Philles Need Bench Parts
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Tue, August 05, 2008 11:18 AM | Comments: 55
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Seems like every news outlet in the Philly media today is blasting trumpets about the great stuff going on with the Phillies. Well, I’m going the other way.
The Phils are starting to feel the effects of the injury bug, unlike the happy-injury-free piece Jim Salisbury wrote today. Yes, the Phils have had less DL stints than other teams, but you could argue the Phils’ DL stints take a larger toll, as the depth behind the Phils’ top players is ridiculously thin.
An injury to Pedro Feliz has brought Mike Cervenak into the fray. Cervenak has just one official plate appearance in his Major League career. If that makes him the 25th man, consider So Taguchi and his .227 average the 24th man. Eric Bruntlett, hitting .226, is the 23rd man. That leaves a backup catcher (either the average Chris Coste [104 OPS+] or well-below-average Carlos Ruiz [53 OPS+] and one of the platooning outfielders (either Jayson Werth [113 OPS+] or the one-swing Geoff Jenkins [80 OPS+]).
When Feliz returns, Greg Dobbs will take his rightful place as the first man off the bench. His 127 OPS+ as a bench player is fantastic. But after him in the current rotation, what is there? What if Werth is starting?
The Phillies need experience and talent off the bench. Preferably a right-handed hitter, but a righty and a lefty wouldn’t hurt.
Who’s out there?
Michael Cuddyer (OF, 1B): Once a 100-RBI man, he’s only hitting .252 this season, but that would make him a pretty good option, as opposed to Taguchi. He has some pop, as well.
Frank Catalanotto (1B, OF): While a lefty, he does have good numbers (.288, .358, .410). He cannot, however, hit lefties, so I wouldn’t go at him.
Marlon Byrd (OF): Ahh, the former Phillie. He’s hitting .254 with seven homers in a platoon job for Texas. Would be an upgrade, but not much, over Taguchi.Randy Winn (OF): Someone that’s been discussed, Winn is hitting .284 for the Giants. While he’s an upgrade over Taguchi, I don’t know if he’d get the playing time he needs in the outfield.
Rich Aurilia (IF): Having a pretty average year, Aurilia would be a nice contingency plan and the type of veteran singles/doubles hitter this team needs.
Jason Michaels (OF): Love those former Phils. Hitting .262 for Pittsburgh, he has some pop (7 HR, 32 RBI in NL) and is slugging .469. He’s also best friends with Pat Burrell. Would be a fine veteran leader addition.
Of those presented, I’d love Aurilia. The Mets are rumored to be looking hard at him. I’d go strong after him too, then maybe turn to Michaels.
Posts: 0 Don M
Golson is 22… turns 23 in Sept… and the average age of AA ballplayers is something like 25. He’s progressing pretty much on schedule, if not ahead of it.
Its rare that guys in their young 20s step into a major league lineup and have any kind of effect.. Jose Reyes is one of those guys, which is why his expectations are so high.. and among the reasons I think he’s overrated.. he’s not mature enough to be the player they need him to be on an everyday basis
Posted: 04:37 PM on August 5, 2008
Posts: 0 Doug
There always seems to be this unwritten rule about age and experience and the notion that using someone on the major league level who is not ready would somehow degrade their talent for the life of their career.
Aside from confidence, can someone please give me a valid reason why experience on the major league level is any less beneficial to a young ballplayer than experience in the minors. After all, baseball is baseball. The majors doesn’t use a different size bat or ball. The bases aren’t any further apart. It’s the same game.
Granted, if the question is whether they’ll contribute at a level that is useful to the major league affiliate, there’s only one way to find out…bring ‘em up!
I realize a pitcher like Carrasco (or any young pitcher really) may take a little more time because it’s not good to experiment with mechanics and new pitches at the major league level, but that gets back to the “being useful” argument rather than the “degradation of talent” argument.
All this said, I see no reason why Marson and Golson should not see major league action come September.
Posted: 05:34 PM on August 5, 2008
Posts: 0 Don M
The end of that seems to be what will happen… I firmly believe that both of those guys will be called up… The main difference between the majors and minors is that guys in the majors do everything more consistenly. Guys in minors can hit the ball 450 feet..they can throw 95 mph… but until they can do those things on a regular basis, they consider them “raw talents”… take Golson.. if he is having trouble and striking out against somewhat inconsistent pitchers in AA… imagine how much more he would struggle against the top pitchers in the game.
I am really anxious to see what these guys can do though!
Posted: 09:01 PM on August 5, 2008
Posts: 0 NJ
The prizes in the system should get a call-up down the stretch once the minor league season is over but the organization isn’t going to want to take at-bats away from guys like Golson and Marson to sit on the bench with the big team.
I’m sure Golson will get a few at-bats and some time on the base paths and in the field but he’ll be learning on the job, we do need to look to add something to the bench for down the stretch although I think there might be implications for the play-off roster with a guy brought in after the non-waiver deadline.
Posted: 08:16 AM on August 6, 2008
Posts: 0 Hats
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
Posted: 09:10 AM on March 16, 2009