Casey McGehee's struggles: how much leash does he get?

[chadomac]

This is it with McGehee. The K-Rod trade makes me think they're not going to put up with our current 3B or SS for much longer. I think he has a week or so to make a splash or the Taylor Green experiment begins. And I can't wait. I feel for McGehee like anyone else, but we need to win every game we can and we can't just sit on our hands and hope he turns it around at this point.

[FVBrewerFan]

I wish it was as simple as Yuni/Casey. Yo blows up too often, Greinke hasn't been near an ace, horrible base running by just about everyone too often, horrible defense, the list goes on and on. Ok I will. Russian roulette in the bullpen. You may get a great night out of someone, or they may not be able to get anyone out. Too many bad approaches at the plate.

 

Some of the defense I can overlook. We knew what we were getting. But beyond that, most of this stuff comes down to just not playing the game the way it should be played.

[HiAndTight]

Escobar is quickly becoming known as one of the best defensive shortstops in all of the major leagues. Our leftside would look much better with a 24 year old plus plus defensive shortstop. Especially since his offensive numbers are better than any of the 3 players we have had play SS this year.

And our farm system would look much better with Brett Lawrie and Jake Odorizzi.

 

So what? You gotta give to get.

 

 

Though I still don't like the Marcum for Lawrie trade. Lawrie would be getting ready to step into the 3rd base role right now.

[pebadger]

Without Marcum it probably wouldn't matter that much who plays 3rd this season.

[TooLiveBrew]

Lawrie would be getting ready to step into the 3rd base role right now.

 

If only the Brewers had a solid defensive 3B option putting up a .900+ OPS in AAA right now.

[adambr2]

It was a sad sight watching McGehee frantically try to race down to 3rd on a great 3-2 pitch from Jimenez that had plenty of the plate.

 

Either he has lost all awareness of the strikezone, or he's just getting really desperate.

[Raw Biz]

It was a sad sight watching McGehee frantically try to race down to 3rd on a great 3-2 pitch from Jimenez that had plenty of the plate.

 

Either he has lost all awareness of the strikezone, or he's just getting really desperate.

Am I reading this wrong or did they change the rules for an inning?

[adambr2]

Ha...my bad...to 1st. He hasn't gone THAT far off the deep end.

[JohnBriggs12]

McGehee is actually hurting the team more than Betancourt. At least with Betancourt, you know he's going to put the bat on the ball, and even with his BABIP at historically low levels, some of those balls are going to fall in, and he's good for some sac flies. McGehee's hitting .197 since the beginning of May.

 

The sad part is even if you wanted to bring up Green or trade for a lefthanded hitting 3B and keep McGehee in a platoon, Casey is hitting just .150 off of lefties.

[jjkoestler]

He needs to be sent down or have a phantom injury if he doesn't perform in the Colorado series. I thought the all star break would do him some good but that isn't the case so far. The Brewers simply can't afford to wait any longer.

[Invader3K]

With Taylor Green killing the ball in AAA (.900+ OPS), the excuses have run out. Casey just looks lost up there. You can predict a ground out if he even manages to get the bat on the ball almost every AB. He needs to go to Nashville and try to get his old swing back. He used to have such a nice compact swing, and now he looks more like Bill Hall in his last year with the Brewers.

[reillymcshane]

The Brewers have to make something happen at 3B and SS. It's just that simple. Betencourt and McGehee are just terrible - and have been for more than 1/2 the season.

 

With McGehee, you send him to AAA. Let him try and work his way back without killing the club. Bring up Green, let him play. He's better defensively (according to reports), and it's unlikely he's going to hit worse than McGehee.

 

As for Betencourt, there's no minor league option like we have with McGehee. And his lack of recent success makes it unlikely he's going to get better (unlike McGehee, who might be able to rebound into a decent player). That means you cut Betencourt and find an alternative via trade, free agency, whatever. It doens't have to be earth shattering. If you get a SS who field the ball above average and gets a .600 OPS - you're doing better than Betencourt. Such a move (along with the Green move) would improve our defense dramatically on the left side of the field.

[Gobias Industries]

With McGehee, you send him to AAA. Let him try and work his way back without killing the club. Bring up Green, let him play. He's better defensively (according to reports), and it's unlikely he's going to hit worse than McGehee.

I'd say there's no chance he'd hit worse than McGehee. .276/.311. He's basically Gomez at the plate with a lot LESS power. Add in his defensive and baserunning shortcomings to that line and you can see why he's been a huge net negative this year.

 

If McG does get sent down, he needs to work on turning on pitches again. When is the last time he's hit a ball hard to LF? I know "baseball men" like Schroeder love when a guy goes oppo, but it also can really mess up your swing when that's all your trying to do. Good hitters pull the ball.

[Invader3K]

Good hitters pull the ball.

Actually, I think good hitters use the entire field.

[TooLiveBrew]

Apparently, the answer to this thread title's question is "unlimited".

 

This situation has gone from annoying me, to concerning me, to really really really pissing me off. If Casey played good defense, I could live with them sticking with him & just putting him at like the #7 spot. But neither of those things holds true.

[young guns]

I could almost understand waiting through the allstar break and seeing if it would help him. Like someone else mentioned, see if the couple of days off let him clear his head or figure stuff out. But he showed no signs of it last night, to the point that I wouldn't even wait the full series, if that was the original plan. I wouldn't even bother making it a platoon. I don't know what Green's minor league splits are, but he can't do much worse than the .150 McGehee is doing against lefties. But they still have Wilson too, if it's needed.

[3Putt]

McGehee's my favorite player partly because of his work ethic but I'm starting to crack. Some time at AAA might be what he needs. As for Taylor Green give the kid a shot but don't expect much. New kids generally struggle for awhile. Just ask Gamel.

[JohnBriggs12]

McGehee's my favorite player partly because of his work ethic but I'm starting to crack. Some time at AAA might be what he needs. As for Taylor Green give the kid a shot but don't expect much. New kids generally struggle for awhile. Just ask Gamel.

Exactly. The gap between AAA and the majors has never been wider. That's not so say Green hasn't earned a shot, but bringing up a guy to start in the middle of a pennant race is a lot to ask and is risky. There are other guys out there they could get that have a major league record of some success. Two names that jump out are Greg Dobbs and Wilson Betemit.

[TheCrew07]

The gap between AAA and the majors has never been wider.

Care to explain that please?

[brwrsfan]

I really don't see what difference it makes if they bring Green up here and he flops. He'll just be duplicating what Casey is ALREADY doing and has been doing for MONTHS.

 

If someone is going to suck at third base, you might as well give Green a shot. It's hard to imagine him being any worse.

[bucksman4]

They should have just stuck with Gamel at 3B for the remainder of the year. He would've performed better than McGehee is and would have shown he can hit with more regular ABs.

 

For those who may suggest his defense is poor at 3B, I suggest you look at the rest of our infield. See any other gold glove contenders there?

[danzig6767]

Apparently, the answer to this thread title's question is "unlimited".

 

This situation has gone from annoying me, to concerning me, to really really really pissing me off. If Casey played good defense, I could live with them sticking with him & just putting him at like the #7 spot. But neither of those things holds true.

That's the key, with his dreadful defense to go along with his anemic hitting, it's like having two Yuni Betancourt's playing everyday. Unacceptable on a team trying to make the playoffs.

[bucksman4]

Apparently, the answer to this thread title's question is "unlimited".

 

This situation has gone from annoying me, to concerning me, to really really really pissing me off. If Casey played good defense, I could live with them sticking with him & just putting him at like the #7 spot. But neither of those things holds true.

That's the key, with his dreadful defense to go along with his anemic hitting, it's like having two Yuni Betancourt's playing everyday. Unacceptable on a team trying to make the playoffs.

 

 

This is where taking into account sample sizes can work against a team. The team is looking at his 610 ABs from 2010 and hoping he figures it out, instead of his 331 ABs in '11 that have been atrocious. They're banking on the hope that in his next 300 ABs even things out. A half of a seasons stats don't lie usually.

[Raw Biz]

They should have just stuck with Gamel at 3B for the remainder of the year. He would've performed better than McGehee is and would have shown he can hit with more regular ABs.

 

For those who may suggest his defense is poor at 3B, I suggest you look at the rest of our infield. See any other gold glove contenders there?

I disagree with this. Gamel has said that he never really felt comfortable at 3B. He might get to more balls than McGehee but the amount of errors (throwing) would probably negate anything from his range. Not to mention how doing poorly on defense could get into his head and start messing with his offense. While we are "all-in" this year, we also have to think about next year and Gamel is our planned 1B so he should just focus on that in AAA.

However, I actually would like to see him also get some time in the OF to perhaps help us in September/playoffs if we get there. He could be our power threat off the bench, as well as give Hart some days off. Also, Braun could get re-injured (really hope he doesn't) and I don't want to have to rely on Kotsay.

[Hate those Rodents]

Green could go 20 for his next 20 and RR/DM wouldn't bring him up because he hasn't played in the majors before.