Carlos Gomez in 2012

[owbc]

Can Gomez learn shortstop?

[Crew2323]

Didn't Gomez start out as a SS in the minors or something like that?

[rluzinski]

I'm not talking Willie Mays numbers, but I think he could be a .310 or higher OBP guy, maybe even .320 with an OPS over .700, maybe as high as .750 and 30-40 SB's if he plays enough (of course if he's in a platoon his opportunities will be more limited)

Anything is possible but I don't see Gomez's offense making a huge jump. He's young enough that we can still expect him to improve but with a lifetime .243/.291/.357 line, he'll never even be average offensively. His excellent defense is what makes him a nice option as part of platoon though.

[RobertR]

Gomez found his niche last year. A predictable one at that, platoon, bottom of the order, defensive plus. I've no real expectation of him getting much better, but that's a role that he can be a valuable contributer in. Heck, I'm more worried about Morgan in 2012.

 

Robert

[GamelToe]

Plus he's a good guy. That counts for something.

[topper09er]

Plus he's a good guy. That counts for something.

"Nice guys finish last"

-Leo Durocher

[TooLiveBrew]

This discussion has now come up every offseason since the Brewers acquired Gomez. Here are his slash lines by season...

 

'09: .229/.287/.337/.623

'10: .247/.298/.357/.655

'11: .225/.276/.403/.679

 

'09-'11: .234/.288/.362/.650

 

At this point, I think it's pretty unreasonable to expect production that's much different. He's an elite-caliber defender whose hitting philosophy is 'swing hard in case you hit it'. It sure would be nice if he grew into more, but with zero signs of growth or progress over the past three seasons, I don't see why progress should be expected now.

[topper09er]

The only thing I can think is that Sveum allowed him to keep his embarrassingly pathetic approach, he did for Yuni and could not convince McGehee to go the other way all season long. Maybe a new hitting coach will get in Gomez's head and tell him he sucks, needs to get on base any way possible and not try to hit HRs.

[fondybrewfan]

I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation

 

Carlos I don't know what to tell you but you pretty much suck; just try to bunt more OK because you can't really hit.

[Baldkin]

He's a guesser, and a bad guesser at that. He has tremendous power, he just has no idea where the pitch is going to go. I hold out hope, his swing is so smooth and quick, that he'll have a Bautista-esque revelation, but I doubt it.

[endaround]

I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation

 

Carlos I don't know what to tell you but you pretty much suck; just try to bunt more OK because you can't really hit.

He hits better than he bunts. I'd rather have him swing away and use his power than try to bunt his way on which he can't do.

[monty57]

The only thing I can think is that Sveum allowed him to keep his embarrassingly pathetic approach, he did for Yuni and could not convince McGehee to go the other way all season long. Maybe a new hitting coach will get in Gomez's head and tell him he sucks, needs to get on base any way possible and not try to hit HRs.

 

Unfortunately, he had the same problems with the Mets and Twins hitting coaches, which is why this former "can't miss" prospect is manning the small half of a platoon for the Brewers.

[kalle8]

he will have a .340 OBP in spring training to make us salivate then he will reach base to the .270 clip all year long. but every year there will be a new spring training, a new approach at the plate and a brand new carlos gomez.... when he hit that HR in opening day (or was the 2nd game?) like two years ago i thought "oh, no, here we go again". but after all, I still love him.

[jjkoestler]

OT, but the Brewers should hire Kalle to scour Italy for a SS. Just a thought.

[logan82]

The only thing I can think is that Sveum allowed him to keep his embarrassingly pathetic approach, he did for Yuni and could not convince McGehee to go the other way all season long. Maybe a new hitting coach will get in Gomez's head and tell him he sucks, needs to get on base any way possible and not try to hit HRs.

Maybe McGehee went the other way so often because he couldn't get around on to many pitches.

[chadomac]

Like others have said, he was finally used correctly last year after we got Morgan. I would be really happy with him starting against all LHP and the occasional start against a RHP. Best CF in baseball with a great arm (which is a big upgrade over Morgan's noodle-arm and ill-advised throws home). Terrible plate discipline and decision-making on the basepaths, but I love watching him play.

[Whatwaswrongwithalexochoa]

He'd be a plus CF overall in a big park like SD or COL, even with his current offense. His defense is that good. I think he'll eventually sign a multiyear deal for $5-8M per, especially if he ever has a .325/.425 campaign. It'll only take one, with defense that good and the ability to steal 50 bases.

Well said. Gomez has more talent than anyone on the roster. Lock him up now. He was rushed by the Mets in the same way Rickie Weeks was rushed. Many people who are hard on Gomez were hard on Weeks also.

[logan82]

He'd be a plus CF overall in a big park like SD or COL, even with his current offense. His defense is that good. I think he'll eventually sign a multiyear deal for $5-8M per, especially if he ever has a .325/.425 campaign. It'll only take one, with defense that good and the ability to steal 50 bases.

Well said. Gomez has more talent than anyone on the roster. Lock him up now. He was rushed by the Mets in the same way Rickie Weeks was rushed. Many people who are hard on Gomez were hard on Weeks also.

Weeks hit when he cam up and has shown improvement. Gomez is the same player he was 4 years ago. No improvement.

[monty57]

Weeks had wrist injuries which hurt his numbers. If we could find a surgical procedure that could fix plate discipline, Gomez could have a Weeks-like "resurgance."

[The Truth]

Weeks had a .333 OBP as a 22 year old rookie in 2005. No comparison really to Gomez' offensive struggles

[endaround]

Weeks numbers were fine until he got injured and Yost kept running him out there even though he couldn't hit or field. OPS by month in 2005: .785, .784, .716, .641.

[TooLiveBrew]

Gomez has more talent than anyone on the roster.

I'm just going to wait for dlk9s to come along with an awesome .gif for this.

Why'd the Brewers sign that guy Braun when they could've extended Gomez!?!?!?!

[RobDeer 45]

I've been one of the biggest Gomez fans from day one and have hoped every year that he'd improve his batting. This year I'm not hoping for that and I'm happy with what he is. As many of you said, he was used really well after coming back from injury. If we can use a combo of him and Morgan in CF the right way (which seems they've proved they can) then I'm happy as heck. His defense is so amazing and his attitude makes me smile.

 

Now with our upgrade at SS (defensively) our team defense is getting much better. I'd love to see an upgrade at 3b too and all the sudden I think we are sitting pretty.

[monty57]

I'd love to see an upgrade at 3b too and all the sudden I think we are sitting pretty.

 

I know he's not MLB proven, and someone like Ramirez would be much more of a sure bet, but I'm not overly worried if we have Gamel at 1B and Green at 2B. I mentioned Weeks' wrist injuries in an earlier post, and I remember when a lot of Brewers fans wanted to see Weeks shipped out and replaced with just about anyone. Green had the same injury as Weeks. He was a talented young prospect, had the injury, people gave up on him, and once he was finally healthy, he once again is hitting well. Just like with Weeks, I don't think Green's season last year was a fluke - he was finally over his wrist injury.

 

My bigger worry is that McGehee or another vet will be on the roster as a backup and Roenicke will start him everyday over Green at 3B or over Gamel at 1B.

[logan82]

monty57 wrote:

My bigger worry is that McGehee or another vet will be on the roster as a backup and Roenicke will start him everyday over Green at 3B or over Gamel at 1B.

That is honestly my biggest worry at this point as well. We are still not sure how the manager will treat young players. We really have little indication so far other than McGehee continuing to play all year until the postseason.