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mrschroeder08 partyvancaptain pee_callus25 Tags 2010 Preview 5 Million Dollar Black Hole AAAA Aaron Heilman Aaron Miles Alfonso Soriano Andres Blanco Angel Guzman Aramis Ramirez Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves B.J. 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The Cubs wound up with less all-stars than the Pirates, and yet somehow are hanging at .500. It is without a doubt a disappointing first half. But I am going to attempt to grade these guys on the first half (a cliched concept admittedly) and try to be unbiased. So here we go: Geovanny Soto: C- Soto started to show a bit of that rookie of the year form before he went down with one of many Cubs injuries. But before that, he was a black hole on offense, a liability on defense, and he was clearly out of shape. I am giving him points for turning it around, but boy, do the Cubs need better. Derrek Lee: A- Honestly, he has been the guy on this team. He would be an all-star if it weren't for the embarrassment of riches the NL has at first base. He has returned to a form not quite of 2005, but better than his career. He gets a good grade for that. Mike Fontenot: D Cannot handle a breaking pitch, and it has been exposed. Too bad, because he was a very valauble bench player last year. Ryan Theriot: B- His OBP, which is really where his value comes, is going up a bit, which is nice, and the power stroke has been a nice touch. He needs to learn when to use it though. There was a period where he was acting like Albert Pujols. Stick with being Ryan Theriot, with the occasional surprise HR swing. Aramis Ramirez: B+ In limited playing time, it is hard to judge. He was mashing before he got hurt, and it looks like he's tenative in his swing coming back. I'll be nice and give him a good score for the job he was doing in April. Alfonso Soriano: D- 14 Home runs keeps me from flat out failing the guy. But his hitting is gone, his fielding was never there and he backed down when challenged at a wrestling event in May. C'mon, Sori! Sutcliffe said Soriano would be the NL MVP this year. Wanna take that back, Rick? Kosuke Fukudome: C He is giving about what we should expect. He gets on base at a good clip, but he is still prone to looking like a ballerina. Milton Bradley: F Yep I am piling on, but it looks like he may pull out of this. His eye is good, but he still needs to get the bat off his shoulder from time to time. He failed in the field, he got suspended, he got hurt, he was sent home during a game and he is being outhomered by Ryan Theriot. It was about as bad as a first half can get, and I am contractually required to fail one person, so that is you Milton. Reed Johnson: B- He's made a couple of great catches. Well, one great catch and one great trap. He's provided an occassional offesnive spark, but let's be honest, he's a fourth outfielder on a good team. He should start on this team, but that is more an indictment of the Cubs. Don't get me wrong, I love Reed, it's just how I feel about his skills. Jake Fox: A You can't ask for much more than what Jake has given the Cubs. He has hit well, and he has done a decent job in the field. On the limited basis, I'll give him a solid A. Micah Hoffpauir: C+ He has provided the pauir (power) in a limited role, but his OBP is putrid. I know he's an instant offense guy, but you still need standards. Plus, his fielding has been an adventure at times. For the power, I will say he's been slightly better than average. Carlos Zambrano: B- He has had tough luck the last month or so, but he still is prone to have those incredibly immature moments. He should have more than 5 wins, obviously, and his hitting continues to impress. I just wish he could get past dumb stuff like bashing water coolers and arguing with umpires, and just pitch. Ted Lilly: A- A solid A would require a pitcher be in Cy Young territory. Lilly has been a bulldog though. His K/BB is impressive (101/24) and his ERA is low 3's. The lone Cubs all-star has been the best pitcher on this staff. Rich Harden: D- He has had a couple of good outings, but I am pretty sure he has an injury. His velocity is down, and he is getting hammered. That is simply not the pitcher the Cubs traded for last year. At least they didn't give up much value for him and Gaudin, who is now gone. Ryan Dempster: C Before his ridiculous injury, he was having the year you should expect from him. It's all on Hendry for paying him like he was something more than that. Thankfully the pitching is good enough that we don't need that 2008 guy. Unforunately, it is yet another contract that ties the Cubs up. Hendry's grade is coming soon. Randy Wells: A Again, close to a Cy Young caliber performance, but I do worry about one thing. The offenses he has shut down are not great. His two worst outings, Minnesota and St. Louis, have a bit more thump, and he got hit a bit harder. I suppose that is nitpicking, because you cannot ask for more from a midseason callup. He has been the second best pitcher on the staff, and if he can somehow keep it up, it may just keep the Cubs in this race. Kevin Gregg: B He hasn't been the most dominant, and his outings sure have not been the prettiest. But let's be honest, he has gotten the job done so far. 16 out of 19 in save opportunites is pretty good. Not great, but good. And he has been better than Kerry Wood this year. There I said it. (This is not an indication of future performance, I am just merely stating based on the first half.) Carlos Marmol, C- He has shown flashes, but he has been way to inconsistent. His walk rate is alarming, and he has blown 4 saves (more than Gregg, though that may be an unfair comparison). The fact is, he has been called on a lot, and has gotten the job done quite a bit, so he does get some props. Angel Guzman, B+ He has been a quality arm in the bullpen, but has had a couple of hiccups. He is a very talented pitcher, and its too bad injuries kept him from being a starter. Aaron Heilman, D+ He has had a few good outings, but he loses control at baffling times and has really just been icky more often than he should be. Aaron Miles and Ryan Freel: F Needed to put this in here. Lou Piniella, C- Lou has had to make a steak dinner using crap. While some have questioned his desire, he has still shown flashes of the Lou of old. Unfortunately, he has left Soriano at lead off too long, played Aaron Miles way too much, overused Carlos Marmol despite the emergence of Angel Guzman and handled Milton Bradley questionably at best. It hasn't been a good set of circumstances, so who knows what Lou could have done? Jim Hendry, D- He's done a couple of things well, and has found some help in AAA. But as far as building a core of a team, he has been terrible. Backloaded contracts to players coming off contract years are choking the team. His questionable desire to get Milton Bradley has bit him in the butt. Heck even waiving a minor league infielder, Casey McGehee, has somehow backfired. I mean, about everything that could have gone wrong in the 08-09 offseason has. Bottom line: the payroll is the third biggest. But the team sits at .500 and has as many all-stars as the Nationals and the Royals. I will not fail him, because let's be honest, the farm system HAS failed him in producing quality home grown talent in the past. He's had to compensate some way. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out thus far. Any one not listed here is either INCOMPLETE (Baker, Stevens, Waddell) or just been pretty much average (Hill, Patton) or was Neal Cotts. Posted in: Grades | ||