Yes, you read right. The Chicago Cubs are going to arbitration with light-hitting, weak-armed, above-average speed having, shortstop Ryan Theriot. This is the first time since 1993 that a Cub has gone to arbitration. That player in 1993? First baseman, Mark Grace, and he lost his case. He asked for $4.1 million and was awarded the Cubs offer of $3.1 million. Theriot's agents have asked for $3.4 million, while the Cubs have offered $2.6 million. Either way, Theriot will get a hefty raise from the $500,000 he made in 2009.Like many Cubs fans, I was outraged to learn that Theriot didn't accept the Cubs inital offer, and that he would actually take them to arbitration. Before you burn your Theriot t-shirts and jerseys, I'd like to first defend his case:
The 2009 season was definitely a disappointing one for the Cubs, and Theriot was one of the bright spots (albeit not very bright). He finished with a .284 BA, .343 OBP, .369 SLG%, 7 HR and 54 RBI (both career highs) and 22 SB. He actually improved in the field, playing in 5 more games in 2009 than 2008 and making only one more error. His UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating, I'll explain this and the following sabermetrics later) was 7.7 (up from .4 in 2008), his RF/G (Range Factor Per Game) was 4.1 (up from 3.7 in 2008), and his RngR (Range Runs Above Average) jumped to a 5.7 in 2009 (up from -.1 in 2008). On a team that saw various guys miss chunks of time due to injuries, Theriot stayed healthy and played in 154 games. He performed at this level while making "only" $500,000, less than the following shortstops: Luis Rodriguez (San Diego Padres), Augie Ojeda (Arizona Diamondbacks), Craig Counsell (Milwaukee Brewers), Omar Vizquel (Texas Rangers), and much less than Alex Gonzalez (Cincinnati Reds/Boston Red Sox).
Now I will argue against his case:
His .284 BA was 23 points lower than his 2008 BA of .307, and while his SLG% was 10% higher than his 2008 number, his OBP was a shocking 44% than what he posted in 2008. For a guy that doesn't provide much power and hits at the top of the order, an OBP of .343 is just unacceptable. Yes, he stole 22 bases, but his success rate was barely above 66%. He hit 7 homers in 2009, but he hit 5 of those in May and didn't hit another after June 29 (a game against the Pirates, no less). He only had 38 RBI in 2008, but he was more of a directional hitter whose FB% (fly ball on balls in play percentage) was 20%, and he had a GB% (ground ball on balls in play percentage) of 57%. In 2008, he had a GB/FB (ground ball to fly ball ratio) of 2.80. He hit more fly balls (30%) and less ground balls (50%) in 2009, which again, isn't good for a guy that doesn't have much power. He also walked 51 times (compared to 73 in 2008) and struck out an alarming 93 times (to only 58 in 2008), which also isn't good for a contact hitter placed at the top of the order.
Once again, the 2009 Cubs season was a disappointment, and Theriot was one of the few players that didn't completely drive Cubs fans up the wall with his poor play. But seeing as how prospect Starlin Castro is simply waiting for his chance to man the shortstop position, Theriot should be more focused on getting back to what made him a successful shortstop in the majors instead of trying to get every possible dollar that he can. I doubt he wins the hearing, and assume that he'll somehow find a way to be satisfied with making $2.6 million, even as a shortstop that can't throw out AJ Pierzynski from the 5-6 hole. February 8-20 should be a very interesting time for not only Theriot and the Cubs front office, but the fans as well...
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