Seriously, what's the hold up?
I know I've said this before, but seriously, why would the Cubs not do everything in their power to get Aramis Ramirez back? Jim Hendry is an idiot.
So, aside from Ramirez's numbers, which I've pointed out many times (.291, 38, 119), I can't think of any reason that makes it ok to let Ramirez go.
People think Ramirez may clash with new manager Lou Piniella. Piniella is kind of a grumpy old man who demands hustle out of his players, yes. But, he's also a big veteran guy, and what is Ramirez? A veteran. He's also a guy who is going to hit a lot, especially when he's not the only focus of a weak line-up.
Also, Ramirez has injured himself while running out grounders. The only problem I have is that even on close plays, Ramirez occasionally will trot to first, thinking he'll be out, only to have the ball drop and he should be on second. I see no problem with hustling to get beaten by a step, or getting beaten by 3 steps. He runs to avoid double plays, and he's hurt himself in the past running out grounders. Also, his hamstring is very sensitive, so if he keeps himself healthy by costing the team about one out per game, I'm ok with it.
Also, he still hit .291! Talk all you want about hustle, but he was third on the team in hitting! (Murton was first, yet we want him out of the lineup next year?) What does running out a couple more grounders get you? Maybe 2 more wins?
So what would we do to replace Ramirez? I'll point out that if we weren't going to bring him back, we should have traded him at the deadline. We can't replace him with Scott Moore, he's still 'about a year away' according to chicagosports.com. Of course, that's retarded. And Moore didn't even get a chance to play much this year. What did he do? He hit .263 in 38 AB's. 38 AB's, yet that was supposed to be some sort of audition if Ramirez leaves?? Ok, I digress.
So we have no option on the team right now. Do we trade for A-Rod? This is feasible, since we may be able to work a deal to send Ramirez to the Yankees after signing him. Wouldn't you rather have A-Rod playing beside Ramirez? I know I would. I know A-Rod is probably better, but if you base it just on this season alone, as most Yankees fans are doing, Ramirez had an almost identical year to A-Rod.
The Cubs are talking about A-Rod, Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano, Carl Crawford. If you get rid of Ramirez to get A-Rod, what are you going to have left to trade for someone else (this of course, operating under the assumption that Ramirez for A-Rod won't be straight-up)? Sure you can sign Soriano, but the other two guys you would need to trade for.
AND WHAT ABOUT JUAN PIERRE?? Now, in this case, I don't care if he was second on the team in batting. He got on base just about as much as Jacque Jones. And he took about as many walks as Jacque Jones. If you ask me, one Jacque Jones in your lineup is more than enough. So it's great that Hendry traded away 3 pitchers for Pierre, who we could then hold on to at the trading deadline.
If this team doesn't come within 5 outs of the World Series this year, you have to fire Jim Hendry. If he somehow manages to swing some amazing deals this offseason, I may reconsider, but seriously, what was he thinking last year? If Ramirez leaves and we're forced to have a new third baseman (which will probably start the carousel over again, and Ramirez will be compared to Ron Santo), someone like, say, David Bell, who sucks, then I don't even think we should wait until the offseason to fire Hendry.
So, aside from Ramirez's numbers, which I've pointed out many times (.291, 38, 119), I can't think of any reason that makes it ok to let Ramirez go.
People think Ramirez may clash with new manager Lou Piniella. Piniella is kind of a grumpy old man who demands hustle out of his players, yes. But, he's also a big veteran guy, and what is Ramirez? A veteran. He's also a guy who is going to hit a lot, especially when he's not the only focus of a weak line-up.
Also, Ramirez has injured himself while running out grounders. The only problem I have is that even on close plays, Ramirez occasionally will trot to first, thinking he'll be out, only to have the ball drop and he should be on second. I see no problem with hustling to get beaten by a step, or getting beaten by 3 steps. He runs to avoid double plays, and he's hurt himself in the past running out grounders. Also, his hamstring is very sensitive, so if he keeps himself healthy by costing the team about one out per game, I'm ok with it.
Also, he still hit .291! Talk all you want about hustle, but he was third on the team in hitting! (Murton was first, yet we want him out of the lineup next year?) What does running out a couple more grounders get you? Maybe 2 more wins?
So what would we do to replace Ramirez? I'll point out that if we weren't going to bring him back, we should have traded him at the deadline. We can't replace him with Scott Moore, he's still 'about a year away' according to chicagosports.com. Of course, that's retarded. And Moore didn't even get a chance to play much this year. What did he do? He hit .263 in 38 AB's. 38 AB's, yet that was supposed to be some sort of audition if Ramirez leaves?? Ok, I digress.
So we have no option on the team right now. Do we trade for A-Rod? This is feasible, since we may be able to work a deal to send Ramirez to the Yankees after signing him. Wouldn't you rather have A-Rod playing beside Ramirez? I know I would. I know A-Rod is probably better, but if you base it just on this season alone, as most Yankees fans are doing, Ramirez had an almost identical year to A-Rod.
The Cubs are talking about A-Rod, Miguel Tejada, Alfonso Soriano, Carl Crawford. If you get rid of Ramirez to get A-Rod, what are you going to have left to trade for someone else (this of course, operating under the assumption that Ramirez for A-Rod won't be straight-up)? Sure you can sign Soriano, but the other two guys you would need to trade for.
AND WHAT ABOUT JUAN PIERRE?? Now, in this case, I don't care if he was second on the team in batting. He got on base just about as much as Jacque Jones. And he took about as many walks as Jacque Jones. If you ask me, one Jacque Jones in your lineup is more than enough. So it's great that Hendry traded away 3 pitchers for Pierre, who we could then hold on to at the trading deadline.
If this team doesn't come within 5 outs of the World Series this year, you have to fire Jim Hendry. If he somehow manages to swing some amazing deals this offseason, I may reconsider, but seriously, what was he thinking last year? If Ramirez leaves and we're forced to have a new third baseman (which will probably start the carousel over again, and Ramirez will be compared to Ron Santo), someone like, say, David Bell, who sucks, then I don't even think we should wait until the offseason to fire Hendry.
posted by Jtrouble at 10:44 AM
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