Quote:
Originally Posted by MoneyInTheBank
But why give him away? In Stubbs, you have a guy who was a high draft pick, has all the tools you want, plays a premium position very well and actually hit well against LHP. By giving him away, that's the definition of buying high and selling low. Why not try to put him in positions to succeed (i.e. hit him against LHP only) and have a useful player who can platoon with a cheap option who can't hit lefties (like Rick Ankiel), you can keep Bailey and pursue Willingham with a lesser player like you said earlier
|
Money, if the Reds can pull that off I'm ok with that. I'm not in love with Willingham, I'm just a Reds fan trying to think of realistic possiblities for my team to get better.
Also, I understand every point you make about Stubbs because I've argued most of those same things too in the past (e.g., "if the Reds would just hit him 6th or lower in the line-up", "if they would just use him against LH pitchers", etc."). But I just finally gave in to what I always felt was true in the back of my mind (even when I followed him in the minors) - and that is this: Stubbs can't hit, he has never hit, and he will never hit. He just can't make enough contact and it's not his fault - he doesn't have the skill set to do it (including, maybe most importantly, pitch recognition) and it's not something he can learn. He has a lot of other skills, but making contact will never be one. But keep up the faith, I hope you're right and I'm wrong.