Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
No doubt, I enjoy âbest ofâ lists but I have a morbid fascination with âworstâ lists, too.
As always, Andy from the Baseball Reference Blog comes through with his â2010 Least Valuable Playerâ post. Be prepared to make your arguments because most likely, a favorite player will be on this list.
Somehow, I knew former Cub Ryan Theriot would be on this list.
With the news that Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot will sign with the team for $2.6 million that might mean something. Assuming he doesnât get hurt or he doesnât get moved to second base, this will be the first time the Cubs will have the same player starting at the shortstop position for three years in a row since 1997 when the Cubs started Shawon Dunston there.
âThunderpupâ was a mainstay at short for over ten years for the Cubs. Since he left for the Pirates in 1997, there hasnât been a solid starter for the Cubs for more than two years straight. If Theriot continues playing short in 2010, his third straight year. Maybe the Cubs can break that streak.
Here are the string of shortstops the Chicago Cubs have used since Shawon Dunston and up until Ryan Theriot.
Letâs start with the most current and move backwards.
| 2006: Ronny Cedeno | |
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I know a few Cub fans who were really hot on this guy when he came up. Ronny started out hot in 2005 by hitting .300 in 89 at-bats. Reality set in during 2006 when he started playing full time. He batted .245 with 109 strikeouts. The Cubs unloaded Cedeno after 2008 and he proceeded to hit .209 with Seattle and Pittsburgh. |
| 2005: Neifi Perez | |
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Neifi played a full year in 2005 (609 ab) and got some big numbers but he really represented the Dusty Baker era of the Cubs by not being able to take walk (.298 OBP) |
| 2004: Ramon Martinez | |
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Who? Martinez is now probably best known for being Geovany Sotoâs cousin. Admittedly, Ramon didnât put in a whole lot of time at short (he played 73 games there), splitting time with Nomar Garciaparra and Neifi Perez. Hey look! Thereâs Theriot in the photo. |
| 2002-2003: Alex Gonzalez | |
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This particular Alex Gonzalez, actually managed to start at shortstop for two full years for the Cubs. His numbers were a bit sub-par (.312 and .295 OBP respectively). After his error in the fateful playoff game against the Marlins, his days were numbered though. |
| 2000-2001: Ricky Gutierrez | |
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A 1998 first round pick, Gutierrez gave the Cubs two full years at short and didnât do half bad (.276 and .290 with 11 and 10 homers). He probably had his best years with the Cubs. |
| 1999: Jose Hernandez | |
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I like this photo of Jose. He looks like heâs hitting one out. Or most likely, doing what he does best, striking out (he later led the league twice in Ks), |
| 1998: Jeff Blauser | |
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One of the players that you forget played for the Cubs. He ended his career for Chicago in 1998-1999. We somehow put up with his .219 batting average in 119 games in 1998. |
Honorable mention goes to Rey Sanchez who gave Dunston a break at short in 1996. Others worth mentioning during the period of 1997-2006 are Jose Nieves and Nomar Garciaparra,
Is positional consistency a thing of the past in an MLB team now? I guess weâll see when/if the Cubs decide to move Theriot to second base. It does make for an interesting trivia question, though.
Ryan Theriot and the Cubs will be heading to arbitration it seems. Which is probably doesnât bode well for The Riot, as much as I like him, doesnât look so great on paper. My bet is that arbitration will go down in favor of the Cubs and the $2.6 million figure.
Which in a way, is a shame. The Cubs have gotten a steal the past two years with Theriot and his sub-mil salary. Heâs been a solid, full-time infielder. His average took a dip last year mostly because (rumors say) he was taking swings for the fences). True enough, the homers increased (from 1 to 7) but so did the strikeouts (58 to 93) and the OBP dipped (.387 to .343). Management has reportedly talked to Theriot at the end of last season about reverting to making more contact.
When I read that Skip Schumaker signed recently with the Cardinals for a two-year deal worth $4.7 million I was reminded immediately of Theriotâs situation. Ok, theyâre not of exactly the same value but they are close. Young middle infielders who hit for decent average.
Iâm not about to take sides in this battle but at the same time, I will say this: the Cubs have gotten more than fair value from Theriot the last few years. Maybe itâs time for payback.