Hart to get 30 games at 1B?

[PrinceEatMeat]

I'll elaborate. http://www.brewcrewball.c...vr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

Melvin said that Roenicke will be talking to Hart about being the backup plan to Gamel at 1B, but he will likely play 30 or so games against tough LHP at 1B anyway. Sounds like a good plan to me. I like the idea of Hart at 1B a lot, as I know many do here as well. Seems like a good platoon option for right now at least. Need another RH option in the OF though.

[logan82]

I qualify this post with "If this is true."

 

Wow, bad idea. Unless Gamel completely falls on his face in Spring Training he should get at least a couple months at 1B. The organization really seems to not like Gamel much.

[PrinceEatMeat]

How is playing Hart at 1B against some LHPs a bad idea? Corey Hart hit .333/.430/.624 against lefties last year. Mat Gamel hit .213/.280/.375 against lefties in Triple-A last year. If anything this will give Gamel more of a chance to succeed. No reason to continuously throw him out there against tough lefties when Hart is there as an option. It's not like Hart will be playing 1B everyday, he'll still be needed in RF.

[TheCrew07]

Prior to minorleaguesplits going down, Gamel didn't appear to be a platoon candidate. I hadn't looked at his splits for last season prior to the DSL stats going up, but I do remember how excited I was in 2008 when he took Price deep in a AA game.

 

In fact, where are you getting his splits? The only site I know of that does splits for MiLB players anymore is MiLB.com. I know you can get the raw data and parse it yourself, but that's not a linkable source nor do I have the inclination to put in that much effort.

[logan82]

You are completly ignoring the fact that it isn't Gamel vs Hart it is Gamel/Hart vs Hart Aoki(or gritty vet™). Gamel will probably outhit Aoki. Hart will probably be a worse defender at 1B than Gamel. Aoki will probably be a better defender than Hart. Best case scenario is break even in my opinion. I think it is a net loss. I see no reason to give Gamel to many days off.

[Baldkin]

Minor League splits for 2011 can be found at http://minorleaguecentral.com/

 

Yes, the argument is Gamel at 1B vs Morgan or Aoki in RF, both hitting vs a LHP.

 

Or, y'know, Taylor Green at 3B and Ramirez at 1B.... which is what I'd prefer.

[TheCrew]

How is playing Hart at 1B against some LHPs a bad idea?

He's a poor defender and with his lack of experience, could make Prince look great........

[Raw Biz]

Minor League splits for 2011 can be found at http://minorleaguecentral.com/

 

Yes, the argument is Gamel at 1B vs Morgan or Aoki in RF, both hitting vs a LHP.

 

Or, y'know, Taylor Green at 3B and Ramirez at 1B.... which is what I'd prefer.

That's what I've been advocating since they sign ARam. Give Gamel a day off each week with ARam at 1B and Green a start at 3B. I would also give Weeks a few days off each month since he can be prone to injury, which will open the door for even more Green starts.

[sbrylski]

Flexibility is always a good thing. I'm not the only one with a slightly irrational hope that Aoki signs and turns out to be a fabulous sparkling diamond in the rough.

 

What I dislike is frequent moving of players around. A week or two of play is not enough for a manager to change his mind on certain players. Pick out a lineup, including platoons where beneficial, and stick with it until June 1st at a minimum. Make your changes that are glaring, and then go another 6-12 weeks before shuffling everything around again. Playing the hot hand in baseball is like trying to time the market, it never works like you think its going to and you're just hurting yourself in the end.

[chadomac]

It may have been a different story the past year or so, but Gamel used to hit LHP better earlier in his minor league career, I believe.

[ilikewisco]

I think Aoki is a switch hitter (not sure). So it would be a good platoon move if they did decide to give Gamel days off against tough lefties. I don't see what you would gain by moving A-Ram to first and Green at third except giving Green some starts. But wouldn't you rather have Green get his starts against righties, especially with his lack of experience. Also, I would hope Gomez would get the start in right and Aoki in center, by the sounds of it Aoki has a weak arm.

[Madtown343]

Not sure why my explanation of the topic did not show up? Thanks Prince for picking me up on that one.

 

Anyways, Gamel until last year was really not a liability versus lefties. Jim Breen gave me this data:

 

Gamel vs LHPs --> (2010) .237/.348/.421 (2009) .333/.390/.680 (2008) .358/.423/.543 (2007) .272/.348/.350

 

Those numbers, even though he has regressed at higher levels are still better than what Morgan gives you versus lefties. The only way I see this being an advantage is if Aoki hits lefties/righties similar because of his shoot the ball the other way style. If thats the case I am sure he will be a better RF than Hart or (Gomez in RF, Aoki in CF) and Hart should have no issues playing infield again.

 

Also opens the door to if Hart continues this decline in foot speed so drastically. Maybe he will be at 1B everyday in 2013 (If Gamel flops) and that opens RF to Gindl or possible FA target.

[Madtown343]

Notice Gamel's OBP are all almost .100 points higher than his BA so he was still seeing the ball and being relatively patient at the plate. His power was negatively influenced, but that is expected even with some of the best LH hitters int he game.

[Baldkin]

I think Aoki is a switch hitter (not sure).

He's not. He's a lefty.

[homer]

Why do people think Hart would be a poor defender at first? Maybe he would reach as many grounders as Gamel (although I have no idea if that's true) but he'd probably be able to reach a lot more errant throws.

[MNBrew]

Hart WAS a natural 1B and played that position 'til the Brewers, because of Prince, tried moving him to 3B before ultimately finding a better home in RF during his minor league ascent.

[TheCrew07]

Well personally speaking I don't want anything to do with Corey beyond his current contract so I see no reason to move him for a season or 2 to 1B to further block Gamel. Sort of the same way I feel about Ramirez, though I simply didn't want him in the first place.

[Hammer]

My thoughts exactly homer. Hart was drafted as a First baseman, played there in the minors and was thought of as a very good prospect at First until Fielder came along. That doesn't exactly scream "can't play First" to me...

[MVP2110]

I think this would be awesome although does anyone know Aoki's #'s against lefties in japan. I would believe he would be decent just cause of his style of hitting

[DHonks]

actually, Hart was drafted as a SS and immediately moved to 1b. a 30-game move to 1b is smart and increases team versatility and OF defense

[Ennder]

Hart is a liability in RF vs RHP so I'm hoping that is where this going more than anything else, you can get Hart's production vs RHP for league minimum.

[PrinceEatMeat]

http://www.thebig1070.com...dmurphy.xml&mid=21733375

 

Full interview. Funniest thing about this is that Melvin is still defending Yuni Betancourt. Really Melvin? You replaced him. Stop defending him. Lol.

[Bnowell4evr]

I took some heat for suggesting this idea a couple days ago but it was the only idea that made sense if Melvin planned on keeping Aoki and Green on the roster.

[Flood Pants]

I completely agree with giving Hart some time at 1B. We shouldn't expect Gamel to play all 162, so what's the harm in using Hart as his backup? That seems to be the way to get the best possible lineup out on the field on Gamel's off days. Except for maybe moving Aramis to 1B for a few and slipping Taylor Green in at 3rd.

[hawing]

I've been in the "why not try Corey at 1B" camp, if only to see how many more errant throws he could catch than Prince could. If I were Mat, though, I'd feel pretty dissed. Unless reverse psychology has become a new feature of Doug's roster management.