Third Base options for the rest of 2008

[Fatter than Joey]

Actually it isn't. Branyan might actually be injured.

 

He was injured August 14th, not August 1st.

 

What I was trying to say is that it's not like we're getting an MVP caliber player with Branyan in the lineup.

 

We get a guy that hit more HRs in a game that Counsell can hit in a season -- good enough for me.

 

Sometimes I think the Russell man love goes a little overboard here.

 

Not even close.

[strawbossisevil]

Can we be sure he wasn't nicked up before the injury he sustained on August 14? Perhaps his back was hurting or something. Heck, perhaps it played into the other injury. There is a lot about it that we don't know. All we know is that the Prince of Darkness said that he got injured on August 14.

[Fatter than Joey]

He made 2 starts and some PH appearances.

[logan82]

He made 2 starts and some PH appearances.

Which is pretty much what Yost would do to keep his bench players sharp. I won't guess wether Branyan was hurt or not, but if he was he should have been put on the DL earlier and Dillon brought up.

[Fatter than Joey]

Which is pretty much what Yost would do to keep his bench players sharp.

 

Branyan made 2, Counsell made 9 -- I agree that Counsell was the starter and Branyan was the bench player.

 

I won't guess wether Branyan was hurt or not, but if he was he should have been put on the DL earlier and Dillon brought up.

 

Yep. Agree 100%

[DonMoney4Mgr]

Craig Counsel has 12 R'sBI in 202 AB. That's the lowest ratio on the team including starting pitchers (yes, Sheets too). And he's playing a "power position". At least it should be a run producing position.

[Postseason2006]

You would think he'd luck into more RBI's than that. Yikes....

[kramnoj]

Craig Counsel has 12 R'sBI in 202 AB.

 

I think if you are going to judge someone by how many RBI they have, you should probably look at how often they come to plate with men on. Counsell only has 89 ABs with men on and only 48 ABs with RISP. It is true that Counsell has performed poorly with men on and with RISP, but it puts things into more perspective when we have more detail and we realize that the sample size we are dealing with is somewhat small.

[Jay Zahn]

I wouldn't mind seeing what Hall can do for the rest of the season, honestly. At least Billy has some upside if he gets hot, Counsell just can't hit.

Hall is a worse hitter than Counsell right now. Neither Counsell nor Kendall has any power, but they get on base a little better than the team average. This means they might be on base for a home run by someone else, but probably more importantly it means they didn't make an out. Which leaves at least one extra AB for someone else in the lineup, who sometimes will be Braun, Fielder, or Hart.

 

On the other hand, Hall has a OBP well below the team average, which means he makes more outs than the average Brewer. While Hall does have more power than Counsell, his power is still below average for a Brewer. So you have a player using more outs than average and being less productive than average. Counsell's productivity is low but at least he leaves his share of chances for the big boppers. Hall doesn't. I'll take Counsell.

[DougJones43]

The denial about the Branyan benching is eerily similar to the denial about Hart's last season. Both instances ended up with the player eventually being injured, but the timelines both proved that each respective players was not seeing much playing time, well prior to their injury. In the face of this clear evidence, many people still insist on using the injuries as the reason for the reduction in playing time. I really don't understand this. I'm not sure why people can't just admit that it's very possible that Ned wanted to play Gwynn and Mench over Hart last year, and wanted to play Counsell over Branyan this year.

 

If you're not going to offer an explanation that logically meshes with the parameters of what happened, then it's probably best to just not say anything. This is particularly true if you were responsible for getting the last thread on this topic locked. Thanks.

[rluzinski]

"I think if you are going to judge someone by how many RBI they have, you should probably look at how often they come to plate with men on. Counsell only has 89 ABs with men on and only 48 ABs with RISP. It is true that Counsell has performed poorly with men on and with RISP, but it puts things into more perspective when we have more detail and we realize that the sample size we are dealing with is somewhat small."

 

I agree with all of that. All that really needs to be known is that he currently projects to be around a .225/.320/.320 hitter. For a 3B, that's absolutely laughable.

[dlk9s]

Not to hijack the topic but Durham is a borderline HOF player: 2000+ hits, 400+ doubles, nearly 200 home runs. Compared to the 2 baggers in the HOF, that's not too shabby at all.

I like Durham and all, but good god, man.

[lukevan]

Hall is a worse hitter than Counsell right now. Neither Counsell nor Kendall has any power, but they get on base a little better than the team average...

 

On the other hand, Hall has a OBP well below the team average, which means he makes more outs than the average Brewer... I'll take Counsell.

I'd consider either one a black hole on offense right now. The only difference is Hall has the potential to put up a .900 OPS the last two months and Counsell does not. I'm not a big Hall fan but I'm playing him against all lefties and at least half of the righties from here on out.

 

Or now that Gamel has been told he's a Sept callup, maybe he sees sometime there as well...

 

 

(pared back quote; added link to Gamel text --1992)