Let's take a look at some items from both the AL and NL Central..
- Royals manager Ned Yost told the Associated Press that he would like to have two left-handers in the bullpen to start the year, though he won't have two southpaw relievers just for the sake of it. For the time being, it sounds like Kansas City will look for an answer in-house, starting with their newest acquisition Robert Fish.
- When asked if service time factored into the decision to demote Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians GM Chris Antonetti said, "That's certainly not the case," tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
- After being dealt from the Dodgers to the Cardinals, Ryan Theriot says that he's looking to play the way he did in 2008, writes MLB.com's Matthew Leach. In '08, Theriot posted a slash line of .307/.387/.359 for the Cubs.
- Chris Cwik of Fangraphs wonders if the Brewers' acquisition of Zack Greinke has left them too thin in some areas.
I’m not so sure that Therriot is capeable of that, but I do think he will be able to put up some decent numbers and help the Cards.
Theriot is far from the only player in baseball hoping to play like he did three years ago.
Hey, look on the bright side. At least his present slash line .200/.303/.233 is better than Brendan Ryan’s .125/.192/.167!
Then again, it’s only spring training…
I’m not saying he’s going to be great, but I don’t think that .270 average is bad and would not help the Cards at the bottom of the lineup.
with a .300 slg %
Sounds fair.
Gets on base though
I don’t think he’ll be great, but if he hits .300/.385/.365 again I’ll be floored and the Cards will run away with the NL Central. Maybe a slight exaggeration, and every team can probably say that about some key player. But if you put a guy on base infront of Rasmus, Pujols and Holliday nearly two out of every five AB’s, the Cards might just have the most potent offense in the NL.
The Cards haven’t had a ‘real’ leadoff man since Tony Womack. And by ‘real’ I mean a guy who gets on base with speed who, even if he doesn’t run, makes the pitcher think about the running game a bit more, taking his mind off the guy at the plate and making more mistakes. If Theriot can be that kind of an OBP/speed threat, Pujols will be commanding a lot more than $300 million in 2012 after putting up 150 RBI in 2011.
Other people wondering if the Brewers are a little “thin” in some areas: Every Brewers fan ever. Hoping it pays off this season though, have to go for it when the time is right I guess.
I am very happy that Ryan Theriot wants to play like an average Major League shortstop.
In his defense, his 2008 numbers were pretty darn good. Certainly better than average.
His last two years, of course, were forgettable.
Among 18 MLB regulars playing shortstop, Theriot finished closer to tenth in many categories than he did first, which makes him middle-of-the-pack among regulars.
His one home run and 35 runs batted in stand out, too. Only his career-high on-base percentage (60+ higher than his career percentage, mind you) and stolen base percentage (successful 23 times in 25 attempts) kept him afloat with “passable” defense. Thanks to his just-above-Jeterian range, it’s not hard to limit one’s mistakes on that side. Although, I do remember some very lousy plays when trying to make catches deep in his zone. In fact, only two regulars made fewer plays out of zone than he did. A run or two above 0 UZR is still average defense, in my mind.
In all, his 3.1 WAR n 2008 made him an MLB regular. Among starting shortstops already in secure jobs (17 to 19, depending on one’s interpretation), he was middle-of-the-pack. That, to me, made him an average MLB shortstop.
Average MLB shortstop is a better option than Brendan Ryan’s attrocious bat… his D will be missed… but that bat can have fun in Seattle until Ackley wins the starting job..
We cannot look at 2008 numbers and use the blanket term “average MLB shortstop.” He has been below-average ever since. One’s desire to return to such a level does not guarantee such, nor does it behoove Cardinals fans to expect such. The defense went down a few wins while offense may have only improved by a win. So, in all, this is a change across the board with no net gain of which to speak until we see this acquisition bear fruit. It is what it is.
I’m glad Theriot is gone. Now I don’t have to listen to annoying Cubs fans yell “THE RIOT!” every time this replacement-level player comes up to bat.
Yes the Brewers are very thin in other areas especially SS and CF
Honestly Jason Donald is on the shelf, and Lonnie would be most peoples choice to play 3B. They are only sending Lonnie aka “THE CHIZ” Chisenhall to AAA Columbus because the Carlos Santana effect aka the 6 years of control. Send him to the minors for longer team control it makes sense for the clevelands of the world to do it, when the free agent big name players like choo leave as soon as they get a chance for big $ i.e. ramirez, belle,
A lot of people thinking the Brewers are overrated point to the big years in 2010 by Weeks and Hart as not repeatable. What they fail to realize is that Fielder and Braun, particularly Fielder, had off years for them in 2010. Fielder is not going to be held to 83 RBI anytime soon.
As for Weeks, the guy has always had the talent to put up bigger numbers than even what he put up in 2010. I for one don’t expect a drop off from him.