"Alright! Doc likes a player...and it's me!"
He isn't the most skilled player. He makes some dumb mistakes on the base pads. But I like him. He plays hard. He is always trying to make stuff happen. And he does everything he possibly can to actually help the team (even though he sometimes hurts the team in the process).
Tomorrow will be my analysis of the shortstop position...so I thought I'd talk about Theriot first to lead into that analysis.
As I said, I like Theriot.
I like his approach at the plate. Not every player needs to hit 30 homeruns and drive in 110. Theriot gets on base. He's an aggressive base runner, to a fault. And I like it.
But I don't like Theriot playing shortstop. He's just not very good there. His range has been questioned...but more glaring is his weak arm. So, I think it's time to consider moving him to second base.
Dear God, please don't let me get thrown out stealing today.
After closely watching other players, including Aaron Miles (ugh!), play different positions on the infield, it became apparent to me that Theriot at shortstop might not be the best place for him and the Cubs. This became very obvious last year when Mike Fontenot was playing at third replacing Aramis Ramirez(after Ramirez dislocated his shoulder). Fontenot has primarily played second base for the Cubs and that hasn't given him the chance to really show off all of his defensive skills. While he wasn't great at third base, one thing that did stand out about Fontenot was that he has a rocket of an arm. He was throwing lasers over to first base. So I began to wonder, why did Theriot get slotted into shortstop and Fontenot get placed at second base? That rocket of an arm would be perfect at shortstop. Coming up through the minor leagues, Theriot was a second baseman but Fontenot has has played second base at least since college and was a second baseman in the minors before the Sammy Sosa trade when he became part of the Cubs organization. At LSU, the two played at their current positions, so it adds a bit of history to why they are playing where they are right now. But, considering the skills that each player possesses, is this the best positioning for them now?
These guys are trying to throw Theriot as far as Theriot can throw a ball.
Theriot's arm is one of the weakest on the team (not including John Grabow). That should be apparent to anyone watching him field a routine grounder. When he winds up to throw to first with all of his might, it results in a close play almost every time. He's got decent (not great) hands, but he really has a hard time getting the ball to first quickly.
His range has also been a topic to scrutiny. I would agree his range is average (maybe below) at shortstop. But I don't think it is as big of a problem as his arm.
I'm not sure who they are pointing at, but I bet that person could play shortstop.
So, I want Theriot on this team...and I want him to be successful on this team. Moving him to second base would help that cause. His weak arm will be much less of a factor over there. With Derrek Lee (who I want traded) at first, his range (or lack there of) at second will be less of a factor as well...at shortstop he has to deal with the limited range that Ramirez has.
Theriot has such a weak arm, balls tend to gain negative yardage when he throws.
I'm not the only one that has been talking about this. The whispers have been going around for a while now about a possible move to second base for Theriot. And the Cubs do have someone in waiting at shortstop...
but that will wait until tomorrow...(can someone say Castro?)
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