I think Keppinger is a very good hitter that should backup at 2nd and 3rd. I'm a big fan of his and think that his injury really slowed him down. He was great before it. I don't think he's an All-Star but a very good bench guy that the Reds should be glad to have.
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
Didn't Keppinger break his knee cap? I couldn't remember if it was his knee or leg. He also was rushed back. I think his injury could have a lot to do with his sub-par stats this season. He really didn't change as a ball player, however, he didn't have his usual power or hip turn because of his leg problems.
Name one position he plays well. I guess he'd be passable in LF (though not passable offensively in LF), but he's a butcher on the infield. And he doesn't possess the pop of a guy like Aurilia who you can tolerate on the infield because of that.Originally Posted by Wheelhouse
He's a guy without a position--ideally he'd be a DH somewhere. A righty Sean Casey if you will. Hey, it's not a bad thing to be a good bench hitter, emergency guy. Most teams don't have good bench guys.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
See, hyperbole like this doesn't help any discussion. He has bad range at shortstop and is slower than you'd like making the double play turn. But he doesn't boot balls and he doesn't throw many away. He's better than Encarnacion at third. He'd be passable at second. He's in no way a butcher.
Which defensive miscues extend innings more frequently:
*errors
*balls a player can't get to due to limited range
He's got about half the range EE has. He won't throw it into the stands, but he'll bounce a bunch. I don't think he's better than EE at all. He certainly doesn't have the stick EE has.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
I didn't say he was a better hitter. But he's a better defender at third. Saying Keppinger has bad range at short is not the same as saying he has bad range at third. Encarnacion's range is drastically overrated by most here. He has bad range and he makes a ton of errors. He's terrible defensively. I firmly believe Keppinger would be an upgrade over there defensively.
I disagree. EE's problem isn't range, It's throwing only. He's like a cat at third. His problem is when he has time to think about the throw.
Dubito Ergo Cogito Ergo Sum.
Keppinger would be fair at 3B or 2B; EE is awful defensively. If Kepp hit .320/.370/.420 he would be an excellent bench option at four positions...
Keppinger is never going to hit that, though. He's going to be 28 a month into the season so he's not young, and his career line is .287/.338/.390. How do you believe he is going to pull that line out?
Keppinger would be fair at 3B or 2B; EE is awful defensively. If Kepp hit .320/.370/.420 he would be an excellent bench option at four positions...
Yeah, he makes a lot of contact and hits a lot of singles. That's about all he can do well. There is a reason he's never stuck with any team.
This post can not be said enough. If he is a journeyman career minor leaguer who pulled one season out of the air. He plays a lot of positions and makes a lot of contact which makes him a canidated for the bench, but he doesn't belong anywhere in a starting lineup.
He's yet to show anywhere near that kind of ability (.800 OPS) over a season. I'll tolerate EE's crappy D not to have that kind of offensive dropoff at 3rd base. A MLB third basemen shouldn't have a .750 OPS with 10 homers on the season. That's called a bench player.
Last edited by Falls City Beer; 11-10-2008 at 09:56 PM.
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
Hmmm... Probably 2007 when he hit .332.400/.477 over 276 PA's? He could easily post a .790 OPS in a bench role with 250 PA's when leveraged against LHP.
Gwynn and Ichiro are quite famous for doing that same thing. Saying he's never stuck with a team because he can't hit is just plain lazy IMO.
I find it interesting some posters insist we have to improve defense, but at the same time are not willing to accept a defensive upgrade at the position with our worst fielder. Anyways, let's go back and look at what I said:
Didn't I just call him a bench player?
I personally don't think his arm plays very well at 3B, other than in a pinch. But if worse come to worse I'd rather have him there than SS he doesn't cover enough ground for SS. But I'd much rather stick him in LF as the other half of a Dorn platoon. That could work, problem is Dusty isn't much of a fan of platooning.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Keppinger isn't the answer at 3rd base, sad thing is... neither is Edwin.
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