It’s a little early to be making assumptions about 2012 based on a couple of meaningless games in September.
But then again, that’s what Cubs fans do — make sweeping generalizations based on small sample sizes, anything really to give them some semblance of hope. Team history is littered with guys who got a shot late in the season who wound up at the big league level full-time the following season (see: Quade, Mike) because they showed potential when given their chance in the spotlight.
Which brings us to the latest September addition to take the North side by storm, 1B/OF Bryan LaHair.
LaHair was called up when the rosters expanded in September fresh off setting the Iowa Cubs’ single season franchise home run record.
Since then, he’s had the kind of run that most September callups only dream about. In eight games, he’s established himself as a force to be reckoned with, going 10-for-20 in eight games including a game-tying ninth inning two-run home run against Cincinnati on September 6th. It’s that kind of offensive production that has forced Mike Quade to figure out a way to keep his bat in the lineup, starting him alternately in right field and at first base in an effort to get him more at bats.
While LaHair’s run is the stuff that dreams are made of for September callups, will it be enough to earn him a spot on the team’s 2012 roster?
The journeyman only had 45 games of Major League experience prior to his callup with the Cubs, all coming with the Mariners in 2008. And while he is hot now, the market for free agent first basemen is filled with bigger names and bigger salaries. Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder will be available. The Cardinals’ Albert Pujols could be as well. Pena has also expressed a desire to return to the Cubs in 2012, although it’s debatable whether his numbers this season (.230, 27 HR, 76 RBI, 143 SO) justify the kind of contract he’s hoping for.
If not the Cubs, at the very least LaHair’s audition has earned him a shot with a small-market team such as the Mariners or Athletics, teams that would be interested in investing in a 29-year-old power-hitting first baseman who won’t cost them the bulk of their profits.
The big question is can he sustain solid production throughout the course of a 162-game season? LaHair has done more than enough to prove he’s a rock-solid Triple-A player, but as we’ve seen before that doesn’t always translate into the bigs on a full-time basis.
