The Jeff Samardzija Defenestration Thread

[Canadouche]

Forgive me for I watched, listened to, and read the box scores of zero innings this Spring Training....but did Vitters get any time with the big club in Mesa?  I didn't  hear his name come up once this March.

Not that I'm aware of, but isn't he usually mentioned as a Top Prospect?

I'll ask it again as my American English obviouly confused you.

DID JOSH VITTERS PLAY WITH THE BIG CLUB IN ANY CACTUS LEAGUE GAMES?

Not that I'm aware of?

Okay that was funny.

Seriously, does the interwebs just swallow spring training stats once the season starts?  I can't find me my damn Vitterstats!

It's tricky, but if you go to Cubs.com, and place your pointer over "stats," you will see "spring training" appear as an option.

Then answer is, 5 games, 5 for 14, 1 double, 1 triple, 0 BB, 1 SO.

[SKO]

I just ask that he trade guys like Brownlie and Pie when they actually have some fucking value and not afterwards.

He got Lee for Choi.  You want more?

Bobby Hill and Jose Hernandez for Ramirez and Lofton was a much, much bigger depantsing.

Yes, but people weren't on love with Hill and Jose like they were with Choi.

Right, I forgot about this particular Chuckism -- trades are only good if the players traded are really highly regarded.

Oh.  You were talking about Trader Jim's good trades.  Bless me, but I thought the issue at hand was trading of highly regarded prospects before their value diminished.

I bow to your topic changing skills.

If the point is that Hendry cleverly had us -- and the rest of the baseball world -- fooled for about five years regarding his ability to appraise and develop talent, then it's a good point.  He was still a shit drafter and an even shittier developer, no matter who he fleeced for which studs.

That's why the Cubs are still screwed, btw.  Colvin looked fantastic this Spring, what with his many hits and ZERO walks.  That is Hendry's problem -- like Dusty, he has never valued plate discipline in the players he's developed.  I'd even take back the "shit drafter" opinion and surmise that he's WASTED talented prospects by never having them focus on developing plate discipline.  And that includes the beacons of hope Starlin Castro and Josh Vitters -- Starlin walked all of 29 times in just under 500 plate appearances last year, while Vitters walked a Dunstonesque 12 times in 470 PAs.  Here's a fucking hint: being aggressive at the plate stops working when the pitcher can throw a breaking ball that starts at your head and ends at your waist.

Vitters did suck last year. At least he and Castro are only 19. Hopefully it's just youthful impatience. That's all I've got.

.886 OPS at age 19 in low A-ball. Maybe not HOLY SHIT good, but he definitely didn't suck. He put up a shitty .604 OPS when he moved up to high A, but that could just be an adjustment period. I'd expect him to do well at Daytona this year. If not, then yeah, he probably sucks.

Yeah, I always click the "hide partial seasons" thing on Baseball Reference, so I didn't see the .886 at Peoria, just the .770 overall. The kid will be alright.

[Eli]

Oh.  You were talking about Trader Jim's good trades.  Bless me, but I thought the issue at hand was trading of highly regarded prospects before their value diminished.

I bow to your topic changing skills.

I misread your post.  My bad.

[SKO]

All this talk of failed Cubs prospects has led me to my yearly search of independent league rosters so that I can laugh at the former Cubs who have fallen so far.

[Canadouche]

All this talk of failed Cubs prospects has led me to my yearly search of independent league rosters so that I can laugh at the former Cubs who have fallen so far.

Who knew that all along Jim Hendry was really scouting for the Newark Bears?

[SKO]

All this talk of failed Cubs prospects has led me to my yearly search of independent league rosters so that I can laugh at the former Cubs who have fallen so far.

Who knew that all along Jim Hendry was really scouting for the Newark Bears?

I think it's sad that Bobby Hill still can't hit for power in the Atlantic League (.329 and .337 slugging in 08 and 09).

[Oleg]

I have no idea what's going on in this thread.  Kurt is making sense AND Chuck is right.  Close 'er down, fellas.

[Internet Apex]

Forgive me for I watched, listened to, and read the box scores of zero innings this Spring Training....but did Vitters get any time with the big club in Mesa?  I didn't  hear his name come up once this March.

Not that I'm aware of, but isn't he usually mentioned as a Top Prospect?

I'll ask it again as my American English obviouly confused you.

DID JOSH VITTERS PLAY WITH THE BIG CLUB IN ANY CACTUS LEAGUE GAMES?

Not that I'm aware of?

Okay that was funny.

Seriously, does the interwebs just swallow spring training stats once the season starts?  I can't find me my damn Vitterstats!

It's tricky, but if you go to Cubs.com, and place your pointer over "stats," you will see "spring training" appear as an option.

Then answer is, 5 games, 5 for 14, 1 double, 1 triple, 0 BB, 1 SO.

Not one walk? DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

[Quality Start Machine]

they're still shitty.

[PenFoe]

Had Prior stayed healthy, the Cubs would have done as well in the 1st as any other team than the Phillies.

I mean, it's not a _good_ list, but it's pretty much par for the MLB.  I think the Cubs refusal to spend serious
money on scouting and development was a far bigger issue and something to hate the Tribune for.  The
Tribune ran the organization for total shit until the last couple years as they tried to throw on a new coat of
paint to sell.

Except all of the players from the other teams actually made the majors, while the Cubs only had two, none of those teams were as consistently poor as the Cubs were when they were grabbing their first round draft picks (the Cubs won fewer than 70 games in 3 of those seasons, whereas all of those teams were drafting from the middle or end of the first round pretty much every single one of those years) and, most importantly of all ... unlike every team you are comparing them to, the Cubs never won a World Series in the 00's.  Why you'd compare the Cubs draft habits to perpetually successful baseball franchises is beyond me; the comparison totally irrelevant.  

I get that you're not really trying to be an apologist for how ridiculously shitty an appraiser of talent Jim Hendry is, but make no mistake.  Jim Hendry is a ridiculously shitty appraiser of talent.  

I haven't done the comparison with the teams that Pre listed, but it should be noted that the Cubs picks weren't ALL that high (number listed is overall pick)
Christiansen: 26
Montanez: 3
Prior: 2
Brownlie: 21
Harvey: 6
Johnson: 66
Pawelek: 20

Yes, 3 top 10s, though at least 2 of those accounted for the entirety of the Major Leagues Games Played.

That said, my entire point was that Jim Hendry sucks an overstuffed bag of rotten cocks, so I have no disagreement here, just providing more info.

[MidgetSellingWater]

Here's hoping a reservation was just made on the next bus to Iowa.  It's beautiful there this time of year, Jeff.

[Armchair_QB]

Here's hoping a reservation was just made on the next bus to Iowa.  It's beautiful there this time of year, Jeff.

Somebody's gotta go when Lilly comes back. Might as well be him.

[CBStew]

Here's hoping a reservation was just made on the next bus to Iowa.  It's beautiful there this time of year, Jeff.

Somebody's gotta go when Lilly comes back. Might as well be him.

He is like a Yo-yo.  Send him down he always comes back.

[MidgetSellingWater]

Here's hoping a reservation was just made on the next bus to Iowa.  It's beautiful there this time of year, Jeff.

Somebody's gotta go when Lilly comes back. Might as well be him.

He is like a Yo-yo.  Send him down he always comes back.

I say we walk the dog with him this time - like for several thousand miles.

[Lance Dicksons Arm]

Here's hoping a reservation was just made on the next bus to Iowa Uzbekistan.  It's beautiful there this time of year, Jeff.

The guy is total shit.