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Jake Fox: In Case of Emergency, Remove from Bench

By Brett on June 2, 2009

Jake Fox, aka the greatest minor league hitter in the universe, was called up to play with the big boys last week. Fox had previously expressed his displeasure with the Cubs for keeping him under lock and key when his bat was so clearly Major League ready. So, the call up to play for the Cubs was probably quite a relief.

But, well, he isn’t going to do much playing.

[T]he team will continue to have Jake Fox work out at third, but only to be an emergency option, Piniella said. “If we’re behind in a game and you have nothing to lose, we could put Fox there,” he said, adding Fox is also the team’s “emergency catcher.” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.

Wow, Lou. Could you be a little more subtle when you say, “Jake Fox is never going to play in the field eva eva.”

“We’ll continue to work Fox at third base in case there’s an injury,” Piniella said. “We only have one [reserve] infielder now. We’re not doing it to make Fox an everyday third baseman. We know he can swing the bat. He’s hitting `scary numbers’, ‘’ he added of Fox’s .423 average, 17 home runs and 50 RBI at Class AAA Iowa. He’s been in our major league [spring training] camp for three years, and this year he played quite a bit. But the problem is where to play him.”

If Fox hits at the big league level anywhere close to what he did in Iowa, the Cubs simply will have to find a spot to play him a few days a week.

I have a hard time believing he is so deficient that he cannot spell at first base for a day. Or a corner outfield spot for a day. Or even third for a day. Heck, how many chances does a third baseman typically get in a game? 2? 3?

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Brett Taylor is the lead writer at Bleacher Nation, and can also be found as Bleacher Nation on Twitter and on Facebook.