Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
September 16, 2007
Three-Run Murton

Matt Murton is turning out to be a big disappointment for the Cubs. At age 25, his averages have regressed for the second straight year. His 2005 season set the stage for what looked like a good career, but Matt not only hasn't improved on that, he's fallen to around a .750 OPS, not that great for a corner outfielder. But he picked up a big hit today as he homered with two on and two out in the third to put the Cubs on top. They score four in the inning to take a 4-0 lead over the Cardinals. It was Murton's seventh home run of the season, and only the second with men on.


Posted by David Pinto at 03:01 PM | Games | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Murton might have been given too much too soon. Dusty ignorantly refused to play him last season and Murton seems to screw up in the field every time Lou gives him a chance. Had he been given a little more time to develop before bringing him up, it might be a different story today. That's why I like the fact that they have been slow to promote Soto and Pie. Hopefully Murton can figure things out and those three can been solid contributors tot he team for several years.

Posted by: Chad Gramling at September 16, 2007 04:14 PM

CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN!!!

Posted by: CUBS FAN at September 16, 2007 05:17 PM

Pinto... check out Murton's stats since he has been re-called. it tells a very different picture.

Posted by: dave at September 16, 2007 06:10 PM

Yeah, it's not entirely fair to say he's regressed. Soriano's struggles in center killed Murton, because they were stuck with a logjam of outfielders and Murton never got regular playing time.

He hit .331/.407/.570 in the minors, was recalled and is hitting .291/.358/.500. That's still not outstanding, but there's a lot of pinch hitting appearances in there.

Posted by: Sam at September 16, 2007 06:17 PM

It's true that Murton's .769 OPS isn't all that great. But the Cubs don't have a flock of great hitters. Only three regulars are over .800 - Ramirez, Lee and Soriano. Another couple - Floyd and Derosa - are just ahead of Murton in the high .700s. Murton is actually third among the outfielders on the club.

Predictably, the Cubs are only middle-of-the-pack in the NL in runs scored. So Piniella might as well give Murton a few chances. It's not like he's got the '27 Yankees out there.

Posted by: Casey Abell at September 16, 2007 08:23 PM
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