Addison Russell

[David]

And a fluff piece

MESA, Ariz. -- Some people have epiphanies when they're struck by bolts of lightning. Addison Russell inadvertently glimpsed his destiny via a beer sign on the north side of Chicago.

In 2010, Russell was a 16-year-old high school sophomore playing in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field when he noticed a neighborhood billboard with a picture of a frosty cold brew beside the words "Where Clark Met Addison." As a product of the Florida panhandle, Russell was unfamiliar with the intersection at which Wrigley sits. But the sign resonated with him anew when the Chicago Cubs acquired him from the Oakland Athletics by trade in July 2014.

"At the time, I was like, 'What does that sign mean?'" Russell said. "Of course, it was the corner of Clark and Addison Streets. I thought that was pretty cool. When I got traded to the Cubs, that thought came back into my head: 'Maybe I have a chance to play in that stadium again.'"

More at link: http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/page/SCo ... icago-cubs

[UMFan83]

It's funny for most teams, one of the major stories heading into the season would be the anticipation for Russells second year. With this team Addison is almost an afterthought.

[TomtheBombadil]

It's funny for most teams, one of the major stories heading into the season would be the anticipation for Russells second year. With this team Addison is almost an afterthought.

It's so easy to forget this guy put up .301/.377/.520 across the whole minors from 18-21, including AA and AAA at 20-21, as a SS. I like to call him Infield Heyward, probably/possibly/hopefully more consistent with the power and less reliant on the speed/baserunning components than early career Heyward's offense.

[StylesClash]

Russell stated a while back he's hoping to steal more bases. In 244 minor league games he stole 44 bases in 53 opportunities. Anyone think Russell has a decent chance at having over a dozen steals, with a success rate at around 75 percent?

Also if Russell, midway through the season, has another hard time against lefties I'll be curious if a platoon might begin with Baez.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Russell platoons with no man.

















And I love Baez.

[StylesClash]

Russell platoons with no man.

And I love Baez.

Russell had a 527 OPS in 109 at bats versus lefties last year. If we're two months into the season and that trend continues I think it should be a serious consideration. Plus in some respects Baez represents an upgrade (particularly in power).

I also like the idea of not having anyone in the lineup start more than 145 or so games. That way come September and October they're more likely not to wear down.

[David]

There should be a thread for SC to post all his worries about thing while the rest of us enjoy the 110 win juggernaut.

[Sammy Sofa]

Given that we're talking about Addison with only 120 PA's vs. LH and Baez only has 74, they can probably give Russell a comfortable amount of time to see if he can adjust. It's not like there's a proven LH masher demanding to take playing time from Russell.

[StylesClash]

There should be a thread for SC to post all his worries about thing while the rest of us enjoy the 110 win juggernaut.

First and foremost congrats on another nice job of trolling. Anyways i don't consider a 100 at bat sample size to be small. And so if that track record of lhp failure continues I don't understand why you wouldn't consider giving some at bats to a capable alternative. If the alternative fails you simply go back to the original situation.

Plus rizzo showed last season what can happen when you aren't given the occasional day off. A sizeable second half decline becomes a legit possibility.

[Sammy Sofa]

Nobody is saying never give the guy a day off. Sheesh.

And hey, Rizzo was a guy who stunk against lefties for, like, 350 PA before he became awesome against them.

[David]

There should be a thread for SC to post all his worries about thing while the rest of us enjoy the 110 win juggernaut.

First and foremost congrats on another nice job of trolling. Anyways i don't consider a 100 at bat sample size to be small. And so if that track record of lhp failure continues I don't understand why you wouldn't consider giving some at bats to a capable alternative. If the alternative fails you simply go back to the original situation.

Plus rizzo showed last season what can happen when you aren't given the occasional day off. A sizeable second half decline becomes a legit possibility.

I'm not trolling

And a 100 PA or at bat sample size is pretty small, whether you consider it to be or not, especially if you're trying to establish something as relatively unusual as a reverse split.

[jersey cubs fan]

There should be a thread for SC to post all his worries about thing while the rest of us enjoy the 110 win juggernaut.

First and foremost congrats on another nice job of trolling. Anyways i don't consider a 100 at bat sample size to be small. And so if that track record of lhp failure continues I don't understand why you wouldn't consider giving some at bats to a capable alternative. If the alternative fails you simply go back to the original situation.

Plus rizzo showed last season what can happen when you aren't given the occasional day off. A sizeable second half decline becomes a legit possibility.

I'm not trolling

And a 100 PA or at bat sample size is pretty small, whether you consider it to be or not, especially if you're trying to establish something as relatively unusual as a reverse split.

What don't you understand? He considers it small. End of discussion.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Russell's Minor League OPS against LHP is .893 if my math is right, against a total OPS of .897. .928 if you don't include his first season that was mostly in rookie ball anyway. Gonna need a lot more than 120 PA to be convinced that Russell is remotely needing of platooning, against opposite handed pitchers no less.

[Cubswin11]

I also think it's an equally premature and ridiculous assumption that Baez will be doing anything better than Russell that would warrant some sort of pseudo platoon/time split.

[TomtheBombadil]

I love that Bryant and Russell's big struggles were with opposite hand pitchers. These guys are gonna be so rad.

[big ball chunky time]

i watched a little spring training yesterday and my erection has not subsided and i dont care also

[biittner77]

There should be a thread for SC to post all his worries about thing while the rest of us enjoy the 110 win juggernaut.

First and foremost congrats on another nice job of trolling. Anyways i don't consider a 100 at bat sample size to be small. And so if that track record of lhp failure continues I don't understand why you wouldn't consider giving some at bats to a capable alternative. If the alternative fails you simply go back to the original situation.

Plus rizzo showed last season what can happen when you aren't given the occasional day off. A sizeable second half decline becomes a legit possibility.

I'm not trolling

And a 100 PA or at bat sample size is pretty small, whether you consider it to be or not, especially if you're trying to establish something as relatively unusual as a reverse split.

To be fair, if you look at the OP, the sample would be more like 150-200 PAs which would be perhaps a little more telling though still not ideal. Also, he's talking about giving Baez 17 starts at SS. That number doesn't seem particularly outrageous. A strict reverse split platoon is still premature.

[Cubswin11]

[sneakypower]

Russell's Minor League OPS against LHP is .893 if my math is right, against a total OPS of .897. .928 if you don't include his first season that was mostly in rookie ball anyway. Gonna need a lot more than 120 PA to be convinced that Russell is remotely needing of platooning, against opposite handed pitchers no less.

.909 vs LHP fwiw
http://minorleaguecentral.com/player?pi ... split=3000

[jacey]

I think ARUSS is going to have a monster year this season...we have just got to keep him healthy

[Bull]

I thinkARUSS is going to have a monster year this season...we have just got to keep him healthy

Please say this isn't an actual thing.

[big ball chunky time]

I thinkARUSS is going to have a monster year this season...we have just got to keep him healthy

Please say this isn't an actual thing.

it's either Addy or Russy

[Banedon]

[Tracer Bullet]

sweet jesus

[Tracer Bullet]

defense wins championships. or, in our case, defense, walks, and dongs.