New Bench vs. Old Bench

Winn, LaRue, Lopez, Craig, Mather

Lopez, Greene, LaRue, Jay, Mather

Tyler Greene (he’s my favorite Cardinals “prospect”), Winn, LaRue, Lopez, i don’t care whether its Stavinoha or Jay……. (Stav has “power” (im going to use that term pretty loosely) and Jay has left-handedness

I’d like to see a bench of Greene, Larue, and Jay. I think it is a tossup between Winn and Mather. Lopez is obvious, although I think he’s practically a starter rather than a bench player. nice fanpost!

If Winn sucks I’d be fine with having Jay up instead. I don’t think Stav in for Craig is the world’s greatest crime, although Craig is better, there’s an argument that it’s in his benefit to get some AAA at-bats.

They are essentially the same age, came up to the bigs in the same year (Mather had more PAs in 2008), and have almost exactly the same number of ML PAs in total.

if LaRue isn’t on the bench?

Prime example that sometimes statistics lie.

If I had to predict 2 years from now Stav will not be a Cardinal, Mather MIGHT be 4th or 5th outfielder, and Allen Craig will be starting.

On Miles, and maybe even Winn. Suppan too here in a few weeks, I’m sure.

I can see the Winn pickup actually – can easily make a case that it is worth a shot, even though there’s a good chance it won’t work out. But can’t find any good reason for the Miles pickup.

I’d think that the concensus would probably have Miles somewhere around .220/.260/.300. I’d also probably take the under on it.

Based on what? He’s barely done it during his ML time, and some of that was getting a considerable number of starts. What in the world makes you think he’d be better in a full-time bench role?

isn’t that where able players receive ample rest?? we can’t have one or the other, the bench has to be more diversified than the starters. miles, winn, stavinoha, larue, craig, and greene. It’s the perfect balance of experience and versatility. while i can argue that jay deserved a spot over winn, i can also empathize with MO’s worries. an apt bench can make a feeble bullpen look 3 times better. stavinoha is becoming a sweeney-like PH option and, honestly, i think he relishes that. any atherbench spots should be occupied by players who can man multiple positions. whether they are defensive stalwharts or situational bats. our bench is the least of our concerns. the rotation needs addressing. and if the powers that be want to deflect the issue? more power to them.

I can’t make total sense of this, partly because of the punctuation and partly because of what you,re saying.

we can’t have one or the other, the bench has to be more diversified than the starters.

stavinoha is becoming a sweeney-like PH option

miles, winn, stavinoha, larue, craig, and greene. It’s the perfect balance of experience and versatility.

any atherbench spots should be occupied by players who can man multiple positions. whether they are defensive stalwharts or situational bats.

our bench is the least of our concerns. the rotation needs addressing.

Again, no offense, but, are these meant to be independent sentences or should they be separated by commas?
If they are independent sentences then I don’t understand it.
If they are separated by commas, then I just disagree with most of it.

I disagree that the rotation is a bigger concern than the bench, if that’s what you’re saying. They’re equal at best, in my opinion. I have more confidence in the rotation than I do the bench.
There have been more quality starts than quality at bats. The pitching has been pretty good, despite the spotty and sometimes lack of hitting…..and spotty defense.
The lineup has been tinkered with more than the rotation, it’s been a bigger problem.
With more hitting and better defense, the pitching would be even better than it is already and some of the youngsters would fare a little better.
What troubles you the most about the rotation, as it stands today? Is it the loss of Penny and Lohse, is it somehow Carp, Waino or Garcia that you worry about, or is it who is filling the vacant slots, or what?

Just my opinion, but, in order, here’s what I see as the most concerning:
1) Hitting…the lack of it in key spots…Holliday
2) Hitting…Albert has not been Albert at all lately
3) Hitting…the little guys, not what we expected, Schumacker, Ryan. Schu has gotten a little better with the stick but Ryan has been slow to produce. (glad about his homer).
4) Defense…Shu, Lopez….sometimes Ryan. Ryan can dazzle at times, Shu was better last year and Lopez is just filler.
5) The bench…can they hit?
6) The bullpen…Frankiln, Reyes, & Mott have been pretty good, eh? (Reyes doesn’t get enough credit).
7) The rotation…The hitting and defense has let down the pitching more than vice versa.