Welsh on Dusty

[mrherd05]

Last night when Thom was talking about Choo hitting like .130 against lefties Welsh said he couldn't set him against lefties because dusty is a players manager and that would hurt Choo with future contracts. Seriously?? Does Dusty really manage our team like this???

[traderumor]

Welsh was using conjecture. I would say Choo is out there against lefties because the alternatives are just as bad. He needs a better option before he is derided in this manner.

[Blitz Dorsey]

Normally I wouldn't defend Dusty on something like this, but who is he supposed to use instead of Choo against lefties? The great Derrick Robinson? Chris Heisey who hasn't looked good and just now returned to the team?

It's not like Dusty is passing up obvious options to start instead of Choo against lefties. We don't have enough right-handed hitters on this team after the Ludwick injury.

Also, I've never seen a player completely take this team/city by storm for 1.5 months and then just completely fall off the map like Choo. He must be worn out.

[New York Red]

Weren't they talking about his spot in the order against Lefties, not him being replaced in the lineup?

[dougdirt]

Last night when Thom was talking about Choo hitting like .130 against lefties Welsh said he couldn't set him against lefties because dusty is a players manager and that would hurt Choo with future contracts. Seriously?? Does Dusty really manage our team like this???

Yes, he does manage our team like this. Guys have roles. He hates taking them out of their roles even if they stink in them against certain guys because he believes it will just destroy their confidence.

[Kc61]

Choo's lifetime lefty/righty splits are dramatic, but not as dramatic as this year. There should be some improvement against lefties. Dusty has nobody else. To attribute this to Dusty's "hate" for taking people out of roles overlooks the absence of alternatives. It also overlooks the fact that Choo is a very accomplished player and few managers would platoon him.

Dusty did drop Choo out of the leadoff spot against lefties. The probable implication of Choo's poor showing against lefties may be to prevent the Reds from offering him a big contract and possibly to hurt him a bit on the overall market.

As noted in my stats thread today, Choo's BA is under .270, he isn't "hitting" that well overall. Much of his value comes from his OBP which continues to be very high.

He's an unusual hitter in some respects, I'm a bit disappointed in his hitting, although he sure has a knack for getting on base.

[Krawhitham]

Normally I wouldn't defend Dusty on something like this, but who is he supposed to use instead of Choo against lefties?

You use Choo, but you drop him down the bottom 3rd of the lineup VS lefties

[malcontent]

I'll (hopefully) never be accused of being a Baker apologist, but Welsh is clearly not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed.

[EMAW]

I have been and have no problem with being an apologist for Dusty, so I would ask who is the better alternative. Frazier to LF, Robinson to CF, Izturis to 3B.....This is a very thin roster in a lot of spots

[Blitz Dorsey]

I have been and have no problem with being an apologist for Dusty, so I would ask who is the better alternative. Frazier to LF, Robinson to CF, Izturis to 3B.....This is a very thin roster in a lot of spots

This is what happens when a team thinks Jack Hannahan is some kind of "find" as a backup 3B/utility infielder. I have no idea why they signed him, let alone gave him a 2-year deal. Who else in MLB was going to give him a 2-year deal? Classic case of bidding against yourself. And these "small" moves end up being big in the grand scheme when you have a terrible bench.

Walt did a bad job of constructing the bench in the offseason. Gotta do better than that. And they knew they needed to address it after last year's bench was atrocious.

[mrherd05]

Irrelevant on whether someone could do better. Fact is welsh said that for a reason.

[westofyou]

Irrelevant on whether someone could do better. Fact is welsh said that for a reason.

To fill up dead air is one reason.

[Norm Chortleton]

There are all kinds of Dustyisms. Hasn't he defended playing struggling veterans over youngsters numerous times by saying "they have families to feed?"

[Ironman92]

Kinda rare for Welsh to be negative in any way for a while now. Years back he said way more what he thought (you'd swear Adam Dunn was sleeping with his wife the way he was acting) lol

About the time Castillini took over Welsh ended his thoughts like that....but still gets some rips in on his least favorites (Alfonso Soriano for ex)

Now Welsh goes out of his way to pump up the Reds players, which I understand but when a Reds player messes up pretty good I like them to be called for it as you know they would admit they messed up.

[edabbs44]

You use Choo, but you drop him down the bottom 3rd of the lineup VS lefties

Choo has an OBP over .300 vs LHP and a babip below .200. It's likely his numbers won't be as bad in the future and, as bad as they are, he is still finding his way on base.