Heyman's Latest: Pie, Cole, Snell

I sincerely hope the Cubs do SOMETHING with Pie. This constantly hanging on to him, holding center field open and then deciding he's not good enough and clamoring to try to figure out who should take his place is tiresome and counter-productive.

Realistically, I think we should trade him. You know that Piniella wants some left-handed pop in the lineup, and the majority of the (power) positions on next year's Cubs are already filled: Soriano's in left, Fukudome is almost certainly in right, Ramirez and Lee on the corners, Soto behind the plate. I suppose technically we could use either middle infield position to replace a player, but there aren't a lot of power hitters at those positions and those there are are righties. The only exception I can think of would be Utley and he's not going to be moved. Plus I'd be seriously upset if we don't bring DeRosa back.

That only leaves center as a possibility, and the options are limited. If Lou sticks to it, Edmonds is the only choice--and that probably means another year of Pie languishing in the minors.

It's not worth it to me. It's not worth holding that position for him year after year, only signing stop-gap solutions, while we simultaneously don't give him a legitimate shot to win the job. Not to mention what we must be doing to this kid's head yo-yo'ing him up and down while calling him an untouchable prospect.

If Lou's willing to forego the lefty power, I say bring Pie up and re-sign Reed Johnson. Give Pie a real shot; at least half a season, if not the whole season. If he flounders, Johnson is a capable substitute. Either way, by the end of the year the Cubs would know if they need to let Pie have the job or if they need to find somebody (in the farm or FA) to give it to.

Figuring this situation out as soon as possible is in the best interests of Pie and the Cubs.

Completely agree with you schellis. If someone is offering you a guaranteed $4M, you take it and worry about college later. How much more money does he expect to get in 3 years? And what happens if he blows his arm out or doesn't perform well?

could the braves make a play for snell? he is a lot better than his numbers from this year suggest, and he's still just 26.

"As for Pie, I just wish the Cubs would give him one real, legitimate chance....I think that if you gave him 300-400 at bats at the ML level, he'd show a lot of improvement."

I don't know. 300-400 AB seems like an awful lot (and if he did show something after this time, he'd most likely go back to "struggling" after just 30 AB). If Pie really had something it would've been apparent in the time the Cubs have already given him. The Cubs don't need another hitter who slumps far more than he hits.

I would, however, like to see the Cubs give Hoffpauir a chance. This guy is going nuts in the minors, and when he has been up to the majors he's kicked ass (though, the first game he comes up he always sucks). Hoffpauir is coming into his prime now, and the Cubs could be passing up a star in the making by not playing him. If they could give him a shot and he succeeds, the Cubs could trade Lee (with a lesser player; after this season, of course), to get a stud from a team that's rebuilding. Maybe the Cubs could use Lee to get a number 3 hitter who can actually hit a homerun when you need it, and not GIDP so damned much.

The Cubs shoud have traded Pie (AKA Corey Patterson part II) 3 years ago!

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8462030/Versatility-is-what-sets-Cubs-apart?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

Read what this boner wrote about the Cubs. Mike Fontenot the super-sub? Does this guy just sound like an idiot or what?

Sorry, this is totally off-topic but I had to share this somewhere.

While I'm off-topic, after just seeing CC Sabathia throw his FIFTH complete game since being acquired by the Brewers, I'm pretty sure his arm is destined to fall off any day now. Brilliant, Milwaukee. Run him into the ground.

"Personally I would prefer if the Cubs either committed to Pie for at least a few hundred at bats, or went after a superior player to DeJesus."

In case you didn't notice, the two headed monster the Cubs have in CF is the best in the National League:

Reed Johnson .968 OPS vs. Lefties

Jim Edmonds .875 OPS vs. Righties (.970 overall with Cubs)

Unless Edmonds retires, this is your CF for next season. And for good reason, why mess with Pie and Dejesus???

"The Cubs have a great lineup and can afford to let him take his lumps at the major league level. "

Cubs are paying similar money for a CF that has a .970 OPS. You think Pie should play because everyone else is good and it's ok if he's not so good? Brilliant!

I don't think Pie is going to be your prototypical leadoff guy-- at least not early in his career. The Cubs, probably in the initial reaction of not getting Roberts, tried to turn Pie into Kenny Lofton overnight. It seems a little late after Pie had well over 2000 minor league ABs. At this point you have to let him be who he is... a good hitter who isn't going to walk but is going to steal bases, hit with some pop, and play great defense with a great arm. Let Pie try to play HIS game in the majors and establish himself first -- and perhaps later he can develop more refined plate skills as he gain experience. He has to grow into the kind of player the Cubs want him to be. Unfortunately the Cubs don't have that kind of time with what appears to be about a 2 year window. My question is this: Was the change really necessary? Was it worth messing with a gifted player in order to fit a square peg into a round hole? Ironically, the Cubs need for the prototypical leadoff hitter seems to have been overstated so far this year. The Cubs best baseball by far has been played with Soriano at the top of the lineup.

As far as Pie's numbers go, I think they are deceptive. This is a player who had to climb back up the mountain after the Cubs messed with his swing in a tardy, half-hearted, ill-advised attempt to transform him into a completely different hitter. Had he played his own style the entire season he would have been at his normal production levels.

On a related note, the Cubs have tinkered with Tyler Colvin as well-- with mixed results. Colvin was as big a free swinger as Pie but he has tripled his walk total so far while cutting down his strikeouts. His batting average has taken a hit in the transition but at least the Cubs addressed the issue early with Colvin (who had only around 600 ABs at that point). I look for Colvin to rebound in a big way next year. The power numbers the Cubs have been waiting for should start to emerge with the increased plate discipline.

Well in comparison to Ward, I'd rather have Hoffpauir up as well. But when talking about everyday spots, Hoffpauir simply doesn't belong on the Cubs.

As for Pie, I know and have known all along that Pie isn't a leadoff hitter. I would compare him to Mike Cameron before Kenny Lofton. I was simply talking about in general when dreaming about getting an Ellsbury-type player. I agree that the Cubs have really screwed up with Pie. The sad thing is that this almost seem to be a pattern. They get these young studs that have quality speed and try to force them to be leadoff hitters because of it. I'm convinced that batting leadoff is partially what screwed up Corey Patterson, and I'm worried we'll see the same happen with Pie.