Screw you, Phil Rogers

In the Tribune today: Hendry's Indecision hurts Cubs

What the hell? I'm as disappointed that the Cubs are slumping as the next Cubs fan...but let's not blame this on Jim Hendry. For one thing, I think Todd Walker's done a pretty good Job at first base - he's had a fielding percentage of .994 which is just fine (Lee's was .985 before he got injured). Walker's been swinging the bat just fine as well...but having him out of second base has exposed the awfulness that is Hairston and Perez. Okay...I'm following the argument so far.

So who do we pick up? April/May is historically the worst time to make a trade, as the only players that teams are willing to trade are expendable themselves. Let's compare stats. Here are Hairston and Perez's basic stat lines for the year:

Hairston 52 AB, .231 Avg, .523 OPS (ouch), 7 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB, good speed and defense

Perez 53 AB, .189 Avg, .445 OPS, 4 R, 3 RBI, 0 SB, decent speed, good defense

It looks like Conine and Millar are the two top picks to replace them in the lineup

Conine 98 AB, .235 Avg, .734 OPS, 10 R, 14 RBI, 2 SB, very little speed, decent defense

Millar 87 AB, .218 Avg, .665 OPS, 12 R, 10 RBI, 0 SB, terrible defense, terrible speed

Granted, these numbers are better. But how much better? Would getting Conine for two months be worth trading yet another of our prospects? I don't really think so. I think what should be done is to start one of those guys regularly (preferably Hairston, Perez stinks) and hope he heats up.