Platoon is the word, is the word is the word. . .
by Fortune favors the brave(s)
on May 12, 2008 12:02 PM EDT
With Infante's quick start since returning and the solid play of Blanco, platoon is the word (sung to Grease is the word). Now if the Braves don't hit into 6 double plays in a game we may have a tough lineup to match up against. What other platoon possibilities may be on the horizon? McCann, no, Kotsay, maybe, can't Norton play the outfield? Although Kotsay is playing very well and I would rather have him in the line up and give Franceour a day off. I know Frenchy is not coming out, don't get all excited ejruiz!
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Platooning makes a lot of sense when two criteria are met; 1. a player has a significant gap in preformance when facing one type of pitcher over another & 2. that a replacement is available for that player who outpreforms him against the type of pitcher the player’s weakest against.
On the Braves, Kotsay has no discernable split and Chipper and Tex are good enough against both and are switch hitters. Now to the others:
Escobar – 308/383/435 vs RH, 344/397/464 vs LH
- The Braves have no one who can outpreform his stats versus RHs
Kelly Johnson – 260/360/451 vs RH, 270/347/394 vs LH
- Neither Infante nor Prado could match him versus lefties, at least not long term.
Francoeur – 264/300/429 vs RH, 313/361/536 vs LH
- Only Greg Norton can match Francoeur against RHs and even if they could we’d lose quite a bit on defense. This ones certainly not worth it.
Diaz – 291/330/386 vs RH, 338/369/527 vs LH
- Here is where a platoon makes some sense. I haven’t been able to locate Blanco’s minor league platoon splits, but he’s a lefty and posted a 282/369/362 last season in AAA. I think he could reach at least Diaz’s level while providing better defense and leaving us with a potent bat on the bench. This one makes sense.
McCann – 302/361/506 vs RH, 284/333/477 vs LH
- See Escobar. No one we have can match his 810 OPS against lefties.
For the record, Norton has an extreme split (259/344/446 vs RH, 227/309/338 vs LH) which is enough to make him unusable against lefties.
by 17843 on May 12, 2008 3:47 PM EDT 0 recs
Dude...
...do you understand how a sample size works? You were the same person who wanted KJ out of the leadoff spot because his OBP was not over .400 this season, and now you want to replace him with Infante? In 1699 PAs his career OBP is not even .300! And I don’t think today helped.
The only platoon that makes sense is Diaz/Blanco.
by Smoltz's Beard on May 12, 2008 3:57 PM EDT 0 recs
He's...
..been reading way to much Dave Obrien lately. O’Brien has been calling for a change in lead off hitters for a couple posts now on his blog. I used to like DOB’s stuff – but he’s just getting as hacky as the rest of the beat writers out there…
by RainDelay on
May 12, 2008 4:35 PM EDT
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Yeah....
.....DOB spends more time in his blog defending his right to discuss his musical tastes and calling Disney “Dark Star” than he does giving us any real information. I finally had to quit reading – it drives me nuts! If I know some news is happening, I’ll scroll through the posts to find what I need, but it’s sometimes not even worth it.
by secondbass on
May 12, 2008 5:38 PM EDT
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Not to mention some of the complete bone heads that post comments as well. Holy crap, talk about uninformed masses. They hang on his every damn word…
by RainDelay on
May 12, 2008 9:41 PM EDT
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The only platoon we should have is Blanco/Diaz. I think Infante did a pretty good job today of playing himself out of some sort of “4 starts a week” deal. Frenchy should probably take a day off here and there to get himself right, but I have a strange feeling thats never ever going to happen in the history of ever.
Kotsay is playing extraordinarily well, so there is NO WAY you can bench him for 2 games a week in favor of Blanco. Diaz is absolutely horrid playing every day, despite LEADING THE TEAM IN STEALS, so he really shouldn’t be starting 6 games a week.
This whole “Corky Miller getting more than one start a week” thing is already old. Dude can’t hit worth a damn, and needs to be sent to the glue factory when Pena comes back. Hell, Sammons is hitting pretty well in AAA, why not give him a shot at the backup job if you’re so set on Pena being a horrid catcher?
Anyone who makes a case for platooning the other 3/4 of our infield clearly doesn’t know anything about baseball. A day off here and there I can understand, but a platoon? L-O-L.
by bigjoe on May 12, 2008 6:25 PM EDT 0 recs
They want Sammons to play everyday, not ride the friggin’ pine. No way Sammons gets called up unless someone goes down for a extended period of time.
by RainDelay on
May 12, 2008 9:42 PM EDT
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I just got an idea.
How about we platoon Bobby Cox with Terry Pendleton? I think that would work out for the best. I’m sure TP would allow his pitchers to work their way out of jams, not play the matchup game in a blowout in the sixth inning, and not pull your best power hitter from the lineup in the 7th inning for a pinch runner who’ll make an error in the next inning!
by bigjoe on May 13, 2008 9:44 AM EDT 0 recs
Your ideas intrigue me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
by Smoltz's Beard on
May 13, 2008 10:53 AM EDT
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Just to be clear . . .
My idea was just platooning Blanco and Diaz, which already is happening and Ifante and Johnson, that’s it. Maybe, Blanco lead off hitter would be worth a try.
by Fortune favors the brave(s) on May 13, 2008 2:32 PM EDT 0 recs
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