The 25th Man
Your 2010 Chicago Cubs 25-man active duty roster is due on Monday for the opening of the baseball season. With the position battles mostly settled for Lou Piniella’s squad, only the 25th and final position remains uncommitted.
Carrie Muskat of MLB.com writes about the four candidates for the one roster spot:
Sam Fuld batting at Wrigley Field
There are four players — Chad Tracy, Kevin Millar, Micah Hoffpauir and Sam Fuld– battling for one spot. Millar is the only right-handed hitter in the group and he was hitting .242. He pinch-hit on Monday and popped up to the shortstop. Tracy was hitting .243 and can play third base if the Cubs want a backup there. He also has a career .302 average as a pinch-hitter. Hoffpauir was hitting .239 this spring and can play first and some outfield. Fuld, who can play all three outfield spots, was hitting .147.
In my view, the decision is obvious. While Millar seems to bring the elusive ‘clubhouse chemistry’ element, he really doesn’t have a position with Derrek Leea fixture at first base. Being right handed doesn’t help him either. Seems like Fuld lost his place on the roster to surging Tyler Colvin. We should know pretty quickly if the highly touted Colvin is ready for prime time. There is no denying Fuld’s defense and gritty play, so he will see Wrigley again soon enough. Hoffpauir faded severely late last season and doesn’t seem to have made much progress this spring. He’s a good lefty bat off the bench, but I think Chad Tracy will be the choice. We all know Aramis Ramirez will go down for a few weeks (months?) again this year like he always does. I think Jim Hendry made a grave error last season when he let Mark DeRosa go, leaving his backup plan for third base completely inadequate. With Tracy at least you have a decent stick to step in for Ramirez, which is inevitable.
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March 30, 2010
Tags: 2010 Chicago Cubs, Aramis Ramirez, Carrie Muskat, Chad Tracy, Derrek Lee, Kevin Millar, Micah Hoffpauir, Sam Fuld, Tyler Colvin Posted in: Jim Hendry, Lou Piniella, players, roster
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One Response
I totally agree with you on this. Makes no sense why lite-hitting Fuldy would make the club b/c he can’t be a pitch hitter. Good glove tho. I was fine with letting DeRo go, but Henry was caught with his pants down (PANTS ON THE GROUND!) when Aram blew out his sholder. Maybe Tracey be will okay at the hot corner.
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