If Sori goes to DL, does Murton get the call?

[RBi]

Murton is currently hitting .294 in AAA (10 for 34... ALL 10 HITS ARE SINGLES)

Does Matt get the call up if Soriano is going to be put on the shelf?

Thoughts?

[rockin500]

i would think he would have to be. i dont think they could realistically bring up anyone else to take Soriano's spot, and the one position we know murton can play within reason is left field.

[RBi]

i would think he would have to be. i dont think they could realistically bring up anyone else to take Soriano's spot, and the one position we know murton can play within reason is left field.

With the issues our starting pitchers have had I was thinking we might call up a pitcher first... and allow DeRosa to play left. I am not totally against that reasoning. But that puts Fontenot in the daily lineup... Well him and Cedeno..

and I think Murton > Fontenot/Cedeno

[muscleman]

I can't beleive the moron hurt himself doing his little hop before catching the ball. I am a big cubs fan, but it serves him right getting hurt. arge.

[GaryL]

How fragile is this guy? Gets hurt doing - of all things! - catching a fly ball!

And just think: we've only got 6 1/2 more years of him. Thanks Jim H!

I say bring up Murton, but I'm not opposed to putting DeRosa in left and letting Fontenot play second.

[Jeff Pico]

It's a no-brianer, Matt should get the call. And I'm not as much a Murton fan as many are, but he is a proven Major-League hitter, and can play LF. No-Brainer.

A better debate is who is going to take Soriano's place in the LINEUP. I wonder if Lou is leaning toward Fonty, at least vs. RHP; Fonty at 2nd, and DeRosa in LF. I think Murton is better than Fontenot, but Fontenot does give you more of a top-of-the-order profile, which we need. At this point I would rather have him up there than Theriot, Fonty is a better hitter. Murton should get the start vs. LHP at a minimum.

[muscleman]

I would have pie in center and Reed Johnson in left. I would then bat Jonson leadoff and Theriot in the 2 hole with Pie in the 8 spot. All other things remain the same.

[Ubiquitous]

The Cubs already have 13 pitchers on the roster adding another one while having your starting LF'er go down is probably 9 times out of 10 folly.

It would leave the Cubs with 11 position players with one of them being Blanco and the other being Ward who really has no business out in the field.

No if Soriano goes down the Cubs have to bring up a bat. They really should give the nod to Murton. If they don't then it will be next to impossible to get anything of value out of him in a trade. If they call him up and he does well in the 10 to 15 games he plays then is trade value will go up greatly.

[rockin500]

Murton is currently hitting .294 in AAA (10 for 34... ALL 10 HITS ARE SINGLES)

Does Matt get the call up if Soriano is going to be put on the shelf?

Thoughts?

apparently he must have kicked hendry or lou's dog or something because Patterson is the one being called up per WGN radio

[Scartissue]

apparently he must have kicked hendry or lou's dog or something because Patterson is the one being called up per WGN radio

Maybe it was because this will give the media the opportunity to point out that there are 2 Pattersons on the opposing rosters, and they both came up through the Cubs farm. What's the over/under on how many times that will get mentioned in the media?

[Rapmaster]

Maybe it was because this will give the media the opportunity to point out that there are 2 Pattersons on the opposing rosters, and they both came up through the Cubs farm. What's the over/under on how many times that will get mentioned in the media?

Lol,
not to mention the between-innings pictures of them as youngsters, with their parents, on high school teams, etc...

[Lipsander]

By calling up Patterson and not Murton, that tells me we are shopping him pretty hard and are letting him tear up AAA so his stock could look better and giving Eric the possible MLB playing time. BS move in my opinion.

[Scartissue]

By calling up Patterson and not Murton, that tells me we are shopping him pretty hard and are letting him tear up AAA so his stock could look better and giving Eric the possible MLB playing time. BS move in my opinion.

The problem is his value won't go up from what he does in the minors. In his minor league career, he hit .312/.386/.462. In limited action at AAA in 2005 and 2007, he hit .353/.421/.500 and .331/.407/.570, respectively. To me, that shows that he's already demonstrated he can hit in the minors, so more time there isn't going to prove anything, since I don't think he'll improve his numbers by that much more at AAA (and in fact, he's had a subpar year so far at AAA). Also, from a bargaining perspective, trade partners will note the fact that the Cubs don't even need him enough to carry him on their 25 man roster, which isn't the best bargaining position. It's better to go to the bargaining table with a player your trade partner believes you yourself value. Otherwise, they'll try to take advantage of you even more.

At this point, I think it's more important to show that he can carry minor league success to the major league level in order to increase his value.

[Rapmaster]

The problem is his value won't go up from what he does in the minors. In his minor league career, he hit .312/.386/.462. In limited action at AAA in 2005 and 2007, he hit .353/.421/.500 and .331/.407/.570, respectively. To me, that shows that he's already demonstrated he can hit in the minors, so more time there isn't going to prove anything, since I don't think he'll improve his numbers by that much more at AAA (and in fact, he's had a subpar year so far at AAA). Also, from a bargaining perspective, trade partners will note the fact that the Cubs don't even need him enough to carry him on their 25 man roster, which isn't the best bargaining position. It's better to go to the bargaining table with a player your trade partner believes you yourself value. Otherwise, they'll try to take advantage of you even more.

At this point, I think it's more important to show that he can carry minor league success to the major league level in order to increase his value.

Not in disagreement, but I think Murton's proved he can handle major league pitching thus far. What the Cubs are doing is just beyond me

[Whitesoxnut]

Not in disagreement, but I think Murton's proved he can handle major league pitching thus far. What the Cubs are doing is just beyond me

They haven't developed him properly. I dont think Murton has come close to playing his best baseball and now Im starting to think he'll never get the chance to. I still say he can carry a .305 to .315 BA, a OBP up over .360, get his long balls up to 20 or more, hit RBIs in the 80+ range, draw over 50 BBs a year, and maintain a high slugging %.

All this if he gets a chance to play regular. I personally think the Cubs would have been better off getting a Roberts level IF, thats a natural LOH, keep Murton in LF, didnt waste all that money on Soriano, and instead got one more top tier starting pitcher.

Had they done all this instead of taking the fast route to please their fans they would be the dominant team in the NL right now. And thats how close they are to it right now even without these moves.

When its all said and done I dont think the Soriano move is going to be remembered with affection. Maybe they will win a pennant with this team as it is but I think the entire thing could have been done different. I like Murton, I like the way he makes contact and I like line drive hitters. Its a shame hes being wasted right now.

Things is LF is the one place you can get away with a marginal defender as long as he hits and doesnt do anything to stupid.