Blackhole in the Lineup with Hart Leading Off?

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

At first glance, the Brewers lineup seems a little "weak" in the 5th-8th spots with Corey Hart now in the leadoff spot. I think its clear that our lineup is pretty solid with Braun, Hart, and Fielder, but that its been a pretty weak year since then. Cameron, Hardy, Hall, (as well as) Weeks have stuggled in a major way this season and Kendall has been mediocre (on offense) since his torrid start.

My question is at what point do we call up either LaPorta or Gamel (or both) to inject some life into our offense? Russell Branyan brought a spark, but i don't anticipate him keeping up his current pace and if we don't pick up our offense this year i'm not sure how we finish with a winning record (let along with the division) I'd like to see some OFFENSE heavy lineups for early in the game (if we call up LaPorta/Gamel), and use an array of defensive replacements (Cameron, Counsell) in the late innings to "secure" the win.

[GAME05]

Gamel is a nice thought on offense, a lefthanded bat whose numbers project really well to the major-league level, but it'd still be Braun-esque to see him play 3B defense. and since he's made some big defensive strides lately, he'd sure be hurt developmentally by coming up here to basically pinch-hit.

 

LaPorta would be interesting, though i have no idea how that might effect his arbitration status in the future.

 

But Branyan is hitting just fine in the lineup, and overall i think our offense is doing well. i don't think we're really desperate for some shot in the arm from calling up someone else.

[T B0NE 10]

I really like Hart leading off and I hope when Weeks gets back that Hart stays there.

[TooLiveBrew]

My question is at what point do we call up either LaPorta or Gamel (or both) to inject some life into our offense?

 

2009 or later.

 

(ibtm)

[1992casey]

Gamel's defense is apparently improving, but the reports I see indicate that it still needs quite a bit of work. At this point, I don't see it offsetting any offensive spark he might provide.

 

Also, the Brewers are keeping him in Huntsville rather than promoting him to Nashville so he can continue to work with Don Money. I think this indicates that they've learned from the Braun situation at 3B and don't want a repeat.

 

There's no spot for LaPorta to start right now, and I can't see the Brewers taking away from his development time to have his bat on the bench.

 

I have to agree with TLB: 2009 or later for both of these guys.

 

I agree with the issue presented in the lead post, though. The team is minus a bat, and the bottom of the order has become weaker since Weeks' injury.

[brwrsfan]

I wouldn't be at all suprised to see either one, though more likely LaPorta, up when the rosters expand in September.

[crewcrazy]

With Hart batting leadoff, what I don't really like is having your only two lefties hit back-to-back when Branyan is in the lineup and batting 5th. I wouldn't mind seeing Cameron and Branyan flip-flopped, but Cameron has said he's always been the most comfortable hitting 6th, so I'd be hesitant to move him. Having two lefties hit back-to-back isn't the end of the world (especially when the alternative is Bill Hall), but turning LOOGYs into LTOGYs makes me a bit nervous. It's been working so far, though, so at least Ned hasn't taken the Dusty Baker "striped bass" lineup approach.

[kilgore37]

I'd like to see one of them come up and dh durning the next american league series

[endaround]

If only there was a guy in AAA on the 40 man roster hitting say .326/.436/.540

[hauser42]

Would be great to see Cameron batting 5th to break up the lefties, but if Ned is worried about comfort than we will see Cameron in the 6 spot.

 

Were are going to put Gamel or LaPorte when it comes to defense? Gamel is not ready for 3B and there is not an opening in the OF for LaPorte to play. Braun got called up last year because he was killing AAA and we had a horrible bunch at 3B.

[PrimeTime955]

If only there was a guy in AAA on the 40 man roster hitting say .326/.436/.540

I don't see anyone on the AAA roster with that line actually. I thought you were talking about Brad Nelson but he's .313/.424/.518

 

[PrimeTime955]

Would be great to see Cameron batting 5th to break up the lefties, but if Ned is worried about comfort than we will see Cameron in the 6 spot.

 

Were are going to put Gamel or LaPorte when it comes to defense? Gamel is not ready for 3B and there is not an opening in the OF for LaPorte to play. Braun got called up last year because he was killing AAA and we had a horrible bunch at 3B.

Who is this LaPorte guy you speak of?

 

[endaround]

If only there was a guy in AAA on the 40 man roster hitting say .326/.436/.540

I don't see anyone on the AAA roster with that line actually. I thought you were talking about Brad Nelson but he's .313/.424/.518

 

I used fangraphs which I thought were updated daily. Rotowire has him at .318/.424/.518. Whereas BA has him at .313/.424/.518

 

[PrimeTime955]

I used fangraphs which I thought were updated daily. Rotowire has him at .318/.424/.518. Whereas BA has him at .313/.424/.518

I got the line straight from milb.com which would seem to be a pretty good source. But I agree that Nelson is having a hell of a season so far. I just am not quite sure where he would play at all.

 

 

(pared back nested quote --1992)

[TooLiveBrew]

DH, give Prince rest. He'd really make a lot of sense to have up over Iribarren.

[PrimeTime955]

DH, give Prince rest. He'd really make a lot of sense to have up over Iribarren.

We only have the DH for 3 games. Prince doesn't need a rest.

 

[BrewCrewForever]

I don't mind Corey leading off but I would much rather have him in the 5 hole. I wish we could swing a trade for Brian Roberts so he could lead off and move Corey back to 5 and Branyan back down to 6. But I doubt we will get Roberts, so it doesn't matter.

[JoeHova]

The thing about calling Nelson up is that a AAA OPS of .950 doesn't translate to as good of an MLE as you'd think. It translates to an OPS of about .780, which is nice, but basically league average. I don't see that helping right now. If he could play 2nd or SS or catch, yes, it would help. But he's not going to replace Braun, Prince, or Hart and those are the only positions he could conceivably play. Iribarren at least makes sense as a pinch runner and utility guy. Nelson would just be a Dillon, getting an AB every other game. That would be nice if the rosters were 26 or 27, but guys like Nelson (and Dillon, and even Branyan) are hurt a lot by the 12-13 man pitching staffs that teams have been going to recently. They hit enough to be MLB caliber but not really enough to carry one of the easier defensive position like first or the OF corners. So, they get stuck with that 4A label because teams don't want to waste one of their 3-4 bench spots on a pseudo-slugger who only gets 100 ABs a year, figuring that guys with more defensive versatility, even if they have less bat, will play more and thus be more useful.

[ILuvDaBush]

If Billy were to be traded, wouldn't he make a good 3B platoon partner with Branyan, given that Counsell will probably be spelling Hardy or Weeks?

[sveumrules]

If Billy were to be traded, wouldn't he make a good 3B platoon partner with Branyan, given that Counsell will probably be spelling Hardy or Weeks?

 

the old lefty/lefty platoon. with all ned's thinking outside of the box this year he might just go or it...