Why Aaron Miles is worth a roster spot...

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 4:10 PM EST Comment 44 comments

I know that this diary title is not going to be popular. I actually like statistics and on the surface Miles looks like a total waste of a roster space. The overwhelming majority of Cardinal fans on this site see no use to Aaron Miles on this roster, and I was one of them. Until...

I got to wondering "why"? What do the Cardinals see in him that we don't. Is it more than the scrappy scrapinator B.S.? Do the numbers hide a value that we aren't seeing?

Let's take two sets of numbers from the past two years:

Player 1: 233 AB .373 OBP
Player 2: 321 AB .352 OBP

Now from purely an OBP standpoint, we'd rather have player 1 leading off than player 2.

Player 1 is Aaron Miles vs. left handed pitching the last 2 years. Player 2? David Eckstein vs. left handers the past two years. Amazingly, Miles outslugged him as well.

Now, who else is playing second base for the Cardinals? Adam Kennedy. I have to believe Kennedy comes back to around his career norms. In '05/ '06, he had an OBP vs righties of .356 (along with .759 and .741 OPS, which isn't bad for a 2bman). A platoon with a .360 OBP out of our leadoff hitters would not be bad.

What are the other costs? Having Miles on the roster doesn't mean Ryan won't be on the team (he should be starting at short or at least Izturis's platoon). So that leaves us with Jiminez (horrible OPS against left handers) and VEB favorite Jarrett Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir is obviously the most attractive option.

Hoffpauir IS right handed so you'd think his splits would be better versus lefties (I don't have the information to back it up). He's also had some pretty good minor league numbers. Saying that, he is currently hitting .236 with a .622 OPS (.255 SLG) in winter ball (55 AB small sample size caveat) and at the very least isn't a sure thing.

In my opinion he needs a little more time in the minor leagues and can always be called up mid-season (we WILL have injuries in 2008). There is something to be said about not moving a player to quickly and he probably wouldn't get regular at bats with Adam Kennedy still hanging around (I would rather see him get AB's in the minors than rotting on the bench).

Sometimes confidence is a big part of growth and the fact that he will get more at bats in the minors is an obvious good thing. At the very least, he gives us a backup in case Kennedy gets injured or is ineffective. If you are one of the believers in his skill set (which I am), we also don't start his arbitration clock during a transition year.

There may actually be a method to the madness...

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You have a point...

if used properly, Miles could theoretically be useful as a platoon guy with Kennedy. But even so, he still stucks. His OPS still blows. It's not as bad as his overall one (or vs righties), but it's still around the .700 mark (just not below it)

Plus, there isn't room on the team for Ryan & Miles.

The bench is probably only going to be 5 players: Miles, LaRue, Barton, Spiezio and Skippy (or Phelps)

by DiscoJer on Jan 17, 2008 4:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I don't see us carrying...

12 pitchers in April. Thus, I believe they will carry Miles/ Ryan at least for a little while. I also believe someone will go on the DL during that time creating another opening. I do agree that I'd rather keep Ryan than Miles, even with Ryan's craptastic minor league numbers (.669 OPS in 300+ AB's in Triple A is Milesesque), but it's always good to have depth for injuries.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 5:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Considering the lack of a decent rotation...

I don't see how they could carry any less than 12 pitchers.

I don't think Ryan is necessarily better than Miles as a hitter, but he would have offered better defense and be a million bucks cheaper

by DiscoJer on Jan 17, 2008 5:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Depends on schedule details

Last year, and in some but not all previous years, there were enough days off in April that many teams, St. Louis among them, could go fairly deep into the month without needing a #5 starter. In principle, that would free one roster slot for experimentation. If the schedule is that way again, there could be a couple of extra weeks to sort through the bench, although I suspect that TLR would use the slot to further deepen his bullpen.

by StanTheManFan on Jan 17, 2008 8:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

unfortunately

that doesn't seem to be the case this year. We only have 2 days off this year in march/april. Last year we had 4.

In fact, our early schedule looks especially brutal this year. We have a 12 and 16 game stretch in april. We also have two 13-game stretches, an 18 game and a 19 game stretch with no days off, and a weird bunch of short series in august and september, with a shorter ASG break.

However, those short series in August might make a quasi-4 man rotation possible in the stretch run. That'll be amazingly valuable if (suspend disbelief!) Carp comes back on 1 Aug like promised; we would only need to go to a 5th starter 5 times in the last 2 months, with 11 starts from the #1 and #4 and 12 starts from the #2 and #3 and keeping everyone on normal rest. That would also leave the #1 lined up for the start of the playoffs...

the bums will always lose...

by SleepyCA on Jan 17, 2008 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I have to admit...

my scenerio is a little less plausible with the weird April schedule. It looks like it will be a lot harder to only carry 11 pitchers (though I still contend we'll see 1-2 injuries in spring training, possibly causing this issue to be moot). Nice point.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 18, 2008 8:40 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

hoffpauir vs lefties

hoff put up an unsustainable .467 OBP in 60 PA's against LHP in memphis last year (fueled by a .388 BABIP vs LHP) but had a significant reverse split in 58 PA's in Springfield.

the bums will always lose...

by SleepyCA on Jan 17, 2008 4:26 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

True...

If you point out his .388 BABIP in Memphis, then you must in turn point out his .275 BABIP in Springfield.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 5:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

absolutely

but unfortunately, with a 6% (!) line drive rate against LHP, that springfield BABIP might actually have been a bit lucky :(

I'm not trying to put the guy down, as hoffpauir (and ryan) are two guys I've been following for a while and I really want to see them succeed. I'm just trying to get a reasonable guess as to what we can expect from them next year and I don't think there is enough information out there on either of them to make a good guess.

I'm afraid the answer is "expect regression" except that in Hoffpauir's case his overall LD rates (~19%, which is quite high for AAA) almost support the high BABIP that he had in '07, and his massive walk rate makes him extremely attractive. There's just so much room for luck to play a factor, as well as both improvement and regression, that I wouldn't put money on Hoffpauir's AAA OPS being better than .700 or worse than .900 next season.

the bums will always lose...

by SleepyCA on Jan 17, 2008 6:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Touche

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

For the sake of completeness

Brendan Ryan was .354/.407/.456 (~87 PA) against lefties last year at MLB. However his minor league numbers were not nearly that good in either 07 or 06.

the bums will always lose...

by SleepyCA on Jan 17, 2008 4:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wow...

That is a cool site. Thanks for the links! Aside from 50 AB's in triple A, it looks like Hoff doesn't hit lefties very well. That could be an anomoly, but it kind of proves my point that it is far from a given.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 6:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan should get the same benefit of the doubt

that Chris Duncan got. His MLB numbers are better than his MiLB numbers were. At least Ryan has speed and range and possible upside.

Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Jan 17, 2008 7:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Duncan...

In AA and AAA, Duncan put up an .863, .827 and .807 OPS in his age 23, 24 and 25 seasons. Ryan put up a semi-respectable (for his position) .720 OPS at AA in 150 ABs in his age 23 season, but has since regressed and has been terrible since then, culminating with a .669 OPS in 350 ABs last year at age 25. They really do not compare as hitters.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 18, 2008 8:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

so what is your point?

I didn't claim Ryan was the same hitter as Duncan. What I said was that Duncan's MLB numbers were better than his MiLB numbers and so were Ryan's. To wit, Duncan's '06 MLB OPS was .952 with an injury-marred .834 last year. I don't have the splits, but I imagine his OPS prior to the injury was better than his minor league best.

Similary, Ryan's OPS last year was .753 at the big league level.

The point is that you have two different minor league players who made it to the majors based on their minor league numbers and then surpassed them at the major league level. One of them seems to be untouchable and a quasi-regular while the other one will likely be sent to the minors so that lesser, more expensive players can be on the MLB roster.

Let me see, what difference in these two players might account for the different treatment? I wonder what Ryan's dad does for a living?

Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Jan 19, 2008 9:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I appreciate the analysis ...

... but isn't the conclusion just that Miles OBP against LH pitching is slightly better than another player we didn't even bother to offer arbitration to?

Our Middle Infield is a disaster area, so I agree it's silly to see signing Miles as negatively as some do. It's not like he'll be blocking the stable of Chase Utleys we have down on the farm. But it's hard to see any upside in Mr. Miles, slightly plus OBP split included.

by bgodar on Jan 17, 2008 4:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

slightly better...

and about $5M cheaper? Although Eck's defense would have been slightly better, which is scary.

the bums will always lose...

by SleepyCA on Jan 17, 2008 5:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ryan

I'm sorry but I'm just not sold on the guy.

I can throw 75 mph fastballs for 5 innings. When's my tryout?

by flipthebird15 on Jan 17, 2008 5:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I've been thinking that for a long while now, and I just had never said it. I was kind of afraid that somebody might blast me for being anti-youth our something.

Also as to your sig we'd like you to report to Rodger Dean in 28 days for middle relief effort. Thank you.

Not a fan of Troy Glaus

by gibbyfan on Jan 17, 2008 6:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

WHAT !!!!

You're ant-youth? BLASPHEMER!

"Dude, we're running out of stadium" - said on the way to our seats in Section 428.

by bukowski on Jan 17, 2008 10:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

haha

that was funny. almost laughed out loud...literally, not just that "lol" crap.

stlfan

by stlfan on Jan 17, 2008 11:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Miles is insurance...

... if Izturis flames out, Kennedy doesn't recover, and Ryan regresses -- which all seem pretty likely to me -- then Miles is a known quantity which is acceptable, if not ideal. he can platoon with Kennedy, but he is also the most reliable pinch-hitter we'll have.

i don't like the Miles signing because i'm willing to throw '08 away, and i'd like to see what some of the kids can do. but i can understand that neither Mo or TLR are willing to toss a whole away, and there's no reason to be optimistic about the other available options. i think the signing is defensible along those lines. still don't agree with it, but it's not a complete waste. like you said, it's not like he's blocking anybody, since Hoffpauir isn't ready yet.

by kindred on Jan 17, 2008 5:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ha!

Miles is not the difference between playing for next year and playing to win.

Also, he most certainly IS blocking someone.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 5:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

and that would be?

Is it someone not in the above diary?

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 5:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Nope...

He's mentioned in the above diary, and also in lenght in my comment below.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 6:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan...

If you are talking about Ryan, I would probably rather have him over Miles too. But the difference in the two isn't great (I think he's closer to his triple A numbers than last year's ML numbers) and having him in the minors gives you an option WHEN someone goes down with injury. In a perfect injury free season, I'd rather have Ryan than Miles on the ML roster too (if Ryan doesn't make the roster, I'm still not convinced they don't carry 11 pitchers for the first 2-3 weeks).

Either way, Ryan is not someone I'm really worried about blocking. His ceiling is backup middle infielder or below average starter, and we're not going to ruin him by sending him to the minors for part of the year.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 6:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

11 pitchers...

Even if they do, which I seriously doubt, I'd think Tony is more likely to go with the right handed pop of Phelps than carry 4 MIF's.

Also, my point is not that Ryan is going to be great, or that going back to Memphis is haulting his development. My point is that he is better RIGHT NOW, and cost 1M less. Not alot of money, but if you waste 1M here, 3M there etc...it adds up especially when you are on a budget.

Again, the biggest problem with Miles is the fact that he can only play one position effectively (somewhat).

Here is the scenario.

A. Izturis, and his replacement level bat, rack up 98% of the ABs at SS because we have no reliable back up.

B. Tony blindly sticks Miles out there in some sort of platoon situation and we've got the worst defensive SS in the game out there for half the games.

C. Ryan beats out Miles and we have a backup who can actually backup more than one position. Almost 0 chance of this happening.

Which do you prefer?

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 6:37 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well though out...

But. Your argument still doesn't play.

You are basically saying that it is worth having a bench player that is only effective against 35% of the pitchers in the league and can only play one position. Now, if the guy put up a .900+ OPS...it's different, but that's obviously not the case. Miles biggest problem, aside from being a subpar player, is that he can only effectively play one position. If you can only play one position, then you had better be good enough to be a starter OR you better really standout in at least one facet of the game (power, speed, etc).

The other point you are missing. It really doesn't matter what Miles brings to the table, because there was already a cheaper, better, younger, more athletic option in house that is being forced to AAA. Miles does, in fact, mean no Ryan. Tony won't carry 11 pitchers with this hodge-podge rotation. This means 3 middle infielders. Ryan doesn't fit, and barring injury, he won't beat out the guys who are on guaranteed major league contracts.

Also, instead of using just last year, and a small sample size of 119 AB's, it may be better to use his last 3 years to paint a better picture.

Vs lefties the last three years, Miles put up a very pedestrian line of .272/.348/.333.

For comparison, Jimenez and his "horrible" line against lefties looks like this over the same time period.... .260/.387/.351

Miles was a terrible signing, and was made for one reason...to placate the manager. Nothing else.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 5:53 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Why can't you accept that there may be more to the signing than "LaRussa runs the team and only wants his scrappy players". Remember, LaRussa is an OBP and splits guy (one of the first managers to really use these stats).

I didn't just use last year to talk about Miles, I used the last two years where he had 223 AB. A leadoff hitter with a .373 OBP against lefties IS being very good at one facet of the game and I'd take it over speed anyday. His power problem is an issue, but would be negated somewhat by the plus from the OBP at the spot in the lineup where OBP is most important (and the fact that we don't have a lot of players on our team that hit lefties well).

I think your Jimenez line is cherry picking a bit. You are taking 35 at bats 3 years ago that run counter to his entire career line. Even if you go back and look at Jimenez's good year in 2004, (with a lot more plate appearances), he was terrible and quite a bit worse than Miles. While you may say the same about my picking the last 2 years with Miles, it has been when he was with the Cardinals and over quite a few more at bats.

Would I rather have a leadoff hitter with a .900 OPS? Sure! There aren't a lot of those lying around though, and we don't have that option in the current lineup construction. Would I have signed him? Probably not. I just think in the right situation Aaron Miles could be useful.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 6:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well

"Why can't you accept that there may be more to the signing than "LaRussa runs the team and only wants his scrappy players". Remember, LaRussa is an OBP and splits guy (one of the first managers to really use these stats). "

Because that's not the case.

"I didn't just use last year to talk about Miles, I used the last two years where he had 223 AB. A leadoff hitter with a .373 OBP against lefties IS being very good at one facet of the game and I'd take it over speed anyday. His power problem is an issue, but would be negated somewhat by the plus from the OBP at the spot in the lineup where OBP is most important (and the fact that we don't have a lot of players on our team that hit lefties well)."

Talk about cherry picking. Why wouldn't we use the last 3 years, other than they don't fit your argument.

Uggghhh!!!!

I've exhausted myself on this topic actually. I'll concede you made some good points, and I'll leave it at this....

I couldn't disagree with you more, and I think I made my case.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 6:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At least back up your arguments...

instead of saying "that's not true" and Ugghhhh! That post added nothing to the discussion. I explained to you why I used the last 2 years and 223 ABs is a pretty good sample size (especially versus lefthanders). I agree with a lot of what you are saying, but you are changing the argument. My point isn't that Miles is wonderful, it wasn't that he is better than Ryan, it's that he has some worth.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 11:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No offense

but it's not a really good sample size. It's generally accepted that it takes between two and three full seasons to establish true talent (could be a little off), and that's about half of one.

You'd regress that extremely heavily, and I'd easily take the under (for a decent sample going forward) for almost any amount of money that I could afford.

by plh903 on Jan 17, 2008 11:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

sample size...

Miles almost played 2 full seasons (around 450 total plate appearances each season) and he played more vs. lefthanders. That's why I said that's quite a few. I might be misunderstanding your argument though. Do you mean 400-800 Abs vs. left handers?

Saying that, I wouldn't bet against your under. (Though I think he will put up a .350+ vs. lefthanders). Tony does seem to wriggle out the most talent out of these guys though (which is probably one of the reasons he likes them).

Unlike a lot of people, I just don't think that's the ONLY reason he likes a player like Miles and some of it is actually worthwhile stuff. He probably likes him for reasons like: OBP vs. righties, scrappiness, clubhouse presence, great influence on Ryan in the clubhouse, lets Pujols win in card games, he gave $20 to ARF last year and he caught him listening to Bruce Hornsby one day right before he got 3 hits. In all seriousness, I bet there are actual statistical reasons why Tony likes Miles.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 17, 2008 11:59 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm saying 5-600

plate appearances is equivalent to a season. Something like 1,500 starts to get some good results. That's why ZIPS and PECOTA clean up against Marcel as far as rookies and sophomores are concerned until two or three years in. There's not enough data and it doesn't take minor league performance into account.

It doesn't take into account Over the last two seasons he's accumulated 236 against lefties. I don't doubt he has a skill there. In 442 career at-bats he certainly has an OBP+ over 100 at .342 as a right-handed hitter. But, we'd also have to regress that fairly heavily.

I'm sure there are reasons that Tony likes to have Miles on the roster, and I don't think that it's a bad thing that a hall of fame manager can choose the 25th man or whatever on his bench, but we're also talking about a guy who carries note cards with batter/pitcher splits in his back pocket.

On a contender it would be more forgivable to carry Izturis and Miles (two established shitty players) for whatever reason I guess, but this year we need information on a guy like Ryan. But he smiles too much or whatever, so we're left finding out something we already know: Miles has an OK OBP against lefties and can't play SS. He's an extremely limited player.

Like I note down the page, he's not a guy that most teams give a guaranteed roster spot to. Look for players in their prime, that can't play SS, who are expected to put up a .230 EQA - have never done much better and we don't expect them to. Crappy back up second baseman are usually found in the IL or PCL.

by plh903 on Jan 18, 2008 12:43 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I take that

back. lgOBP for his career is .349. I also don't think it's forgivable to carry craptastic players like Miles and Izturis on the same team in any year, but you get my point I hope.

by plh903 on Jan 18, 2008 12:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I shouldn't even had made that post...

Beleive me, I've discussed this ad naseum and got halway through and didn't feel like doing it again.

My first post should have been a fairly sufficient synopsis of my stance on the issue.

"You're either rebuilding for something special, or you're on the verge of something special. To be in between is foolish." Billy Beane

by bobbyballgame1 on Jan 17, 2008 11:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

No offense taken...

I'm really not arguing with most of what you are saying. You are making points about Ryan that everyone makes (and most of them are true). I think you are still missing my point. Again, my whole argument wasn't that he was better than Ryan, it was that he has some tangible statistical worth if used in a proper platoon.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 18, 2008 12:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree, plus

Jack Daniels is a wonderful thing, but you need to keep it out of the hands of binge drinkers with car keys.

Chocolate cake is great in occasional small servings, but not around PMSing chocoholics.

I bet Miles ends up playing virtually every game against lefties at either SS or 2B. I hope Glaus is healthy and productive enough that we are spared any 3B cameos.

Now, a little comic relief at P in blowout losses might be entertaining...

Those Pilgrims ain't lookin' so proud now...

by giveml on Jan 17, 2008 7:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What I like about Ryan is his explosiveness

He is very athlectic from what I saw last year. I think Tony just wants him to play inside himself and not make stupid mistakes trying to do to much. I played a lot of hockey growing up. I use to always get carried away and to fancy losing the puck trying to be the next Mario Lemieux but as I got older and wiser my game got better as I played smarter. Ryan needs to learn to play smarter. Once he does that I think he will be a quality starter. If he doesn't he will always be a back-up middle infielder.

"Why does he keep saying that?"

by Red Blazer on Jan 17, 2008 7:23 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Most teams

don't carry light-hitting (career 73 OPS+) middle infielders that can't play SS. It's just not a good use of a roster spot.

He does have a decent OBP as a RH hitter, but the sample size is too small, even over the entirety of his career, to say that we don't have any sort of true talent measurement there.

Hopefully it was done to placate the manager, as Bobby says. I don't like the other alternative.

by plh903 on Jan 17, 2008 9:10 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Missing the point.

I have been a Miles and Taguchi defender for the past couple of years at least. But even I don't believe bringing back Miles was a bright idea. The problem wasn't that Miles was bad. On the contrary I thought he was a perfectly acceptable 24th or 25th man. Miles is a known quantity. He will show up, work hard, and do what TLR or the coaches ask of him. He'll get on base a a decent (or close to decent rate), not slug much and post an 80-85 ops+. That isn't bad for a back up MI making less than $2M per year.

The problem I see is that he blocks potentially better younger options. More to the point, in a rebuilding year, we can afford to take a risk with a young cheap guy that has even some possibility of an upside.

The St. Louis Cardinals- 11 time World Champions!

by Zubin on Jan 18, 2008 2:55 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Upside Potential (Diaper Dandy?)

The only player that could possibly have upside is Brendan Ryan and I don't think that is great. Would you rather him have 350 AB's in the minors and 200 in the majors or 250 in the majors as a backup or when injury happens? Which furthers his development more? I'm not saying I'm right and your wrong, I'm saying there is a lot more to development than giving a guy major league at bats. (Though I have to admit that Ryan doesn't seem to lack confidence).

Also, what happens if Kennedy continues his sucktitude, Hoffpauir regresses a little and needs more time and Jimenez washes out? All have some likeliness of happening. Then you are left with Izturis (who may continue to suck) and ? You'd again be picking up a player like Luis Vizcaino or Miguel Cairo to put up a 550 OPS and suck at everything.

Believe me, if the choice is Ryan or Miles I would pick Miles too. Saying that, I don't believe there is a world of difference between the two over a full season (half of a win?). Having Miles may mean we don't have someone significantly more terrible WHEN injuries/ ineffectiveness happens.

"It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable". Joe Garagiola

by MRCARD on Jan 18, 2008 8:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs