Cubs are able to sweep the Cardinals out of Chicago, they are sending a message to both teams ahead of them in the standings that the Cubs are back and they better take notice. Even if they are able to only win two of the three games, the Cubs can still make a statement. Sweeping series is great, but if you are consistently winning series then you will be sticking around for a long time.
Ironically, both the Cubs and Cardinals have two of their most important hitters struggling. Granted, the struggling stars for the Cardinals are still hitting their normal averages for the year, but you can not over look that they are in a funk of their own as of late. Matt Holliday is in a 5-25 slump, but is still looking good hitting .286 on the year. Albert Pujols is also in the middle of a funk, going 4-22, but his season stats are still something any team in baseball would take. His nine home runs and 32 RBI would look pretty good on any roster. Whether or not they are struggling, you should not over look either of these two hitters.
You can look at the situation with the two slumping Cardinal stars in two ways. On one hand, you can look at the slumps as a sign that the Cardinals are beatable, especially if their two biggest threats are not hitting. If you are able to keep them on their slide, you take out the two biggest threats in their lineup, forcing them to out pitch you, which the Cardinals are very capable of doing as they have one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. But if you can limit the Cardinals offense, you have a chance to beat them in a low scoring game.
On the other hand, nothing is more dangerous for a pitching staff, than facing two sluggers who are in the middle of a slump. You know that players like Pujols and Holliday will not be held down for too long before they are able to once again break out. All they need, is that one swing of the bat to snap them out of their funk, and they become the most dangerous hitters in the game again. Fans may think they are catching the Cardinals and their two hitting stars at the right time, but the right time may not be for the Cubs at all.
Unlike Pujols and Holliday, the Cubs slumping stars have been in more of a season long slump. The man who has traditionally been the Cubs biggest RBI threat throughout the years, Aramis Ramirez, is colder than ever. On the season, he is hitting under the Mendoza line with a very disappointing batting average of .160, and is limited to only four home runs and 20 RBI. Considering how poorly he has been hitting this season, the 20 RBI are a blessing. He has been sitting out the past few games with a sore thumb, but is expected to be back in the lineup today when the season begins. We can only hope and pray that Ramirez’s thumb is feeling better and he is as ready to break out as one of his fellow teammates appears to be.
While the Cubs other slugger, Derek Lee, is still posting a .246 batting average on the year, there are plenty of reasons for the Cubs and their fans to believe that he has finally broken out of his season long agony. In the series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lee went 7-9, elevating his batting average for the month of May to .286, which is what we expected him to be doing all along. With Lee seemingly back in the fold, the Cubs are that much closer to being looked at as a viable contender in the National League Central race.
The game this afternoon, will not be an easy one to win. The Cardinals will be sending out Chris Carpenter, who has a stellar record of 5-1 and has an ERA of 3.09. The Cubs will be countering with Randy Wells who is 3-2 with an ERA or 3.99. However as I stated earlier, when these two teams get together, you can throw out the record books. Carpenter could get knocked out of the game in the first inning while Wells pitches a complete game shutout. Anything can, and usually does happen with these two teams.
Time For a Quarter Final review: The Offense
With the quarter mark in the baseball season upon us, what better time could there be to check in on the state of the Chicago Cubs, who have not lived up to the fans expectations. With only 123 games left, you can no longer say things are early in the season. However, at the same time, you can not say that there are not enough games left to make a move. The way the Cubs have played in the first 39 games of the year, you would be hard pressed to find a large percentage of fans who would be able to continue holding onto the hope that things can still be turned around.
Currently, the Cubs are sitting with a record of 17-22 in third place, only 5.5 games behind the surprising Cincinnati Reds. The second place team, the St. Louis Cardinals, are a half game behind the reds, and five games ahead of the Cubs. Using simple math, and the statistical argument of real games back as opposed to traditional games out, the Cubs are an ugly 10.5 games out of first place. With three quarters of the season left to go, there are still plenty of games left to make up ground, as long as the Cubs start getting their act together immediately. With 10 games left to play with the first place Reds and all 15 games left with the Cardinals, there are plenty of games left with the teams ahead of the Cubs to make a move. In order for that to happen though, there needs to be some major improvement in many areas.
In the next few days, I will look at the four phases of the Chicago Cubs, as they currently stand. The offense, starting pitching, bullpen and team defense. All four phases of the team are areas the team needs to improve in,
The first phase that needs to step things up is the offense. At the moment, the team is hitting .270, which is tied for the 8th best batting average in the majors, and have six hitters in the everyday lineup hitting over .300.
Of the players who have been with the Cubs the whole season, Marlon Byrd has been the team’s best hitter, putting up a .340 batting average with seven home runs and 25 RBI; all three of which lead the team. He has been one of the few players to come through in the clutch more often than not. If you think back to when he was first signed, many Cub fans were upset that they had “wasted” $15 million on him over three years, now however they appear to be singing a different tune as he has impressed the legions with his stellar play.
One of the biggest surprises in the Cubs offense, is Alfonso Soriano, who is hitting .323 on the year, but an eye popping .365 in the month of May. Last season, Soriano didn’t make too many friends among the Cubs fan base with not only his poor hitting, but his poor defense as well. This season, he had something to prove, and while his defense is still akin to a horror movie, his offensive outbursts are something that fans have been waiting to see from him. He will never live up to the massive contract he was signed to before the 2007 season, but he is still showing that he can carry a team offensively.
Ryan Theriot has continued to do what he has normally done since he got here, and that’s hit. Until recently, Theriot has been the Cubs primary leadoff hitter, but is now hitting in the second spot in the lineup, at least against the right handed pitchers. With his .316 batting average, he is collecting more than his fair share of hits, but his on base percentage of .348 is weak, because of the miniscule difference between the two stats. One aspect of his game that needs to be worked on, is drawing more walks, and striking out less.
Kosuke Fukudome has started off the season with his traditional April explosion, followed by a decline in play in May. He started off the year hitting .344 in his first month, but has cooled off to only .273 so far in May, but still has a respectable .315 on the year. While he has slowed down a little bit, he is still playing tremendously well, especially in the field. His patience at the plate, and timely hitting, has earned him the leadoff spot when there is a right handed pitcher on the mound.
Geovany Soto has rebounded quite nicely over his Sophomore season and is playing almost better than he did in his rookie year. Batting primarily in the 8th sport in the order, Soto has begun to show a tremendous eye at the plate. While his batting average sits at .301, his on base percentage is over .450. His four homers and 10 RBI may not look too impressive on their own merit, but when combined with his OBP and batting average in the eight hole, you have an impressive stat line. With how well he has been hitting, he probably should be elevated to a more important run producing slot in the lineup.
Even though he has only been with the Cubs for just over a week, Starlin Castro is hitting .361 in 10 games. His energetic play has gotten fans energized and given them reason to have hope for the future. With the way he handles himself at the plate, and runs right out of the box, fans have quickly fallen in love with him. Since being called up from triple A, he has taken over the eight hole from Soto in the lineup, with the occasional elevation to the two hole when Theriot has been given a day off. Where ever Cubs Manager Lou Piniella has put him in the order, he has shown that he can produce, which has some fans asking for him to be given a more important role, than batting in front of the pitcher.
While the statistics from these guys are impressive, if that is all you are looking at, you will be missing half the story. Sure, the Cubs can hit in no pressure situations with the bases empty, when runners reach base and are in scoring position, the bats seem to completely cool off. The Cubs just can not seem to be able to drive runs in on a consistent basis. If a player collects three hits in a game in four plate appearances, his batting average will look great. However, if his only out comes at a time when there are runners in scoring position, you are not doing your team much good. That appears to be the problem the Cubs are having, and one that needs to be solved if they have any serious plans of contending this year.
However, the problem comes to a head when you take notice of the two most important hitters in the Cubs lineup are continuing to be viewed as the two weakest hitters in the order. The two biggest problems in the Cubs offense remain to be Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, though signs point to both being on the right path. With the way the rest of the team is hitting, if Lee and Ramirez are able to come back to form, the offense will be in good shape, and able to carry the team to a lot more wins. If you are looking for some reason to have some optimism that these two are going to be able to contribute in the months to come, consider this.
Over the past 16 games, Lee is hitting a much improved .277, which is .047 points higher than he is currently hitting, and only .006 below his career average. While he has only hit four home runs on the year, the power will come as his hits start piling up. As the Cubs three hole hitter, which he should have been moved out of during his ugly month and a half long slump, the Cubs need him to start hitting on a more consistent basis. So far for the month of May he has looked to be doing just that, and has quieted some of his critics, but there are still plenty more who letting their voices be heard.
Ramirez on the other hand, who is still stuck in baseball hell, is hitting well below the Mendoza line. As a player who has been looked upon as the biggest RBI threat in the Cubs lineup the past several years, his poor play is reflective on the Cubs struggles to score runs. Last night, Ramirez hit the game winning home run against the Colorado Rockies, in walk off fashion. In doing so, he recorded only his third multi-hit game of the year. He has improved in the month of May, hitting .216, which is up .064 points from his April average, but he is still not doing enough to warrant hitting in the heart of the lineup. Until he shows that he can put together an elongated stretch of games where he is able to hit consistently, he should be lowered to the seven hole behind Soriano, with Soto moving up to batting fifth. This is a move that likely wont happen, and could very well be one of the key reasons the Cubs continue to struggle throughout the year to score runs.
The offense is not running at full speed, and that is what is keeping them from putting up the consistent offensive numbers that they should be putting up. If they are to have success, they need to start hitting with runners on base and in scoring position. Hitting with no one on base is all well and good, but if you consistently drop the ball in the situations that matter the most, you will never live up to your full potential.
Playing the Blame Game with the Cubs offense
The “New Nightmare on Elm Street” is coming to a theater near you, however the nightmare the Chicago Cubs are facing this year is the same one they experienced last season. All last year, the Cubs suffered through the ineptitude of being unable to score runs, and leaving far too many men on base. The offensive offense the Cubs are throwing on the field this year has got to be the most disappointing aspect of the 2010 Cubs season. You can throw the bullpen into the discussion if you want to, because lets face the bullpen gives you a gut punch every time you see Lou Piniella taking out a starting pitcher. However, to be honest, the implosive bullpen was always known to be bad, even way back when Spring Training began. On the Brightside, the bullpen has shown a sign of improvement since Carlos Zambrano was assigned to assist them in the eighth inning. The offense on the other hand, has turned into a complete frustrating situation, where you never know what you are going to get as an end result.
If you are looking to cast blame on the offense, you don’t have to look too far to find who is to blame. As a whole, the Cubs are leaving far too many men on the base paths, and everyone is to blame for that, though some are more responsible than others. While, as the old saying goes, “you win as a team, you lose as a team” the players you depend on the most, should get the front of the blame. For the most part, everyone else is doing their jobs as expected.
Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukudome are usually going to be slotted in the one and two spots in the batting order. Typically, your first two hitters in the order are there to get on base for the big boppers that will follow them. While they do not hold the top two spots on the team in on base percentage, they are still doing a great job at getting on base. Theriot is putting up a .333 batting average and getting on base at a .370 clip. His on base percentage could be higher, especially when you look at the batting average, but you can’t complain about someone getting on base nearly 40% of the time. Following Theriot in the order is Fukudome, who is also hitting .333 but has a very impressive OBP of .429. They are also knocking in their fair share of runs, with 11 RBI each. The blame for the lack of offense does not fall on these two men. However, the next two men are in the spot light.
With your first two batters getting on base at a very high level, you must depend on your three and four hitters, who unfortunately for the Cubs have been dropping the ball. Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez are supposed to be your main run producers, but they are not driving the runs in. As a matter of fact, the top two hitters in the lineup have more RBI than your power hitting run producers. Not only are they not driving in the runs, they are simply not hitting. Lee is in the midst of his normal April slump with a miserable batting average of .203, while Ramirez is stuck at .155. Neither of which are acceptable statistics from your best two hitters. While Lee has done this almost every year, and always rebounds to have a good season, the Cubs can not afford to have him not hitting right now. The Cubs need his bat to come to life sooner rather than later. Ramirez slumping as bad as he is, on the other hand, makes you worry because you have never seen him in as bad of a funk as he is now. While he looks to be coming out of the slump, he still isn’t hitting the ball the way we are used to seeing him. Add in his towering strike out numbers, and the amount of concern goes through the roof.
Your five and six hitters, Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano are hitting the ball with force. Both are doing their jobs with the bat. Byrd is hitting .333 and Soriano is hitting .292, great batting averages for your fifth and sixth batters. They are driving in runs at a rate you would expect. Could they be doing better than they are? Of course they could, especially with how poorly Ramirez and Lee are doing at the job. The problem is, more often than not, Lee and Ramirez usually end the inning. Both Byrd and Soriano though, are surprising fans with their offensive output. Most fans thought Soriano was done, after posting a batting average around .250 in 2009. However this year, he is hitting the ball like the Soriano of old, though maybe without the power, and is actually showing patience at the plate. That is something Cub fans have been begging him to do since they signed him. With Byrd, fans were unsure what to expect from him, because he was coming from a hitters paradise in Arlington, Texas. So far this season, he is showing that he has learned how to hit, and he doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. You would be hard pressed to put a lot of blame on either of these two.
Even the bottom of the Cubs order is coming through with hits. Both Mike Fontenot and Geovany Soto swing the bat much better than they did in 2009, though that wouldn’t be hard to do. In fact, Soto is leading the team in batting with a .362 batting average and an eye popping .516 OBP. Both are very impressive, especially when you take into account that he is hitting in front of the pitcher. Fontenot has also come to life, posting a .308 batting average and a .339 OBP. They are both playing up to and far beyond par, especially Fontenot who many wrote off before the season began. Batting in the seventh and eighth slot in the batting order, you don’t usually expect much, but they are doing their job and then some. Pinning the blame on them would be hard.
While everyone in the normal starting lineup, outside of Lee and Ramirez, is doing a tremendous job statistically speaking, they are all failing with runners in scoring position in key situations. They are all leaving far too many men on the base paths, which is a major cause of their failure to win more games. Blame the bullpen for a half dozen of the games that they have lost, because in the box score those pitchers do get the losses, but when you are only able to push across two or three runs in a game, you wont get the win that often. When you take a one run game into the late innings, you are depending on your bullpen to be perfect, which is not fair to expect from anyone. Yes, the bullpen has been horrid in the early stages of the season, but with signs of improvement of late, but the offense should get most of the blame.
If the offense is going to come to life, no matter how well everyone around them is hitting, Lee and Ramirez need to step up and start doing their jobs. A team can not survive if their top two run producers are not even hitting their weight.
Time for Ramirez to grab some bench?
Throughout the past six seasons, Aramis Ramirez has been one of the Chicago Cubs most dominating hitters, and a offensive force which gave opposing teams something to fear. No matter how well hitters like Derrek Lee and in more recent years Alfonso Soriano performed, the offense always seemed to go the way of Ramirez. If he was hitting, and driving in runs, the rest of the team was at their best as well. The other hitters in the lineup also seemed to step up their game as well. So far this year, that is a trend which has apparently continued to be proven true. Outside of last nights game, the Cubs offense has struggled to string together enough runs to win a game, no thanks to a very weak bullpen.
So far this season, Ramirez has struggled more than we have ever seen before from him. Whether or not his shoulder is still giving him problems, only he knows; however, there is something wrong with him. There is something which is limiting his offensive possibilities, and causing him to put up some worrisome numbers. Yes, even though the season is still though to be young, they are worrisome numbers. While we are only 15 games into the season, which is almost one tenth of the season, the numbers he has put up is creating an awful trend. A trend, which if continued, will produce a disaster of a season for the Cubs and for Ramirez.
In his first 15 games, Ramirez has put up a lowly .131 batting average in 61 at bats. In those 61 at bats, he has struck out an eye popping 21 times, which is almost one third of the time. As a matter of fact, he has almost three times as many strikeouts as he does hits, which is currently sitting at eight. While he is tied for the team lead with three home runs, and is third on the RBI list, the most damaging statistic is his batting average. If you go as far to say, that his batting average is non-essential, as long as he hits his career marks in both home runs and RBI, then you are not being honest with yourselves. What would you say, if this were anyone other than Ramirez putting up these numbers? People would be calling for their heads, and demanding that they be benched. Look at how fans reacted to Soriano all last year, as well as the start of this year? This year’s version of Ramirez is almost mirroring last years Soriano, who was ranked second on the team last year in home runs and third in RBI. All this while putting up a lowly .241 batting average. The batting average was not there, but the home runs and RBI were, and in line with his career stats, given the limited amount of games he played.
While, if we play out his statistics, he is currently projected to his 30 home runs and knock in 80 RBI, his batting average would remain at .131 while striking out 210 times. Do I believe that Ramirez will continue to struggle this much throughout the season? No I do not, but at the moment, we can not depend on him to be our offensive savior as we have in years past. Ramirez will eventually heat up, or so we can only hope, and come close to being the Ramirez that we have come to know and love. The question is, how long should we all wait for him to flip the switch and return to form? Should the Cubs continue running him out on an everyday basis in hopes that today is the day that he starts hitting again? Can our struggling offense survive without him hitting? Before you answer, once again, think back to last year and how you reacted to Soriano, or also last year when Lee was struggling back in April and May. Fans wanted both of them benched for someone else, why has Ramirez escaped the fans wrath, and demands for a benching, even if only temporary?
In my own opinion, the time has come to give Ramirez a breather. The time has come to sit him on the bench and let him watch the game for a little while. Have Ramirez sit out for at least a game, or maybe even a full series where all he will do is come off the bench as a pinch hitter. He needs to take some time off, if only so he has some time to collect his thoughts. I am not talking about a permanent benching here, not like most fans did with Soriano and Lee in years past, but a short term ordeal. Taking our most feared bat of years past out of the lineup is not an ideal situation, but a move which may be beneficial for the long term success of the team. While Ramirez is a gamer, who will fight this move with everything that he has, he wants to win and should be willing to do what is for the best for the team.
With injuries starting to pile up, is there panic in Cubbie Nation
Well, the Chicago Cubs are about halfway through Spring Training, and things do not appear to be going there way at all. The injuries in Cubs camp seem to be piling up, and even the most optimistic of fans have got to be getting at least a little worried. The Cubs would be in a great spot to compete, if they were to just stay healthy. So far though, the staying healthy part seems to be a major problem. A few of the more important pieces to the Cubs roster are the ones who are facing these injury concerns. Hopefully they are able to get healthy before the start of the season, which is just three weeks away.
As we know by now, the man who was supposed to be the main right handed setup pitcher in the Cubs Bullpen, Angel Guzman, is done for the year and needs arm surgery. Unfortunately for Guzman, not only will the surgery for his injured arm put him out for the season, he could also be facing the end of his career. The Cubs already had several questions in the bullpen this year, and losing Guzman adds several more questions to the list. Now, the Cubs must find a new reliever who can be a dependable setup man from the right side of the mound. That will be a daunting task, as there were already several questions about what other right handed pitchers they would be able to realistically depend on to give stability to the bullpen. Currently, the plan is to throw Esmailin Caridad into the right handed setup role. With him looking like one of the main competitors to fill one of the voids in the bullpen, they Cubs must now search even harder to fill an empty slot. That wont be the easiest thing to do, especially considering that the Cubs are lacking in dependable right handed pitching arms. The Cubs biggest trouble spot on the team, has become an even bigger problem.
As long as we are on the topic of losing a player that the Cubs can not afford to lose, the most important piece of the Cubs offense has gone down with an injury. Aramis Ramirez, who missed half of last year with a separated shoulder, left the game on Saturday with what they are calling sore triceps. While they are currently saying that the injury isn’t serious, and they are not too concerned with things at the moment, how many times have we heard that line before? Hopefully the sore triceps are of no concern, and he was just taken out of the game for precautionary reasons. Much like with Guzman, losing Ramirez for any length of time would be a devastating blow to the Cubs lineup. There is no side stepping the issue, if Ramirez is seriously injured, you can write off the Cubs for the 2010 season. Even though the Cubs are better equipped if Ramirez goes down, with Jeff Baker and possibly Chad Tracy in camp for the start of the season, the drop off from Ramirez to either one of those too is too great.
Another player who is currently facing injury woes is the gold glove first baseman, Derrek Lee. In a game earlier in the week, Lee fouled a ball off of his foot, and was taken out of the game. Currently, the reports are stating that he only has bruising on the top of his foot, but that doesn’t mean there is no need for concern. His return date to game action keeps getting pushed back, and he has yet to return to game action. He was scratched from the lineup for Thursday’s game and the Cubs announced he would be in the lineup on Saturday. Well, the game came, and Lee was nowhere to be found, he had been scratched again. Now, the Cubs are saying he will return to game action on Tuesday. My guess would be, the Cubs are just being overly cautious with him. If this were not Spring Training, Lee could very well be in the starting lineup and be ready to contribute every day. Perhaps they are thinking that they would rather be safe than sorry. Most likely, this is the reason Lee has not returned, but one can never be too sure. Anytime a player fouls a ball off their foot, you have to be worried about the chance they broke a bone, much like Reed Johnson did last year. The reports say Lee only has a bruise, but teams have been known to not tell the whole story when talking about players injuries. Hopefully this is not the case with Lee.
I wish the injury concerns stopped there though, but alas they do not. Starting pitcher Ted Lilly is also on the road to recovery. He has had a few setbacks along the way, but appears to be back on track, and maybe even ahead of schedule. Lilly is currently trying to fight his way back from a minor off season surgery to his shoulder, but has missed time with his rehabilitation with a sore knee and a case of the flu. Both of which forced him to sit out for a few days. Recent reports though are good, as he is back to throwing off of a mound, and he has said that he is determined to pitch in at least one Cactus League game this Spring. If he is able to do so, he may not miss nearly as much time as feared, and could be back by early May at the latest. This would be the best news we could get, because the battle for the fifth spot in the starting rotation and the starter who will be a place holder for Lilly, has given mixed results from every pitcher who is a contender. In a perfect world, Lilly will be good to go by the middle of April; that would be the first time the Cubs would realistically need a fifth starter. If Lilly can not make his return until late May or early June, the Cubs starting pitching staff will not look strong at all. Jeff Samardzija had a great first outing of the spring, but got knocked around in his second outing. The exact opposite can be said about Carlos Silva though. He became public enemy number one after his first spring outing, but looked great in his second. Personally, I don’t look too much into Spring Training stats, but Id rather see my starting pitching contenders not get knocked around.
So far in camp, these are the four main injuries to cast a shadow of concern on Cubs camp. With three weeks remaining, the only one which we know will hurt us for the regular season is the loss of Guzman, as he is done for the year at very least. If Lee and Ramirez are only day to day, then they will be fine to start the year. However, if the Cub are not being completely truthful on their injuries, we could be in for a very long season. Lilly’s injury is the Wild Card though, as we know what his status is and how much time he is estimated to miss.
The question you need to ask yourselves though, is this too early to start panicking about injuries? The Cubs are saying that Ramirez and Lee are not sitting out with serious injuries, but any injury which will limit them is a serious blow to the Cubs chances. Missing a few games here or there wont hurt them in the long run. But if they are forced to sit out for a stretch of games at the start of the season, even with the Cubs “light schedule” could be a blow to any chance they have of competing.
Spring Training Series: Around the Horn- Aramis Ramirez
There is no player more important to the success of the Chicago Cubs than their third baseman. That is where today’s discussion in my “Around the Horn” discussion brings us. Today, is all about the player who many call the Cubs Most Valuable player. I am talking about none other than Aramis Ramirez. Every team has one player who is the focal point to their offense. For the St. Louis Cardinals, that player is Albert Pujols. For the Cubs, you have to look no further than to Ramirez when trying to find the main RBI guy. With Ramirez missing half of the 2009 season, you don’t have to look too far to see why they failed to make an impact.
Despite missing half of the 2009 season, Ramirez still finished third on the team in home runs with 15 and second in RBI with 65. If that isn’t a very sad, but telling stat, I don’t know what is. Last years Cubs team was missing a lot of offense, as you can see. One glaring piece of reality from seeing Ramirez’s near the top of the home run and RBI lists, is that no one outside of Derrek Lee was able to contribute much of anything to help the Cubs win anything. While I am not blaming the failure of the 2009 Cubs on Ramirez, his absence from the lineup was damaging.
There isn’t much you need to worry about with Ramirez when you look at his offensive production. If he plays a full season, you know he will hit around 30 home runs and drive in over 100 RBI. However, that word if needs to be discussed. Ramirez, hardly ever plays what can be considered a full season. As a member of the Chicago Cubs, his high in games are 157, 149 and 145 which are all acceptable from your everyday starters. Not many players can play all 162 games, the days of Cal Ripkin are over. The problem comes in when you look at his game totals for other years. You will see total games played at 132, 129 and last years 82. Because of these game totals, Ramirez has been labeled as an injury prone player. Something he has stated he wants to disprove this year. That may be easier said than done though.
Last year, he missed half the year with a separated shoulder, and injury which he has a history of. While in Pittsburgh he fell victim to the same injury, and missed a chunk of the year as well. The main worry with Ramirez, is that he will injure the shoulder again, with a similar dive and attempt to make a solid defensive play. Because he opted not to have the surgery which was recommended, some are saying that he is at a greater risk of missing games again with the same injury. If he does miss significant time again, the Cubs will suffer the same fate as last year. Everyone says a team is more than just one player, that “there is no I in team”. While that saying is true, in some cases one player is more important than any other. Whether you agree with me or not, the Cubs season hinges more on the health and production of Ramirez than anyone else on the ball club.
I already stated my predicition for Ramirez as far as production goes, but for him I will give a more in-depth prediction. For the player who helps the offense move, I see Ramirez playing hopefully close to 140 games this year, if his shoulder is able to hold up. If he is able to play in at least 140 games, Ramirez will put up some amazing stats as always. His home run total should be in the low to mid 30s, and with the three players that are in front of him in the batting order, his RBI chances should be plentiful giving him ample opportunity to drive in over 100 RBI. If he fails to play close to a full season, there is no telling how bad this team could be,
With Jaramillo on board, the 2010 offseason for the Cubs has officially begun
Today, the Chicago Cubs made the first move of the off season, and signed Rudy Jaramillo to take over the role of hitting coach. Many people around the league will tell you that Jaramillo is one of the best hitting coaches in the game. With the Cubs struggling with offense throughout the 2009 season, he could have a huge impact on a team that could never put together an extended run of hot hitting. While you can make the argument that the hitting coach is an overrated position on the coaching staff (and Derrek Lee said as much) if you have to have one, you might as well go out and get someone who has as good of credentials as Jaramillo.
While he should be able to help out a number of Cubs, one player in particular might benefit the most from his addition to the coaching staff. That player would be Alfonso Soriano who spent two years under his instruction while he was playing for the Texas Rangers. Why would Soriano benefit more then other players? One reason could be that in 2010, Soriano will be spending his first full season out of the leadoff spot since he was with the Rangers and Jaramillo. In those two seasons, he hit mainly third in 2004, and fifth in 2005. In those two seasons, Soriano averaged 32 homeruns and 98 RBI. Not only did Soriano have success under Jaramillo, he had a strong relationship with him as well, which is what he was quoted to say in the Chicago Sun-times on Tuesday.
So why do people consider Jaramillo to be one of the best hitting coaches in the game? According to the article on the Cubs homepage, the players he has worked with have had a tremendous amount of success. The article noted that Jaramillo’s hitters have won 17 Silver Slugger Awards, four Most Valuable Player Awards, three home run titles, and three RBI crowns under his tutelage. That is a very impressive list to put on your resume. While the hitters themselves are the ones who do all the work, the hitting coach is the one who tries to work out any possible kinks that hitter may have. How much of a difference he will make is anyone’s guess, but if he is able to help Soriano return to the player he was before this year, then he will have earned his salary.
Now, for those who think that this move was made to accommodate Milton Bradley, who the Cubs have said they are going to do everything in their power to move, that is not the case. Too much has transpired since his suspension for Bradley to ever play another game as a member of the Cubs. With the way his soon to be former teammates tore into Bradley, he can not come back. In fact, the only player to really stand up for Bradley was Aramis Ramirez. Well, he was the one guy to speak about him that didn’t throw Bradley under the bus. The only way he can come back to the Cubs, is if you were to trade everyone on the roster who said anything bad about him. The Cubs will not trade away half of their roster to make the club house more friendly for Bradley. That just wont happen, so you can forget about any chance of that happening.
The 2010 off season has officially begun for the Cubs, and while they did not add any on field talent, they took the first step in improving their offense. The main difference between Jaramillo’s philosophy and what the Cubs have been taught in the previous three years in plate discipline. Jaramillo tries to get his hitters to be more aggressive, as opposed to showing patience at the plate. Maybe that is just the change the team needs for them to return to being one of the best offensive clubs in the game in 2010. Anyway you slice the situation, this is a good start to getting the Cubs back on track.
the 2009 Cubs were better then you think
Now that there are no more games to be played in the 2009 season, at least not for the Chicago Cubs, we can take a better look at this ball club and the failure of a season they had. Yes, I said failure. Take any stats you want, if you do not win the World Series, your season was a failure. The goal of every team every year is to win the World Series. The season is, in essence, a one question test. You either answer the question correctly, or you fail. Unfortunately, for the 101st straight time, the Cubs season ended in failure. Don’t get me wrong, you can have a good year, and a good team in years that you don’t win the World Series, but the season still amounts to nothing if you don’t win the whole thing.
Take this years Cubs team for example; many fans will say that this ball club was a complete disaster. They will say that General Manager Jim Hendry blew up a World Series contender, turning the Cubs into a joke. Fans are also blaming Cubs Manager Lou Piniella for not doing a better job of managing the team, or for playing the wrong players at the wrong time. While both Hendry and Piniella could be to blame for the demise of the 2009 Cubs, ask yourself this question. Just how much worse was this years team compared to last years?
When looking at the two teams, the 2009 Cubs ended the season with 14 fewer wins then the 2008 ball club. That is a horrible stat, but there are many things to keep in mind when looking at the record for the 2009 Cubs. During the 51 games that Aramis Ramirez was on the disabled list, the Cubs went 25-26. Are you telling me, that if Ramirez was healthy, we wouldn’t have won more then those 25 games? I am not saying that the Cubs would have won 14 more games in that stretch to match their 2008 record, but that would not be out of the realm of possibility. Don’t forget all the games he sat out as well because his shoulder was giving him problems after he came back. The entire season, he only played in 82 games. Had he played the whole season, or at least the average number of games he usually does anyway, the Cubs would have won at least the 14 games they needed to match last years record. While the Cubs did not lose all the games that Ramirez missed, he would have helped them win some of the games they did lose.
Do you need more proof that this years team is not as bad as fans have made them out to be? Look at our pitching staff. This years pitching staff, as a whole, were better then the 2008 team’s, even with Kevin Gregg blowing saves. The ERA was slightly better this year, posting a 3.84 ERAA, as opposed to an 3.87 the year before. This years club also struck out eight more batters, in one less game. Keep in mind that the Cubs top four starters each missed at least two starts, some missing more. As a whole, they likely missed about 12-15 games combined. While they didn’t lose all the starts that their replacements made, they would likely have had better outing and brought the team a few more wins.
Am I being a bit of a homer here? You could easily say that I am, But at the same time, I am being completely honest. This ball club was nowhere near as bad as people are saying. Sure, Hendry traded away some fan favorites and made a few mistake signings, but they did not make this team bad. This team had the talent to compete, and would have lasted a lot longer in the divisional race had they not been completely decimated by injuries. You can say that the Milton Bradley signing doomed this years ball club, you can say that the trade of Mark DeRosa killed this ball club, but that is not the case whatsoever. This years team was just as good as last years team. In fact, you could even say that this years team was, in fact, better then last years team. If Ramirez, Soriano and all the pitchers were healthy all year, the Cubs would have surpassed last years win total. You can deny that all you want, offer up all the reasons and all the excuses you can think of; but you know that I am not far off base.
The end justifies the means, so yes, this years team was worse then last years. You can also use what ifs for every team in baseball to get whatever message you want across. Perhaps that is what I am doing, but my logic here is very realistic. The 2009 Cubs should have had a better record then the 2008 version.
Cub Fans Must Choose Between Young Players, and Proven Veterans
While no one knows for sure what moves will be made to prepare for the 2010 Chicago Cubs, I can make one guarantee. No matter what moves the Cubs make, there will be a large percentage of fans upset that one of their favorite players will no longer be with the club, at least not on the opening day roster. Unfortunately, there are not enough positions, or bench roles on the club for everyone’s favorite players. The fans want the players that they are currently watching have some success, but ultimately, most of these young players will likely be forced to start the season in Triple A. Before I go into my in-depth looks at the various openings in the Cubs roster, I think fans need to realize the difficulty of making decisions with what the team already has.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, the Cubs have a tremendous amount of outfielders. While having more then you need is better then the alternative of having too few, the decisions that will be made will send shockwaves through the fan base, and upset a good majority of fans. One thing that we know for sure, is that Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome will both be brought back as the starting outfielders, and Milton Bradley will be traded at some point this winter. The problem lies with who will fill in the final three voids in the outfield.
With Reed Johnson entering free agency at the end of the year, there are many fans who will be demanding the Cubs re-sign him. Sounds easy enough, sign him to a deal, and let the rest of the pieces fall into place. Fair enough, but then there are only two slots left. Who else should make the team? Fans love the way that Sam Fuld plays, and they have seemingly fallen in love with recent call-up Tyler Colvin. If you want both of them on the roster, then you can more less kiss Jake Fox goodbye. You cant keep him if you want Johnson, Fuld and Colvin. What about Micah Hoffpauir then? Fans want to see him on the team as well. If you take him, who do you leave off? Five current players for three slots, you don’t have to be a genius to do the math, they wont all fit. The solution? Let Colvin and Hoffpauir head back to the minors where they will be able to play everyday. Case solved, or is this only the beginning of the problem?
Everyone knows that the Cubs will be doing everything in their power to trade Bradley to get him as far away from the team as possible. The outfield problem gets all the more difficult if the Cubs get another outfielder back in the deal, or if they sign a free agent bat. If either of these are the case, then the choices for your outfield get more frustrating, for the management staff of the Cubs, and for fans who will get even more upset that their team is not keeping another one of their favorite youngster on the active 25 man lineup. With the possibility of the team adding an outfielder from outside the organization, you know have only two open slots for the outfield. Do you want to re-sign Johnson? If so, then management and fans will have to make a tough decision between Fuld and Fox, unless you want to add Colvin and Hoffpauir into the mix as well. Five players for two slots, there will be plenty of fans who will be upset that one of their choices will not make the team leaving Spring Training.
If you thought that the outfield would be the extent of the tough choices, wait until you see the infield situation. With Derrek Lee, Aramis Ramirez and Ryan Theriot all but guaranteed to keep their starting jobs, there are three spots left. There is the need for a second baseman, and two backup infielders, one of which will be Aaron Miles, unless he is traded. The easiest solution would be to have Jeff Baker playing second base, and picking through the remaining players to be the final infield backup spot. The players to choose between would then be Andres Blanco, who is out of options, and Mike Fontenot. If you wanted, you could keep Fox over these two, then most problems are solved. The team could keep Johnson and Fuld, depending on if they bring in a free agent or make a trade for an outfielder, they might even be able to keep Colvin. Case closed, everyone wins right? Not so fast.
Much like with the outfield situation, the Cubs could very easily sign a free agent to come in to play second base. That makes the infield problem all the more difficult. The choice for one spot is between Baker, Fontenot and Blanco, add Fox in if you want to keep both Johnson and Fuld. An easy solution would be to try and trade Miles, then the team could be able to keep two of these players, as well as having a second baseman. Having Baker and Fox as the backups would be nice, but missing the defense of Blanco would hurt.
The only way everyone’s favorite position players can make the team, is if the Cubs do not try to trade for or sign any players at all. Then they can have an outfield of: Soriano, Johnson and Fukudome, with backups of Fuld and Fox. The infield would be: Lee, Baker, Theriot and Ramirez, backed up by Blanco and Fontenot (assuming they would trade Miles). With Cub’s manager Lou Piniella likely to carry seven bullpen pitchers as he always does, the team only has room for five back up players, counting the backup catcher. That’s a decent team, but would you consider this team to be championship material? I am not so sure.
Something has to give among the fans demands. They all want the Cubs to go out and sign this player or that player, but also to keep all these other players. With the roster being limited at 25 players, the fans must be willing to accept any and all moves that are going to be made. They can not keep everyone they want to, as well as add everything they think they need. There just isn’t enough room on a 25 man roster to sooth everyone’s wants and demands. The fans must ask themselves one question, do you want to add bigger or better players, or do you want the young guns to get the playing time? Pick your side and stick to what you decide. You cant have everything.
Anno Catuli
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