I think we can say that small ball can't work with this crew. It requires too much of the top of the order, and too little at the bottom. Think about it if Castillo and JP aren't hitting .300+ we aren't winning. But last year more often than not somebody was going to drive them in. Now Lowell is slumping (he's entitled to it), and Cabrera is great but who else is there? How does it work when one of the two aren't playing well?

 

Lo Duca is a nice player, especially considering he's a catcher. He allows us to have Sea Bass take the offensive responsibility most catchers get. But 1st Base and RF are still huge liabilities. In RF I know ENC can be good, we've all seen him hit .270, and he not so old he should be falling off. But in 1st Conine is falling off. This offseason we need to do a Marino and force him to retire. Then see if we can get player on a one year deal, maybe Delgado if Admin thinks he has something left. The only other position we have some need is SS but LoDuca sort of eliminated that need.

 

(Quick suggestion, if Carl still has the number to the Bachlor producers give them Alex or ENC. They need to get laid bad)

 

The pitching needs to stay together. Pavano should be offered a fair contract. If it takes a few Picasso paintings so be it. I'd love Armando back but he's pudding. Koch, Mota, and Spooney (in some combo) should be able to handle the back of games.

 

Oh and Jack, I love you but your style of managing reminds these guys too much of '03. You should gracefully bow out and return to North Carolina content that you won a World Series, and turned around more teams than the Billy the Marlin ever did.

 

I know this won't happen because of money issues.

Screw Delgado...I like America. McKeon will manage here as long as he wants and we will make a run at this thing! We need to get out of the St. Louis series without losing any ground in the playoff picture and SWEEP Milwaukee.

Conine isn't doing as bad as your making him sound. If you want to replace someone, look in RF. Conine is .270+ (forgot) and isn't doing that bad, while Enc is .235?

 

Edit: Plus Conine is still doing good, see: Mil. grand slam.

Conine isn't doing as bad as your making him sound. If you want to replace someone, look in RF. Conine is .270+ (forgot) and isn't doing that bad, while Enc is .235?

 

Edit: Plus Conine is still doing good, see: Philly grand slam.

506176[/snapback]

dont you mean Milwaukee...

Conine isn't doing as bad as your making him sound. If you want to replace someone, look in RF. Conine is .270+ (forgot) and isn't doing that bad, while Enc is .235?

 

Edit: Plus Conine is still doing good, see: Philly grand slam.

506176[/snapback]

dont you mean Milwaukee...

506179[/snapback]

What chu talkin bout Willis? lol..been to too many games lately =|

well, actually he hit grand slams against both teams

 

crap, i think i may be wrong, someone correct me?

I think his other slam was against the mets, no?

But in 1st Conine is falling off. This offseason we need to do a Marino and force him to retire. 506013[/snapback]

 

Yeah that .333 AVG 3 HR and 20 RBI in his last 23 games prove that. He's sorry he couldn't live up to your standards and hit .500 40 150

Call for COnine to retire is a little ridiculous, he is going to retire a Marlin when his contract is done.

 

No to Delgado

 

And I fully expect to see Jack around Elon come next spring

Ok Conine has been on recently, I was venting my frustration with him and the team in general. I don't see how Enc can be moved, Conine can (although I really would rather see him retire here).

 

As for Jack, last year he inherited a hungry team. He just made them believe they could win. He's been very good at this throughout his career. But what he has rarely done is create that hunger, and get the team fired up. I don't know if replacing him is the real answer, but I do think it is a legit criticism of his managing. It should at least trigger an off-season evaluation by Beinfest and Samson.

 

On all the boards I read a lot of talk about last year we won with this or that. But I don't think it's simply recreating the team we had last year. We won playing Small Ball, with a relatively low OBP from our Leadoff hitters. The middle of the lineup almost always seemed to drive in the runs that were sitting on base. These are conditions that are difficult to recreate, even before considering the personnel changes.

 

We need to tweak the formula, move away from an over-reliance of Pierre and Castillo and find more players who can drive in runs. Maybe LoDuca is the answer, but I don't think he is. In my opinion there is a reason most teams stockpile homerun guys, and it isn't the fans fascination with the HR either. Fans rather win, and homerun guys give hope. Even when a homerun isn't hit, late in the game when we are down the presence of a 40HR player makes everybody a little more on edge, maybe believe a little more. That?s also why I suggested RF or 1st base as potential changes. Production wise SS is a bigger liability but getting a SS with power is a premium compared to 1st or OF.