Dexter Fowler Center Field of Splooge Thread

[SKO]

Bump

[Quality Start Machine]

Sploosh.

[PenFoe]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

[flannj]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

[Saul Goodman]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

[Slaky]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

He did have a rough first few months by his standards and was insanely good down the stretch. He had that big homer vs. the Rockies but otherwise wasn't great until summer time.

[SKO]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

He did have a rough first few months by his standards and was insanely good down the stretch. He had that big homer vs. the Rockies but otherwise wasn't great until summer time.

He actually hit .299/.372/.442/.814 last April. His May/June were abysmal, and then he was awesome in July (.806 OPS) and August (.995), before  mediocre September.

/pedantry ended.

[PenFoe]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

[SKO]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I don't think it's a stupid kneejerk overreaction, the stupid kneejerk overreaction was people responding to a handful of good games by La Stella last year and thinking that should merit him an ironclad roster spot regardless of how many times he ends up dead and gone for months. Nothing about his resume suggests he's anything but a halfway decent utility guy who can get on base a little. He has options, he can stay in Iowa. Another right handed OF makes more sense for the roster, as right now they basically have to play either Schwarber or Heyward against any tough lefties they face. Not that Heyward is a strict platoon player but it makes sense to lineup his off-days with starts against lefties, no?

[InternetApex]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back.  

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I actually agree with all of this, except for the "stupid" overreaction part. It might very well be an overreaction but it's not "stupid." All the factors you listed make it reasonable. The fact that LaStella can't seem to stay healthy makes it easy for GM Apex to bid him adieu. GM Apex is looking for a job and hasn't had much luck. Don't listen to him.

[R-V]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I don't think it's a stupid kneejerk overreaction, the stupid kneejerk overreaction was people responding to a handful of good games by La Stella last year and thinking that should merit him an ironclad roster spot regardless of how many times he ends up dead and gone for months. Nothing about his resume suggests he's anything but a halfway decent utility guy who can get on base a little. He has options, he can stay in Iowa. Another right handed OF makes more sense for the roster, as right now they basically have to play either Schwarber or Heyward against any tough lefties they face. Not that Heyward is a strict platoon player but it makes sense to lineup his off-days with starts against lefties, no

Can I guy who can't play SS even be considered a utility guy? I know La Stella can play 2B and 3B but that's it right?

[Powdered Toast Man]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I actually agree with this 100%. I've actually never thought about keeping Szczur over LaStella, but it makes perfect sense when Baez comes back. LaStella is not bad and he will give you a dependable AB, but he isn't as versatile as Baez or as good a fielder as either.

Does he have options?

[SKO]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I don't think it's a stupid kneejerk overreaction, the stupid kneejerk overreaction was people responding to a handful of good games by La Stella last year and thinking that should merit him an ironclad roster spot regardless of how many times he ends up dead and gone for months. Nothing about his resume suggests he's anything but a halfway decent utility guy who can get on base a little. He has options, he can stay in Iowa. Another right handed OF makes more sense for the roster, as right now they basically have to play either Schwarber or Heyward against any tough lefties they face. Not that Heyward is a strict platoon player but it makes sense to lineup his off-days with starts against lefties, no

Can I guy who can't play SS even be considered a utility guy? I know La Stella can play 2B and 3B but that's it right?

I assume he can also back up first base if needed and maybe a corner OF spot but by god why you'd do that is beyond me. I just think the fact that Theo traded for him (and also our desperation for a decent bench player last year when we all had to watch way too much Mike Baxter and Jonny Buckets) led some fans to overrate him and act like he's not a fungible 25th man and nothing more.

[Eli]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

Szczur should also get serious consideration to take away some of Soler's playing time at this point. He made pretty huge improvements in his swing and approach last year, and he has two demonstrated skills with his speed and defense. Jorge can play vs. lefties on the days Arrieta is pitching and they don't need outfield defense.

[PenFoe]

Bump again.

I hope this dude spends the entire season saying "Fuck You, Baltimore" every game and makes himself a shitload of dough.

This.
Hasn't a rap against him in the past been that he's a slow starter?
I'll take this just fine thank you.

Dude's on fire right now. Ditto Matt Szszsxcxzsur.

I'm sure this is a stupid kneejerk overreaction, but right now I'd rather the Cubs keep Szczur than LaStella when Baez comes back. 

Szczur is one of the 3 best fielding OFs on this team. LaStella isn't one of the 3 best anything.  You could easily make the case that if either of the starting 2B, SS or 3B got hurt, LaStella still wouldn't be playing (because of Baez) so just to keep him as a lefty off the bench seems less important than keeping a solid fielding OF when your other OF options late in the game include Schwarber and Soler (and just Soler on days when Hammel pitches, assuming they don't move Schwarber out from behind the plate when they go to the pen in those games, which is certainly possible.)

I actually agree with this 100%. I've actually never thought about keeping Szczur over LaStella, but it makes perfect sense when Baez comes back. LaStella is not bad and he will give you a dependable AB, but he isn't as versatile as Baez or as good a fielder as either.

Does he have options?

Szczur has no options, I believe LaStella does.