All those Ricky haters...

[Hawaii007]

I believe Ricky is making 3-5 million a year.
Assuming he plays solid D at 2B which means good-very good but not "Alomar" like...let's say just as good as Bret Boone, what will make all you Ricky Haters happy in terms of his stats so taht he "proves" his "worth" to you all?

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[Alex]

Most of us are over our Rickey hating...

However, it just seems like Johnny Mac didn't really get a shot, (Johnny Mac seems to be making the most his time right now)

If Johnny Mac overall, (Defense plus offense), is not that much lower than Rickey G., I would have rather saved the money.

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[The Crank]

Well seeing as the Indians knew about Mcdonald and signed Guiterrez anyhow, I think you know what the front office feels about the whole thing. But again I think Guiterrez is going to surprise.

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[UK Tribe]

We are short enough of top order hitters.

If we put Johnny Mac in for Ricky G then Omar would be back at #2. No-one in their right mind would want that.

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[Ytown Tribe fan]

Well, gosh -- Ricky is 28, he only hits about .250 (outside of Wrigley), with NO power and NO walks, and he's below average in range at every single position he has ever played.

What's not to like?

[the teacher]

Ricky hit .284 away from Wrigley last year. I recommend you check your numbers before you spout off. When one of them is wrong, it weakens your entire argument.

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Gramen artificiosum odi.

[supersleuth]

I don't hate Ricky- I just think he's making too much for too long a term, given that both his offensive and defensive abilities, while decent enough, are nothing out of the ordinary for a major-league player. The more of our limited payroll goes for long-term deals on average, replaceable players, the less is available to re-sign Thome and, down the road, Colon- let alone for signing a marquee FA (which looks less likely all the time).

Signing him to such a rich contract- when there were no other known bidders- still seems to me like a panicky move on Shapiro's part, as if he were in a big hurry to fill the 2b slot in the wake of the flak he took for the Alomar deal. The Cubs didn't want Ricky, and apparently hardly anyone else did either (obvious if you think about it- if any other team had wanted him to play SS he would have signed there)- why did he have to be given a raise over his already questionable Chicago salary to get him signed?

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[Bye!]

I don't think his contract is out of line for a good defensive 2nd baseman that can hit about .280.

I'll give Shapiro and his scouts credit on Guttierez. They believed he could transition to playing 2nd base very easily, and he certainly has proven that.

It remains to be seen, how he hits in the AL. If he does hit around .280 and pops about 10 to 12 homers, then he's earning his money. Especially given the fact that (according to everything I've read), he's a player that will do anything for the team to win.

That's something that Robbie didn't always do. That's not to bash Robbie, he is one of the all time great 2nd basemen ever and I would take him over Ricky in a heartbeat. But, he did think of Robbie first.

Hey, he's even stolen a few bases this spring, so maybe he's not as slow as we thought. And to Ytown Tribe fan, I think you underestimate Ricky's range. I think he's got more than adequate range for 2nd base. Don't compare him to Robbie, because that's unfair to any player.

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[Edwardo]

It would be nice to think that Johnny Mac can hit, but the truth is, he's done nothing to indicate that he can. A few spring games don't mean much. Meanwhile, Ricky hit .290 last year, and has hit .300 all this spring.
If Shapiro doesn't get Ricky, then who DOES he get?

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[the teacher]

Edwardo, both points well taken. It's easy to criticize a roster move, but it becomes a lot more difficult when the entire context is taken into consideration. Shapiro acted quickly and got us a solid, proven 2nd baseman at an affordable cost. The alternative (replacing a HOF'er with a 27 year old rookie?) could have been a total disaster and made Dolan look like more of a penny pincher than he's already perceived to be.

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Gramen artificiosum odi.