Jose Bautista has the highest swinging strikeout rate in
baseball and is hitting a mere .167 against lefties. He’s 37.
He’s not going to improve.
Adrian Gonzalez has been on a downhill spiral for almost 3
weeks now. He’s in the midst of a .175
slide during which has brought his season average down to a mere .235. He’s flailing weakly at pitches and getting increasingly
comfortable at striking out (witness he 3 Ks against the Yankees on Sunday
night). He’s 36 and not likely to
improve.
Now Asdrubal Cabrera is taken out due to a hamstring issue
against right hander Luis Severino, so naturally instead of going to left
handed youngster Luis Guillorme, Terry, er, Mickey goes to the totally lost Jose
Reyes to take over at second base. Jose
is hitting a robust .151 with 1 HR, 3 RBIs and 2 SBs. It's the last two innings and you have a truly great fielder in Guillorme on the bench. Instead they stubbornly stick with Reyes. Of course in in the middle of an 8th inning defensive disaster on two fronts he failed to touch the bag and subequently threw the ball away. WHY IS HE ON THE TEAM? He’s 35 and not likely to improve.
Do you want to send a signal to the league and to the fans
that you will no longer tolerate what’s not working? Cut all three loose immediately. Replace them with Jeff McNeil (who may be
needed to play for awhile for Cabrera anyway), Peter Alonso to take over at 1B
and then consider who might best help you to replace Bautista on the
bench. I scoffed at the idea of Hanley
Ramirez but at this point I’ll take him.
When something doesn’t work, you try something else. You don’t just hope to get them going, right,
Terry, er, Mickey?
Who feels they won despite the decision making?
ReplyDeleteYou’re not alone. I could feel a heart attack brewing when the 9th started and Jose shouldn’t see a major league field again.
ReplyDeleteCan’t knock a man for utilizing the tools he was given
ReplyDeleteHe was given Luis Guillorme. He used Jose Reyes. He was given Kevin Plawecki. He used Jose Bautista.
ReplyDelete..... Reyes singled and then Frazier hit the game winning home run.... Plawecki struck out yesterday with no out and a runner on second...
ReplyDeleteHalle-Freakin'-Lujah!
ReplyDeleteThe Mets release Adrian Gonzalez, arguably the most productive of this geriatric triumvirate. It's not the first one I would have canned but it's a big step in the right direction. Instead of promoting Peter Alonso they brought up Dom Smith. Who wants to bet Plawecki or Bruce starts at 1st while Smith sits?
DOM SMITH? Vegas is allowing 7.3 runs per game and Smith is hitting just .260ish with 2 homers in the same league? Well, he's younger than Gonzalez...
ReplyDeleteDont forget....Ty Kelly too....
ReplyDeleteWhoohooo