Today we look at center field.
2009:
In 2008, Jim Edmonds added a ton to the team as the moved their way to 97 wins after Felix Pie faltered. In 2009, the Cubs decided they didn't need Edmonds or Pie. That left Reed Johnson and Kosuke Fukudome (who move over from right field after the acquisition of Milton Bradley) to captain the outfield.
"It's ok to be scared at first...just relax" (MLB Photo)
Well, Johnson got hurt and was out for 1/2 the season. Fukudome looked lost in center field. And the Cubs struggled.
The numbers, Kosuke started 105 games in center, and batted .259 with an .796 OBS...11 homers and 54 RBI (that includes games started in right field too). The really scary thing about Fukudome, he stole 6 bases last season and was caught TEN TIMES!!!! We bitch and complain about Theriot on the basepads...but Kosuke was way worse when it came to swiping bags last year.
Reedz shaved that beard, and then he got hurt.
Reedz started 31 games in center, and batted .255 with a .742 OPS.
Good times.
2010...What to expect:
The Cubs have a new center fielder, Marlon Byrd.
Byrd is coming off of a career year in Texas.
And Byrd solidifies a position that the Cubs haven't had a consistent starter at for 20 years.
The contract was 3 years for $15 million. Assuming everything works out and Byrd sticks around that long, he will be the first everyday center fielder this team has had for 3 consecutive years since Brian McRae.
Look as this list of opening day center fielders in the last 20 years...
Reed Johnson
Felix Pie
Alfonso Soriano
Juan Pierre
Corey Patterson (3 years, 02, 03, 05)
Tom Goodwin
Damien Buford (2 years)
Lance Johnson (2 years)
Brian McRae (3 years)
Tuffy Rhodes
Willie Wilson
Sammy Sosa
Jerome Walton(2 years)
That's 13 different center fielders in 20 years.
I hope Byrd can bring some consistency to that position...consistency that we haven't seen since Bobby Dernier played for the team from '84 till '87.
Defensively, Byrd is average...maybe even a little below average. But he's better than Fukudome. And with Fukudome moving back to right (next week's physical), the outfield defense, overall, is much better.
So what can we expect from Byrd? Last year was a career year for Byrd, and as a trend over the last 3 years, Byrd's number have been getting better. So I would expect them to be an average of what he has done over this 3 years in Texas. That leaves us with a .295 batting average, 13 homers and 71 RBI. His OPS should be around .820.
I can live with that for $5 million a year (actually only $3 million of the $15 goes toward the 2010 season.).
Let's see a lot of this in a Cubs uniform this year!! (AP Photo)
Doc's comments:
I went back and forth about the idea of the Cubs getting Marlon Byrd. In the end, at an average of $5 million a year, I think the Cubs got a good deal. I didn't think Byrd would be that cheap. When he was signed, I did a comparison of Byrd's statistics and Mark DeRosa's numbers when he signed before the 2007 season. They were frighteningly similar: same age, coming from the same team off of a career year...and their contracts were almost the same as well. DeRosa worked out quite well. And, if for some reason the Cubs need to trade Byrd in year 2 or 3, he should be tradeable because the contract isn't so outrageous and he won't be too old.
The other option people were talking about early in the winter was Mike Cameron. He signed a 2 year, $15.5 million deal with the Red Sox at age 36. Cameron's power numbers are better and he is far superior in the outfield.
In the end, I think the Cubs made a much better deal with Byrd.
