Chris Duncan: Should he stay or go?
One of the hottest-button issues surrounding the Cardinals for the last few seasons has been Chris Duncan. Should the Cardinals keep him and play him in left field again or should they try to move him?
Q: Commish, on the Duncan front, shouldn’t the Cards keep him? If healthy, he is the most appealing backup for Albert is case of injury. And he could become a very scary pinch hitter. My question, how long is he under team control and where is he regarding arbgitration? Where do you see Duncan in three years? Happy Holidays. Mr. Hummel.
Roger
A: Thanks, Roger, and happy holidays to you, also. I don’t want to give Duncan away although he might be a tradeable commodity this spring when/if teams see that he is healthy after hernia and neck issues the last two years. He is under control for three more seasons and is arbitration eligible. Three years from now, probably less than that, he’ll be in the American League.
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Q: Rick, what is this love affair with Chris Duncan? He does give occasional power, but. his glove is a huge liability and he short-arms every ball that he throws (after he picks it up behind him). I am 53 years old and I swear I can still track a baseball better than he does. I say trade him, sell him, give him away, just do something with him other than allowing him to wear a Cardinal uniform any longer. Is his sticking around a favor to his dad? I just don’t understand.
Thanks,
Doug
A: If you’ll go back to 2006-07, you’ll find that Duncan hit 43 home runs in 655 at-bats, a particularly good clip. Then he got hurt and hasn’t been the same since. Yes, he is not a very good outfielder. He probably should be playing first base or DHing. Early in his pro career, he probably was kept around a bit longer because of his dad although Chris was a high draft pick and the club thought there was more to see. That he was with the Cardinals the last few seasons was on his merit, not his dad’s. But it appears there is quite a division of opinion about him here and it probably is best if the Cardinals move him.
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Q: Commish, do the Cardinals have any second base prospects in the minors who could help the major league club in 2009 or 2010?? If so, who? I was looking at stats from AAA,AA,A,ball and found no second baseman with any good hitting stats.
Bryan
A: No, this does not seem like a strong position for the Cardinals although perhaps somebody could be moved from shortstop down the line. They’ve had a different second baseman virtually every year since Vina left, so this is nothing new for them.
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(6 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
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The only SS prospect I can see being moved to 2B would be Niko Vazquez, but we drafted him last year out of high school, so he’s a ways away IMO. Outside of him, there’s nobody.
I think second base is one of the most under rated positions. Second base defense is invaluable because most first basemen are lumbering power hitters with limited defensive range. Albert is the exception to the rule, so we tend to under value second base defense. Just look at how many suggest moving Skip. But the idea of moving some of our draftees to second has merit. Most good hitters tend to gravitate to the outfield in high school, but some surely posses the attributes to play second. Commish, is this done very often? Thanks.
Commish. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! The Florida Marlins have a SS prospect blocked behind Ramirez at AAA that they want to trade because he is out of options @ cant be sent back to AAA with out going through wavers. His name is Robert Andino. I THANK he would a very good pick up for the Cardinals at 2nd or SS. After all we lose both Kennedy @ Greene to free agent after 2009 season. What do you thank?? THANK YOU @ MERRY CHRISTMAS
Happy Holidays Commish. I was wondering where the Cardinals are on the starting pitcher and closer front. Is Fuentes now out of reach? Will it be by committee? If not one of those options, than who will be the closer? Also, are than any free agent bargains for the starting rotation out there? Thanks very much.
Merry Christmas, Commish!
I do not understand the bad mouthing of Chris Duncan - yes, he has looked awful at times in the field. So has Ankiel [a good defensive outfielder] at times and remember Reggie Sanders falling down going after a fly ball in the playoffs and injuring himself so he was out of the series?
,Duncan has also made some spectacular catches. And didn’t Bernie publish some metrics demonstrating that Duncan was an average LF?
Duncan also had a great attitude; sprinted out of the box on his way to first; worked hard on his fielding, and hitting, learning the strike zone and drawing more walks.
He also had a great attitude; sprinted out of the box on his way to first; worked hard on his fielding, and hitting, learning the strike zone and drawing more walks.
I don’t get it; people posting messages clamoring for Dunn, or Burrell, or, not so long ago, Huff, while Duncan has better numbers. Here are his combined stats for 2006 and 2007 before the hernia injury. ABs 516, HRs 38, RBI 90, BAvg .291, OBP .370 plus. Isn’t that an “impact bat”?
I hope the neck surgery was a success. If so, the Cards should keep him.
Ahhh..Chris Duncan…who could not miss the guy with tobacco juice rolling down his chin? Maybe he can still play in Indianapolis, or some other hoosier club…
About the Cardinal’s closer….does anyone else see the ‘wheel’ turning more and more to Izzy for next year?
trade Duncan to Seattle. They need a first baseman. In fact they are thinking of moving their second baseman, Jose Lopez, to first. Maybe they have pitching the Cards could use.
Thanks Commish, for having such a reasoned view. Yes, Duncan could very well be a 40 HR per year guy when healthy. Yes, Duncan may look silly trying to judge a fly ball from time to time. These descriptions could be said about Adam Dunn and Manny Ramirez as well. At this point, I don’t see much return for trading him now. It would almost be giving him away. If he hits 280 with 30+ HRs this year, I see much more returning in a trade next year. This decision is easy IMO. Duncan’s real value is much more than his current trade value, so I would keep his trade value caught up with what I view as a higher real value. What do you think his trade value would be now versus if he had just completed a 280 average with 30+ HR year?
Re Duncan, Take a good look at him in Spring training. I think he will be fine if he has recoovered from his injuries.
Our biggest need is to have hitters can put up good numbers on both sides of Pujols. Teams who are smart just walk him. A hundred walks in a season? Ridiculous. He can hit between 350 and 400 with good protection.
Izzy? He should retire or go to another team. Baseball, more than any other sport, is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. Pujol’s has both abilities, that is what makes him the best player in baseball. I digreesed. Izzy has the physical ability to be a closer but no longer has the mental attitude. He once did it is gone.
The Cardinal should have a scout during the Alaska Summer League. Top players from college basketball all over the country are invited to participate by name. Few, to none refuse. Coaching is better in theE AK league than any college. Example: They invited a big kid from USC, a pitcher, to play. He appeared. By invitation, I was asked to coach outfielders and base stealers. In a preseason game I saw the big kid pitch.
I went to the coach and told the coach, put that loon at lst base, a tortise could steal against him. They did, and he did well in the Majors,
You called him “Big Mac” when he played for the Cardinals.