Dexter Fowler Center Field of Splooge Thread

[SKO]

So this is what having an actual leadoff hitter feels like...who knew?

And to get actual production from center field for the first time in ages seems nice. Outside of a half season of Edmonds in '08 that left me feeling as confused and dirty as that one summer at Camp Winnebago I don't think the Cubs have had a center fielder worth a shit since...fuck. I don't know.

Since half a season of .300-hitting Corey Patterson followed by half a season of Kenny Lofton?

Or Gary Matthews Jr?

Or the vaunted 1998 Lance Johnson-Brant Brown centerfield platoon?

Or Brian McRae?

Or 1992 Sammy Sosa (fewer than 10 homers), with Dwight Smith in left and Andre Dawson in right?

Or 1989 Jerome Walton?

Or 1987 Dave Martinez?

Or 1984 Bobby Dernier?

Center field has been kind of a problem, no?

Where's Juan Pierre? (ball is on the tee)

Chuck,

I don't know, but I do know that I left out the 2007 version of Alfonso Soriano, who was as productive a Cubs centerfielder since at least the 2003 Patterson-Lofton tandem and probably since Jerome Walton won Rookie of the Year.

Didn't Jock start most of 2007 in CF? I remember them trying Alf there until he nearly tore his quad in half and then they stuck him back in left. I think Jock got the most starts there in CF, but there's absolutely no way of proving this I guess.

[Quality Start Machine]

So this is what having an actual leadoff hitter feels like...who knew?

And to get actual production from center field for the first time in ages seems nice. Outside of a half season of Edmonds in '08 that left me feeling as confused and dirty as that one summer at Camp Winnebago I don't think the Cubs have had a center fielder worth a shit since...fuck. I don't know.

Since half a season of .300-hitting Corey Patterson followed by half a season of Kenny Lofton?

Or Gary Matthews Jr?

Or the vaunted 1998 Lance Johnson-Brant Brown centerfield platoon?

Or Brian McRae?

Or 1992 Sammy Sosa (fewer than 10 homers), with Dwight Smith in left and Andre Dawson in right?

Or 1989 Jerome Walton?

Or 1987 Dave Martinez?

Or 1984 Bobby Dernier?

Center field has been kind of a problem, no?

Honestly, I think you have to go back to Rick Monday.

[SKO]

So Tonk was all on board the Mike Olt Train as early as April 3rd, 2014:

FYS

"S"?   Surely not "CBS".

Slak's the only OLTHATER round these parts, Stew.  The rest of us (you included, I feel sure) worship the bloke.

But he'd like to caution any premature celebration over a proven major league player like Dexter Fowler. Hmm. What differences could one not between Olt and Fowler?

Never listen to the Welsh. Lousy bigots.

[Chuck to Chuck]

So this is what having an actual leadoff hitter feels like...who knew?

And to get actual production from center field for the first time in ages seems nice. Outside of a half season of Edmonds in '08 that left me feeling as confused and dirty as that one summer at Camp Winnebago I don't think the Cubs have had a center fielder worth a shit since...fuck. I don't know.

Since half a season of .300-hitting Corey Patterson followed by half a season of Kenny Lofton?

Or Gary Matthews Jr?

Or the vaunted 1998 Lance Johnson-Brant Brown centerfield platoon?

Or Brian McRae?

Or 1992 Sammy Sosa (fewer than 10 homers), with Dwight Smith in left and Andre Dawson in right?

Or 1989 Jerome Walton?

Or 1987 Dave Martinez?

Or 1984 Bobby Dernier?

Center field has been kind of a problem, no?

Where's Juan Pierre? (ball is on the tee)

Chuck,

I don't know, but I do know that I left out the 2007 version of Alfonso Soriano, who was as productive a Cubs centerfielder since at least the 2003 Patterson-Lofton tandem and probably since Jerome Walton won Rookie of the Year.

Didn't Jock start most of 2007 in CF? I remember them trying Alf there until he nearly tore his quad in half and then they stuck him back in left. I think Jock got the most starts there in CF, but there's absolutely no way of proving this I guess.

Per BBR, A Sor got 12 games in center in 2007 and then never again the rest of his career. In fact, those 12 games were the only 12 games he played in center his whole career. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/soriaal01.shtml

[Tonker]

So Tonk was all on board the Mike Olt Train as early as April 3rd, 2014:

FYS

"S"?   Surely not "CBS".

Slak's the only OLTHATER round these parts, Stew.  The rest of us (you included, I feel sure) worship the bloke.

But he'd like to caution any premature celebration over a proven major league player like Dexter Fowler. Hmm. What differences could one not between Olt and Fowler?

Never listen to the Welsh. Lousy bigots.

You really need to get a job.

[Bort]

So Tonk was all on board the Mike Olt Train as early as April 3rd, 2014:

FYS

"S"?   Surely not "CBS".

Slak's the only OLTHATER round these parts, Stew.  The rest of us (you included, I feel sure) worship the bloke.

But he'd like to caution any premature celebration over a proven major league player like Dexter Fowler. Hmm. What differences could one not between Olt and Fowler?

Never listen to the Welsh. Lousy bigots.

You really need to get a job.

Hey! I don't have a job and you don't see me doing this sort of thing.

[SKO]

So Tonk was all on board the Mike Olt Train as early as April 3rd, 2014:

FYS

"S"?   Surely not "CBS".

Slak's the only OLTHATER round these parts, Stew.  The rest of us (you included, I feel sure) worship the bloke.

But he'd like to caution any premature celebration over a proven major league player like Dexter Fowler. Hmm. What differences could one not between Olt and Fowler?

Never listen to the Welsh. Lousy bigots.

You really need to get a job.

Hey! I don't have a job and you don't see me doing this sort of thing.

I'm gainfully employed, I just found the notion of Desipio suddenly having some kind of reserve or rationale behind the creation of Splooge threads absurd, and it's a slow Monday.

[CT III]

So this is what having an actual leadoff hitter feels like...who knew?

And to get actual production from center field for the first time in ages seems nice. Outside of a half season of Edmonds in '08 that left me feeling as confused and dirty as that one summer at Camp Winnebago I don't think the Cubs have had a center fielder worth a shit since...fuck. I don't know.

Since half a season of .300-hitting Corey Patterson followed by half a season of Kenny Lofton?

Or Gary Matthews Jr?

Or the vaunted 1998 Lance Johnson-Brant Brown centerfield platoon?

Or Brian McRae?

Or 1992 Sammy Sosa (fewer than 10 homers), with Dwight Smith in left and Andre Dawson in right?

Or 1989 Jerome Walton?

Or 1987 Dave Martinez?

Or 1984 Bobby Dernier?

Center field has been kind of a problem, no?

Where's Juan Pierre? (ball is on the tee)

Wrong. The ball is being carefully rolled down the foul line.

[PenFoe]

Dexter Fowler killed LaTroy Hawkins.

[thehawk]

Dexter Fowler killed LaTroy Hawkins.

Harding not much of a fan of Bettencourt apparently

[PenFoe]

Dexter Fowler killed LaTroy Hawkins.

Harding not much of a fan of Bettencourt apparently

Sorry - I swapped out the image, so now you look like a raving lunatic.

[Oleg]

Let's face it. We're all such cynical assholes that it doesn't take much for any of us to see something good from a player, no matter how short the period of awesomeness, to blow our collective wads repeatedly in a dark corner.  We don't have to be happy with it when we look back on our lives.  We can see it for the momentary lapse of reason that it was and move on.

Fowler will probably get 5 years/$100 million from someone in the off-season; this splooge will fade and we will find new ones.  It's the cycle of life.

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

I enjoyed re-reading the Xavier Nady thread, for what it's worth.

[SKO]

Dexter Fowler killed LaTroy Hawkins.

Harding not much of a fan of Bettencourt apparently

Sorry - I swapped out the image, so now you look like a raving lunatic.

I was about to say the same thing he said.

Some asswipe on Fork's facebook said something about LaTroy posting above average WAR/FIP etc. as a Cub and I wanted to shoot him. No one ever said LaTroy's statistics sucked. Meatball or no, he had a 69% save percentage as a Cub and everyone of those blown saves was a nut punch. I have a right to hate that man, statistics be damned!

[Quality Start Machine]

Let's face it. We're all such cynical assholes that it doesn't take much for any of us to see something good from a player, no matter how short the period of awesomeness, to blow our collective wads repeatedly in a dark corner.  We don't have to be happy with it when we look back on our lives.  We can see it for the momentary lapse of reason that it was and move on.

Fowler will probably get 5 years/$100 million from someone in the off-season; this splooge will fade and we will find new ones.  It's the cycle of life.

This. Let's just bask in the glow of a center fielder who might not spike himself running the bases.