If I were Manager...

[GOOCH]

And by the way, I never said Tony was playing favorites. He just values players differently. He values defense (so do I!)...but defense is hard to assess objectively. So Tony may have legitimate subjective reasons for thinking Taguchi is an asset defensively...and we out here in baseball-watching land have a tougher time arguing with him...since defense is a bit of a mystery. But we know defense is very important (as game 1 illustrated nicely)...so we can't exactly tell Tony "Hey, ignore your gut: Taguchi is worth X defensively." We've got a few measures that are approaching that...but nothing like we have on the offense or pitching side of things...were we CAN say those things. And clubhouse presence, hustle, grit...these are all things that managers value and probably should value to some extent. If its close between two players, then heck yeah bring that stuff in. And, of course, Tony is putting together a team...not the 25 best hitters. So there's something to be said for positional flexibility and handedness.

But it's not close between J-Rod and So. And it's not all that close between J-Rod and Preston. J-Rod is the third best offensive player (and he isn't the injury risk that Edmonds is) we have in the OF...and there's a considerable tail off to 4th. Yet, J-Rod is in Memphis.

Maybe it was because J-Rod has options. But that implies there's some mystery with the skill set that Preston and So bring to the table that its worth spending 100 abs to find out. I think we know what they bring. And, if anything, we should expect a decline from their previous benchmarks given their age and career trends.

Not so with my buddy, J-Rod. He should be the starting RF for this team, given what we have in the organization that is ready to play in the majors. Hands down. D.GOOCH

[jim]

Actually I think slugging percentage has a higher correlation with runs scored than on base. Obviously both have a high correlation.

This stats vs eyes thing is getting kind of old to me. You know, back in the dark ages when I played pre-Bill James they were just as important. I don't know if James really invented anything, he simply expressed it. There has never been a time when I was involved in baseball when getting on base and hitting for power wasn't tracked and considered important.

It has never been said better than UK said it, and now part of Michaels' sig:

"You're not trying to combine tabasco and chocolate ice cream here, you're trying to combine FRBG with a nice plate of wings." ~ UK.

[cardfaninfla]

J-Rods numbers could be good due to limited exposure and putting him a good situations also. I wonder if he would keep his OBP up above .350 if had to play everyday.

[mcgee51taguchi99]

J-Rods numbers could be good due to limited exposure and putting him a good situations also. I wonder if he would keep his OBP up above .350 if had to play everyday.

winnar!

[JL21]

J-Rods numbers could be good due to limited exposure and putting him a good situations also. I wonder if he would keep his OBP up above .350 if had to play everyday.

I know it's not a popular opionion, as several intelligent posters argue that it's not the case, but I'm with you here. I think if J-Rod were to play every day, his numbers would drop considerably.

That said, I'm a firm believer that he should've been on the roster ahead of either So or Skip. But that's a separate thread that's already happened.

[clement]

I sort of wish Rodriguez would be given a month to play every day against all kinds of pitchers just to see if he really is as good offensively as some people think he might be. I personally think he would be okay, but would come down much closer to earth. Even last year, someone pointed out that if you added post-season stats into Taguchi's and Rodriguez's numbers, they weren't that far apart offensively. I too would have kept Rodriguez up and sent Schumaker down. But I also understand Tony's concern about Edmonds not being available, and having to rely solely on Taguchi in center. The Cardinals problem is not having Taguchi on the roster, it's having to use him so much because of our weak starting contingent in the outfield.

At any rate, as a fan of Taguchi, I hope he proves all of his critics wrong. I'm not expecting anything spectacular, and I do recognize that he's reaching the twilight of his career. But I hope he gets his defensive skills into line, and can keep his average up around .280. If he does those two things, and continues to be a reliable baserunner, bunter, and situational hitter, then I think he will have earned his spot on the team.

[thrill]

I sort of wish Rodriguez would be given a month to play every day against all kinds of pitchers just to see if he really is as good offensively as some people think he might be.

That's what bugged me. We need to get him consistent ab's to see if we have anything here, and now is the perfect time to do it with the injuries.

[GOOCH]

J-Rods numbers could be good due to limited exposure and putting him a good situations also. I wonder if he would keep his OBP up above .350 if had to play everyday.

Only one way to find out. D.GOOCH

[TGantz]

SS-Eckstein
RF-J-Rod (until Juan comes back)
1B-Pujols
LF-Duncan
3B-Rolen
CF-Edmonds
C-Molina
2B-Kennedy

C-Bennett
Util-Spiezio
MI-Ryan
OF-Shumaker
OF-Wilson

Carpenter
Wainwright
Wells
Reyes
Thompson

Hancock
Flores
Franklin
Johnson
Springer
Looper
Isringhausen

[cardfaninfla]

J-Rods numbers could be good due to limited exposure and putting him a good situations also. I wonder if he would keep his OBP up above .350 if had to play everyday.

Only one way to find out. D.GOOCH

Maybe not. Many fans though that Luna would put up "numbers" if played every day. LaRussa see's these guys warming up, prcticing and in teh cages. We found out that Luna had decent numbers because he was put in good positions to succeed. When given teh shot to play enough in Cleveland he couldn't win a job.