Categories: Posts

Bruntlett The Best Choice To Start At Third

Yesterday Charlie Manuel started Greg Dobbs at third base in place of the injured Pedro Feliz, and he went 0-for-3. Moreover, he remains a liability defensively at the hot corner.

Quickly checking out some numbers, I found it’s much more beneficial for the Phils to keeps Dobbs a bench player. He likes that role, he thrives in that role, and Eric Bruntlett isn’t a bad option to start.

Bruntlett as starter (142 PA): .242 AVG/.312 OBP/.352 SLG/2 HR/12 RBI
Bruntlett as substitute (33 PA): .222 AVG/.364 OBP/.222 SLG/0 HR/0 RBI

Dobbs as starter (81 PA): .237 AVG/.284 OBP/.316 SLG/1 HR/7 RBI
Dobbs as substitute (62 PA): .397 AVG/.419 OBP/.586 SLG/2 HR/7 RBI

As it shows, Bruntlett seems to be a better starter than a sub, while Dobbs is much more successful off the bench. Start Dobbs, and you automatically lose a bench bat, whereas if you start Bruntlett, Dobbs remains the weapon he needs to be. For Manuel, it makes sense to plug Bruntlett into the lineup everyday.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.