Honestly, you're dumb. If you brought one piece of logic to your pessimism, I might actually agree with you. But you don't. I must be stupid for even responding.

In 2004, Ramon Martinez got the bulk of the time at SS. He committed one fewer error than he did in roughly the same number of chances the year before.

In 2004, Todd Walker committed 7 errors in 213 attempts, while the year before, in Boston, he committed 16 errors in 235 attempts. Walker had one fewer error in 2005 (164 attempts).

In 2005, Neifi Perez committed 12 errors in 432 attempts. The year before, in San Francisco, before being acquired, he committed 7 errors in 273 attempts (with gold glover JT Snow at first).

I personally don't feel like looking at the difference Lee made for his fielders in Florida. The above numbers really are meaningless, however as every ballpark is different and I have no idea how many of these errors are throwing versus fielding.

I don't feel like piling on you, but it doesn't seem as though you spent much time really looking at hard numbers or considering why these numbers are they way that they are.

DmL

The worst part is that it was based on something said on sports talk radio.

That said, FFs theory was baseless, and his conclusions could easily be a result of extraneous variables.  That isn't to say that his theory isn't possibly correct, but it's hard to debate a theory backed up with such weak, inconclusive evidence.

Also, I've said it before, and I'll say it many times more: Ramirez is one of the most underrated third basemen in baseball due to the stigma attached to him during his early career. His range isn't great, but he now has one of the surer gloves and throwing arms for 3b in all of baseball now.

I'm sorta torn on the notion of Lee's defense at first base. On one hand, he IS a good defender at first base -- scouting, sabermetrics, and SportsCenter highlights all seem to concur on this.

But something in the back of my head tells me he cannot be THAT good of a defender because... he plays first base. First base is perhaps the least defense-oriented position on the diamond. So how did Lee end up there?

(I also looked up Pujols's fielding stats, for comparison. He's not bad. Of course, I have to ask -- if you have a guy like that who can play shortstop, as apparently he can, why the HELL is he at first base? I'm starting to believe, firmly, that the two best offensive shortstops of our age are playing the corners, and I'm starting to get a little dismayed.)

Also, I think it is pretty clear that the Cubs underachieved last year; that is, their record and last place finish is not exactly a good indication of the team's ability. Now, I'm not saying I thought they were very good last year; I am merely saying that I don't think they were that bad.

Moreover, I think that the reason the projections for Lee are so optimistic (perhaps too optimistic) has something to do with what people view as a general rise in his performance over the past few years, as he moves into that elusive 'prime'. The idea is that he was coming into his own when he was injured, and people are projecting that he is going to now move back into what I would call his own. If he gets around the number of at bats BCB projects, he his production will approach the BCB average proj. It might fall a bit short, but I don't expect by much.

Regarding the idea that Lee's defensive benefit is a myth: I think it's silly. The fact that Ramierez's errors didn't increase when Lee went down is certainly something less than proof of Lee's mediocrity. The guy is clearly an active first baseman, with range, and he offers a big target for his infielders; plus, he has soft hands and a talent for digging out poor throws. That is a benefit. I think that a more tactful approach on your part, or at least one that would have generated a better response, would have been using Ramierez's numbers to point out the admiral defensive job the replacements did last year, thus asserting that we are not going to see a boost defensively this year...something like that.

--And I don't think anyone knows what to expect defensively from Soriano, including Pinella. As an outfielder, he's still learning. What am I sure of is this: the guy is a talented ballplayer, and this talent will factor into his ability to learn a new position and to get better ; he has the tools, and I hope he is solid. I expect some issues to arise, but we simply don't need him to be great in the field to be a huge plus to this team.

The key, as always, will be the club's ability to remain healthy. If they stay relatively healthy, average performances from the players will make this team competitive; if a few players go down for long stretches, then some guys will have to step.

Yes, I will. Yes.

DmL