2009 Chicago Cubbies Season Outlook : Derrek Lee

With all the talk about DLee’s lack of power, the 6′ 5″ 245lb first baseman still drove 20 balls out of the park last year.  The issue then?  Thirteen of those 20 came before the calendar turned to June.  He hit only .266 after the All-Star break with just five homers and 34 RBI. Lee also finished the 2008 season with an .823 OPS, his lowest since 2001.  Rodan, a nickname given to Lee by former manager Dusty Baker, referring to a nemesis of Godzilla, turns 34 in September and there have been grumbles to move Lee and let Hoffpauir take over.  However, Micah turned 29 this past Sunday and would have no chance of matching Lee’s defensive prowess.

Always the observant one, skipper Lou Pinella had this to say regarding Lee’s decline in home run power: “”He hits a lot of balls hard on the ground and line drives, so to hit more home runs he needs to elevate the ball more. He certainly has the power and the bat speed to do it, but I don’t have an answer on why. I would think that the wrist injury that he had hasn’t helped the situation.”

Along with the drop-off in power, some of the grumblings have come from Lee’s propensity to ground into double plays (GIDP), bringing some to refer to Derrek as “DP Lee”.  Lee GIDP’d 27 times last year, good for a second place tie in the majors with Vlad Guerrero and MoneyBags Mags Ordonez.  (Miggie Tejada led the majors with 32 GIDPs.)  It wasn’t just the amount of Lee’s GIDPs, it was the timing, which of course, always seemed to be at a crucial stage in the game.

Derrek has won the Rawlings Gold Glove for NL First Baseman in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and if that pattern holds he will earn his fourth trophy this year in 2009. 

Lee was pretty much the only Cub who showed up in the postseason, collecting six of the team’s 23 total hits for the NLDS against the Dodgers.  That was in 11 at-bats, good for a .545 average, and with a walk and three doubles makes an 1.402 OPS.  Can’t be mad at the man for that.

Lee is signed on to be the Cubbies’ first baseman through the 2010 season and his contract includes a no-trade clause. I loved Hee-Seop Choi, but I tink the Cubbies have came out ahead on that deal.

On to his 2009 projections:

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