March 26, 201214 yr Author I meant 2 years ago, my bad. Last year he was awful. But to his benefit, he was playing through nagging injuries. The question for me comes down to who you feel more comfortable with pinch hitting. I'm more comfortable with Murphy. I find it that Solano doesn't seem to excel at anything in particular. If you take those 14 hits out of his career in 2010, he's 79/417 (.189). Come on, dim. You're better than that. I believe in the philosophy that "not all hits are created equal". Murphy did his in big spots. I seriously can't believe you're weighing a career on 9 pinch hits. 9. I thought you were better than that.
March 26, 201214 yr Also, the "absurdity" isn't that a player is being asked to earn a spot. The absurdity is the audacity in saying that "nothing in the past" matters. If that's the case, has Murphy earned a spot? Even with what he's done in the past? I think in this case, saying the past doesn't matter might even be of some advantage to Murphy. He's had a terrible major league career. And I'd argue that Solano could very well be the lesser of two evils. It's not very hard for guys at this level to maintain a .202 average and post neutral +/- ratings in the field. Murphy has at least shown that he can hit at the major league level, albeit to a limited degree. Solano hasn't really hit much at all in his minor league career. Murphy hasn't "earned" a spot from past accomplishments, but when you consider the past, Murphy is much more sensible to have on the bench. I think you are just placing too much emphasis on small sampling size in spring training.
March 26, 201214 yr No offense to Murphy, but outside of a couple game winning hits what has he really done?
March 26, 201214 yr Does anybody really care? It's the 25th man on the roster and they both suck. They're barely going to play. If one of them has to start, I'd prefer neither get the chance. This is why I want Bryan Petersen on the team (yet another reason). He can be put in CF occasionally and Bonifacio can go to the infield, if necessary. This spot is basically irrelevant. Quite frankly, I'd rather carry an extra arm even if he sucks so he can eat up irrelevant innings.
March 26, 201214 yr Author I meant 2 years ago, my bad. Last year he was awful. But to his benefit, he was playing through nagging injuries. The question for me comes down to who you feel more comfortable with pinch hitting. I'm more comfortable with Murphy. I find it that Solano doesn't seem to excel at anything in particular. If you take those 14 hits out of his career in 2010, he's 79/417 (.189). Come on, dim. You're better than that. Take away his 14 hits? Are you kidding me? Donnie Murphy has at least shown SOME success in the bigs, while Solana can't even hit minor league pitching. But no, let's have some young blood on this team despite the fact that he's worse than Murphy. How do you figure he can't hit minor league pitching? Because he doesn't hit for power? He's had a .260 minor league career and a .278 career in three seasons at the highest level of the minors. And he's 23, four years younger than your man Murphy. The fact that Murphy ran into 9 pinch hits in big spots in 2010 literally means nothing to me. When you look at the rest of his career, it doesn't even show that he's had some success. It shows that he had a hot streak over the course of a month. It can happen to literally any player.
March 26, 201214 yr I'd take Solano just based on the fact that he's a better glove than Bleeping... Is he? The best thing about Murphy's game is his glove so idk. Again, not that it really matters. These guys will never play. If anything, Ozzie might want Solano on the team so he can pinch-run. That's the only use for these players anyway.
March 26, 201214 yr The roster hasn't even been finalized and you're already pulling out the old "this is exactly why i didn't want ozzie" spiel. spare me So what? I made that statement based on tangible reasons and several people seem to agree that it's a faulty mindset for a manager to have. Because you're already set in your views no matter what.. I can already see that you're going to be extra critical of him this season and will probably over-analyze a buttload of otherwise inconsequential day-to-day things.. and I'm guessing its going to get annoying as sh*t. gee, can't wait What does this even mean? "Set in [my] views no matter what?" If he does something I agree with, I will credit him. If he holds an opinion that is egregiously idiotic, I will express my views (since this is a message board and all). This isn't over-analysis; all fans scrutinize their teams/managers for things like this. Many people here get more worked up with in-game decisions than I do. Talent evaluation and roster construction, however, are major issues for me. It sounds like you are more set out to criticize me than I am with Ozzie.
March 26, 201214 yr Author Also, the "absurdity" isn't that a player is being asked to earn a spot. The absurdity is the audacity in saying that "nothing in the past" matters. If that's the case, has Murphy earned a spot? Even with what he's done in the past? I think in this case, saying the past doesn't matter might even be of some advantage to Murphy. He's had a terrible major league career. And I'd argue that Solano could very well be the lesser of two evils. It's not very hard for guys at this level to maintain a .202 average and post neutral +/- ratings in the field. Murphy has at least shown that he can hit at the major league level, albeit to a limited degree. Solano hasn't really hit much at all in his minor league career. Murphy hasn't "earned" a spot from past accomplishments, but when you consider the past, Murphy is much more sensible to have on the bench. I think you are just placing too much emphasis on small sampling size in spring training. He can hit minor league pitching, just not for power. I see him more as your catalyst type of player who can come up and get on base more than a guy who's going to come up and end a game with one swing on a PH home run. And if I'm the one putting emphasis on small sample sizes, what do you call the guys who are basing a career off of 9 pinch hits two years ago and using it to say the guy is good?
March 26, 201214 yr I meant 2 years ago, my bad. Last year he was awful. But to his benefit, he was playing through nagging injuries. The question for me comes down to who you feel more comfortable with pinch hitting. I'm more comfortable with Murphy. I find it that Solano doesn't seem to excel at anything in particular. If you take those 14 hits out of his career in 2010, he's 79/417 (.189). Come on, dim. You're better than that. Take away his 14 hits? Are you kidding me? Donnie Murphy has at least shown SOME success in the bigs, while Solana can't even hit minor league pitching. But no, let's have some young blood on this team despite the fact that he's worse than Murphy. How do you figure he can't hit minor league pitching? Because he doesn't hit for power? He's had a .260 minor league career and a .278 career in three seasons at the highest level of the minors. And he's 23, four years younger than your man Murphy. The fact that Murphy ran into 9 pinch hits in big spots in 2010 literally means nothing to me. When you look at the rest of his career, it doesn't even show that he's had some success. It shows that he had a hot streak over the course of a month. It can happen to literally any player. The fact that he has a career OPS below .700. You're complaining about Donnie Murphy not being able to hit Major League Pitching when Solano can't hit Minor League Pitching.You want to erase his hits, fine. It doesn't change anything.
March 26, 201214 yr I'd take Solano just based on the fact that he's a better glove than Bleeping... Is he? The best thing about Murphy's game is his glove so idk. Again, not that it really matters. These guys will never play. If anything, Ozzie might want Solano on the team so he can pinch-run. That's the only use for these players anyway. Oh yes, huge advantage over Murphy's D...I've been to 3 ST games and I've seen plenty of both...Solano plays a slick SS...
March 26, 201214 yr The roster hasn't even been finalized and you're already pulling out the old "this is exactly why i didn't want ozzie" spiel. spare me So what? I made that statement based on tangible reasons and several people seem to agree that it's a faulty mindset for a manager to have. Because you're already set in your views no matter what.. I can already see that you're going to be extra critical of him this season and will probably over-analyze a buttload of otherwise inconsequential day-to-day things.. and I'm guessing its going to get annoying as sh*t. gee, can't wait What does this even mean? "Set in [my] views no matter what?" If he does something I agree with, I will credit him. If he holds an opinion that is egregiously idiotic, I will express my views (since this is a message board and all). This isn't over-analysis; all fans scrutinize their teams/managers for things like this. Many people here get more worked up with in-game decisions than I do. Talent evaluation and roster construction, however, are major issues for me. It sounds like you are more set out to criticize me than I am with Ozzie. Ozzie praising a guy who may or may not beat out DONNIE MURPHY for the 25th roster spot is what reaffirms your displeasure for Ozzie? Yea, you're going to be a blast this year.
March 26, 201214 yr Oh, and Solano's double came off of Joaquin Benoit in the 9th, not against Joe Shmuck from Class A Connecticut Tigers...
March 26, 201214 yr The roster hasn't even been finalized and you're already pulling out the old "this is exactly why i didn't want ozzie" spiel. spare me So what? I made that statement based on tangible reasons and several people seem to agree that it's a faulty mindset for a manager to have. Because you're already set in your views no matter what.. I can already see that you're going to be extra critical of him this season and will probably over-analyze a buttload of otherwise inconsequential day-to-day things.. and I'm guessing its going to get annoying as sh*t. gee, can't wait What does this even mean? "Set in [my] views no matter what?" If he does something I agree with, I will credit him. If he holds an opinion that is egregiously idiotic, I will express my views (since this is a message board and all). This isn't over-analysis; all fans scrutinize their teams/managers for things like this. Many people here get more worked up with in-game decisions than I do. Talent evaluation and roster construction, however, are major issues for me. It sounds like you are more set out to criticize me than I am with Ozzie. Ozzie praising a guy who may or may not beat out DONNIE MURPHY for the 25th roster spot is what reaffirms your displeasure for Ozzie? Yea, you're going to be a blast this year. According to the article, this is not only about the 25th roster spot, but "all decisions." That essentially means Coghlan/Petersen/Kearns, etc. That's not trivial stuff. It's actually pretty important.
March 26, 201214 yr Author I meant 2 years ago, my bad. Last year he was awful. But to his benefit, he was playing through nagging injuries. The question for me comes down to who you feel more comfortable with pinch hitting. I'm more comfortable with Murphy. I find it that Solano doesn't seem to excel at anything in particular. If you take those 14 hits out of his career in 2010, he's 79/417 (.189). Come on, dim. You're better than that. Take away his 14 hits? Are you kidding me? Donnie Murphy has at least shown SOME success in the bigs, while Solana can't even hit minor league pitching. But no, let's have some young blood on this team despite the fact that he's worse than Murphy. How do you figure he can't hit minor league pitching? Because he doesn't hit for power? He's had a .260 minor league career and a .278 career in three seasons at the highest level of the minors. And he's 23, four years younger than your man Murphy. The fact that Murphy ran into 9 pinch hits in big spots in 2010 literally means nothing to me. When you look at the rest of his career, it doesn't even show that he's had some success. It shows that he had a hot streak over the course of a month. It can happen to literally any player. The fact that he has a career OPS below .700. You're complaining about Donnie Murphy not being able to hit Major League Pitching when Solano can't hit Minor League Pitching.You want to erase his hits, fine. It doesn't change anything. If you understood how OPS worked, you'd know for a player like Solano who doesn't hit for power at all, it's unfair to base his ability to be an affective catalyst and late inning replacement off of it. The guy has 627 career minor league hits and 768 career bases. That tells you that most of his hits are singles, which understandably lead to a small SLG which lead to a small OPS. That doesn't mean he can't hit minor leauge pitching. It means he can't hit it for power. He's never going to be a power hitter in his life. Does that mean he can't be as affective if not more affective than Donnie Murphy? No. It means he's not a power hitter. Simple as that.
March 26, 201214 yr That's a terrible comparison. 1. Solano has a career .260 batting average/.313 .OBP line in the minors so the lack of power point is irrelevant. 2. Bonifacio was actually not a major league caliber player his first year in the majors. He just so happened to get a lot better last year. He also has tools (or uh, more speed) than Solano could ever dream of having. With that said, I still don't care because Donnie Murphy sucks and neither of these guys is going to play much, if at all. Solano might be more useful late in games since he's probably faster than Murphy and can be used as a pinch-runner. That'll be their primary role on the team.
March 26, 201214 yr Busiest, non stadium/free agency thread of the off season is about a guy I never heard of. Can't wait for next Wednesday.
March 26, 201214 yr Author That's a terrible comparison. 1. Solano has a career .260 batting average/.313 .OBP line in the minors so the lack of power point is irrelevant. 2. Bonifacio was actually not a major league caliber player his first year in the majors. He just so happened to get a lot better last year. He also has tools (or uh, more speed) than Solano could ever dream of having. With that said, I still don't care because Donnie Murphy sucks and neither of these guys is going to play much, if at all. Solano might be more useful late in games since he's probably faster than Murphy and can be used as a pinch-runner. That'll be their primary role on the team. Does Solano need to work on his patience (although he is coming off of a pretty good year patience wise)? Sure. I'm not saying he doesn't. The point I was making about power was that he can hit minor league pitching despite having a low career OPS against it and for guys like him (and Boni), it's unfair to base their ability to hit off of it. Also, I totally agree. Murphy sucks and Solano isn't going to blow anyone away. But the fact that people are saying Murphy has had success because he ran into a few hits two years ago and deserves a spot on this team because of it is absolutely absurd. By the way, Solano doubled off of Joaquin Benoit and tied the game in the 9th today. .394 vs Murphy's .188 this spring.
March 26, 201214 yr That's a terrible comparison. 1. Solano has a career .260 batting average/.313 .OBP line in the minors so the lack of power point is irrelevant. 2. Bonifacio was actually not a major league caliber player his first year in the majors. He just so happened to get a lot better last year. He also has tools (or uh, more speed) than Solano could ever dream of having. With that said, I still don't care because Donnie Murphy sucks and neither of these guys is going to play much, if at all. Solano might be more useful late in games since he's probably faster than Murphy and can be used as a pinch-runner. That'll be their primary role on the team. Does Solano need to work on his patience (although he is coming off of a pretty good year patience wise)? Sure. I'm not saying he doesn't. The point I was making about power was that he can hit minor league pitching despite having a low career OPS against it and for guys like him (and Boni), it's unfair to base their ability to hit off of it. Also, I totally agree. Murphy sucks and Solano isn't going to blow anyone away. But the fact that people are saying Murphy has had success because he ran into a few hits two years ago and deserves a spot on this team because of it is absolutely absurd. The problem, however, is that you are saying that Solano "deserves" a spot over Murphy, which you are presumably basing off of a handful of spring training ABs where Solano "ran into a few hits." You aren't being consistent.
March 26, 201214 yr Author That's a terrible comparison. 1. Solano has a career .260 batting average/.313 .OBP line in the minors so the lack of power point is irrelevant. 2. Bonifacio was actually not a major league caliber player his first year in the majors. He just so happened to get a lot better last year. He also has tools (or uh, more speed) than Solano could ever dream of having. With that said, I still don't care because Donnie Murphy sucks and neither of these guys is going to play much, if at all. Solano might be more useful late in games since he's probably faster than Murphy and can be used as a pinch-runner. That'll be their primary role on the team. Does Solano need to work on his patience (although he is coming off of a pretty good year patience wise)? Sure. I'm not saying he doesn't. The point I was making about power was that he can hit minor league pitching despite having a low career OPS against it and for guys like him (and Boni), it's unfair to base their ability to hit off of it. Also, I totally agree. Murphy sucks and Solano isn't going to blow anyone away. But the fact that people are saying Murphy has had success because he ran into a few hits two years ago and deserves a spot on this team because of it is absolutely absurd. The problem, however, is that you are saying that Solano "deserves" a spot over Murphy, which you are presumably basing off of a handful of spring training ABs where Solano "ran into a few hits." You aren't being consistent. I'm not basing Solano's ability to hit off of his 13/33 this spring and Murphy's 6/32. I'm basing it off the facts that this position should have and rightfully is open to winning with a good spring. Solano has had it. Murphy hasn't. Simple as that. Not to mention Solano is coming off a good year in AAA.
March 26, 201214 yr Ok, forget his slugging. He has a career .260 average and a .313 OBP. In the MINOR LEAGUES. How do you think that will translate to MLB pitching?He sucks. Plain and Simple. He's worse than Donnie Murphy.
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