if we call him up now we waste a year of his arbitration, because even if we call him up this season were still not going to be a world series caliber team. i say we hold our horses til next season when we actually have a chance.

I agree it is way too soon let him stay in the minors. However, I also agree that walrus is a sweet nickname.

too soon, too soon. plus you don’t want to rely on someone that has never hit ML pitching

let’s see him hit >.300 and then have this conversation

This line:

Joe Thurston’s been picked off twice just as I’ve been typing this post.

Made me laugh

we got Hoffpauir! Now we are gonna start rocking!( In all seriousness, is it too much to ask for Hoffie to go on a Bo hrt like run for the next few weeks? )

For all the hype, Wallace is still an unknown quantity. An unknown, left-handed, still stuck between positions variable. If Wallace is going to come up, play -5 defense and hit better than his MLE’s then I think it’s stupid to argue that a year of eligibility is what we should keep him down for. His clock will be delayed because of his late start to this season, and if he puts us over the top it has to be done.

I’m just not sure we can expect him to put up above-average offense yet. His wOBA is only .342, he hasn’t been very patient in AAA (5% walk rate), and his BABIP is still somewhat high. His power has been okay, but more importantly he just hasn’t been patient enough to merit a call-up in my eyes.

More than good hitters we need patient hitters. Albert Pujols will drive you in. Just get on the bases and stay on them.

on the arbitration clock thing. It is not at all clear that we will burn an arbitration year by calling him up now or sometime soon. Does anyone know the odds that a player called up at this point will become a “Super Two” for arbitration purposes?

Personally, I would like to see him in AAA a little longer, but not much if he keeps hitting.

I am not worried about his 5.4% walk rate in AAA. I think what we have here is a player who either had it too easy at a lower level and swung at too many pitches or possibly gets too excited after he is promoted. In fact, if you look at his fangraphs page you will see that a similar drop in his walk rate occurred last year when he was promoted from A to AA. Went from 10% down to 3.9%. Then it was 12.3% this year in AA before dropping off a cliff to 5.4% at AAA. I would bet that he has been taking more pitches lately and walking more to go with the increased hitting (just a guess). I also vaguely recall that Wallace was always touted for his mastery of the strike zone even in college. So, I am not too worried about the low walk rate at AAA so far.

to give Wallace a no pressure opportunity for a few days to be followed by a longer look later in the season. This team is not likely to be a contender, so why not? Just tell him that he is going to be in the lineup for a few games until DeRosa is better and then he will go back to Memphis. That way there is no downside if he fails (can he really be worse than Thurston?) and he might actually provide a spark. If you tell him he is going back down regardless of performance he will not feel any pressure or be crushed if he doesn’t do well. Worked pretty well for Willie McGee. Of course, TLR will save him to pitch in the 17th inning or some other genius move….(that’s the wine talking).

He should play in the bigs at some point this year anyway, the super two deadline is past, and he is probably a better player right now than the other available options.

also, his defence is poopy, so we couldn’t really carry him if he struggles in his first couple of months of MLB pitching (which is likely). Give him another year.

Something, anything to jumpstart guys. * Do we know the extent of DeRosa’s injury yet?

• Yes, I realize this is a non-statistical argument.

This is a guy who only took 86 games to get to AAA from the day he was drafted. There’s been a consistent pattern at each level – a few weeks of middling offense, then a huge, sustained surge. He’s posted an OBP above .400 and slugged over .800 at every level, and is rapidly approaching those levels at AAA.

The Walrus is the best chance to add an impact bat internally, and there is no real everyday 3B until Glaus maybe, hopefully returns in a month. Seems like a perfect opportunity to see if this fast learner can help the big club, which is in a pennant race and is in need of some offense.

Tony shit on the idea of calling Wallace up over HoffP, but maybe if we all close our eyes and believe and clap our hands, he’ll soon change his mind!

TLR is dead-set against a Walrus call-up. Believes it would set him back. It appears DeRosa is the answer at 3B. Hopefully the Hoff can stick and Thursty can go away.

Now as for the OF. . .We have no answer for DunK and AnK.

Brett Wallace’s future than call him up right now.

*gunshot to kneecap excepted.

According to the Memphis Redbirds website he hits LHP pretty darn good.

Entire Season AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS OBP SLG OPS
vs Left .415 41 5 17 4 0 1 4 2 3 0 0 .444 .585 1.030
vs Right .248 121 10 30 5 0 4 10 7 30 0 1 .298 .388 .686

It would be a good move IMO because we need a 3B and have been using guys who aren’t 3Bs (T. Greene, Ryan, Thurston, K. Greene) – and they’ve been stinkin’. But, as long as TLR is manager, not a chance of that happening.

why rush him even more?

but is he ready? i don’t know. i just don’t know.

When Ankiel was in AAA? “He’s not ready…the team isn’t in contention…Tony is dead set against it…he can’t hit a curve (well, this is getting proven true this year)…etc”

Ankiel comes up, a listless offense is energized, and the team gets back into contention(that is, until the NY Daily News pulls its well-timed hatchet job on Rick to derail him).

Hrbosky was going on about how if Wallace were called up, there would be undue pressure on him as he would be expected to turn the offense around rather than easing into his role as a major leaguer. There’s logic to this line of thinking.

Nonetheless, a lot will depend on this final stretch before the AS break. If they do well and end up in first place when the smoke clears, then they can afford to wait. If they lose 7 or 8 of 9, the season might be effectively over, in which case they can afford to wait.

But if they keep playing the same as they have, struggling to score runs, but winning a low-scoring game here and there and manage to stay 2-3 games within the pack at the break, it might be time for the move. Trotting out the same strings of first-pitch hacking non-hitters night after night while trying to make up a run or two will eventually wear thin.