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Thread: Paging Yonder Alonso...

  1. #1
    Titanic Struggles Caveat Emperor's Avatar
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    Paging Yonder Alonso...

    2 hits, 2 BBs for the Bats tonight. Currently: .322 / .378 / .534 for the year.

    Is he going to wow anyone defensively in left field? Nope -- but left field defense hasn't been a forte for this franchise over the last decade anyway, so why start worrying about it now?

    With Gomes' OPS dipping south of .750, I think the time for a decision (the ever-popular "June retooling") is fast-approaching.
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  3. #2
    Member Will M's Avatar
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    I would love it if Alonso can play passable defense in left. Apparently he is pretty bad out there. If he can improve with more playing time then it could really boost the team for the 2nd half. my guess is that we will see Gomes/Heisey/Lewis at least for the next 2-3 weeks. probably longer.
    By July I would hope one of these scenarios plays out:
    1) one or two of the three guys who are on the team now produce. personally i'd platoon Lewis with Heisey but I understand why some would platoon Lewis with Gomes.
    2) Alonso improves his defense & becomes the everyday left fielder
    3) Sappelt becomes the everyday left fielder

    If none of these scenarios plays out then we could swing a deal. however with several in house possibilities one would hope that somebody steps up.

    my guess is that Walt will wait on Alonso & let him 'learn on the job' in AAA. now why does Gomes get a pass on defense & Alonso has to learn in the minors? who knows. but i suspect that is how it will play out.
    .

  4. #3
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Can Alsonso play 3rd base? I'd have him working at 3rd. Why not? Unless he cannot play it at all. If he cannot, then get something for him.

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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by RedFanAlways1966 View Post
    Can Alsonso play 3rd base? I'd have him working at 3rd. Why not? Unless he cannot play it at all. If he cannot, then get something for him.
    If Alonso could play third base they wouldn't have stuck him in LF where he's apparently very bad.

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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by Will M View Post
    ....personally i'd platoon Lewis with Heisey but I understand why some would platoon Lewis with Gomes.
    Probably because Heisey hasn't hit LH pitching in the majors, while he has hammered RH pitching. THough is very small splits this year, it's been the opposite.

  7. #6
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    I want a Heisey/Lewis platoon in LF with Alonso at 3B, in a perfect world. In reality, Rolen will play well while he's in, but not put up the same #'s as last year. Valaika will surprise all of us with his super-subness at 3rd base for the remainder of the year.

    -Matt

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    Member Will M's Avatar
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by PuffyPig View Post
    Probably because Heisey hasn't hit LH pitching in the majors, while he has hammered RH pitching. THough is very small splits this year, it's been the opposite.
    i believe in the minors his OPS vs RHP was ~920 which was higher than his OPS vs LHP. i personally want to see what Heisey can do with some consistent ABs. I like him better than Gomes (just my opinion).
    .

  9. #8
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Alonso can play 2 positions (sort of), 1b and lf. We don't need any real backup at 1st. In a pinch, Hernandez can do it. The other spot that needs regular back up is 3rd. So instead of Alonso, let's grab someone who's JUST as hot (if not moreso) in Todd Frazier. He can play LF, 3b, 2b and in a pinch short. I'd have him replace Valaika (because he's only infield).

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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    They could use a DH next weekend, and for another week late next month.
    "Reality tells us there are no guarantees. Except that some day Jon Lester will be on that list of 100-game winners." - Peter Gammons

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    Flash the leather! _Sir_Charles_'s Avatar
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    I posted this in the minor league thread, but it certainly fits here too. My argument for Frazier over Yonder.

    Yonder: .322/.378/.534/.912 Last 10 games ops 1.097
    Todd: .283/.361/.575/.936 Last 10 games ops 1.286

    Yonder's experience:
    LF-50 games
    1B-178 games

    Todd's experience:
    1B-54 games
    2B-37 games
    SS-112 games
    3B-80 games
    LF-167 games

  12. #11
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by Will M View Post
    I would love it if Alonso can play passable defense in left. Apparently he is pretty bad out there. If he can improve with more playing time then it could really boost the team for the 2nd half. my guess is that we will see Gomes/Heisey/Lewis at least for the next 2-3 weeks. probably longer.
    Not trying to be snarky, mine is a serious question. Is Alonso really "pretty bad out there" or is he, in fact, passable? I don't fully understand all the advanced metrics, so my ability to look at anything is the standard metrics available on baseball-reference.com which shows the job getting done. Now I fully understand that those statistics are very limited. Do they keep defensive metrics on minor league games? IIRC, UZR would be what you would look at? Am I understanding it that UZR tells you, more or less, how a fielder compares to other fielders or what is expected that a fielder can, and should, handle? Those who have seen him play, what have you seen.

    It feels like too often we take less than Gold Glove as being bad (although I can suggest that's what you necessarily mean). If he's as bad as you suggest, what's the issue? Bad routes? No range, weak arm? I see he only has one assist, but can't say what that tells us much this early in the season.

    Again, not wanting to be snarky, but I'd be interested in hearing more who have seen him play or more from the advanced defensive metrics.
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  13. #12
    Flash the leather! _Sir_Charles_'s Avatar
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by redsmetz View Post
    Not trying to be snarky, mine is a serious question. Is Alonso really "pretty bad out there" or is he, in fact, passable? I don't fully understand all the advanced metrics, so my ability to look at anything is the standard metrics available on baseball-reference.com which shows the job getting done. Now I fully understand that those statistics are very limited. Do they keep defensive metrics on minor league games? IIRC, UZR would be what you would look at? Am I understanding it that UZR tells you, more or less, how a fielder compares to other fielders or what is expected that a fielder can, and should, handle? Those who have seen him play, what have you seen.

    It feels like too often we take less than Gold Glove as being bad (although I can suggest that's what you necessarily mean). If he's as bad as you suggest, what's the issue? Bad routes? No range, weak arm? I see he only has one assist, but can't say what that tells us much this early in the season.

    Again, not wanting to be snarky, but I'd be interested in hearing more who have seen him play or more from the advanced defensive metrics.
    I've only seen him out there 5 or 6 times and he was very bad when I saw him. But this was also last year. Now several of the guys in the ML forum see him almost constantly, and not only are they saying he's considerably worse than Gomes...the most recent comparison was...."Picture Corky Miller in left". :O)

    Check into the daily minor league game threads and you'll get the info you're looking for. Doug, GOYA, cinreds21 and several others see him fairly regularly.
    Last edited by _Sir_Charles_; 05-13-2011 at 10:15 AM.

  14. #13
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    "Picture Corky Miller in left". :O)
    :O) indeed... oooh... that's just a bad mental picture.

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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    Quote Originally Posted by _Sir_Charles_ View Post
    I posted this in the minor league thread, but it certainly fits here too. My argument for Frazier over Yonder.
    I think it's time to promote both of them. We currently have needs at 3B and LF, and they are both tearing the cover off the ball. Given that they are 24 and 25 years old, now is as good of a time as any to see if they can contribute at the major league level.
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    Re: Paging Yonder Alonso...

    I have to wonder if the reports on Alonso's play in LF are exaggerated. There's a very recent interview with Alonso on thebatssignal.com where he talks about his transition to LF. He seems very pleased with his progress, which leads me to believe he's not embarrassing himself out there.

    As others have said, the Reds have dealt with below average defense in LF for a long time now. Teams do that (witness, just within the division, the Cards playing Berkman in the OF, the Cubs playing Soriano, the Astros playing Lee). LF in GAB is small. That will help minimize a guy's shortcomings.

    You have to admire Alonso's willingness to make himself as good a LF as he can possibly be, given that he's not really built to play there. That's a team player. He's had fruitful seasoning as a hitter in AAA, as he's now grinding out the kind of high AVG/high OBP/solid SLG numbers he was projected to produce. His swing fits GAB very well. IMO, he deserves his shot sometime this year if he keeps that up.
    Last edited by lollipopcurve; 05-13-2011 at 10:37 AM.


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