Shortstop:
I am looking
forward to writing this post because as a former mediocre college Shortstop I
have a passion for the position. But at the same time I don’t regard the
position as a top priority when building a major league team.
Many people
say that Shortstop is one of the most difficult positions to fill. Well, I
both agree and disagree. Yes, finding a
great SS is very difficult. There are very few Alex RodrÃguez type SS’s out
there. And if you have one, then you thank your lucky stars because they only come
around perhaps every 25 years or so. But finding a decent SS is not that
difficult. There are a lot of guys out there that can field the position well and
according to many people that is the most important thing for a SS to do. I’m
sure you have heard of the saying, “If you shake a tree a 1000 gloves fall out
but only 1 bat”. Well that is the theory here. You can get away with a light
hitting Short Stop but you can’t get by with light hitters in more traditional
power positions as we have witnessed for the last 12 years in Right Field.
This brings
us to Brendan Ryan. He has solicited a great deal of debate amongst Mariner
fans this year. I have never seen a #9 hitter garner so much attention. Let’s
go over a few of the facts. First, he is cheap, only costing about 1.7M this
year and probably around 2.5-3M next year thru arbitration. Second, he is one
of the best if not the best fielding SS in baseball. Third, he can’t hit well,
which is why he bats 9th. That's not bad for the cost and contribution he makes
defensively.
The problem
this year was not Brendan Ryan. If you are relying on your #9 hitter to be a
major contributor offensively then you have more problems than you think. Yes,
it would have been nice if he could have hit at least .250, which he is capable
of, but he basically played to his ability and for a cheap price. No, the
problem this year was the disappointing seasons from the hitters that we were
relying on to hit in the middle of our lineup like Justin Smoak, Dustin Ackley
and Mike Carp etc. If these guys would have hit anywhere near what they are capable
of the Mariners would have won a lot more games.
So when it
comes to pointing fingers as to why the Mariners failed so badly offensively
this year let’s at least point them at the correct players. In my opinion, we
should sign Ryan to a one year deal and hope that someone can develop in the
minors this year that will be ready to take over at Shortstop after next year.
If not, then I wouldn’t be opposed to signing Ryan again, at the right price. In
my opinion when a Shortstop's salary gets too high, you get rid of them and
find another good fielding SS that doesn't cost too much, unless again if you have
a Tulowitzki type player.
While we are
on the subject of Shortstops I would like to touch a little on how I would
build a team. Most people say you build up the middle, meaning Catcher, ShortStop, Second Base and Center Field. I look at it
a little differently. I think you build a stronger team from the outside in.
Meaning First Base, Third Base, Left Field and Right Field. I can find decent
players to fill the positions up the middle at reasonable prices more easily
than I can fill the coveted and more important power positions. Again, if a Ken
Griffey Jr. or a Robinson Cano fall your way, then again, thank your lucky stars
and you can get by with a David Bell at Third Base. But there aren’t too many
lucky stars out there so you better build your team correctly and allocate your
money accordingly.
Power
hitters and front of the rotation pitchers are the most difficult things to find
in baseball. Therefore, those are the positions you should be paying big money
for. There is a reason why power hitters and ace pitchers get big money and not
slap hitting Right Fielders (Ichiro) or weak hitting short Stops (Ryan).
Article By:
Cecil
Cecil's Corner
Good stuff.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the posts, keep em coming!