The Cubs are saved!!!

[moorobot]

The Cubs signed Tony Womack to a minor-league deal. However, the Cubs already have plenty of futility/UTility players (I can't decide which is the best term; UT stands for "utterly worthless offensively"): Hairston, Perez, and Bynum.

Signing Womack in addition is equivalent to a woman who is currently married to three unemployed, physically abusive husbands marrying a fourth violent bum. You can say that it is only a minor-league deal; but they, like the woman, shouldn't take on the fourth worthless mass even if they were paid to do so.

Baker, in his infinite cluelessness about how to win baseball games, had this to say:

"He can play the outfield, he can pinch-hit, he can pinch-run".

The club has an unlimited stock of clowns that can perform these tasks. I can technically pinch-hit, pinch-run, and play the outfield. It doesn't mean that I am any good at it. If they had one that could do all three of them WELL, they would have a good bench player.

[New001]

Tony Womack is a perfect #2 hitter. He can play lots of positions, he's fast, and he can move the runners over.
<font color="white">Sarcasm. Obviously. Go Cub? :P</font>

[TheRover]

Once all the positions other than 2B are banned from baseball the Cubs will dominate.

[wisehandpoker]

[ QUOTE ]
Once all the positions other than 2B are banned from baseball the Cubs will dominate.

[/ QUOTE ]

Pretty sure Chase Utley still beats them

[kolotoure]

The angels will push the cubs for last place this year

[moorobot]

What runners? Pierre's OBP is .270. (At least they only gave up three useful cheap players for him and are paying him only 9 million. At least he's only the worst defensive center fielder in the league.)

But let's be realistic: The purpose of a player on offense is to create runs. OBP. is far more important for creating runs than being fast, or moving runners over. Hairston is nowhere near a perfect #2 hitter. But he is better than Womack:

OBP 2003-2005
Hairston: .354
Womack: .303

Over 600 plate appearances, Womack makes 31 more outs than Hairston, and reaches base 31 less times. To make up for the difference here (and Hairston also has a higher slugging) in OBP Womack would have to steal about 100 bases more per 600 pas than Hairston without getting caught stealing once in those more 100 attempts. Hairston is a far better player, and two hitter, than Womack. And Hairston is not a good #2 hitter.

[wisehandpoker]

Maybe the Cubs are worried about the potential branding nightmare of winning a World Series after a century of fostering the lovable loser image.

[Triumph36]

At least it's a minor league deal.

Everyone is still fooled by that .307 average in 2004 to think that Womack can still play - I'd bet his VORP was barely positive that year regardless. Speaking of, where do you stats people get EqA and VORP?

Let's not forget that Womack can also, thanks to the Yankees, play left field! In 5 years he'll be one of those guys Yankee fans reminisce about, and not in a good way. ('Remember Kenny Rogers as a Yankee?' 'Oh, god.. how about.. haha, Tony Womack?')

[moorobot]

[ QUOTE ]
At least it's a minor league deal.

Everyone is still fooled by that .307 average in 2004 to think that Womack can still play - I'd bet his VORP was barely positive that year regardless. Speaking of, where do you stats people get EqA and VORP?

Let's not forget that Womack can also, thanks to the Yankees, play left field! In 5 years he'll be one of those guys Yankee fans reminisce about, and not in a good way. ('Remember Kenny Rogers as a Yankee?' 'Oh, god.. how about.. haha, Tony Womack?')

[/ QUOTE ] Those stats are created by Baseball Prospectus, and you can get them for the last three years in there annual book.

You can probably get them with a subscription to baseballprospectus.com; histroical and updated.