Results tagged ‘ Gload ’
Ranting and Worrying
My rant of the evening: Infielders and the bench.
I have more questions than I have answers. The number one thing that I worry about is injuries. “What if” is always a question that I face while thinking about the bench. What if Polly gets sent to the disabled list and Wilson Valdez follows? We do not have Greg Dobbs anymore, but we do have Tagg Bozied who played for the Reading Phillies in 2010, who is capable of fielding first base and third base. If there just so happens to be an idle Rollins and Valdez combination, we have on the farm: Brian Bocock. We saw him last year in a few late season games around the time the Phillies clinched the N.L. East. In the minors, Bocock started in 119 games at shortstop posting a .977 fielding percentage. I’m not worried about offense from the back-up men, because there are 7 other guys who will contribute to the offense party, 8 guys if Roy Halladay is starting that game.
I understand that the odds of Bozied or Bocock suffering an injury at the same time as Valdez and Polanco is highly unlikely, but let us take a walk down memory lane for a second. Think back to 2010 when Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider, and Paul Hoover were all injured, we had to put in Dane Sardinha, and if he were to have suffered an injury at the time, there were talks of Jayson Werth starting in the catchers position.
High Expectations Part 3
Outfield regulars:
Raul Ibanez, LF-
What do we even think of Raul anymore? Do we love him? Dislike him? Do we think he’s an oldie? Well our current left fielder is currently 39 years old, which won’t benefit us much this season. I don’t expect much offense from him this year, I expect the same amount of power last year, you know, under twenty homers, maybe 60 or so RBI, and a batting average around .270.
Shane Victorino, CF-
Shane is still the everything man. He can do anything he wants to do in the game of Baseball. If you expect Shane to steal a bag in a game, he’ll steal 3 and then hit a 3-run homerun the next inning. He’s a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, and we will definitely be able to see that in him this season. There is no reason to put in a right and left fielder because Shane can just cover all of that ground. Just kidding, he’s not THAT good. I can see him hitting in the lead off spot and achieving career-high’s in homer’s, RBI, doubles, triples, and bases stolen this year, as long as he doesn’t take his annual trip to the disabled list. Gosh, he’s so lovable.
Wait, What About Our Infield?
I say our as if we’re all members of the Philadelphia Phillies. Bad habit that I’ll never quit.
I was thinking about this all day today because it has come to my attention that we need another infielder or two. Really, really badly. All of our regulars in the infield went down this past season, so what if that happens again? “What if” seems to be the question of the day. Forget about our outfielders for a moment, because we have plenty of them to back up anyone who hits the disabled list, including one who can also play first base- Ross Gload.
Ross Gload, the left-handed utility player who is arguably our best pinch-hitter can play first base and right field, and he’s going to get alot of opportunities in 2011. Mike Sweeney who most likely won’t be returning to the Phillies in ’11 could’ve helped out alot also, but chances are, his last game with the Phillies (1 for 1, single into left, which was his first and last postseason hit) was probably his last game as a baseball player. Ross Gload is the go-to man, and we can’t afford to lose him. But hey, go ahead and prove me wrong, Mike Sweeney.
Second base, shortstop, and third base. OK, so Jimmy Rollins was a very idle player this past season, we know, which is why we have the man, the myth, the legend: Wilson Valdez. We all know what he can do, and what he did for us in 2010, which is why he’s favorited by many fans, including myself (you know, next to Shane). I don’t even think he realizes how important he is to us. If Chutley or Jimmy or Polly were to go down again, Willy is the man to put in. But, what if two of those regulars go down around the same time? Greg Dobbs is now a free agent and we don’t really want him, so who do we turn to? Pedro Feliz? Think about it…It’s a smart move, sign Pedro to a short-term deal for a few million as a bench player, and our infield is set. Feliz is more of a regular though, so how about Juan Castro? Come on, he turned the last out of Doc’s perfecto! Maybe he wasn’t the best offensively, but we could sure use his help if we don’t call up Cody Ransom again.
That’s my interpretation of our current infield. I’m all for signing Pedro Feliz and or Juan Castro.
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