Not surprising, though I don't see us being sellers at all, as with their current value only Ross and Cantu are worth selling.

 

 

 

(Can somebody explain to me how DH, a position that all you need is offense, has a AL average OPS of .791 but 1b, a position that you need to worry about defense at, has a average OPS of .846? This isn't some like one year thing, this always happens)

 

Basically our only hope for Cantu is if somebody wants to try him at 3b, but I doubt that happens.

 

For some silly reason, AL teams don't use the DH position as a way to get great offensive players in the lineup (minus guys like David Ortiz and Travis Hafner). Instead, they seem to spread at-bats around to a bunch of average offensive players to just try and get a bunch of guys some at-bats.

 

I don't really understand it either as if I were an AL team I would just acquire two great hitting first basemen and play one at first base. Thats what I always do in baseball sims and it seems like the way the smarter, more consistent teams do it.

Not surprising, though I don't see us being sellers at all, as with their current value only Ross and Cantu are worth selling.

 

 

 

(Can somebody explain to me how DH, a position that all you need is offense, has a AL average OPS of .791 but 1b, a position that you need to worry about defense at, has a average OPS of .846? This isn't some like one year thing, this always happens)

 

Basically our only hope for Cantu is if somebody wants to try him at 3b, but I doubt that happens.

 

For some silly reason, AL teams don't use the DH position as a way to get great offensive players in the lineup (minus guys like David Ortiz and Travis Hafner). Instead, they seem to spread at-bats around to a bunch of average offensive players to just try and get a bunch of guys some at-bats.

 

I don't really understand it either as if I were an AL team I would just acquire two great hitting first basemen and play one at first base. Thats what I always do in baseball sims and it seems like the way the smarter, more consistent teams do it.

 

because in the real world not every AL team can acquire 2 great hitting first basemen or 2 great hitting players for that matter. so they just spread the best players they have out.

Call me crazy, but I think the Mets are "out of it" too.

Anyways, SF sounds like the best fit.

 

 

Mets can make a comeback depending on how quickly guys like Beltran and Reyes come back. They still have a good team.

 

And for SF though, why trade for Cantu? Ishikawa isn't going to be far under Cantu's level offensively, they're both probably going to be upper .700 OPS guys from here on out. However, Ishikawa is vastly supperior defensively. Both UZR (8.6 runs) and Plus/Minus (9 runs) rate him as the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball.

 

And if they're going to trade for a 1b, why cantu? If they're serious, why wouldn't they go for Laroche's or Johnson's .850-.900 OPS?

 

If SF makes a move it's for a 2b, where they need help. Unlikely we see a trade with them. There just really isn't a fit for Cantu anywhere right now.

Not surprising, though I don't see us being sellers at all, as with their current value only Ross and Cantu are worth selling.

 

 

 

(Can somebody explain to me how DH, a position that all you need is offense, has a AL average OPS of .791 but 1b, a position that you need to worry about defense at, has a average OPS of .846? This isn't some like one year thing, this always happens)

 

Basically our only hope for Cantu is if somebody wants to try him at 3b, but I doubt that happens.

 

For some silly reason, AL teams don't use the DH position as a way to get great offensive players in the lineup (minus guys like David Ortiz and Travis Hafner). Instead, they seem to spread at-bats around to a bunch of average offensive players to just try and get a bunch of guys some at-bats.

 

I don't really understand it either as if I were an AL team I would just acquire two great hitting first basemen and play one at first base. Thats what I always do in baseball sims and it seems like the way the smarter, more consistent teams do it.

 

because in the real world not every AL team can acquire 2 great hitting first basemen or 2 great hitting players for that matter. so they just spread the best players they have out.

 

I didn't mean that every team could go out and acquire Jim Thome, but that many of them could better utilize the position by thinking of as a position one good offensive player could hold instead of spreading at bats to backup outfielders and third basemen to get them in the lineup. And the two DH's that I mentioned in my example weren't expensive players- Travis Hafner was a project player who was picked up in a trade and finally made good by focusing on the DH position. David Ortiz was picked up off the scrap heap by the Red Sox, signed to a relatively cheap deal and became an offensive force.

 

The reality of the matter is that few AL teams are out there looking for a guy to provide consistent offense from the DH position, regardless of age. Those that do think of the DH position as a unique position are content to fill it with a veteran bat- like a Kevin Millar- who really has no business being in the starting lineup at any position.

Not surprising, though I don't see us being sellers at all, as with their current value only Ross and Cantu are worth selling.

 

 

 

(Can somebody explain to me how DH, a position that all you need is offense, has a AL average OPS of .791 but 1b, a position that you need to worry about defense at, has a average OPS of .846? This isn't some like one year thing, this always happens)

 

Basically our only hope for Cantu is if somebody wants to try him at 3b, but I doubt that happens.

 

For some silly reason, AL teams don't use the DH position as a way to get great offensive players in the lineup (minus guys like David Ortiz and Travis Hafner). Instead, they seem to spread at-bats around to a bunch of average offensive players to just try and get a bunch of guys some at-bats.

 

I don't really understand it either as if I were an AL team I would just acquire two great hitting first basemen and play one at first base. Thats what I always do in baseball sims and it seems like the way the smarter, more consistent teams do it.

 

because in the real world not every AL team can acquire 2 great hitting first basemen or 2 great hitting players for that matter. so they just spread the best players they have out.

 

I didn't mean that every team could go out and acquire Jim Thome, but that many of them could better utilize the position by thinking of as a position one good offensive player could hold instead of spreading at bats to backup outfielders and third basemen to get them in the lineup. And the two DH's that I mentioned in my example weren't expensive players- Travis Hafner was a project player who was picked up in a trade and finally made good by focusing on the DH position. David Ortiz was picked up off the scrap heap by the Red Sox, signed to a relatively cheap deal and became an offensive force.

 

The reality of the matter is that few AL teams are out there looking for a guy to provide consistent offense from the DH position, regardless of age. Those that do think of the DH position as a unique position are content to fill it with a veteran bat- like a Kevin Millar- who really has no business being in the starting lineup at any position.

 

ight gotcha

Call me crazy, but I think the Mets are "out of it" too.

Anyways, SF sounds like the best fit.

 

 

Mets can make a comeback depending on how quickly guys like Beltran and Reyes come back. They still have a good team.

 

And for SF though, why trade for Cantu? Ishikawa isn't going to be far under Cantu's level offensively, they're both probably going to be upper .700 OPS guys from here on out. However, Ishikawa is vastly supperior defensively. Both UZR (8.6 runs) and Plus/Minus (9 runs) rate him as the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball.

 

And if they're going to trade for a 1b, why cantu? If they're serious, why wouldn't they go for Laroche's or Johnson's .850-.900 OPS?

 

If SF makes a move it's for a 2b, where they need help. Unlikely we see a trade with them. There just really isn't a fit for Cantu anywhere right now.

 

 

I don't disagree with your post.

 

Regarding the Mets though, there haven't been many reports of those players coming back...and they're already 9 or 10 games back, I believe, in the loss column for the division.

 

They have a good team when healthy, but when are those guys coming back?

Not surprising, though I don't see us being sellers at all, as with their current value only Ross and Cantu are worth selling.

 

 

 

(Can somebody explain to me how DH, a position that all you need is offense, has a AL average OPS of .791 but 1b, a position that you need to worry about defense at, has a average OPS of .846? This isn't some like one year thing, this always happens)

 

Basically our only hope for Cantu is if somebody wants to try him at 3b, but I doubt that happens.

 

For some silly reason, AL teams don't use the DH position as a way to get great offensive players in the lineup (minus guys like David Ortiz and Travis Hafner). Instead, they seem to spread at-bats around to a bunch of average offensive players to just try and get a bunch of guys some at-bats.

 

I don't really understand it either as if I were an AL team I would just acquire two great hitting first basemen and play one at first base. Thats what I always do in baseball sims and it seems like the way the smarter, more consistent teams do it.

 

because in the real world not every AL team can acquire 2 great hitting first basemen or 2 great hitting players for that matter. so they just spread the best players they have out.

 

I didn't mean that every team could go out and acquire Jim Thome, but that many of them could better utilize the position by thinking of as a position one good offensive player could hold instead of spreading at bats to backup outfielders and third basemen to get them in the lineup. And the two DH's that I mentioned in my example weren't expensive players- Travis Hafner was a project player who was picked up in a trade and finally made good by focusing on the DH position. David Ortiz was picked up off the scrap heap by the Red Sox, signed to a relatively cheap deal and became an offensive force.

 

The reality of the matter is that few AL teams are out there looking for a guy to provide consistent offense from the DH position, regardless of age. Those that do think of the DH position as a unique position are content to fill it with a veteran bat- like a Kevin Millar- who really has no business being in the starting lineup at any position.

 

I'd also be interested in what it'd be like to convert either a 2b or a 3b to a first baseman, and then have your first baseman DH. Completely evolve the IF defense. I'm not sure how it'd work in practice, but in theory you're second baseman can play a lot closer to the bag. If you build a GB staff, this should tremendously help them. I mean, you have a lot of teams with FB moving to 3 CF defense and saying damn to corner OF offense (An interest article on it), why not do the same with IF and GB staff?

During this roadtrip,

If we cannot close a gap (within 5- game-behind), then we gonna be seller.

 

It's inevitable.

 

 

I highly doubt this team will be a seller. A seller would mean trading people like Ross, and Cantu - not Hermida and Uggla which have real replacements. We definitely aren't going to be downgrading our team. We have the second easiest schedule in the NL (first are the Brewers and third are the Dodgers) so we'll be fine playing 18/68 games with teams with .500+ records for the remainder of the season We're also 5 games behind the Wild Card so the team has the ability to get to the playoffs this season - but we're going to need some sort of a good move.

No it wouldn't necessarily.

 

The depth of our minor league system allows us to make trades without actually sticking a useless player in that position. If worse comes to worst then Gaby Sanchez and Cameron Maybin will be brought in to replace anyone traded (people will be shifted around the infield/outfield, but it's been said enough that everyone knows where everyone would go.) That's hardly a season-ending sell. Cantu and Ross are the only two who's trading would be a horrible blow to our offense (I say Ross because if you move Ross, and not Hermida, you still have Hermida...) Cantu's far too useful to be traded with aspirations to contend.

the whole purpose of a trade is to better your team and getting rid of ross and cantu is the exact opposite