I Like Carlos Gomez

[Oldcity]

I think the premise that someone would be lambasted for liking Gomez was a little off. It's not like the guy's Betancourt, and I don't think you'll find many who say Gomez shouldn't be on the team. It's that he shouldn't be batting second, and he shouldn't be playing full time against righties when Morgan's healthy. Center field is just about the only position that's a clear defensive strength on the entire team.

[endaround]

I agree that Gomez has bad instincts But he does recover and still makes plays.

[joepepsi]

Rickie's career OPS through his age 25 season was .745. Gomez's is 100 points lower. They aren't comparable in any way.

 

Gomez' obp runs a consistent 50 points higher than his batting average every season. Torii Hunter's obp through his age 25 season was only .310. The difference was Hunter hits for a .264 batting average vs. Gomez's .246. If Gomez could top .270 he'd be a valuable player.

[bucksman4]

With a team with so many hot and cold offensive players, I'm sorry, but this lineup can't handle several sub-.300 OBP players in it. He's a huge part of the problem. There comes a point where a guy can't play in the major leagues as a result of his inability to hit major league pitching or get on base...any way.

[TooLiveBrew]

As long as he's not hitting 2nd, I don't agree that he's a huge problem. He brings elite defense & great speed. Gomez is not the first sub-.300 OBP player the Brewers should be looking to replace, especially now with no realistic option for CF given Morgan's injury.

[fondybrewfan]

I too find myself rooting for Gomez way more than one would expect. I like the fact that he goes 100% all the time and plays above average defense for a team full of mediocre defenders. He has shown glimpses off offensive competence but for never more than 20 AB's at a time it seems. I really like him as a #8 hitter and would probably be one of the best #8 hitters in all of baseball if he stays there. It would benefit a lot of different players if Hart could figure it out and get back in that #2 spot.

[joepepsi]

I agree Gomez is best used an 8 hitter. His speed would be really helpful on those (rare) occasions when gets on base and the pitcher needs to bunt him over. Also, he'd have the green light to steal every time.

[dadofandrew]

Actually, the #8 batter often has a red light, as you want the pitcher's spot to end the frame with two outs, as you do not want the pitcher leading off.

[Warning Track Power]

The real issue with Gomez isn't so much Gomez. It's Betancourt and certain other players on the 25 man roster.

 

A lot of us agree that Gomez is fine as the #8 bat in the lineup because of the defense he brings. The real issue is that Betancourt's overall uselessness in the #7 spot makes for an awfully weak 7 and 8 combo in the lineup that extends to #6 when Nieves starts.

[geddymd73]

Frankly, it seems Gomez's talents are wasted at a #8 position, and I prefer him at #2. The there isn't much threat of a bunt before the pitchers spot, and the pitcher isn't generally going to drive Gomez in if he gets on base. Right now, there is nobody else who looks proficient enough to handle the #2 spot. Morgan just didn't look that good is the short time between his injuries.

[rluzinski]

I think many would argue that Gomez's offensive skill set is a perfect fit for #8. He has little power and doesn't get on base very often. He's the worst hitter on the team so he should be given the least ABs. T give him an extra 100 AB on the year because of the possibility that he'll learn how to bunt just doesn't make much sense to me.

[PlayerHader]

I've been saying it all year. Gomez should bat 9th.

[TooLiveBrew]

Morgan just didn't look that good is the short time between his injuries.

 

I'd love to see a batter do what it takes to impress you. A slash line of .379/.419./586/1.006 is usually satisfactory to me. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[RobDeer 45]

I do like Carlos even though he's a knuckle head. And I agree, his def is top notch. His mental ability is bottom notch but I still love to see him play. He makes extremely tough plays look routine and I don't think he gets enough credit for that.

[brewers4eric]

I can recall watching Cameron stride between the gaps in the outfield and thinking, "it's been a long time since we had a center fielder with these type of skills". My only comparison was possibly Devon White, and White was on our roster at the very end of his career. I think that Gomez is superior defensively to Cameron, but again, Cameron was at the latter stages of his career when he was in a Brewers uniform.

Gomez's offensive problems would be masked, somewhat, if McGahee and Hart were hitting to go along with the production of Weeks, Braun, and Fielder. Until then, our lineup has too many holes. Offensively, if Morgan was healthy, Gomez would be a nice option at the end of the bench when you need a pinch runner or a defensive replacement for the outfield. Until then, he's our #8 in the lineup and on the scorecard.

[logan82]

Morgan just didn't look that good is the short time between his injuries.

 

I'd love to see a batter do what it takes to impress you. A slash line of .379/.419./586/1.006 is usually satisfactory to me. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

I think he meant in the 1.75 games between his injuries. I hope he was being sarcastic.

 

 

Gomez's offensive problems would be masked, somewhat, if McGahee and

Hart were hitting to go along with the production of Weeks, Braun, and

Fielder. Until then, our lineup has too many holes.

His offensive problems would be masked if he wasn't making so many outs between Weeks and Filder/Braun.

[MJLiverock]

Gomez's offensive problems would be masked, somewhat, if McGahee and Hart were hitting to go along with the production of Weeks, Braun, and Fielder. Until then, our lineup has too many holes.

His offensive problems would be masked if he wasn't making so many outs between Weeks and Filder/Braun.

The difference between Gomez's .294 OBP and a .335 OBP which would put him behind only Weeks, Fielder and Braun for the season long OBP rankings is 5 outs.

 

[greeg35]

How many outs between his career .294 OBP and .335?

[MJLiverock]

Greeg35 I'm not sure what you are asking. The difference between a .294 OBP and a .335 this year for Gomez is 5 outs. The point is that the Brewer's offense wouldn't be dramatically better had Gomez not made a whopping 5 outs.

 

Look around the lineup no one is hitting, putting Hart in the two spot? He's been terrible in his short return.

 

Morgan can't stay on the field.

 

LuCroy? He started hot and his coming back down, don't forget despite all the random comments of him being a top hitter he put up a Gomezesque .300 OBP last year with very little power.

 

Betancourt? you know the firestorm that would set off. Counsell in place of Betancourt? I wouldnt' bet that Counsell could outhit Betancourt at this point going forward he may well be done at a major leaguer, especially if asked to play more than 1x or 2x a week.

[greeg35]

My point is that Gomez has been making a lot of outs his entire career, and that doesn't figure to change. It is a bad decision to put your (arguably since we do have Betancourt) worst hitter in the #2 hole. Hart would be a better choice. Kotsay would have been a better choice. Lucroy would be a better choice (god forbid he come back down to earth, and earth is where Gomez is). Braun or Fielder would be better choices. Even McGehee would be a better choice. Morgan was a better choice when healthy.

Looking at the roster only Betancourt and Nieves would be worse choices.

[FVBrewerFan]

Exactly. I can live with Carlos Gomez. .300 OBP, speed, enthusiasm, and most of all great defense in CF. He brings some things to the table that can help this team win. It's just that he should be written in stone at the bottom of the lineup, not #2.

[NievesNoNO]

I actually have an odd man crush on Gomez, ever since I went to a game an saw him play in person. I really don't remember the game or situation, just that he ran a ball down deep in center and then uncorked a strike to 3rd base on a line like it was coming from the pitchers mound to home plate. That was enough for me. For entertainment value he's hard to beat. For baseball IQ 101 and hitting competencies I'll give him a D+. His base running mistakes are so inexcusable and mind blowing at times you'd think he had his eyes closed. He kind of reminds me of that kid in Tee-ball that would just keep running around all the bases no matter where the ball was hit and weather or not there was a play to be made. I think him wanting to use/show off his speed so badly blinds him to situations sometimes. Maybe they need to wear him out before the game with some sprints or something or maybe they should do a pregame exhibition where he sprints around the base paths as fast as he can and they put is time up on the big screen and before every game he tries to beat it.

[TooLiveBrew]

He kind of reminds me of that kid in Tee-ball that would just keep running around all the bases no matter where the ball was hit and weather or not there was a play to be made.

 

This cracked me up. The alternate version is, of course, the guy in gym class or coed softball that just keeps running, while the defense inevitably throws the ball all over the diamond, & it results in a "home run".

[theavrock]

Just saw that Gomez' OBP for May is .342 and is best among Brewers regulars.

 

Props to GoGo at least for this month thus far.

[logan82]

Yup, good 2 weeks.