Why not let Gamel give it a go?

[Madtown Bomber]

I am not advocating throwing Gamel in there against the Cubs and Phillies right away but get his feet wet with the likes of the Padres and Reds. If the worry is defense go look at Bill Hall's defensive stats. If Bill Hall's defense is your reasoning behind not playing Mat Gamel then you need to come up with a different arguement.

[endaround]

Bill Hall is 2nd RZR behind Wright in the NL. And he's second by a wide margin, Wright at .735, Hall at .724 and Feliz at .708. Overall he's 7th among the big group thats behind Rolen and his .800 RZ ahead of the next tier that Feliz leads..

[jhart05]

As much as I'd like to see the future at 3B right now, can't afford a game changing error by Gamel at this point in the season.

 

Not even against the Pads or Reds. Those are teams they should sweep.

 

I vote "no".

[mletto157]

You should never expect a sweep, of any team.

[Bankjob]

I think this article provides some good incite on why letting Gamel "go" is a horrible idea.

 

http://sportsillustrated....allups/index.html?eref=T1

 

His numbers since July 12th are 189/.283/.315. At least with Bill Hall we get a guy who can play solid defense at 3b. Also Bill Hall is a guy who has come up with many big hits for this team in clutch situations over the last few years. If we get to the playoffs we are going to need guys like that to take the pressure off the young guys.

[fondybrewfan]

As much as I'd like to see the future at 3B right now, can't afford a game changing error by Gamel at this point in the season.

 

Not even against the Pads or Reds. Those are teams they should sweep.

 

I vote "no".

Well I don't think I would have a problem having Gamel in their the first 6-7 innings and then bringing Hall/Counsell in as a defensive replacement if the game is close. We did it with Weeks before and we probably still should be

[Tbadder]

I wouldn't want him to take over at 3rd. I just don't understand why he deserves it. He had half of a good season in AA. I'm disappointed he's on the roster now. I do think he'll be okay eventually, after a year at AAA, but I'd rather not reward him by starting his clock.

[PrimeTime955]

Gamel's bat plays. Last year Brauns bat played, not matter how bad he was at third base. Give him a chance.

[jhart05]

Braun last year in May, and Gamel this year in September are completely different circumstances. Not even close. Plus Braun was ripping up AAA ball at the time. Gamel has only had a cup of coffee in AAA.

 

See the numbers in that article Bankjob posted. So we should just completely gloss over that, and expect him to hit in the Majors, like it did in the first half against AA pitching?

 

Gamel's time will come, but that time is not now.

 

 

Well I don't think I would have a problem having Gamel in there the first 6-7 innings and then bringing Hall/Counsell in as a defensive replacement if the game is close.

 

Course not. We're not the ones with their ass on the line if the guy boots a ball in the 3rd inning that opens the flood gates for a five run inning.

[sargennm]

Gamel's bat plays? Look at his line from the second half of the year. I hope this guy is as great as he's look at times, but it's not worth the risk right now. There's no reason to believe he's going to get in the game and start hitting better than Bill Hall to make up for their difference in defensive ability.

[BrewCrewForever]

As much as I like Gamel and he is gonna be a good ballplayer. He isn;t in Braun's league with the bat. I think Gamel would do okay if he got some starts and I want to see that. But he is not going to set the world on fire like Braun has. Braun has done in his first two years what only HOF players have done.

[PrimeTime955]

Ok, so I exaturated a bit on the Braun comparison. But in my opinion, he's still our best option against right handed pitching.

[BrewCrewForever]

Ok, so I exaturated a bit on the Braun comparison. But in my opinion, he's still our best option against right handed pitching.

I won't and can't argue that. Because I agree.

[fondybrewfan]

Maybe we should have a "Why not let Nelson give it a go?" The way I Fielder is playing now I am fully convinced we could be getting more out of Nelson. But obvioulsy if Fielder figures it out he ought to be out there. My frustration is building incredibly fast with Fielder.

[JohnBriggs12]

Hall's defense the last 2 months has been stellar and he's got the same number of RBI (8) since August 15th as Fielder so I'd say look across the diamond to find the real problem right now.

[logan82]

Hall's defense the last 2 months has been stellar and he's got the same number of RBI (8) since August 15th as Fielder so I'd say look across the diamond to find the real problem right now.

So even though Hall has been playing like crap all year and continues to play like crap he isn't the real problem? The other player who has played better all year except the last few weeks is? I would pull the player who has been bad all year way before the player who has had a few bad weeks.

[Oldcity]

Plus Hall's been in a supposed platoon advantage while Fielder has seen a lot of left-handed pitching in that time as well. Both Fielder and Hall are sucking right now, but Hall has been bad all year and lately he's even been bad against lefties.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hall's OBP ends the debate on picking the goat from Fielder & Hall. Hall has sucked royally at the plate this season. His D has been a nice surprise.

 

 

Plus Braun was ripping up AAA ball at the time. Gamel has only had a cup of coffee in AAA.

 

AA tends to be tougher overall competition, not AAA.

[endaround]

That is just not true. There are more prospects in AA, the play however is better in AAA. The DiFelices of the world are in AAA.

[mletto157]

AA is a hitting prospect's dream. AAA has way better, almost-major-league-ready pitching.

[JJHardy7]

AA tends to be tougher overall competition, not AAA.

 

I don't think this is true one bit. There might be some AAAA players in AA, but that's better than AA. Is there more potential in AA? Maybe, but a guy playing in AAA is facing guys most likely on their way to the bigs, guys that have been in the bigs, and AAAA pitchers. I've seen plenty of AA and AAA games and the talent just isn't that close. The biggest step up in the minors might be A/A+ to AA, but AAA has more talent.

[TooLiveBrew]

I thought the denser concentration of top/higher prospects (instead of having rosters highlighted in many cases by guys like Nelson Cruz & Kevin Mench) would transfer to an overall higher amount of competition/difficulty. I can see how 'fewer prospects' and 'better overall play' aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

 

 

I've seen plenty of AA and AAA games and the talent just isn't that close. The biggest step up in the minors might be A/A+ to AA, but AAA has more talent

 

Thanks -- I've seen my share of AAA ball, but no AA. Just made a bad assumption... and I thought I'd heard it bandied about here. I was wrong.

[BrewCrewForever]

I emailed our friend Tom Haudricourt at the JS about Gamel. Here is how those emails went:

 

Me: Hi Tom, I know he has only been up for a few days and only one AB, but how has Matt Gamel looked? You see BP and the guys take grounders and such. I did not see today's game being that I was at work and it was not on TV and although he struck out how comfortable did Matt look at the plate? With the anemic offense we have gotten from the 3B spot from Hall and Counsell is there any chance we see Gamel start against RHP and then get lifted late in games for Counsell on defense?

 

Tom: Taking grounders in BP is not the same as playing in a game. I don't look for Gamel to start at 3B in any meaningful game.

 

Me: His errors in the minors, are those more fielding or throwing errors? He has made improvements this year at AA working with Don Money, correct? I thought that is what I heard.

 

Tom: Used to be mostly throwing errors. Not so one-sided this year.

[JJHardy7]

Used to be mostly throwing errors. Not so one-sided this year.

 

I'd argue that to a certain extent. It's not the throwing errors are the concern it's the concentration and mental aspect, which from all accounts I've seen and heard have improved. I also think as the level of competition increases you'll see more 'fielding' errors and that may be a concern down the line, but Mat still had his fair share of throwing errors. TH claims to know so much about minor league baseball and at times he doesn't show it. Gamel's biggest physical concern is footwork and that's leading to his 'physical' errors now and last year. I still think he can be an average 3B.

 

A side note on Gamel. I know we're all excited about his first half in Huntsville and I'm in the camp that he should start a couple of games before the season ends, but his bat is not going to be a 25 - 30 HR bat in the majors for a few years. He needs to bulk up and get stronger, which he will. I think the best case scenario for Gamel is to be in AAA all of next year and I do see big things from him -- just not quite yet.

[pebadger]

I was hoping from the title that this was about being the "8th inning guy"