04-07-2010, 12:50 PM
<!--quoteo(post=86641:date=Apr 7 2010, 11:24 AM:name=Clapp)-->QUOTE (Clapp @ Apr 7 2010, 11:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=86550:date=Apr 6 2010, 01:40 PM:name=rok)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rok @ Apr 6 2010, 01:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Regardless of what may have been, it should be pretty clear to even the biggest Theriot fans out there, that he isn't even close to being an acceptable SS on a serious playoff contender. If we are out of it by the summer, big changes need to happen up the middle.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Fella and I were talking about him last night.... He has good hands and rarely boots a groundball, it's a matter of getting to a groundball with his blah range, his throws, and fielding pop ups. He's absolutely horrible running into the outfield on pop ups, no matter what direction they are behind him. He looks like a drunk infant trying to fly a kite.
But like Fella was saying, put him at 2nd base and all of these things don't becoming nearly as big of an issue. On a pop up to shallow right field he has Fukudome and Lee(our 2 best defensive players) there to help bail him out, his arm is perfectly fine for the position, etc. If Castro can consistently make routine plays and keeps the errors under 20 or so, I think just his range and allowing Theriot to move to 2nd would greatly improve our defense.
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We should have kept Blanco and started him at SS until Castro was ready or a trade could be made. Theriot then slides to 2B, one of Fontenot, Baker, or Tracy doesn't make the squad and gets traded/released. That's what I would have done and I would have had basically the same plan for the last 3 years. If Theriot was the 2B, I wouldn't hate him. At SS though, he's the biggest liability on the team (and that's saying something with our current OF).
Fella and I were talking about him last night.... He has good hands and rarely boots a groundball, it's a matter of getting to a groundball with his blah range, his throws, and fielding pop ups. He's absolutely horrible running into the outfield on pop ups, no matter what direction they are behind him. He looks like a drunk infant trying to fly a kite.
But like Fella was saying, put him at 2nd base and all of these things don't becoming nearly as big of an issue. On a pop up to shallow right field he has Fukudome and Lee(our 2 best defensive players) there to help bail him out, his arm is perfectly fine for the position, etc. If Castro can consistently make routine plays and keeps the errors under 20 or so, I think just his range and allowing Theriot to move to 2nd would greatly improve our defense.
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We should have kept Blanco and started him at SS until Castro was ready or a trade could be made. Theriot then slides to 2B, one of Fontenot, Baker, or Tracy doesn't make the squad and gets traded/released. That's what I would have done and I would have had basically the same plan for the last 3 years. If Theriot was the 2B, I wouldn't hate him. At SS though, he's the biggest liability on the team (and that's saying something with our current OF).