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Thread: You are the GM... Left Field

  1. #1
    Pitter Patter TRF's Avatar
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    You are the GM... Left Field

    My 2nd of 5 installments, covering what I believe are areas of need. You are the GM. Get a Left Fielder for 2012. He can come from within the organization, FA or rumored to be available in a trade.

    I pick Yonder Alonso.

    This is the position the Reds do not need to spend a dime on. I'm not one that cares too much about LF defense, and Alonso did well in limited playing time at the major league level. He offers legitimate protection for Votto, even though he's LH himself. Votto's L/R splits are negligible. He hits everyone.

    Alonso makes the league minimum.

    Now, I'd have preferred the Reds gave Hermida more of a shot in the regular season, but for some reason, despite a fantastic year at AAA, they didn't.
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  3. #2
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I'd live with Alonso, I think, until his defense becomes so atrocious that he can't be lived with. With an off-season to work on it (why he didn't last off-season is a mystery), perhaps he gets to merely bad.

    If not, Sappelt or Heisey is a fine secondary option and fourth outfielder, with Frazier as a great fifth OF/ PH.

    (Stubbs, IMO, has to be dealt.)

  4. #3
    Waitin til next year bucksfan2's Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I am going to throw out a name just for fun, JD Drew. If he bounces back from his poor year this season he may just be worth a look.

    As of right now I am content to run Alonso out there every day and hope for the best.

  5. #4
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    My opening day LF & leadoff man is Dave Sappelt. I like Alonso, but if Sappelt can hit .280/.330/.400, Alonso would have to continue to put up that .900 OPS to make up the huge difference between them defensively. Given our pitchers' struggles, I'd prefer to err on the side of getting production from defense at this point.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, but I'm trading either Alonso or Votto this offseason, period.

    If I had to pursue a FA, I'd be looking at Josh Willingham. He'd be a nice source of thump from the right side and could fill the cleanup spot. Of course, that still leaves us without a traditional leadoff hitter. I'd love to see Hanigan leadoff (it worked for the Rays with Jaso) if Sappelt wasn't in there. But Dusty values speed way too much to consider that - clogging the bases and all. And there's some merit to that. I would want guys ahead of Votto that can score from 1st on a double. I would just prioritize getting the guy on first base to begin with. So while I'd try it, I know it's not feasible.

    My lineup with Sappelt:

    Sappelt
    Phillips
    Votto
    Rolen
    Bruce
    Stubbs
    Hanigan/Mesoraco
    Cozart

    My lineup with Willingham:

    Phillips
    Rolen
    Votto
    Willingham
    Bruce
    Stubbs
    Hanigan/Mesoraco
    Cozart

    Small sample size granted, but Phillips has made consistent improvements on making more, better contact and I think that showed in his BABIP this year. I think a .340+ OBP is a fair expectation and that makes him a solid candidate.
    Last edited by RedsManRick; 10-03-2011 at 01:02 PM.
    Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.

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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Quote Originally Posted by RedsManRick View Post
    My opening day LF & leadoff man is Dave Sappelt. I like Alonso, but if Sappelt can hit .280/.330/.400, Alonso would have to continue to put up that .900 OPS to make up the huge difference between them defensively. Given our pitchers' struggles, I'd prefer to err on the side of getting production from defense at this point.

    Not to put too fine a point on it, but I'm trading either Alonso or Votto this offseason, period.
    I'd be cool with this as well.

    IMO, there's not much difference between Alonso, Sappelt, and Heisey in terms of overall value. Each looks to be above average at a very cheap cost.

    Stubbs is the odd man out.

  7. #6
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I'd platoon both LF and CF. In left, Alonso and Sappelt. In center, Heisey against RH (his splits, oddly, are much, much better that way) and Stubbs against LH (when he is actually pretty good).

    That would enable you to direct your resources toward a top-end pitcher. (If somebody from the OF group has to be involved to get that done, so be it.)

  8. #7
    We Need Our Myths reds1869's Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Quote Originally Posted by mace View Post
    I'd platoon both LF and CF. In left, Alonso and Sappelt. In center, Heisey against RH (his splits, oddly, are much, much better that way) and Stubbs against LH (when he is actually pretty good).

    That would enable you to direct your resources toward a top-end pitcher. (If somebody from the OF group has to be involved to get that done, so be it.)
    I like your idea very, very much.

  9. #8
    Mr.Redlegs is my homeboy Eric_the_Red's Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I'd try to improve the pitching so Alonso's defense shouldn't be so magnified and let him play (and bat) every day.
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  10. #9
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I would be willing to hand the job to Sappelt or Alonso and I would be fine with either decision. Both guys have different qualities, but would provide good value.

  11. #10
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I don't see how the lion's share of the playing time can't be designated for Yonder. He has to be either traded or on the big league roster. The only way another team will trade for him is if they think they are getting value because you can't play both Yonder and Votto, so a trade is pretty far fetched.

    I don't mind keeping Sappelt as an option, but frankly in left field last year Sappelt was part of the problem, not the solution. It won't hurt him to go back to Louisville and prove that he belongs here when he gets his next shot.

    The difference between Chris Heisey the starter and Chris Heisey off the bench is puzzling. I'll keep him around, but at the least I want him to face some competition. Heisey also was part of the crater that was left field last year.

    If I'm the GM, I want to put my money into pitching. That means for a left field free agent I'm looking for three things (well, after price).

    #1 I want a guy who can cover some ground. He may have just been blowing smoke, but Dusty gave some quotes out that when he was "resting" Yonder, it was more because they were in a park with large dimensions than the "handedness" of the pitcher.

    #2 Quotes from #1 aside. I'm looking for a right handed batter. Between Vott, Yonder, Bruce and (Rolen's replacement) Francisco, and Phillips in the leadoff slot, this lineup could use a right hander who can hit a bit.

    #3 All things being equal, I would rather have a player who had been to the playoffs and done well than a player with limited experience.

    Veteran right handed hitter with some range who has had post season experience. Somebody willing to accept a 4 OF role, but isn't going to kill you if you give him 400 at bats.

    Andruw Jones pops out at you. He covers ground and kills left handed pitching. He's already in the spare part role.

    Ryan Ludwick - Boy, that sure was some year, wasn't it? It was just three years ago. Limited post season experience. Not the range we want.

    Magglio Ordonez - Even if he would take the role, I don't think we want him there.

    Juan Rivera - I'm guessing he's going to want to be a regular. And be paid like one as well.

    Cody Ross - What an odd career it's been for Cody. At first glance, it looks like he's everything we're after, but he doesn't really have a platoon split.

    There you go. If I'm the GM, I go after Andruw Jones. Pay him a bit more than he's probably worth to keep him happy and let him feast on national league pitching.
    "Even a bad day at the ballpark beats the snot out of most other good days. I'll take my scorecard and pencil and beer and hot dog and rage at the dips and cheer at the highs, but I'm not ever going to stop loving this game and this team and nobody will ever take that away from me." Roy Tucker October 2010

  12. #11
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Sign Willingham. (He has the same agent as Jay Bruce, which could be a good thing.)

    Then trade Alonso or Votto for pitching. (I tend to prefer the Votto to Toronto for several arms.)
    Last edited by lollipopcurve; 10-03-2011 at 03:00 PM.

  13. #12
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    I honestly don't know who. Yonder is my first choice, however, I think I would rather have a right-handed bat. The Reds' really don't have a power hitter from the right side. They have Rolen, but that's no guarantee. If Stubbs stays in the middle of the lineup, then he could provide some pop, but not what I'm fully looking for. I'd be OK with Yonder, but just in the back of my head I want a righty there.

  14. #13
    Sprinkles are for winners dougdirt's Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Quote Originally Posted by dfs View Post
    I don't mind keeping Sappelt as an option, but frankly in left field last year Sappelt was part of the problem, not the solution. It won't hurt him to go back to Louisville and prove that he belongs here when he gets his next shot.
    Sappelt had 107 at bats this year, in sporadic playing time. In AA/AAA the last two years he had hit a combined .336/.393/.502 with 67 walks and 98 strikeouts in 823 plate appearances. Not sure he has anything left to "prove" in the minors.

    In the Majors, the sample size is small and he got off to a slow start, hitting just .195/.195/.220 with no walks and 8 strikeouts in his first 11 games, where he noted that he was pressing and getting away from what had gotten him there. From that point forward he hit .273/.342/.379 with 7 walks and 9 strikeouts (27 games) and aside from a bit of lowered power, most of that seems pretty much in line with what I would expect (improved power will add a little to the average, which I would expect).

  15. #14
    Flash the leather! _Sir_Charles_'s Avatar
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Well, I'm for trading Alonso. So for me, he's out of the mix. Looking at the free agent list for OF'ers...it's not that appealing. And we're going to be pretty strapped in terms of the budget. So for Left Field, we'll mix and match. Center and Left will be manned by Stubbs, Heisey & Sappelt. They can rotate whichever way suits that days game best. All 3 can play either left or center. If someone steps up in AAA, they can be added to the mix if need be. I'd LOVE to see Danny Dorn get a shot because I really think his bat will play in the bigs in a platoon situation...but I don't think the Reds see it that way.

    If Francisco gets traded, then Frazier is the main backup to Rolen. If not, then Frazier can play some left too.

  16. #15
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    Re: You are the GM... Left Field

    Sappelt? No way is he a starting left fielder.

    Alonso? If necessary can do it. But it's not his position.

    Reality - Reds need to acquire a LF, a SP, and a closer.

    That's right. Three guys will be needed. From the outside.

    I know, it's expensive. Good players cost some money. Or make deals that are financially favorable.

    It's what's needed to compete. A LF, a SP, a closer. From the outside.
    Last edited by Kc61; 10-03-2011 at 05:27 PM.


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