Lee victim of unfair expectations
September 4th, 2008 at 02:20pm Matt Trowbridge
Cubs fans have flip-flopped harder than any Presidential candidate. They used to love Derrek Lee and denigrate Aramis Ramirez. They said Ramirez didn’t hustle (OK, he didn’t) or hit in the clutch. They dismissed his career-high 119 RBIs in 2006 by saying he disappeared the first month after Lee was injured for the season.
Now, Cub fans call Ramirez (.276, 24 HRs, 100 RBIs) the man they want up in the clutch. And say Lee (.291, 18, 77) is a sure double-play about to happen. Truth is, Lee has been better than the Cubs could have expected. He was a career .270 hitter who had topped 90 RBIs and 30 homers once in six seasons with Florida. He’s averaged .304 with 30 HRs in his four healthy seasons in Chicago.
Lee is also a class act and a Gold Glove first basemen. His problem isn’t hitting into a league-leading 25 double plays, it was hitting .335 with 46 HRs in 2005 and making Cub fans think he was Albert Pujols.
Entry Filed under: Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee
3 Comments Add your own
1. Wally Haas | September 5th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Sorry Matt, Lee’s a good guy but has failed in the clutch too often lately. The double play against the Astros the other night — when a fly ball would have been a game winner — was a killer and has kept the team in a funk.
I was going to save this for the end of the season no matter how Lee or the Cubs wound up: It’s time to trade Derrek Lee.
You want to trade a player while he still has value and the Cubs can get a decent return for Lee in addition to opening a spot for Micah Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir has been hitting everything in sight in the minors and in his limited opportunities in the majors. He’s also a lefty, which helps balance the righty heavy lineup.
Lee’s a good guy, but the Cubs record of futility is in part because they hang on to good guys for too long. If they want to be winners, they have to make decisions on talent and not sentiment.
2. Matt D. | September 5th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Totally agree with Haas, I felt the same way at the close of last season, it was obvious that Lee was/is over-valued and it seemed a perfect time to get max return out of him, hendry got him on the cheap and could have unloaded him for a kings ransom. Lee is a huge asset with the glove, no doubt, however he is a “quite leader” meaning he is not an actual clubhouse leader, even though he is one of the most looked-up-to players on the team, thats pretty much unacceptable if you want a team to be a winner. A quick fix answer may be to bat lee lower in the order, but as of now you can continue to count on lee to increase his record setting pace of GIDP (national league record is 30, Lee is currently at 25)
3. Matt D. | September 5th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
oops meant “quiet leader”
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