Could this be the beginning of something?

Could this be the beginning of something?

God I hope so.

Me too. Good call by Mckeon

In close games Gonzo can come in to play D

I think McKeon was just observing how he is at Shortstop since he hasnt been there in a long time. Tommorow we may see lowell at third and Miggy at SS to give Sea Bass a break. That was a good move because in most of lowell's at bats he has hit the ball hard. Even in the Final game of the Season he got the double. He has proved he is still our best hitter.

Is this also something for next season? Could you imagine Lee, Cabs, Lowell, and Pudge in the infield? Over 100 home runs in the infield alone. :w00t

It about time Jack puts him at SS , i been telling everyone to put him at SS that his natural position...

this is interesting though. i didn't think McKeon would try this...but this is a good opportunity to give Cabs a few chances at short I guess.

 

Alex could certainly use a day off, if nothing else.

 

He's around 1-23 in the playoffs & has become a liability in the batting order. Conine's basically negated in the batting order since Sea Bass & the pitcher can't do anything behind him. Conine can knock in a run obviously, but tonight he went 3-for-3 & got stranded every time.

 

Would be a bit of a gamble, but Cabrera's been able to do everything they've asked him to do thus far.

 

clearly there are defensive plays Alex can make that Miguel probably won't make. But you have to weigh the options:

 

1. Alex is terrific defensively but terrible at the plate.

2. Cabs is very good at the plate. If he's even average defensively, isn't it worth it? And on top of Cabs being better than Alex, you're adding Mike Lowell to the lineup! Plus I just don't get the feeling Cabs is very prone to errors. He's got a smooth glove. I don't think he can get to every ball that Alex could, & is probably a step slower. I know everyone hates to make drastic moves late in the season like this, but it just might work...

 

should be interesting. glad i'm not the one making these decisions!

I love it! It's worth a try!

I think it's worth a shot. I'm not sure they can win the whole thing if AGon continues like he's been. It's like we have a 7 man line-up right now, but it's worse than that because, as said above, Conine is worth nothing if there's no one on base. Even today with Enc on 2nd, Conine gets a hit, Enc isn't sent. And then come 2 guaranteed outs. We can't score anymore unless the inning starts with the top part of the order...besides home runs anyway. And is AGon really THAT great on defense? He made 2 great plays yesterday, but has booted a ball in practically every single game in the playoffs.

 

Question is, why is Jack actually doing this? Is he really going to give this a shot? Or was it to send a message? I don't think AGon is the kind of player who is going to respond well to this kind of message. He's never had a good attitude. I'd be interested to see a shot of the dugout just to see how AGon's taking it.

Even I will admit putting Cabrera at SS is probably a good idea...Gonzalez is not going to hit pitchers with stuff like Wood, Prior, or even Clement/Zambrano. We're going to need all the offense we can get on Friday and putting Cabrera at SS may not be a bad idea.

 

At the same time, when a move like this is made, the ball seems to find you and if Cabrera isn't ready to do it it could turn out to be a total nightmare....We'll see what Jack does, but Miguel hasn't played the position in what? 3-4 months now?

I think Cabs has been better than average defensively at third and left. We'll see what Jack does.

Why shouldn't Cabs be able to play short? It's not that different from third. He's got good hands, and it's not like AGon has the greatest range, so we shouldn't lose much there. He knows how to play the position cause he's done it his whole life. He may not be as smooth at turning the DP, but weight that against the fact that AGon has become as automatic an out as I've ever seen, and I think the scale tips in favor of Cabs. It's a risk. And it's a much easier call to make when you're not the manager. People will hammer Trader Jack if he makes that move and it doesn't work out. I trust Jack will make the right decision here, whatever he decides. He knows more than I do. My gut feeling tells me that AGon is back out there on Friday.

on post game interview jack said that he wont do it again cuz the media is acting stoopid. he said he did it because he wanted to get lowell some at bats and down 10 runs it didnt hurt. he said he didnt want to take cabrera out because he was hot. he also said it worked out just in case so if they need cabrera to playe there in the future.

Why shouldn't Cabs be able to play short? It's not that different from third. He's got good hands, and it's not like AGon has the greatest range, so we shouldn't lose much there. He knows how to play the position cause he's done it his whole life. He may not be as smooth at turning the DP, but weight that against the fact that AGon has become as automatic an out as I've ever seen, and I think the scale tips in favor of Cabs. It's a risk. And it's a much easier call to make when you're not the manager. People will hammer Trader Jack if he makes that move and it doesn't work out. I trust Jack will make the right decision here, whatever he decides. He knows more than I do. My gut feeling tells me that AGon is back out there on Friday.

I agree...That may have just been Mckeons way of telling Gonzalez to wake the f*ck up and get his head out of his rear. Even though we've been spoiled with his defernse, he hasn't been making some of the defensive plays he usually does. Yeah the ball took a bad hop but 99/100 times he still makes the play regardless

and Agon has been worn out so far. I can't even count how many balls he's fielded.

i love the idea

even if cabs a short we still would have lost by 5+ runs 4 sho

even if cabs a short we still would have lost by 5+ runs 4 sho

just imagine Jeff Conine as the 8 hole hitter

 

*wipes drool*

just imagine bases loaded 1 out IF playing DP depth and cabs doesnt got the range to his right and we lose.

just imagine bases loaded 1 out IF playing DP depth and cabs doesnt got the range to his right and we lose.

you do know that Cabs was a SS right?

 

Alex is a liability at the plate and recently, he has been very iffy(albeit on hard hit balls) but still, he hasnt looked great(except for thos 2 plays last night)

those 2 plays got us out of cubs big innings. it could have been alot worser. yea i do know cabs play SS before but he looks like hes not quick enough to his sides. didnt encarnacion play LF and CF in Detroit? plus jack said he woulnd do it again unless he had to.

Encarnacion is a natural CF....

 

whats your point?

This is an odd time to be doing this, in the middle of the NLCS but highly predictable when it comes to Jack. Win at all costs. The same way he threw Loop to fires he'll do the same with AGon if he thinks it will bring us a win Thursday.

 

For all we know, Cabs has been talking infield practice there. Jack had to know when Lowell was coming back into the lineup better than any of us. He's no fool.

 

I think I was the first one to post about Cabrera moving to third because the organization thought he had outgrown (in size) the SS position. I always wondered if it was a ruse in preparation to trade Lowell, but when it all worked out I dropped that theory.

 

The kid has a rocket for an arm. If he can get to the ball he can throw anyone out. It's fascinating stuff.

 

Whatever Jack decides to do is fine with me. He's gotten us this far, we're just all along for the ride.

 

A split in Chicago, a new shortstop and maybe Lowell back in the lineup. Quite a trip to the Windy City.

Encarnacion is a natural CF....

 

whats your point?

my point= cabrara wont see SS untill at least the spring. in PPS it is strickly defense. Alex has mad D. defense sets more tempo for a pitcher than a hitter does in the linup. stop insisting on this. even mckeon said it wont happen again