February 24, 200422 yr Todd Walker was a FA this offseason. He has a .290 career avg. and had an outstanding year last year with the BoSox. The Cubs signed him, giving them two 2nd basemen, Mark Grudzelenik and Walker. Why couldn't we have signed him? Do they really think Willie Harris is the answer? I don't. JMO
February 24, 200422 yr His defense also sucks. If Willie can hit .250 and play adequate defense, well.......it's a start.
February 24, 200422 yr Plus, Walker wanted to go a contending team. I don't think he felt that the sox were contenders.
February 24, 200422 yr We sure are testy this off season. We should probably give Willie a chance to be an everyday starting 2B before saying we could have done better. I think he'll be fine this year, that speed will be nice to have on the base paths every game.
February 24, 200422 yr ya willie has the potential to steal 30-40 bases with his speed so i say we give him a chance
February 24, 200422 yr ya i think we should give Willie a chance before we rule him out. He succeeded in the minors, i think we should at least give him a legitimate shot. Ya never know
February 24, 200422 yr ya willie has the potential to steal 30-40 bases with his speed so i say we give him a chance I think ozzie is gonna have Willie running all over the field if he can.. i wouldn't count out 50 SB's if Willie can stay in the majors all year, and have a decent OBP.
February 24, 200422 yr Author We sure are testy this off season. We should probably give Willie a chance to be an everyday starting 2B before saying we could have done better. I think he'll be fine this year, that speed will be nice to have on the base paths every game. Don't get me wrong, I'm not second guessing the decision to let Willie play, but I just think that Todd Walker would have been much better. His average and D is better than Willie. IMO Will had his chance last year and failed.
February 24, 200422 yr ya i think we should give Willie a chance before we rule him out. He succeeded in the minors, i think we should at least give him a legitimate shot. Ya never know The minors really don't mean s***. You could be a .600 hitter in AAA and suck in the majors. (I'm telling you this before Steff jumps all over you for saying that ) Willie is really a AAAA hitter. Hopefully he can get adjusted to major league hitting which I think he is. He was hitting some line drives in the outfield this year. Unfortunitely it was right to the outfielders. He can hit the pitching, he just needs to find those gaps and go for them. He'll be a hellofa hitter this year if he can get on base with good, solid hits.
February 24, 200422 yr Walker was offered $8 mill ova 2 years by the Cubs but he rejected that thinkin he could get betta. Hmmmm. He'll only get regular playin time if Grudel.... gets moved to a team like the Yankees or even the White Sox, who could use another experinced utility man like him.
February 24, 200422 yr Author If the Cubs are willing to trade one of their second basemen and the Yankees get him over the Sox, I will be very pissed. Of course, if Willy has a great year then all of you can yell at me and say I'm dumb, but I just don't see the potential that a lot of fans tend to see.
February 24, 200422 yr BTW, if all the Willie fans (WHarris13 and WillieHarris2) want to know, Willie's # for this year is going to be... Numbers game: After wearing No. 12 and No. 13 last year with the White Sox, Willie Harris will switch to No. 1 this season. Guillen has taken back his old No. 13. If Harris is forced to switch again, he’s leaning toward 00. It has nothing to do with Harris being a big fan of basketball players Robert Parrish and Tony Delk, or pro football legend Jim Otto. “I would just give up, if I had to change again,” Harris said. “It wouldn’t matter at that point.”
February 24, 200422 yr Walker was offered $8 mill ova 2 years by the Cubs but he rejected that thinkin he could get betta. Hmmmm. He'll only get regular playin time if Grudel.... gets moved to a team like the Yankees or even the White Sox, who could use another experinced utility man like him. his contract is like 1 year 1 mil.... I dunno why he didnt take that 8 ova 2
February 24, 200422 yr Author his contract is like 1 year 1 mil.... I dunno why he didnt take that 8 ova 2 And why couldn't we pay him that? $1 mil for an experienced 2B is a steal. :headshake
February 24, 200422 yr And why couldn't we pay him that? $1 mil for an experienced 2B is a steal. :headshake Answer: Jerry Reinsdorf
February 24, 200422 yr his contract is like 1 year 1 mil.... I dunno why he didnt take that 8 ova 2 Exactly, he stuffed up big time. He thought a team like Texas or Cleveland was gonna offa bigger money for him, it never happened.
February 24, 200422 yr ya willie has the potential to steal 30-40 bases with his speed so i say we give him a chance Unless he can pull a Vince Coleman(who in 1986 stole 107 bases with a .301 OBP while hitting .232 in 154 games...he was on base 201 times that year, and stole 107 bases...that's insane. Also, in 1994, the strike-shortened year, he stole 50 bases with a .285 OBP in 104 games...he got on base 135 times that year...once again, that is insane), he isn't gonna steal 40 bases. He has the potential to, but as they say, you can't steal 1B, and if you can't steal 1B, how the hell are you going to steal 2B and 3B?
February 24, 200422 yr He has the potential to, but as they say, you can't steal 1B, and if you can't steal 1B, how the hell are you going to steal 2B and 3B? Take the opposing pitcher out to dinner before the game and give him some free steals..
February 24, 200422 yr And why couldn't we pay him that? $1 mil for an experienced 2B is a steal. :headshake Because the Cubs are viewed as a contender, and we are not. He wants to win, and will take reduced money to win, apparently. And just for fun, comparing Walker to Royce Clayton, Walker's career Range Factor is .29 below the league average, and Royce's is .28 OVER the league's average throughout his career. However, Clayton's career Range Factor is 4.47, Walker's is 4.42. And another "just-for-fun", Robbie Alomar's career Range Factor is 4.75, which is .19 above the league's average over his career. So not every stat is perfect, but most work well enough.
February 24, 200422 yr Unless he can pull a Vince Coleman(who in 1986 stole 107 bases with a .301 OBP while hitting .232 in 154 games...he was on base 201 times that year, and stole 107 bases...that's insane. Also, in 1994, the strike-shortened year, he stole 50 bases with a .285 OBP in 104 games...he got on base 135 times that year...once again, that is insane), he isn't gonna steal 40 bases. He has the potential to, but as they say, you can't steal 1B, and if you can't steal 1B, how the hell are you going to steal 2B and 3B? You are basing Willie's MLB hitting on what? 342 sporadic at bats? Good luck evaluating players on that. Wait and see what he can do. Give the freaking guy a chance. We really don't need Walker. He is just another guy with limited speed and no defense. His glove is not good at all. s***, he isn't even the starter over old man Grudzy. He is going to split time with him. If he was really as good as you think he would have that job outright. He doesn't.
February 24, 200422 yr We sure are testy this off season. We should probably give Willie a chance to be an everyday starting 2B before saying we could have done better. I think he'll be fine this year, that speed will be nice to have on the base paths every game. Regardless of what happens, I'm willing to give Willie a chance. Not only because of his speed, but let's face it................. The kid's "Hungry!" My only question is, who will he learn defense better from?? VALENTINE?????? AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! I read in today's Suntimes that Guillen wants Willie to learn to bunt well. That would be a major plus. Get on base, keep the pitchers mind a little off-balance,with speed on the bases, and less concentration on the plate, and let the big guns bring him around. As of now I don't have a lot of confidence in him, But I hope he does really well. He could be a reall asset!
February 24, 200422 yr Regardless of what happens, I'm willing to give Willie a chance. Not only because of his speed, but let's face it................. The kid's "Hungry!" My only question is, who will he learn defense better from?? VALENTINE?????? AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!!! I read in today's Suntimes that Guillen wants Willie to learn to bunt well. That would be a major plus. Get on base, keep the pitchers mind a little off-balance,with speed on the bases, and less concentration on the plate, and let the big guns bring him around. As of now I don't have a lot of confidence in him, But I hope he does really well. He could be a reall asset! Who's Valentine?
February 24, 200422 yr Joe Valentine? Or Jose Valentin? OOps!!! Meant Jose "Valentin!!!" My sarcastic comment was made because he will be Harris's counterpart and will be playing much together. Valentin's defense has never known to be real solid, that;s why my question............................ Is he the one that Harris will learn from???? How can he learn from him, when he (valentin) hasn't learned himself yet???
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