Encarnacion kind of tearing up AAA.

[TC81190]

.372/.386/.581 - .968 OPS.

The part that still makes me wretch - 1 BB in 43 ABs (but also only 4 Ks...)

[Heath]

He took his demotion like a man and is doing what he was supposed to do.

It's time to bring him back up.

[WMR]

::stretching my fingers in the new rz::

Get him back up here! We need some righthanded power.

[OldRightHander]

I'm not surprised really. I wonder how long until he's back.

[Heath]

Originally Posted by OldRightHander

I'm not surprised really. I wonder how long until he's back.

It should be interesting. Narron can be smug and and say I told you so, or leave him down there as long has he can to prove a point.

And I don't mean Krvisky when I say Narron. There are players that a manager will absolutely go ape over or dislike and will make their point known causing the GM to do what the manager does.

[KronoRed]

I don't think his bat was the main reason he went down, I think he stays there until A) they move him to 1st or B) he stops making any errors.

[Bob Borkowski]

How has EE's defense been down in Louisville?

[Caveat Emperor]

Originally Posted by Heath

He took his demotion like a man and is doing what he was supposed to do.

It's time to bring him back up.

The low BB number indicates to me that he's still having problems with what got him into trouble this year in the majors -- pitch recognition and selection.

EE gets away with a lot of mistakes because he has great bat speed and can "swing late" while at the plate -- meaning that he waits until the absolute last possible second to swing and counts on his hands to get the bathead around into the hitting zone. Thats part of the reason why he draws so many catchers interference calls: his late swing makes contact as catchers naturally move their gloves forward to receive the baseball.

Its no surprise to me that he's tearing up AAA -- with rare exception, not too many of the guys he is facing have great velocity. Its a lot easier to sit and make a late swing on an 88 MPH Back-to-the-Future Fastball than it is to try the same thing on a 92-93 MPH major league fastball. The walk rate, not the hit rate, will be the real indicator as to when EE is ready to come back up, IMO.

[RedFanAlways1966]

Originally Posted by Bob Borkowski

How has EE's defense been down in Louisville?

I heard Marty/Thom and the guy from mlb.com talking yesterday during the 2nd inning... 3 errors in Louisville for EE. However, I believe two of them came in his first game there.

[LINEDRIVER]

After EE was in Louisville for a few days, I read EE's quote in Trent's blog along the lines of, "I came here to get my bat going, not necessarily to work on my defense".

Wow! I damn near fell outta my chair.

[Kc61]

Good idea to give EE some minor league time. Now bring him up, immediately. The season needs to be devoted to young players, it seems his bat is coming back, enough of this.

[Falls City Beer]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Good idea to give EE some minor league time. Now bring him up, immediately. The season needs to be devoted to young players, it seems his bat is coming back, enough of this.

It's not that his bat is "back," necessarily. It's that he has NOTHING to learn in Louisville. He simply has to push through the desert up at the MLB level, and there's only one place for that....

[Always Red]

Originally Posted by Kc61

Good idea to give EE some minor league time. Now bring him up, immediately. The season needs to be devoted to young players, it seems his bat is coming back, enough of this.

I totally agree.

I was all for the demotion, EE took his medicine, kept his head up, did not complain, and apparently his bat is waking up some.

It's time to get Castro and Keppinger off 3B. It's time to weed out the chaff, and go with the young talent, the future of this team.

The wiley, steely-eyed vets have gotten the Reds exactly nowhere. I'd start with keepig Keppinger on the roster, talking Castro into retirement and taking a job as a coach in the minor league system.

[HotCorner]

Please recall him. I'm tired of Keppinger, Castro or Freel at third. Plus the Reds need another legit righthand bat in this lineup.

[Heath]

According to Narron - EdE's in Louisville for a while. According to Hal's notes this AM -

Update: Encarnacion

Third baseman Edwin Encarnacion, exiled to Class AAA Louisville for a refresher courses on defense and offense, had three hits that included a home run Saturday and two hits Sunday. He is hitting .372.

"We know Edwin is going to hit and everybody tells me he is working hard on his defense," said Narron. "If something happened today where we needed him, we'd call him back. If it's a month from now and he is playing well and he is getting better and improving, that's good for him, too. There is no time frame."

I'm picking myself up from the ground.