OK, seriously, what the fuck?We are now up to 58 double plays grounders in 48 games. That's a pace for 196!! And while I was as excited about anyone, more than most, about the moderately neato offense the Jays put up last week, I'm not so encouraged that I can lay aside the fact that we can outhit the Angles 20-9 in the last two games and lose both of them.
If that's not enough, we get THIS little nugget of insight from Gibbons referred to in Blair's column today:
Gibbons made clear that Eckstein shouldn't expect to be in the lead-off spot when he returns. He plans on sticking with Brad Wilkerson in that role and likes Aaron Hill in the No. 2 spot. That means that Alex Rios will need to hit his way out of his slump in the middle of the order.
I'm FAR from a "Gibby must go!" guy but, fuck, that attitude is just flat unacceptable. Wilkerson is hitting .167 as a Jay and a .477 OPS - and that in over twice as many attempts as Adam Lind got before Gibby decided he had no job for him.
UN - AC - CEPTABLE. I don't give a fuck who you are.
It's questionable you have such a hitter even on your team, given the man's past few years, it's fucking strange you have such a guy in your lineup but maybe what with injuries you have to, but there is NO JUSTIFICATION for leading off a guy like that.
End of discussion.
Compound that by having Rios, who's mired in an 18 for 95 slump (.189) in the #3 spot (traditionally your best hitter) work out of his slump at that critical point in the order....astounding!
And if that's not enough, Rod Barajas is smoking the ball in May and yet the manager of a team who's punchless offense is putting HIS head on the black keep trotting the slumping Zaun out there more often than not. I'm a fan of Zauny and i don't trust Barajas been desperate times call for desperate measures.
There's no doubt in my mind that the team is snakebit offensively at the moment....it only takes watching the incredible number of balls which are very often clean hits that are somehow getting caught over the last few weeks, but that said, when you are fighting or trying to fight your way out of such a situation, you do what you have to do to maximize the tools you have to work with.
Right now Stewart needs to be leading off (and he's not great shakes but in May he's hitting about exactly what we thought we were going to get from Eckstien when we signed him) and Rios needs dropped down and Barajas needs to be getting more AB until he cools. Hell, as hot as he is right now Scutero leading off makes vastly more sense than Wilkerson.
I've always thought Gibby was pretty decent as a manager but if he's actually determined to continue leading off Wilkerson, then I'm not standing up for him any more when folks rag on him. Making a questionable move is one thing, losing your damn mind is something else.
~WillRain
4 comments:
you know i wasn't in your corner about lind and sending him back down...i figured it can't hurt him...but i'm with you now...this is stupid...wilkersuck shoudn't be batting lead...and we're an under .500 ball club, so lind should be up here taking hacks in the big leagues, not in 'Cuse. it's like the marlies playing clemmensen instead of pogge...what's the fucking point?
i'm bent. this season is looking like all the ones before it.
mother. fucker.
Heh...I usually read your posts before I do mine for exactly this reason. I honestly feel kind of betrayed by Gibby. I've been pseudo-defending him under the guise of "managers hardly matter" for ages, and he's done some things this year (Vernon stealing second with nobody (one?) out and a man on third was the moment that he jumped the shark for me) that are not even his traditional annoying "gut" moves, they're just perverse and bizarre.
Honestly, I don't know which went up first, and it doesn't matter so long as the reader knows we are not cribbing each other.
Actually, I'm always pleased when someone else who's thoughts I respect reaches the same conclusion as me.
jays fans need to stop with this "snakebit" crap. They are not unlucky, they are 'ungood.' I'm sorry but this is not a team of great hitters. I'm too tired to go through all the numbers, and others have done so. This "snakebit" bullshit was trotted out almost every damn day through the Canucks season until the end when fans and media alike noticed that in fact, the Canucks aren't as great as the fans wanted to believe. The jays are almost a third of the way through the season so it is time for everyone to shut their yaps about being "snakebit." Yeah, you too Southpaw. If you say that one more time I'm going to burn this site down (in effegy of course).
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