Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune tossed out an interesting Adam Dunn tidbit in his weekend column:
Dunn, who has hit 40-plus homers in five consecutive seasons, is trying to convince the Cubs to sign him for the right-field vacancy, instead of the equally defensively challenged Bradley. Dunn's high strikeout totals and career .247 batting average argue against him being the guy to break up the right-handed bats in the middle of the Cubs' lineup.
There are very few big-league lineups that wouldn't be improved with the addition of 40 home runs and a .380 on-base percentage, and the Cubs are no exception. And yet, for whatever reason, sportswriters (and team announcers) can't talk about Dunn without getting stuck on strikeouts and batting average.
It's short-sighted and not just a little ignorant: if you hit the ball a mile and get on base at an above-average clip, who cares how you make your outs the rest of the time? You're either driving in runs or creating opportunities for other players to do the same. But I digress -- this argument has been made dozens thousands of times.
If the Cubs need help warming up to Dunn, here are some other numbers to chew on: .286 /.419/.664. That's Dunn's AVG/OBP/SLG in 60 career games at Wrigley Field, where he's been an absolute monster with 23 home runs in just 267 at-bats.
If the Cubs want him, they better act quick; with Mark Teixeira off the market and Manny Ramirez priced out of many team's budgets, Dunn is turning into a hot commodity. ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that the Dodgers have made him a priority, and the Nationals, Mariners and Orioles have expressed interest, as well. Don't be surprised if he's the next free agent to be plucked off the market.
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Adam Dunn Wants to Sign With the Cubs; Feeling Not Yet Mutual originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.