The wonderful, historical, yet terrible Chicago Cubs. Did you really just sign a guy who batted .196 last season for 10 million dollars, yes its only for one year but it doesnt matter the guy is more streaky then Conners underwear. Lets think about this he hit .247 in 2008, .227 in 2009, and like i stated earlier .196 last season, dont you think he is minor league material, just saying. A member of the Cubs organization said stated "We like the shortness of [the deal], and at the same time it was a position we really needed, and he fits the requirements that were important". You love the shortness of the deal wow get real, the guy hit below the Mendoza line for Gods sake. Let me not get to made about this, im just going to let the Cubs continue to be sorry for another hundred years.
As a so called critic i am not taking in account that Pena did miss alot of baseball due to a plantar fascia in his right foot, including a short time on the 15-day disabled list in August. lets not make the foot be an excuse for the guy hitting under the Mendoza line. As a baseball fan and a first basemen i always like to see the pros do well, but when i see and hear about deals like this its just ricdiculous, just saying again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1B4j881GpA Here's a link to one of Pena's 166 strikeouts in 2008.
Dregoose out (Ryan Seacrest voice)
Despite nearly burning by eyes out while I stumbled upon grammatical error after grammatical error, I am severely disappointed that a self-proclaimed "baseball fan and a first basemen" failed to do the complete research and assume that batting average is a direct reflection of a player's entire worth.
ReplyDeleteThe first stat that jumps off the page is last year's .222 BAbip which is 57 points lower than his career average of .279, proving that he faced a considerable amount of bad luck last season. He should be able to bring that up close to his career average and easily bring his batting average north of .200 and possibly close to his career average of .241. At the same time, his great plate discipline still allowed him to post a respectable .325 obp. He also turned out to be pretty productive for his "down-year" hitting 28 hr and 84 rbi.
Another completely ignored part of his game is his defense. He continues to be one of the better gloves at first base in the league, and with a young shortstop in Castro his glove becomes even more important to their infield. He should save many runs with his good defense at fist base.
Overall, a one-year $10mil deal isn't the high risk move that it appears at first glance. They will have Aram and Silva coming off the books after next season allowing plenty of room to sign another first baseman or re-sign Pena if he does well. Bringing his bat to the national league, a much weaker division, and a much smaller ballpark in a contract season, I can easily see a 30/100 season with a .230 average and great defense at fist which is more than acceptable for that contract. I'm sorry Dregoose, but you might need to take another look at this one.