The Jake Fox Challenge

I wish him well, I just have no confidence in him for the long term, as he was in the Cubs org for 7 seasons, and what has he proven? (03-09).

ANd i have to ask, are you going to put your money where your mouth is about Fox as I have asked, or will you keep flinging poop without backing yourself up?

ONCE we know where he is playing. Fox has a new home, where some (like you) believe he is going to show his God like abilities now that he is gone from Wrigley.

I hope MB is in the AL so I can make one where it is head to head between DH’s Fox and MB in regards to offensive line.

I completely agree with you. We have guys on here defending Bradley as being a better player, when Fox had one less homer and more RBI’s in half the at bats. He also could play more than one position adequately. He wasn’t Brooks Robinson, but he’d do whatever he was told to do. Can you imagine if Fox had thrown the ball into the stands? We’d never hear the end of it from some of these guys.

It’s funny, reading how excited the A’s are to get him. They are already saying that they are going to possibly platoon him with Brett Wallace (who came over in the Holliday trade) at 3B and that he’ll see time at 1B, OF, DH, and at catcher. This is coming from a team that actually has good management, on and off the field. They know talent when they see it.

Fox has shown that he is a good weapon off the bench and great spot starter if someone goes down. If given an opportunity to play, he could have shown what he could do over the course of a season. Bradley should have been sat down because of his antics months ago, at which time he (and other guys like Hoffpauir) could have gotten a legitimate shot to show what they could do. Guys coming up from the minor leagues cannot improve if they bat once or twice a week.

Also, the comment about guys making the money having to play is ridiculous. Have these guys ever heard of Jim Leyland and Magglio Ordonez? Now that’s how to manage a baseball team. You play the guys who are hitting, no matter who they are. If the other guys don’t like it, they can either try harder or retire. Then we can use their money on players who deserve it.

What some Cubs fans are upset about is that he sat in the minors while guys like Ryan Freel played 3B while hitting .130, and then he sat on the bench, sometimes batting once or twice a week during September (when Soriano had gone down and we needed power in the line-up) while Bobby Scales played LF every day. He wouldn’t even give Hoffpauir a shot in LF either. Hoffpauir’s another player that I always see coming up to the wall and signing autographs for kids while taking every at bat seriously, and not for granted. The management decisions were very confusing, especially down the stretch when the Cubs needed to win ballgames.

Some Cubs fans also understand that he could get more playing time in the AL, however, that the Cubs should have gotten more for him. All of this “high ceiling” talk in regards to the players we got is baseless and is just an excuse to rip Fox.

It’s funny to me as well, that someone would create a post just to rip a player that did nothing but play hard and show a good attitude. Most players would have been insulted by the way he was benched this year for no apparent reason, however, it never seemed to disrupt his play at all. He seemed to play hard when he got his (rare) opportunities.

So TJ11, I wouldn’t worry about these guys who apparently have seething hatred for Fox while defending guys like Bradley. They are the same kinds of guys that you hear sitting around you at Wrigley Field ranting throughout the entire game while making inaccurate comments about the players’ names on the field, or about recent MLB transactions/trade rumors. Time will prove all of them (and Hendry) wrong about players like Fox.

since when does Lou have to give an explanation to anyone on BCB for why he didnt start Fox as you proclaim?