What I hear you saying is that the Cubs have several other players
better than Barney but they refuse to play them, and/or we had a
chance to pick up a great young second baseman, but didn't....

<If he's the starting 2ndbaseman this year ---will you shut the hell up ?

What, is Ryno gonna publicly trash Barney instead?

I don't know why people think a slow 2B who plays decent-but-not-spectacular defense, only hits singles, and never walks is somehow an irreplaceable asset. He would be good if he could do just one of these things at an above average level, but he doesn't.

He will probably be the starting 2B on opening day. Doesn't make him any less worse than he actually is. Just like I said last year when everyone was crowning him ROY after April, took one look at his .350+ BABIP and said he would crash and what do you know, he crashed.

You need your hearing checked.

You were wrong last year too. So, you won't shut up then ?

When was I wrong about Barney last year?

He didn't crash like you want to exaggerate.

.326/.351/.449/.801 After April

.266/.305/.334/.639 the rest of the year

Now maybe your definition of crashing is different then mine, but yes to me a 60 point reduction in BA, 50 point reduction in OBP, 115 point reduction in SLG would indeed be crashing

.293 / .704 on August 24th.

Of course his numbers were going down after a outstanding April and May.

So, you won't shut up if Theo and Sveum starts him there all season ?

We'll survive with Barney as a starter for a year if we don't have anyone better. What he did last year offensively (666 OPS) is BETTER than what could have been expected, given his minor league performances.

I would give him the job and let him play himself out of it, because he will continue to struggle with the bat in the majors. The real battle is between DeWitt and Cardenas. I think DeWitt has the best chance of the three of them of being an acceptable every day 2Bman. But the FO obviously doesn't view him that way, and the fact that he cleared waivers means that I'm in the minority on this one.

Cardenas could also be good, but he has to prove he can hit ML pitching, and it took him 2 1/2 years to figure out AAA pitching. Plus, his defense is average at best.

Long term, I see Barney as a utility infielder, because he doesn't have the bat to be a starter and he can actually play a solid shortstop.

Long term, I see Cardenas as a part time/platoon 2B-3B guy/pinch-hitter (kind of like a LH Jeff Baker). But he has a shot at becoming a good everday 2B, moreso that Barney. I would give Cardenas a 25-30% chance at becoming an average or better starter at 2B, and Barney a 5-10% chance. (And those numbers are probably a bit generous, for both of them)

The guy in the organization above the A-ball level who had the brightest future as an everyday 2B was LeMahieu. He looked bad in his debut, but he had been rushed to the bigs. If the Rox give him a whole year of AAA this year, he could turn out to be a good 2B in 2013.

Torreyes and DeVoss are a long way away, but both could move quickly. DeVoss has to prove that he can handle 2B defensively.

So without an adequate replacement you're ready to jettison a player who hit .270 last year.....OK,glad it's not your decision.

Righto, it is what it is --he's certainly not the best nor is he the worst but he doesn't hurt you in the field or on the bases and elevates his game with RISP. So, he's more than acceptable for now and the near future.

Hey, I would love to have Cano at second for the Cubs, but to
be honest, there are not too many other second baseman that
I feel are worth their salary.....right now he looks to be the best
the Cubs have, I would love to have the Cubs come up with another
Sandberg, but the Cards proved last season that you can win with
a less than star second baseman.....

<I am including that May you think was so good. You know how you bitch about ERA because a couple bad performances can skew the numbers dramatically? The same can happen when you have a good month like he had.

I don't care what his overall numbers were on August 24th, from May 1st to August 24th

.284/.325/.350/.675

Those numbers are NOT good, period

1. that .270 is inflated due to his April
2. A .270 average is NOT good when you don't walk, hit for power, or steal

Let me explain it this way, out of all players who qualified for the batting title(so full time starters) Barney was the ONLY player who

Had an OBP less than .350
Had less than 5 homeruns
Had less than 10 stolen bases

The ONLY player in the MAJORS who can say that, please explain how that is acceptable?

I'd rather have Carlos Pena who hit .159 in April and then skyrocketed to end up at .225.

At least Pena can play great defense and has really good power. That is 2 more tools than Barney has

Let's see Pena try to play 2B with his mighty tools.

By that logic then lets see Barney play first.

Pena at first>>>>>>>>>>>>>Barney at 2nd or SS or anywhere for that matter