Knights lost 2-1 in a day game

 

Carlos Torres pitched very well. Danks 1-4, 2B, K. Lillibridge 3-4, 2B. Flowers 1-3, BB

 

Everyone else plays later tonight.

 

Birmingham: 6:30 CDT

Lowe

 

W-S: 6:05 EDT

Edwards

 

Kanny: 7:05 EDT

Hopps

Edited May 16, 201015 yr by scenario

Brent Lillibridge is OPSing (704) ahead of or equal to Jordan Danks, Maurice Gartrell and CJ Retherford.

 

That wasn't predicted by ANYONE.

 

 

Brent Lillibridge is OPSing (704) ahead of or equal to Jordan Danks, Maurice Gartrell and CJ Retherford.

 

That wasn't predicted by ANYONE.

A .704 OPS isn't anything to write home about and really shouldn't be surprising for a guy who's been in AAA for that long. No one predicted he'd have a better OPS than Quentin or Beckham either...that doesn't mean that we should be impressed by that. It just means that D2 is struggling...mainly again, because of the K's, and so are the other 2 guys.

Well, on the plus side, we have Viciedo rising and Flowers having a great season so far.

 

Marquez has sort of pitched his way back into some level of consideration as a 5th starter at some point in the future.

 

Daniel Hudson dusted himself off and got up from the deck, just like Peavy.

 

I'll be honest, I never had a great expectation that Danks, Retherford or John Shelby III figured into our long-term plans. But we do need to get something good (eventually) out of Dayan, Flowers, Hudson and Morel (not to mention Mitchell when he comes back).

 

 

I'll be honest, I never had a great expectation that Danks, Retherford or John Shelby III figured into our long-term plans. But we do need to get something good (eventually) out of Dayan, Flowers, Hudson and Morel (not to mention Mitchell when he comes back).

Actually, I think CJ fits quite well into the long term plans...as a super, 8 position utility guy. Which means...he has to hit like .240 in his career to be useful.

Balta, is that in green?

 

If CJ hits 240 with his lack of power (and lack of a position where he excels defensively like Nix), he's going to end up sporting a 650 OPS, like Mark Teahen.

 

Plus he can't run very well, just so-so.

Balta, is that in green?

 

If CJ hits 240 with his lack of power (and lack of a position where he excels defensively like Nix), he's going to end up sporting a 650 OPS, like Mark Teahen.

 

Plus he can't run very well, just so-so.

 

 

CJ has pretty good pop in his bat.

 

Of course, it would be nice if we saw it THIS year.

 

But, in 2 of his 3 minor league seasons so far, he's lead the league in doubles...

Set the all-time Pioneer League record in 2006...

Had 46 in 478 at-bats in the Southern League last year.

 

So, he may not be very big, put he can put a charge into the ball.... sort of like a poor man's Dustin Pedroia.

Edited May 16, 201015 yr by scenario

Balta, is that in green?

 

If CJ hits 240 with his lack of power (and lack of a position where he excels defensively like Nix), he's going to end up sporting a 650 OPS, like Mark Teahen.

 

Plus he can't run very well, just so-so.

As a backup who can play every position but pitcher, what more do you want? Seriously. A backup is like a .250 hitter with limited power.

Okay, why would you rather have CJ Retherford than Jayson Nix on your roster as the 25th man?

 

Nix has proven (in limited exposure to RH pitching) major league power, and is a "plus" defender at 2B, "pretty good" at 3B and "adequate/average" at SS.

 

CJ could never play major league shortstop. Maybe you can argue he's the 3rd catcher, but how often does that factor into a game???

 

And you would pick Nix over Retherford as a pinch-runner as well.

Okay, why would you rather have CJ Retherford than Jayson Nix on your roster as the 25th man?

 

Nix has proven (in limited exposure to RH pitching) major league power, and is a "plus" defender at 2B, "pretty good" at 3B and "adequate/average" at SS.

 

CJ could never play major league shortstop. Maybe you can argue he's the 3rd catcher, but how often does that factor into a game???

 

And you would pick Nix over Retherford as a pinch-runner as well.

Nix is NOT adequate at SS.

 

Nix has also proven he can't hit RHP.

 

Here's your real hypothetical. If I'm building a team, I want to be at least 2 deep at every position. I want 2 backup OF's, 1 of whom can play CF, and I want 2 general backup IF's, including 1 guy who can play 1b to spell my 1b.

 

Now...I replace Nix with CJ...if he can be my backup 1b behind Konerko...suddenly I've eliminated 75% of the reason to keep a guy like Kotsay on the roster. Now, I've got an extra roster spot to play with, because I'm carrying 2 backup IF's in Vizquel and CJ, 2 backup OF's in Jones and CJ, and on top of that, in a pinch, I can pinch run for my catcher and know I have another backup option if my other catcher gets hurt.

How much time has Retherford played at 1B in his college and minor league career?

 

The thing is, Kotsay is a very good defender at 1B and also better than CJ in the OF...according to Farmer, he and Vizquel are the "best baseball players" on our team.

 

Whatever that means, Farmio.

 

In all seriousness, I'd like to see the kid succeed, just because of the odds against any NDFA are simply incredible. He's had to prove himself every step along the way, and his promotion would give hope to all players who scouts don't grade highly but who just play the game and get everything out of their talent/ability.

The key to resolving that issue is to see how CJ's hitting develops.

 

If he turns out to be no better than Nix, then... well yeah, go with the plus defender.

 

But I don't think it will take too much offensively to knock Nix out of contention.

So, he may not be very big, put he can put a charge into the ball.... sort of like a poor man's Dustin Pedroia.

 

Exactly.

He's had to prove himself every step along the way, and his promotion would give hope to all players who scouts don't grade highly but who just play the game and get everything out of their talent/ability.

That's exactly what CJ has done in his minor league career. He's just mashed the ball everywhere he's gone and a lot of those doubles last year at Birmingham are going to turn into HR's in Charlotte. Honestly, he is one of the few guys in our system that I just don't worry about breaking out of his current slump. He's just too damn scrappy and honestly, he's just too good of a ballplayer.

Morel with 3 errors today. Ouch!

Morel with 3 errors today. Ouch!

 

Hole in his glove a routine grounder, offline throw to first and a high throw trying to get a guy at second.