I dont see the logic in moving Phillips to SS because hes batting 6th and isnt expected to be a run producer. And if your gunna have Keppinger play 2B why not just keep him at SS and Phillips at 2B? At 2B Phillips has the ability to take hits away, not so sure he has that ability at SS especially after not playing the position in years. While many including myself believe catcher is the toughest position the position that requires the most skill is easily SS. SS and 2B are world apart. There is a reason Phillips was moved to 2B and its not Vizquel.
yeah not this year but...
1) tampa and florida had the two lowest payrolls this year.
2) tampa spent almost twice what florida spent (a paltry $22+ million).
3) last year hram was a huge steal cuz he made less than a half million but that extension starts next year when ramirez will only make $5.5 million and escalates to $15-$16 million in the last three years.
i'd be really surprised if he played the 6th year of that extension in florida.
okay that solves one problem but it also creates another one. i mean would you send a bunch of our best prospects for a player when we don't even know what he'd do defensively in center? i wouldn't. plus by the time florida decides it's time to trade him he won't be as much of a steal anymore.
Last edited by redsfandan; 10-26-2008 at 04:53 AM.
So Keppinger has more defensive skills than Phillips? No, Keppinger has horrific range at short. This team needs a real shortstop, and Phillips has that ability. They've resisted moving him because they were happy with his offense and didn't want to mess with it. Hopefully, last year has finally convinced them he's not the premier run producer they seem to think he is, and his value as a good defender is best utilized at the position of greater need.
FIRE DUSTY Never mind. The man is clearly a genius.
You don't turn down maybe the best young hitter in baseball at a premium position because he's average defensively. You don't even let it enter your mind.
Keppinger will make the routine plays at SS. So instead of having a gold glove caliber 2B we will just have two middle of the road defenders. Shortstops rarely have chances to take hits away, as long as you have someone that can make the routine plays you'll do alright.
i like pujols
yeah he'll probably be ok in the outfield but until he plays it you don't really know for sure.
does the premium position matter that much if he shouldn't even play there?
i'd love to have an offensive player like hram but... they won't deal him in the first couple years so that takes away his years as a steal and even IF they were open to a deal now they'd probably want bruce plus a couple other top prospects. sorry but i just couldn't do that. bottom line, imo the reward doesn't justify the cost.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtstat...&Submit=Submit
He's way there at the bottom. As I understand it, Revised Zone Rating tells you what percentage of balls in a fielder's zone were successfully turned into outs. Keppinger just doesn't get to enough of them, which means that shortstops have many chances to give hits away, which he does. At second, Phillips' RZR was 2nd in all of MLB this year, behind Mark Ellis. It seems to me there's at least a pretty good chance he'd be an above average SS if given the opportunity, which would be a tremendous help to the defense.
FIRE DUSTY Never mind. The man is clearly a genius.
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