Hey, remember me? I'm Casey McGehee!

This is a topic I've been meaning to bring up for a few days now, and if I wasn't so damn busy at work, I would've written a Fanpost about it myself. Fortunately, Harry Pavlidis, who occasionally posts here, beat me to the punch.

To wit, Casey McGehee. Y'know, the former Cubs farmhand who PLAYS THIRD BASE and has a hard to spell name and who PLAYS THIRD BASE and was unceremoniously released last fall. Did I mention he PLAYS THIRD BASE?

When Aramis went down, it would've been awfully nice to have been able to leave Fontenot at second base, skip the whole Freel/Farney hamstring debacle and simply bring in a guy now putting up a .927 OPS (!!!) in 70 ABs. (I know that probably won't last, but c'mon...)

The point is, this once again begs the question of what Jim Hendry was thinking in terms of providing the Cubs with any depth whatsoever at the third base position this season. Did he really think Aramis Ramirez was made of steel? Did he really think Aaron Miles could play the position? If it was a pure gamble on Jimbo's part, it came up snake eyes all the way.

5 months ago dat cubfan daver 29 comments 0 recs |

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I don't think McGehee is this good.

And the Brewers are playing him at second base, a position I don’t think he ever played in the Cub organization. We could have used him there, too.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Jun 16, 2009 1:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

McGehee at 2nd

I get the Des Moines Register and see the Iowa Cubs box scores every day, and I’m about 99.9999% positive he played a bit of 2nd last year. I never saw him as much more than a utility player, but I was also sorry they let him go for nothing. While he didn’t hit much in his September call up last year, I remember he seemed to have a knack for hitting grounders that scored runners from third with less than two outs. The team could use a little more of that this year, too.

by Mike Vails Evil Twin on Jun 16, 2009 2:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

According to his minor league record...

… seven games at 2B in 697 minor league games.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Jun 16, 2009 3:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

He played third last night

and looked pretty good as well as going 3 for 4. The part that bothers me the most was placed on waivers and the Cubs didn’t anything in return. They lost Wells last year due to Rule 5 draft but got him back later in the year after the Jays pitching coach worked with him a sinker. Now he is up and pitching for the Cubs and doing pretty well.

So who is evaluating talent in our lower levels or do the Cubs just not know how to develop talent?

by cubdreamer on Jun 16, 2009 1:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Does Casey McGehee PLAY THIRD BASE????

I wasn’t sure, your post was little ambiguous to this fact, Dave. Please clarify.

by lswaidz on Jun 16, 2009 2:04 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Lemme check again.

Yep, he does.

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by dat cubfan daver on Jun 16, 2009 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

His natural position is

third base. He has played both 2nd and third with the Brewers this year.

by cubdreamer on Jun 16, 2009 2:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Let's see if he is hitting this well in a month

Granted, this is the time that the Cubs could have used him, but I certainly didn’t expect him to perform this well.

I'm singing, "GO CUBS GO! GO CUBS GO!" -- DrCrawdad on Jun 12, 2009 7:23 AM CDT

Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true! -- Homer J. Simpson

by Shanghai Badger on Jun 16, 2009 2:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you don't

keep a guy who can only play one position as a backup.

Plus he was VERY unproductive last year. Hindsight is great, but it doesn’t help when you’re actually having to make decisions without knowing the future.

I'm a Cubs FANATIC. They are my team, through thick and thin. When they play over their heads, and when they play under the gutter. When they win the division, and then get swept in the division series. When they get no-hitters and when they blow no-hitters. And some day, when they go all the way and get those rings. This is the kind of fan I am.

by drewishdrewid on Jun 16, 2009 2:39 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Um, he's playing second AND third for the Brewers right now.

In his minor league career, he played mostly third base. But he also played 32 games at 1B and, apparently, he was a catcher for a while.

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by dat cubfan daver on Jun 16, 2009 3:05 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

but last year

he only played third. I’m just saying. Hindsight is 20-20. At the time, it wasn’t a good decision to keep him.

by drewishdrewid on Jun 16, 2009 7:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I don't quite have the wherewithal to research the history...

…but my question remains: When Hendry let McGehee go, did he have a plan for ensuring there would be depth at the third base position in case something happened to Aramis? Seems like he let Casey go, figured one of the 2,304 journeymen second basemen would play third in Iowa, took a very risky flyer on Corey Koskie that didn’t work out and never even considered doing intensive training with Fox to see whether Jake could be shoehorned in there.

To be clear, I’m no Hendry hater. I think he’s done some good things and bad things. And I recognize that risk is a huge part of a GM’s job. But this Casey McGehee thing is another grim reminder of what appears to be a significant FAIL in Hendry’s roster construction for this year.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 17, 2009 9:25 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

100 % agreed & rec'd.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al on Jun 17, 2009 10:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I completely agree

I’m just saying that McGehee isn’t that guy, based on what we knew about him at the time.

by drewishdrewid on Jun 17, 2009 11:29 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

But he at least would've been "a guy."

Obviously, we can’t say for sure he would’ve replicated his current numbers for the Cubs. But, even if he got close, it would’ve been better than what we’ve had to go through at that position. Plus, again, the whole Fontenot thing. (I just can’t seem to let that go.)

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 17, 2009 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

While he is hitting pretty well...

I personally saw him not get to a few balls in the gap between 3b and SS. His range is very weak and they have been playing him at 2B most of the time. While he is hot right now, yes, I would say I would like to have his bat. But before this hot streak he was only hitting like 250 or so (I don’t know the exact number). But to say you want him for THIRD BASE is a little much because he is a mediocre third baseman much like Fontenot.

This guy never showed anything positive in the Majors before now. Maybe it was the change of scenery or coaching. You never can tell if the same results would happen if he were in a Cub uniform. It obviously wasn’t working before.

It’s so easy for us to look in hindsight and complain about some of the actions in this offseason.

by gizmo6d9 on Jun 16, 2009 2:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

My point isn't so much hindsight as foresight.

How can you leave your team bereft of depth at a given position? McGehee played 563 minor league games over six years at third base. I have to believe he’s better – or at least more comfortable – there than Fontenot. Plus, he would’ve allowed LBR to stay where he belongs – at second base, where he’s an excellent defender.

And, who knows, maybe Fontenot wouldn’t have gone through that awful slump (which he’s now come out of to a certain extent) if he could’ve stayed at his natural position and not had to learn a new one at the major league level. The fact that McGehee is hitting so well almost seems like the Baseball Gods way of saying, “See, Jim Hendry? You shouldn’t take these kind of risks.”

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 16, 2009 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I don’t know what the heck Jim was thinking with not having a bag up third baseman this year. Just add that to list of other screw ups for him this off season.

by Glacier on Jun 16, 2009 3:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

.250 is much better than Aaron Miles.

by msquared10 on Jun 16, 2009 7:24 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Touche` good sir!

by gizmo6d9 on Jun 20, 2009 3:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

In McGehee news...

…Casey left the Brewers-Indians game last night in the seventh with a sore ankle. A few details at the end of this article.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 17, 2009 9:27 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

One caveat

He was waived by the Cubs (and claimed by the Brewers) in order to clear space on the 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft (i.e., David Patton). That was done before DeRo was traded. Did Hendry know that he was going to trade DeRo at that time? Not sure.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Jun 17, 2009 3:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting background, thanks.

Nice to see you back, by the way. Wish we had more to celebrate.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 17, 2009 4:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've had four major projects

in my lap.

I’ve finished one, and am on the home stretch with two others. Hopefully I’ll be around more during the second half of the season.

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Jun 17, 2009 5:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool - always enjoy your posts.

Re: DeRo, my guess would be Hendry saw Mark as trade bait pretty soon after the playoffs. It seemed like Lou/Hendry came out of that awful series with the whole “get more lefthanded” thing firmly in mind, and DeRo was seen as expendable from the get-go.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by dat cubfan daver on Jun 18, 2009 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry

I still believe that DeRo was traded by Hendry at Lou’s request for reasons stemming back to 2007. (Remember Kaz Matsui?) The LHBs and “payroll flexibility” issues are just a façade.

It will be interesting to see what happens this off-season if Lou retires…

"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007

by DeRoMyHero on Jun 18, 2009 6:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs