Theriot had a lot of value after 2007?

I don’t know why I do this to myself. I generally try to avoid doing this, but I accidentally read a comment written by Chuck as I was reading through ccd’s site. Early in the comments it’s suggested that Hendry should trade Ryan Theriot this winter. Chuck responds by saying something as silly as he usually does: Theriot would have brought a lot in return in the winter of 2007. No longer. Another Hendry protege held too long. How would Theriot have brought anything after the 2007 season? He posted a wOBA barely better than replacement level (.309) at the age of 27. That was his first full season (age of 27). It’s important to point out that his first full season was at the age of 27. And he hit .266/.326/.346. At the age of 27! .309 wOBA. At the age of 27 in his first full season, Ryan Theriot had a UZR/150 at SS of 7.7. He was worth 1.7 WAR at the age of 27. That’s not bad. It’s not good. It’s a bit less than average, but he made league minimum. At the age of 26 in a very small sample he was actually worth 1.6 WAR. As he turned 28 in the winter of 2007 he had as little value as possible. Who is going to trade anything for a 28 year old shortstop who just hit .266/.326/.346 at the age of 27? Reminder, that’s a .309 wOBA in his prime! That’s an OPS+ of 72 if you’re not familiar with wOBA. He was 28% worse than the league average hitter in 2007 at the age of 27 in his first full season. Of the 162 hitters who qualified for a batting title, only 8 of them had a lower OPS+ than Ryan Theriot. Juan Pierre and Corey Patterson were not 2 of them (they were actually better than Theriot). 280 hitters had 300 or more plate appearances in 2007. Only 31 of them were worse than Ryan Theriot. Aaron Miles and Jack Jones were not among those 31 (they were better than Theriot). Jim Hendry couldn’t have traded Ryan Theriot for a freaking relief pitcher after the 2007 season. Why do people think Theriot was so valuable at any point in his career? I have never understood that. In his 3 seasons as a starter his OPS+ has been 72, 93 and 84. And he turns 30 years old in about a month. His best years are behind him. By the way, Aaron Miles first full season: 72 OPS+. Age of 27! This is exactly why ACB takes issue with Bob Brenly, sports talk radio, Paul Sullivan and many Cubs fans. They have actually convinced themselves that a little white guy who was literally one of the worst hitters in baseball had a lot of value. Amazing. It’s truly amazing that people could think like this. Here’s a Cubs fan who actually thinks that Jim Hendry held on to Ryan Theriot too long. He thinks the Cubs could have gotten a lot of in return after he was one of the worst hitters in baseball at the age of 27. We can criticize Hendry for several things and we can give him some credit for a lot of things, but the one thing we can’t blame him for is not trading Theriot for a lot after a season in which Theriot was only better than 8 other hitters. That’s just stupid.