Bruce or Choo in CF?

[RedEye]

Who will end up playing there? Initial reports said it would be Choo. Walt says it will be worked out in ST. Olney says everyone else thinks it will be Bruce. Your thoughts?

My guess is Bruce. But that worries me a bit -- not b/c I think he can't do it, but b/c I worry about an injury. I remember him playing CF in ST one of those first years, and he had hamstring trouble from all the running.

[cumberlandreds]

I would go with Choo. Unless he is a complete disaster he should be the one.

[RedEye]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

I would go with Choo. Unless he is a complete disaster he should be the one.

From what I've read, lots of people think he will be a complete disaster.

[mdccclxix]

All things considered, I think Choo should get the best shot at it because Hamilton "could" be ready to help out and Choo could be moved around the OF to find PT. Meanwhile, keeping Bruce where he is seems sensible. He's a bigger part of the team and I don't want him getting injured. Anyway, the answer to this won't be evident until mid-May after the chosen alignment has had some practice.

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

I would go with Choo. Unless he is a complete disaster he should be the one.

^ This

Choo is a one-year rental. Bruce is a cornerstone of the franchise. If someone is going to be forced to play out of position, it should be the guy who is only here one year.

[redsfan30]

I think it will be Choo's to lose.

I will miss watching Stubbs chase balls down in the gaps with ease.

[RedsManRick]

Bruce. At the end of the day, I go with the alignment that I think will be most effective. If and when there seem to be negative consequences from having Bruce in CF, we can adjust, but like the with the "Chapman as starter" discussion, I don't want to avoid trying to be the best we can be simply because it might not work. There's a way to do that prudently, starting with a thorough vetting in ST, but I think Bruce is likely the better option.

[Steve4192]

Originally Posted by RedEye

From what I've read, lots of people think he will be a complete disaster.

I don't buy that.

It sounds like a bunch of hand-wringing for the sake of hand-wringing.

Bruce and Choo are almost exactly the same player defensively. They are both guys who started out as CF in the minors but were moved to RF upon arriving in the majors based upon the belief that they were middling defenders in CF but could be outstanding defenders in RF. Both of them panned out as above-average RF with howitzer arms, but didn't quite live up to the 'potential gold glove' hype. Both of them can play CF in a pinch but you probably don't want them there long-term.

I see no reason to believe that Bruce will be any better than Choo manning CF. Assuming that is the case, why mess with one of the cornerstones of the franchise? Make the new guy who is only here for a year make the switch.

[RedEye]

I thought Bruce was a borderline GG caliber RF. At the very least he gets good reads and runs hood routes. Choo, apparently, has a good arm but not much else going for him out there.

[WildcatFan]

I'd prefer Bruce in a one-season vacuum, but based on the circumstances, I'll say Choo. He's not going to be around after this year, and I'm OK with him struggling a little if need be.

[SidneySlicker]

Originally Posted by RedEye

I thought Bruce was a borderline GG caliber RF. At the very least he gets good reads and runs hood routes. Choo, apparently, has a good arm but not much else going for him out there.

My problem is uprooting Jay Bruce from the position that he'll likely play for the next half decade for one season of Choo. I agree Choo would have to be a disaster to move Bruce over.

[SunDeck]

Unless Choo can stand on the warning track in right field and throw a one hop seed to third base, I say leave Bruce where he is.

[mattfeet]

Originally Posted by WildcatFan

I'd prefer Bruce in a one-season vacuum, but based on the circumstances, I'll say Choo. He's not going to be around after this year, and I'm OK with him struggling a little if need be.

Agreed.

[jhu1321]

Originally Posted by SunDeck

Unless Choo can stand on the warning track in right field and throw a one hop seed to third base, I say leave Bruce where he is.

He can.

[RedsManRick]

Originally Posted by SunDeck

Unless Choo can stand on the warning track in right field and throw a one hop seed to third base, I say leave Bruce where he is.

He can. Here's the RF list from the Fans Scouting Report. I eliminated all people with less than half a season of games and provided some averages at the end.

Both Bruce and Choo are better from an arm perspective than a range one. But for Choo, the range is actually a problem and likely something that would be exacerbated in CF.

PLAYER			G	Votes	React	Accel	Velo	Hands	Ftwork	ThrStr	ThrAcc	AvgRng	AvgArm	TotAVg	RngRank	ArmRnk	Overall
Heyward, Jason		151	33	75	75	77	74	75	84	73	75	77	77	3	5	1
Suzuki, Ichiro (SEA)	93	68	74	78	73	74	79	77	79	75	78	76	4	3	2
Hunter, Torii		124	19	75	70	61	75	77	70	77	70	75	71	5	10	3
Reddick, Josh		142	21	70	64	59	63	80	87	88	64	85	70	6	1	4
Blanco, Gregor		98	30	80	82	83	76	58	38	49	80	48	70	1	23	4
Bogusevic, Brian	90	12	62	59	64	62	68	81	76	62	75	66	8	9	6
Bruce, Jay		149	35	57	59	58	51	73	87	81	56	80	64	15	2	7
Stanton, Giancarlo	115	12	52	60	69	48	63	83	71	57	72	64	11	11	7
Markakis, Nick		103	34	58	55	54	71	70	71	73	60	71	62	10	12	9
Venable, Will		104	10	58	68	69	51	62	53	59	62	58	61	9	14	10
Revere, Ben		118	32	71	89	89	69	40	0	28	80	23	61	2	31	10
Choo, Shin-Soo		148	31	44	48	58	48	67	87	75	50	76	59	21	7	12
Beltran, Carlos		130	26	68	50	50	61	64	66	72	57	67	59	11	13	12
Upton, Justin		142	16	52	65	74	34	43	77	49	56	56	59	15	17	12
Aoki, Norichika		121	28	63	61	63	63	61	30	57	63	49	58	7	22	15
Rios, Alex		152	17	52	63	70	44	53	51	57	57	54	57	11	19	16
Bautista, Jose		87	53	46	43	44	53	67	88	76	47	77	56	22	6	17
Joyce, Matt		106	14	58	54	52	58	55	60	57	56	57	56	17	16	17
Ethier, Andre		141	11	56	50	48	67	62	53	59	55	58	55	18	14	19
DeJesus, David		125	24	61	55	52	61	56	48	55	57	53	55	11	20	19
Cruz, Nelson		145	32	29	40	54	35	61	89	78	40	76	53	25	8	21
Denorfia, Chris		82	10	52	48	57	51	55	51	59	52	55	53	20	18	21
Colvin, Tyler		99	10	49	58	55	48	48	46	47	53	47	51	19	25	23
Francoeur, Jeff		144	33	32	28	35	48	67	87	81	36	78	49	27	3	24
Tabata, Jose		82	12	25	50	53	44	41	55	49	43	48	46	23	23	25
Swisher, Nick		130	28	44	35	41	43	53	45	55	41	51	44	24	21	26
Ross, Cody		108	23	42	37	41	33	43	45	49	38	46	41	26	28	27
Pence, Hunter		100	22	21	29	57	23	24	70	46	33	47	40	29	26	28
Cuddyer, Michael	89	13	42	32	41	27	36	53	49	36	46	40	28	27	28
Boesch, Brennan		101	52	10	23	38	11	22	45	35	21	34	27	30	29	30
Duda, Lucas		98	24	4	10	22	23	15	41	35	15	30	21	31	30	31