The Cubs Would NOT Be Better with DeRosa and Wood Right Now
It’s not a question of whether or not you’ve heard it this season. It’s a question of how many times you’ve heard it. It’s some variation of “This team would be so much better if they’d kept Kerry Wood and Mark DeRosa.” Maybe over the course of the season, those people will be right, but they sure as hell aren’t right now.
If you haven’t looked at Wood or DeRosa’s numbers, they are not impressive. Even though DeRosa has shown up on quite a few SportsCenter highlights, he is putting up only a .235/.301/.431 line so far this season, with 5 HR and 19 RBIs. He has struck out 22 times against 10 walks. By comparison, Mike Fontenot has a .266/.359/.494 line, with 5 HR, 14 RBIs, 11 walks, and only 15 strikeouts. Fontenot also has a .973 fielding percentage to DeRosa’s .941. Yes, it would be nice to be able to plug DeRosa in at third base whenever Aramis Ramirez is out. But right now, the “downgrade” from DeRosa to Fontenot has not been much of a contributing factor to the team’s 13-11 start. Hell, even Ryan Theriot has a .323/.371/.458 line.
Want to plug Wood into the bullpen to fix the pitching woes? It won’t help as much as you think. Other than the utterly useless David Patton, Wood’s 6.00 ERA would be tied with Jeff Samardzija’s for the highest in the bullpen. You’d be better off trotting out Angel Guzman or Aaron Heilman than you would Wood’s 1.556 WHIP. And Wood’s 10 H/9 would rank only ahead of Samardzija, Neal Cotts, and Kevin Gregg.
Who are the Cubs missing? Well, Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto, and Milton Bradley for starters. If those three return to even average form, the Cub offense will be better than it was in 2008. You know who else is missing? Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, Rich Harden, and Carlos Marmol.
But if you want to play the “what if” game, how about starting with Michael Wuertz? Wuertz has only one fewer save (2) than Cub “closer” Gregg. His 1.98 ERA and .878 WHIP would certainly be appealing at the back end of the bullpen. And he’s whiffed 13 batters while only walking 2. By comparison, Marmol has 12 strikeouts and 12 walks.
Or how about the 4-1 Jason Marquis, his 3.31 ERA, and his 1.189 WHIP? Instead of getting rid of the totally worthless Cotts, Jim Hendry cut Jose Vizcaino, Marquis’ trademate. The trade right now is Marquis for nothing. And he’s the one who got booed at Wrigley Field.
The “what if” game is stupid, and I’m sorry to make you play it. But if you have friends who insist on playing it, at least make sure they’re playing it with the right guys. I wish all the best to Wood and DeRosa, but right now, those guys would not help the Cubs as much as some people would have you think. They’re certainly not helping the 9-16 Indians very much.
Tags: Carlos Marmol, Carlos Zambrano, Derrek Lee, Geovany Soto, Jason Marquis, Jim Hendry, Kerry Wood, Kevin Gregg, Mark DeRosa, Michael Wuertz, Mike Fontenot, Milton Bradley, Neal Cotts
BigFlax
StPatrick
PenFoe
CT
Bocaj
May 4th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Agreed. Not missing either of them, and Fontenot has been an upgrade as far as I’m concerned. Little injuries have kept the Cubs from developing a daily rhythm. Lets hope the Marlins series was a little glimmer of what’s to come.
May 4th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
“Even though DeRosa has shown up on quite a few SportsCenter highlights, he is putting up only a .235/.301/.431 line so far this season, with 5 HR and 19 RBIs. He has struck out 22 times against 10 walks. By comparison, Mike Fontenot has a .266/.359/.494 line, with 5 HR, 14 RBIs, 11 walks, and only 15 strikeouts. Fontenot also has a .973 fielding percentage to DeRosa’s .941. ”
Statfaggot.
May 4th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
No Wood arguement here but DeRosa has got to be a better shortstop than Theriot! He’s better than Miles & so far better than Bradley & the 3 pitchers we got for him have not done shit. Here’s a Friday night Fukudome for you. Who will hit more HR D. Lee or DeRo?
May 4th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
DeRosa will get 21-25 hr. will D. Lee?
May 4th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Just read about Big Z going on the DL. This makes the release of Luis “Jose” Vizcaino” & his $4.5 mil & 0.00ERA in 4 games a dumb move. Now’s the time to call up Jeff Smarjkdjakljkalsd oh wait he’s here. Let see what one these pitchers we got for DeRo can do. Cedeno & Pie for Aaron Heilman has been a steal.
May 4th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Maybe not . But there is a good chance he will hit into about 21 DP’s this year.
May 4th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Spot-on, Kerm.
Of course this won’t stop the brokenhearted DeRosa enthusiasts from crowing again once the Cubs lose 4 of 6.
May 4th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
We might not be that much better with DeRosa and Wood right now, but we sure as hell couldn’t get much worse.
and I’m one of those who could really care less about DeRo. Woody will end up with good #’s, and the guy is a born leader. I’m sorry, but Eric Gagne’s mini-me clone does not inspire much confidence.
May 4th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
I can help the team, if that fatass Hendry returned my calls.
May 4th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Four wins in a row, still in second place in the division, and no one on the team is really overperforming aside from Theriot’s strange power stroke. I’m starting to think there’s really no reason to complain at all.
May 5th, 2009 at 6:55 am
And remember a good portion of DeRosa’s numbers came from that freak 22-run blowout against the Yankees. If you factor out that game, I wonder how good he looks.
Anyways, the better news story today: Theriot: clearly on the juice.
May 5th, 2009 at 9:30 am
“Anyways, the better news story today: Theriot: clearly on the juice.”
I’m waiting for a full apology from Kermit.
2 of these 4 games were single-handedly won by my son.
and yet both Kermit and Andy insist that he is short, plays a bad SS, and can’t hit.
Leads Team in avg. and Tied for 3rd in HR’s on team.
Yeah he sucks.
Can we get Cedeno back?
May 5th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I don’t care about DeRosa being gone. I’m just not happy that Aarron Miles/Milton Bradley took his place. Hendry doesn’t have a good back up ss, second & third baseman. DeRosa could play anywhere on the field. That what the Cubs miss. We will be lucky if one of these 3 pitchers does a damm thing.
May 5th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
What’s the difference between 80 right handed rbi vs 77 left handed rbi? The switch to being more left-handed is over-rated
May 9th, 2009 at 8:16 am
I find it a little bit satisfying knowing that when I see DeRosa’s name in the box score alongside 6 LOB, it’s for the Indians and not for the Cubs. DeRo was overrated, still is, and always will be.
Sorry to all the Cubs fans out there that loved him because he could play every defensive position (average at best) except Catcher.