October 6, 200817 yr I agree with most things that have been said. Why Hoffpauir was not in the line up in the NLDS is beyond me. He was very hot at the right time and is a big left handed bat. I also think Reed Johnson should have played at some point. He does not swing for the fences, but is always on base--which was desperately needed. Lilly, Hoffpauir and Johnson should have gotten to play!
October 6, 200817 yr Lilly was the fourth man in the rotation. If you only play three games, he doesn't pitch. Edmonds has much more playoff experience although you couldn't tell it this time around. I like the Edmonds/Johnson platoon because neither are overly durable and if one goes down, you have the other. Playing Hoffpauer doesn't make a difference when you are losing by six + runs.
October 6, 200817 yr Author How old is Hoffpauer, and what kind of numbers has he put up in the minors?
October 6, 200817 yr Lilly was the fourth man in the rotation. If you only play three games, he doesn't pitch. Edmonds has much more playoff experience although you couldn't tell it this time around. I like the Edmonds/Johnson platoon because neither are overly durable and if one goes down, you have the other. Playing Hoffpauer doesn't make a difference when you are losing by six + runs. Hitting is contagous!
October 6, 200817 yr Hoffpauir is 28, here are his numbers from the bigs this year, let me look further for his minor league numbers. **G **AB *R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG 2008 33 73 14 25 8 0 2 8 39 6 24 1 0 .400 .534 .342
October 6, 200817 yr How old is Hoffpauer, and what kind of numbers has he put up in the minors? Here it is [/img]
October 6, 200817 yr Author Thanks. It looks like his power numbers jumped dramatically this year. Any explanation for that? Are you sure you would feel confident with him as any everyday player, also take into consideration that he's already 28?
October 6, 200817 yr I'd be more comfortble with him over Fukodome, even though Fukodome plays better defense. No explanation for the power surge. I know he's always been known as a contact, line-drive hitter with decent power. I saw him hit a home run in Nashville and really like his swing. He seemed to swing with a little more of an upper cut.
October 6, 200817 yr Thanks. It looks like his power numbers jumped dramatically this year. Any explanation for that? Are you sure you would feel confident with him as any everyday player, also take into consideration that he's already 28? I'd be more comfortble with him over Fukodome, even though Fukodome plays better defense. No explanation for the power surge. I know he's always been known as a contact, line-drive hitter with decent power. I saw him hit a home run in Nashville and really like his swing. He seemed to swing with a little more of an upper cut. Depending on a 29 year-old career minor league rookie as an everyday player is not a good thing. There's usually some reason that he's been in the minors that long and Major League pitchers will find it when he faces them the second time around. It should also be a red flag that he struck out 24 times in only 73 at bats compared to 6 walks. Sounds a lot like Bucky Jacobsen to me, remember him? They better have a good insurance policy--maybe Fukadome can be that if he fixes his swing.
October 6, 200817 yr Several things ... Theriot is not a quality shortstop, defensively. The Cubs need to decide what to do with DeRosa, Fontenot and Theriot, all of whom are better cast as second basemen, and get a solid defender at short. I'd go with Cedeno, barring another move. This Cubs' team is not very good defensively ... Soto is fine, and so is Lee, even though his bat is slowing down. Edmonds/Johnson is a little lacking, too. The outfield corners are adequate. My take, position-by-position ... C ... Soto will be one of the NL's top catchers for a while 1B ... Lee, with Hoffpauir as a backup and someone to play against the tough righties. 2B ... some combination of Theriot/DeRosa/Fontenot, with DeRosa also available to play 3B and OF ... Theriot can fill in at SS in a pinch if they keep all three SS ... Cedeno 3B ... Ramirez LF ... Soriano CF ... Pie (it's time to find out whether he can play) RF ... Fukudome/DeRosa The Cubs are stuck with Fukudome's contract ... Lee has two more years on his deal, and it's doubtful that he's tradeable for a whole lot of value at this point, given his age and declining power. The best the Cubs can do is to help out those positions with a platoon option. The rotation ... Harden, Zambrano, Lilly, Marquis for now. Dempster won't be worth his next contract. As far as I'm concerned, he pitched over his head this season, and there are serious questions about his ability to stay healthy in the rotation over an extended period of time. Harden has a $7M option ... he's well worth it even at just 20-25 starts. The Cubs have to monitor Zambrano's shoulder issues. The bullpen ... let Howry go and let Samardzija and Wuertz share his role. Wood and Marmol can almost be co-closers at this point. Gaudin is a good swing pitcher, and the Cubs could use a reliable lefty. I liked Eyre better than Cotts, but obviously Piniella and Hendry didn't.
October 6, 200817 yr Depending on a 29 year-old career minor league rookie as an everyday player is not a good thing. There's usually some reason that he's been in the minors that long and Major League pitchers will find it when he faces them the second time around. It should also be a red flag that he struck out 24 times in only 73 at bats compared to 6 walks. Sounds a lot like Bucky Jacobsen to me, remember him? They better have a good insurance policy--maybe Fukadome can be that if he fixes his swing. It's called Derrek Lee at first base
October 6, 200817 yr It's called Derrek Lee at first base Don't tell me they were just sitting on him because of Lee. He's played in the outfield in each of his minor league seasons. If he were really ready to go then why did Todd Hollandsworth, Matt Murton and Cliff Floyd each play over 100 games the last 3 seasons in the Cubs outfield? He struck out 1/3 of the time when he was up this season and it would be a potential disaster to count on him as an everyday player next season.
October 6, 200817 yr I wasn't until they signed Lee to an extension that they put him in the outfield. And they also got rid of those three players right after the extension
October 6, 200817 yr I wasn't until they signed Lee to an extension that they put him in the outfield. And they also got rid of those three players right after the extension Yup, Hoffpauir is a better version of Chris Duncan. Duncan is a natural 1B but stuck behind Pujols and was put into a roll of playing corner OF
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