There’s a reason I like to pick on Ryan Theriot. That reason is because he’s not a very good hitter. In case you were fooled by Theriot’s “awesome” start to the season, when he put up a .337/.370/.386 line good for a .757 OPS, you probably weren’t fooled by his May. Because it was awful.
Theriot just finished a month in which he hit .236, got on base at a .257 clip, and SLUGGED .245. That’s a .502 OPS, if you’re counting. If you ARE counting, you barely needed to take off your shoes and socks to count the total number of bases for Theriot in the merry month of May. There were only 26 of them.
Theriot walked once while striking out twelve times. Basically, he was facing the 2008 version of Mariano Rivera every single time he went to the plate in May. Little Ryan scored eight runs and drove in two. He had ONE extra-base hit (a double) in the entire month. He stole only four bases.
Meanwhile, Theriot’s diminutive former college double play partner was stellar in May. Mike Fontenot hit .347 during the month with a .407 OBP and a .633 slugging percentage. That’s a 1.040 OPS. In less than half the starts, Fontenot had nine times the extra-base hits and more than five times the RBIs. He also had five more total bases in only 11 starts. He drew three times the number of walks (um, 3), while striking out a third of the time (4 times).
That’s why I sincerely hope that the report by our GOOD FRIEND Paul Sullivan that Theriot may have been benched for Fontenot isn’t another one of Lou Piniella’s classic flip-flops. Like moving Carlos Zambrano to the bullpen. Or moving Alfonso Soriano down in the lineup against right-handers a couple of years ago. Or batting Starlin Castro second.
At this point, even the flaming-assed Jeff Baker is a better option than Theriot. In May, Baker went .231/.286/.346 for a .632 OPS. As terrible as that is, his OPS was 130 points higher than Theriot’s. Baker had one more RBI, one more extra-base hit, and one more walk than Theriot did in only 28 May plate appearances.
Anyone calling for Baker to get cut should be looking further down the bench (and slightly downward). Anyone calling for Theriot to get cut should be high-fived. By me.
Yeahman. But hey…at least he isn’t Jose Macias.
Therminated? I had no idea Ryan really looked like this:
http://roberthood.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/thermian-galxy-quest.jpg
Benching Theriot was the right move, but the fact that he was available to be double-switched into the game yesterday so he could make the last out illustrated the larger problem…
the problem with Font is that he could be in his regular role, batting .978, and the minute you anoit him “the starter”. he starts posting 0-fers.
He can’t handle the pressure of having his own position. It happened early last year, and it has happened every time he has been given something.
And you want to be my latex salesman?
What is the Cubs record when Castro bats 2nd? Pretty damned good as I recall…yet Lou keeps trotting out Theriot, Lee, and A-Ram 2-4. Good God…no wonder the Pirates own us.
I think it’s also possible that Fontenot can post decent numbers if he’s used sparingly against select pitchers. Used everyday, he sucks as bad as Theriot.
Shouldn’t that be “flaming assed cyclops Jeff Baker”?
I doubt that Lou intends to bench Theriot in favor of Fontenot. He is using Little Mikey to get at Theriot, to try and put a chip on his shoulder. Before the Castro call-up, both Cajuns had an average about .310, and mostly singles, although Fontenot had a better walk-to-strikeout ratio.
Being benched put the chip back on Mikey’s shoulder, as evidenced by his grand slam that very day, followed by lots of extra base hits. Lou is hoping to get the same results from Theriot. Mikey
never had the second base job for a season. In 2009, he was told he won it, only to be taken off it and sent to third for half the season. This year he was told he won it, but was platooned with Baker until Castro came up. He competed against Aaron Miles in 2009, and Jeff Baker this year, guys he knew he could beat. Even if he outperforms Theriot in every department, Hendry won’t give Mikey the starting job. He is a place-holder for Theriot. Tomorrow, a left hander is pitching for Pittsburgh, and Mikey went 0 for 8 in the last 2 days. Guess who will probably be at second base? Most players perform well in limited roles, if they get enough playing time, and Fontenot is no exception. Even with his streakiness, Fontenot is the better player, and would be a better bet at second base, but Theriot is Hendry’s favorite. The one thing that might help Fontenot is that he gets along better with Castro, and with his team-mates in general, but he doesn’t stick his
nose up the media’s ass like Theriot does, so they don’t get in his corner.
Benching Theriot was the right move, but the fact that he was available to be double-switched into the game yesterday so he could make the last out illustrated the larger problem…Reply – Quote
Theri-ot t $2.6mil is a waste. Bobby Scales is a much better option & a better PH than Mikey & Baker.