Originally Posted by puca
You'll have to ask Jerry that question. If defense is the reason Rich plays over EE against righties even with the enormous dropoff offensively, why play EE at all? If you are that worried about his defense, put him back in Louisville and let him work on it down there while getting consistent playing time.
Yep. I sure wish someone would explain that one to me.
EE wont be traded and will play much more next year.
Lets face it OF is not everything. Small ball and pitching (something Narron and Special K are big fans of), produce consistent results.
That being said I would love the see EE get more playing time but with Narron's small ball mentality that wont happen anytime soon. EE will keep working to improve and Narron (who loves hard work more than a UDF Milkshake) will play him.
Narron may prefer small ball but his Reds sure aren't playing much of it. They are scoring runs with patience and power, not small ball.
agreed!
So would the same argument hold true if we were talking about Ross and Larue? (the points in bold inserting a comparison between Larue and Ross vs. RA and EE). Just curious why Larue or the other Valetin would get to scoop up much of Ross's playing time under your assertions.And that is the key. Comparable overall offensive production, but better defense from RA, when one compares Fielding %, RF, and ZR.
Edge - Aurilia.
This management (and especially Narron) had to make a choice....
They know that EE is young and showing that inexperience on the field from a defensive perspective, and at a very important position (3B).
And Krivsky/Narron also realize that EE isn't going to get better not playing. But he IS out there every day working hard, taking grounders, and working with the coaches to improve his game. And he is getting the occassional start THIS YEAR. And that is what is needed IMO.
So Narron can throw him out there, endure the mental defensive lapses/errors while they hope he grows/improves (that is not a given by the way). Or.... they can, for the present and while they are in a race/contention this year go with a guy who has performed admirably on both sides (offensively AND defensively).
People can laugh and mock "veteran presence" all they want; but there are advantages to it when compared to "rookie immaturity".
One gives you a track record of some consistency to go on (to gauge expectation)... the other does not.
All one can say is that he has a possible "upside" (i.e. potential).
As far as suggesting trading EE simply because he has not been playing? That is a ridiculous notion, and management, IMO, is not even considering it.
Last edited by Spring~Fields; 07-28-2006 at 03:26 PM.
Excerpt from Hardball Times:
Chipper Jones is hot when healthy.
Chipper has been injured the last few games and may stay out of the Braves' lineup until Friday, which is too bad. He is in the midst of a monster hitting streak. Jones has hit in each of the last 20 games he's played, with a .512/.570/.939 batting line, eight home runs and nine doubles in 82 at-bats (Courtesy of David Pinto's Day-By-Day Database).
According to SABR's Trent McCotter, Larry Walker is the only player known to have hit .500 or better over a 20+ game hitting streak in the last 75 years. Hugh Duffy had the highest average over the entirety of any 20+ game streak, with a .545 average in 1894; and Harry Heilmann had the longest streak over which a .500+ average was maintained, with a 32-gamer from 1922 to 1923. (Another example of why you should join SABR.)
Chipper is hottest of the hot. Here are the top 10 batting averages over the past 20 games (thanks to Doug's Stats; minimum of 20 at-bats):
Batter Team BA
Jones, Chipper Atl .525
Encarnacion, Ed Cin .478
Randa, Joe Pit .469
Hatteberg, Scott Cin .446
Mackowiak, Rob Whi .444
Escobar, Alex Was .441
Barfield, Josh SDG .436
Utley, Chase Phi .424
Barrett, Michael Cub .422
Bell, David Phi .413
Isn't that a strange list of hot batters? Who would have guessed Scott Hatteberg would be having a great year, or that the Reds wouldn't play Edwin Encarnacion on a daily basis when he's on fire?
It's bad when I've started enjoying RA making outs against RH pitching, in the hopes that someone will realize that Edwin should be playing!
Michael
Funny you bring that up. I mean, Lopez had plenty good enough offensive numbers. The problem was his defense. Kinda sounds like EE in a way. The difference that could be the saving grace of EE is his work ethic. However, I think we are seeing a very distinct transition from an offensively oriented team, to a defensive and fundamentaly oriented team (and dare I say pitching... no, not yet), and the reasons are hard to argue with. This team has been absolutely explosive on the offensive side for many years, but shown little for it in terms of success. Offense doesn't win championships. Its not as exciting for the casual fan, but I for one enjoy the hard nosed play of the Reds this year when things are going right. On the other side, when the team has lapses in it's judgement, the hard nosed style can look flat out ugly.
That just my opinion, but I think the future of EE depends upon his defensive production, not his offense.
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