College of Idiots: Everything The Cublogosphere Knows About Rudy Jaramillo Is Here, Why Go Anywhere Else?

The news about the Cubs signing Rudy Jaramillo to the most expensive contract for a coach ever is the buzz this morning in the world of the Cublogosphere. Just like President Obama, either you love or hate this move, or you just don't care and are busy gathering nuts for the coming winter season. People on the love side point to the fact that he has helped a lot of players improve while in Texas, including DeRosa, Soriano and even Bradley. People on the hate side point out that these "improvements" came at a time when steroid usage was rampant and Texas plays on a little league field.

Personally, I think when the Cubs are going to have to eat most of Bradley's contract, have a shitload of other wasted money on the team (Soriano, Fuku, Dempster, Ronny Woo Woo), they shouldn't be throwing out multi-million dollar contracts to coaches. These guys SHOULD know how to hit by now. I mean this is the majors. Unless they are pitching, no one on this team is there because of their defensive abilities, sans our own Andy White. Let's not forget also that this team is one year separated from having the most offensive production in the majors in 2008 and basically has all the same parts. So Hendry, please do us a favor and eat another of those magical donuts that brought Lee, Ramirez and TRL to the Cubs and stop giving former Rangers huge contracts for doing basically nothing. But enough about what I think, I'm just an Professor in the College of Idiocy. Let's look at more "knowledgeable" blogs and get some real opinions:

A League of Her Own has little to say on the subject, besides pointing out that Soriano is happy because Jaramillo speaks Spanish. Well, woopty-doo!

We'll score that as a tie for the good signing/bad signing competition.

Another Cubs Blog points out the good and bad of the signing, although seems to leaning on the side of it not being such a good idea.

For that kind of money, Rudy ought to have the offense eating coal and shitting Tiffany cufflinks by next April.

At any rate, Hendry got his man, but for some reason, I don’t think spending a few mil on a coach is going to soften the blow of eating a $21 MM dollar contract.

We'll vote that on the bad side.

Ace and The Moderately Obsessive Hitting Coach Watch over at Bleacher Nation also seems to not understand why Hendry just keeps throwing money out like they were Krispy Kremes in a hot tub (I know, that didn't make much sense to me either).

It’s a lot of money to give a guy who won’t step on the field, and the three year commitment could cause a minor issue when the Cubs set out to find a managerial replacement for Lou Piniella after next season. It will be interesting to learn whether Jaramillo’s deal has a buyout after this year should the Cubs pursue a manager who wants to bring his own hitting coach.

Another vote for a bad signing.

(GFY) Al Yellon at Bleed Cubbie Blue likes the signing. Well, duh, he's a fucking idiot.

There is one more thing that's an encouraging sign about this signing. Spending nearly $2.5 million (over three years) on a coach indicates -- to me, at least -- that new ownership, which will likely be made official in the next couple of weeks, is not going to hold back the purse strings when it comes to improving the team. And that has to be good news.

Or Jim Hendry is just as clueless as you are Al.

The score is now 1 good, 2 bad, 1 undecided.

Jay at Bush League Times always keeps it short and sweet:

I'd be much more excited if Jaramillo played a corner-outfield spot but I guess this is a start...

We'll put that on the plus side...

Jen at CUBblogging gives her strange point of view which seems to be Cheetos induced (full of "()"s, even more than I usually use):

To execute their cunning, wily...dare I say, diabolical plan of…wait for it, wait for it…HITTING(!!!), the masterminds are bringing in hitting coach extraordinaire (some say guru - not me, but probably someone) Rudy Jaramillo (see: right, with his ummm, let's go with "star pupil"), a guy who obviously likes a challenge...and a lot of digits on his paycheck (well really, who doesn’t?).

So no opinion. It's 2-2-2.

Goat Riders has the best explanation of the signing:

As smart, sophisticated, kick-ass Cub fans, we all have to realize how little this might mean. Jaramillo has had a lot of success serving as the hitting coach for the Rangers (since 1994) and Astros (from 1990 to 1993), but the question is this: was he successful at turning guys like Bagwell, Biggio, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Teixeria, and Young into super-stars, or was he fortunate to have those guys around to make him look good?

One interesting thing to note was that, from stories early in the year, Milton Bradley reportedly missed his old hitting coach from the Rangers (Jaramillo) who he connected to back when he had his spectacular '08 season. Does this mean there is even a small chance of reconciliation with Jim and Milton? Probably not.

I still think that hitting coaches are important, despite how some Cub fans would argue that they do nothing to impact the multi-millionaires they coach. Chances are that a hitting coach can't turn a bad hitter into a good one, but he might be able to take a good hitter with bad habits and get him focused and directed. Besides, much like pitching there are mechanics to good hitting. Jaramillo's direct impact on the team should stem from his ability to fix an errant batting stance and to close a swing with big holes in it. We can't underestimate the value of that, much as we shouldn't oversell it, either.

So another for the plus side, this time with an actually well thought-out argument that almost swayed me to the other side.

But Bad Kermit at Hire Jim Essian also brings up a good point about Jaramillo and Soriano:

For some reason, people are also talking about how “well” Jaramillo worked with Alfonso Soriano. How so? Except for his first year as a full-time player and (of course) last year, Soriano had his worst two seasons (based solely and over-simplistically on OPS+) under Jaramillo in a hitter-friendly park in Texas, including his career low (again, excluding his first and last full seasons) OBP of .309. Rudy knows so much about hitting that he never once played in the Major Leagues on his own.

The Cublogoshpere just can't make up their mind: 3-3-2.

The Cub Reporter points out a lot of the players that Jaramillo has worked with, along with including a link to a video in which Jaramillo gives his 5 key point to hitting. After pointing out that the hitting coach isn't that important, they end up on the fence:

So expecting tangible evidence that Jaramillo will make a difference in 2010 is a lot of magic to expect out of just a hitting coach. Still, if he does to hitters what Cardinal's pitching coach Dave Duncan does to pitchers, next summer just might be fun once again at Wrigley.

DAMN IT: 3-3-3.

The Friendly Blogfines thinks the signing is "a solid move":

It might be overpaying, but I think it's a solid move for a Cubs team that's going to need to improve their offense mainly from within. Now Jim Hendry will likely focus on unloading Milton Bradley, even though Bradley led the American League in OPS with Jaramillo as his hitting coach in 2008.

So another for a good signing.

And finally, Joe over at View From the Bleachers added his comments on Monday:

I’m not a big believer in the hitting coach, but after the slump we saw last year, it can’t hurt, can it?

So another on the fence. 4-3-4.

And with my thinking that this is a bad signing, we come to the conclusion that none of us are decisive in how we feel about Jaramillo. In the end it's a full split with 4 blogs thinking it's a good idea, 4 thinking it's a bad idea, and 4 that are unsure and will wait and see. All in all we can come to one conclusion: even in the offseason, Cubs fans are still more interested in the signing of a hitting coach than they are of our professional basketball and hockey teams (did you realize that the Blackhawks are 5-2-1?)

Bear Down!