4/8 Lineup

[kfizz]

Other than the first four guys in the lineup, everybody is an out. Tough to score runs that way. I also don’t quite understand the reason for carrying both Sogard and Perez. Neither has ever hit consistently. Both can play multiple positions, but adequately at best. Why do the Brewers need both of them on a roster where catcher, shortstop and 2nd base are already players that aren’t offensive producers? Really would have thought Choi would be up by now.

[adambr2]

The 4/8 lineup was righty heavy against the lefty, Shaw was due for a day off so against the lefty made sense and Thames was off because of the lefty. No problems with any of that.

 

I agree on Sogard and Perez. Both are replacement level players neither of which I would be sorry to see go. Giving Sogard a MLB deal with no competition for his services was just a dumb move and they would have been much better off just paying a little more for Walker, and now we're stuck in a sitiation where we can't send him to AAA and we feel obligated to keep him because we're paying him $2.5M.

 

I get the emphasis on versatility but to me we've started to take it a little too far. We have mostly competent starters whether as one guy or a platoon to where a versatile bench isn't necessarily as important as it was in the past. I'd like them to start worrying a little less about how many positions this guy can play and a little more about whether this guy is actually any good at baseball.

[coolhandluke121]

I don't think they'll feel obligated to keep Sogard just because they're paying him $2.5m. Being stubborn about sunk costs is fatal in this business, and I think Stearns understands that. I would give it a few months, but there's nothing wrong with DFA'ing either one of them if they're not hitting.

 

ETA: Not to defend them too vociferously, but a lot of middle infielders don't hit. You still have to have them. Both those guys have proven capable of a ~2 WAR season as non-regulars in recent years, which is pretty good. Right now I'm more concerned about the alpha guys not playing well in general.

[kfizz]

I don't think they'll feel obligated to keep Sogard just because they're paying him $2.5m. Being stubborn about sunk costs is fatal in this business, and I think Stearns understands that. I would give it a few months, but there's nothing wrong with DFA'ing either one of them if they're not hitting.

 

ETA: Not to defend them too vociferously, but a lot of middle infielders don't hit. You still have to have them. Both those guys have proven capable of a ~2 WAR season as non-regulars in recent years, which is pretty good. Right now I'm more concerned about the alpha guys not playing well in general.

 

Definitely need middle infielders, but maybe not so many of them that you need to bat one of them 5th. Shaw needed a day off. Thames struggles with left handers and Aguilar is a fine option at first. They have no one to play 3B and hit when Shaw doesn’t play. They had no good options today.

 

Definitely can’t let Aguilar go. If anything, need to find another right handed bat. But if not, I can’t see the wisdom in keeping all the non-bats on the 25. Sogard, Perez and Bandy are non-bats. Villar, Pina and Arcia are (at this point at least) fringy bats. So half of the position guys are not guys you want to count on. Seems like too many to me. Walker would have made so much sense. Really think Choi might be the best available option, though far from a certainty. Maybe Vogt will help.

[Oxy]

Perez is right handed, Sogard is left handed. Simple as that.

 

Historically Perez can hit fine, he just doesn't walk much. He's got some speed too.

 

If we get guys better than those two for our bench, then people will complain that we have starting caliber players on the bench (hopefully not the same people are complaining about both sides). They are what they are-- MLB bench players.

[adambr2]

Perez is right handed, Sogard is left handed. Simple as that.

 

Neil Walker is both handed.

[rickh150]

The questionable side of me says give Sogard and Aguilar more playing time. They earned it based on how they played last season.

 

Sogard has struggled but he has hardly played and his spot in the line-up is constantly changing. Sogard nearly won us the game on Sat., as well. His on base will be better than the others, and his defense is probably better than all of them. He can be the bridge until a better player comes up or is traded for.

 

Aguilar just looks better at the plate to me than Thames. It's close, though. I see him batting 270 with 30 HRs if he could get regular playing time.

 

No doubt Aguilar and Sogard have been the odd men out this year. I think it would do the Crew some good to remember how much each of these guys helped the team last season and how very bad Villar and Thames were for long, extended periods.

[adambr2]

The questionable side of me says give Sogard and Aguilar more playing time. They earned it based on how they played last season.

 

Sogard has struggled but he has hardly played and his spot in the line-up is constantly changing. Sogard nearly won us the game on Sat., as well. His on base will be better than the others, and his defense is probably better than all of them. He can be the bridge until a better player comes up or is traded for.

 

Aguilar just looks better at the plate to me than Thames. It's close, though. I see him batting 270 with 30 HRs if he could get regular playing time.

 

No doubt Aguilar and Sogard have been the odd men out this year. I think it would do the Crew some good to remember how much each of these guys helped the team last season and how very bad Villar and Thames were for long, extended periods.

 

Eric Sogard is 32 and has a career .635 OPS, 77 OPS+ and .312 OBP in over 1600 plate appearances. Giving more ABs to a 32 year old journeyman with a cumulative 2.7 lifetime fWAR is not the answer to our offensive struggles. He started extremely hot for whatever reason when called up last year for his first 150 ABs or so and then reverted right back to career norms. Which do you think you're more likely to get out of him with consistent playing time?

 

You want them to remember that Villar and Thames were bad for long, extended periods last year, but ignore that Sogard has been pretty bad for his entire career.

[Oxy]

Perez is right handed, Sogard is left handed. Simple as that.

 

Neil Walker is both handed.

 

Can he play 3rd and short? If so, I'd say that's a bad miss, but I don't think he can play either. I guess Villar would be the super utility guy then. Nick Franklin is both too but he is pretty much a bad baseball player.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Let's keep lineup discussion regarding specific game days in the game threads for that specific day. If we want to discuss the merits of carrying Sogard/Perez, we can either move that to the 25 man thread, or start a separate thread for that. Thanks.

[adambr2]

Perez is right handed, Sogard is left handed. Simple as that.

 

Neil Walker is both handed.

 

Can he play 3rd and short? If so, I'd say that's a bad miss, but I don't think he can play either. I guess Villar would be the super utility guy then. Nick Franklin is both too but he is pretty much a bad baseball player.

 

He can definitely play 3rd and 1B. I am not sure about SS off the top of my head but I believe not.

[JosephC]

Thames slashed .265/.382/.551/.933 against righties last year and is off to a .200/.304/.650/.954 start against righties this year. He should play whenever there is a right-hander starting for the opposition.

 

Sogard had a couple good months last year and outside of that has been an offensive black hole for almost his entire career. Didn't get a MLB at-bat in 2016 and in 730 plate appearances across 2014 and 2015 he hit a miserable .237/.296/.288/.584. I was disappointed that Stearns gave him that guaranteed money as quick as he did. Hard for me to think Sogard would have had any market based on his history and with the way the second base market played out it's looking like that was a mistake. Wouldn't be surprised if Sogard got Feliz'ed before the end of June.

[TJseven7]

I have no issues with the lineup today. Resting shaw vs a LHP happens. You play Perez with a sluggish Pina and Arcia its going to look bad. That's on Pina and Arcia. They both suck right now and specifically Arcia has to show up better.