It might help your credibility as a writer if you learned to spell correctly the city in which Votto and Hatteberg play.
That said, you make a good point. Baker is the one of the most over-rated managers in baseball. He over extends young arms (ask Kerry Woods and Mark Prior about that) and relies on veterans way too much.
Posted by chuckdad at 4/2/2008 3:57:00 PM |
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I would agree that Votto should have the gig, but Hatteberg did hit .310/.394/.474. Obviously not the power you want at a corner position, but I wouldn't say he's horrible.
Posted by vtadave at 4/2/2008 4:07:00 PM |
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Hatteberg is a journeyman and not a long-term solution, but he's not a bad hitter. Good point, DR.
Anyone who cut a heavy check for Votto in March, especially in a redraft league, needs to point the blame at themselves. We know all about Baker's tendencies as a manager - his hiring was lambasted on the inter-office message board as we all lined up to comfort Reds fan Jeff Erickson. Remember Baker questioning Votto's patient approach this spring? It wasn't hard to connect the dots here, and like it or not, handicapping the managers *is* a part of playing the fantasy game. It can be maddening at times, but it's too convenient to say "focus only on skills" and blow off this element of things.
Posted by spianow at 4/2/2008 4:27:00 PM |
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Rookies have to make it so obvious to Baker that he has no choice but to give them the gig (see Cueto v. Belisle). Unfortunately Bruce and Votto didn't light up the s/t leaderboards and thus they're left out in the cold.
I see that C-Pat went deep today and since he's also not clogging the bases (.200 OBP), that should buy him at least a couple months as the Reds leadoff man.
What happened to Kendall today? 3-for-4 with a bag. Was it his evil twin retro-Kendall?
Posted by vtadave at 4/2/2008 4:58:00 PM |
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Maybe Kendall likes hitting ninth in the NL.
Posted by spianow at 4/2/2008 5:14:00 PM |
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Bizarro Kendall. Everyone's right about Baker, but I think in his mind he's trying to motivate Votto (not at all trying to defend him). Hatteberg could also be a good teammate and show Votto the ropes as a veteran towards the end of his career, that's something else to be taken into account.
Posted by kevinccp at 4/2/2008 5:51:00 PM |
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Votto should be playing every day, whether it's in the majors or in AAA, he should be playing every day. I don't see how anybody can disagree with that.
Posted by MPStopa at 4/2/2008 6:18:00 PM |
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Another interesting decision that will eventually face Baker is the Keppinger/A.Gonzalez argument. I'd take Keppinger (better offense than D).
Posted by kevinccp at 4/2/2008 6:18:00 PM |
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With EE's shaky glove at third, I'll take Gonzalez.
Posted by vtadave at 4/2/2008 11:57:00 PM |
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Cincinatti is terrible- Id pass on Flounder and go with anything more interesting and exciting for the fans- The team's future is tomorrow and Flounder's time was half a season about 10 seasons ago.
Posted by djm1144 at 4/3/2008 6:12:00 AM |
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