8 replies to this topic

[86spike]

Anyone else thinking Casey might be a pretty valuable guy this season?

Aside form filling in for injuries like he's doing now... I'd really like to see him getting starts at least twice a week, which will allow Francona to rest Lowell and Youks more. Both those guys are prone to wearing out late in the year and Casey might be just the guy to allow them more time off over the entire season without a terrible drop in production like we got out of Hinske and Minky and Snow over the last few years.

[SawxSince67]

Casey is a professional batter - I've seen him rip inside pitches and go opposite v. low and away pitches.

He's not going to overwhelm with power, but 7 RBI, 5 walks in 9 games. He isn't agile around the bag, but he's dug out a few. Very valuable guy.

[Kevin Youkulele]

He reminds me a bit of another professional hitter in Bill Mueller. I think we're very lucky to have him; he doesn't have much power anymore, which (along with wanting to play on a team with a chance for a ring) is probably why he's not starting anywhere, but he's probably one of the best fill-ins/backups in MLB. I'd definitely like to see him used to keep our CIs fresh once Lowell gets back.

[86spike]

as an aside... seeing him fall on his face trying to scramble back to second last night when Wang bluffed the pick-off was hilarious. Of course, if Cano had snuck in behind him it wouldn't have been funny at all.

[yecul]

He's going to walk less and is going to drop off a bit, but I think he is a good fit for the role. As a bat off the bench his contact ability will mitigate the coldness factor I'd imagine -- at least we won't get a flailing K though we might get a DP. Defensively he is strong at 1B. And, barring a long lasting injury, he won't be overexposed.

Of course, Lowell is out and he's basically full time now, but at least that happened to be at a time when he is hot.

[DJnVa]

as an aside... seeing him fall on his face trying to scramble back to second last night when Wang bluffed the pick-off was hilarious.

He was safe by at least a foot.

Anyway, when healthy he's always hit, he seems to have a great attitude about his role, and his early performance will hopefully lead to Tito being able to rest Youks and Lowell as the year gets rolling.

Edited by DJnVa, 17 April 2008 - 11:52 AM.

[SoxFanSince57]

I have liked the Casey signing since day one. I have been surprised just how large a man he is. He is 6'4", but moves/runs like he is 6 8"--a big lumbering guy for sure. I love his contact hitting skills even though it looks like he is swinging a log sometimes. (I expect a huge drop off when age catches up to him)

Casey and Crisp give the Sox two REALLY solid contributors and Tito is using them very well IMO. I am okay with Cora as a replacement level bench filler for 2B/SS. I like Cash's arm/defense because I want to say something nice about him. All in all a pretty decent bench--no power, but nice flexibility.

[Philip Jeff Frye]

I'm happy to have this guy on the bench, especially instead of Hinske, but let's not get carried away here. He had a sub 400 slugging percentage last season. His OPS+ in each of the last two seasons is below 100. Are 33 plate appearences enough to make us forget that?

It seems like there are an awful lot of "this guy is great"/"this guy sucks" threads so far this season.

Edited by Kevin Mortons Ghost, 17 April 2008 - 07:48 PM.

[Kevin Youkulele]

It seems like there are an awful lot of "this guy is great"/"this guy sucks" threads so far this season.

Give us a little credit for some subtlety--the Crisp thread is about how he might not suck.