164 replies to this topic

[LahoudOrBillyC]

In my view, the best managers have been the ones not afraid to make this kind of move. I really can not imagine any downside to this for Middlebrooks. A guy like Dave Johnson would say, "hey Will, I want to get your bat in the lineup so we are going to try you in left field this weekend. You OK with that? Come in early for a few games and we will hit you 200 fly balls. If it doesn't work, its on me. You want to try it?"

I am struggling to think of a guy in WMB's position who were moved for half a season to get playing time and then imploded. Well, there is one. The Red Sox moved Jimmie Piersall from CF to SS to start his rookie 1952 season. Three months later he was in an insane asylum. Point, detractors.

[Marbleheader]

Kevin Youkilis, at this stage of his career, is a first baseman/DH. I love what Youk has brought to this franchise, but I think a trade is what's best for him and the team.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

In my view, the best managers have been the ones not afraid to make this kind of move. I really can not imagine any downside to this for Middlebrooks. A guy like Dave Johnson would say, "hey Will, I want to get your bat in the lineup so we are going to try you in left field this weekend. You OK with that? Come in early for a few games and we will hit you 200 fly balls. If it doesn't work, its on me. You want to try it?"

I am struggling to think of a guy in WMB's position who were moved for half a season to get playing time and then imploded. Well, there is one. The Red Sox moved Jimmie Piersall from CF to SS to start his rookie 1952 season. Three months later he was in an insane asylum. Point, detractors.

I was really hoping the Sox had changed Agganis' position at some point so I could make a joke in bad taste, but alas, he played only 1B his entire career.

[Savin Hillbilly]

In my view, the best managers have been the ones not afraid to make this kind of move. I really can not imagine any downside to this for Middlebrooks. A guy like Dave Johnson would say, "hey Will, I want to get your bat in the lineup so we are going to try you in left field this weekend. You OK with that? Come in early for a few games and we will hit you 200 fly balls. If it doesn't work, its on me. You want to try it?"

And there is a near-zero chance that a rookie who knows the alternative is probably a trip back to AAA or a seat on the bench is going to say anything but yes to that.

[LahoudOrBillyC]

Youkilis, of course, is sort of an example of this very thing. Terry Francona (not what I would call a radical tactician) played Youkilis in LF a bunch in 2006 (his first full season) in order to get some more offense on the field. Youks was not particularly great out there, but it did not seem to effect his development at all.

[LahoudOrBillyC]

And there is a near-zero chance that a rookie who knows the alternative is probably a trip back to AAA or a seat on the bench is going to say anything but yes to that.

Of course. I am only trying to mitigate the chance (in my view, near zero percent) that WMB would somehow be irreparably scarred by not playing well.

[JimBoSox9]

The fact of the matter is, if WMB is still riding his hot streak when Youks is ready to come back, he would have to be worse than vintage Adam Dunn in LF to negate the benefits of having his bat in the lineup over Byrd or versus-RHP-Ross. I will give the Sox the benefit of the doubt here - if they don't put WMB in LF if/when it makes sense, I'll assume it was because they did indeed hit him 200 fly balls in practice and it didn't turn out well.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Youkilis, of course, is sort of an example of this very thing. Terry Francona (not what I would call a radical tactician) played Youkilis in LF a bunch in 2006 (his first full season) in order to get some more offense on the field. Youks was not particularly great out there, but it did not seem to effect his development at all.

As mentioned earlier, he was beyond awful out there and told Francona to please not use him out there again because he struggled so much.

Interestingly, his BA crashed hard when he was playing LF (.236 in 71 PAs) as opposed to playing 1B (.278 in 554 PAs). He made up for it by walking quite a bit more as a LFer, but there was definitely something "off" with him when asked to play LF. SSS caveat applies, of course, but it is interesting.

[LahoudOrBillyC]

As mentioned earlier, he was beyond awful out there and told Francona to please not use him out there again because he struggled so much.

And the next year they kept him at first base and they had a parade. If this is the down side to the experiment, that it "does not work", then of course they should try it. I believe that this is the only forseeable downside, and the more likely situation is that it makes our team better for the rest of the year.

[amarshal2]

I think it would be very wise to hold onto Youkilis. Right now I think WMB compares favorably to a younger Jeff Francouer. He's not very different than Reddick last season either, only Reddick actually walks more and strikes out less. On the upside, Carlos Gonzalez has made it work with a similar skill set/tool kit, though he strikes out less than Will and has the benefits of Coors field. Either way, unless the Sox decide to sell I think Youkilis is the safer bet going forward. Will can extend his tryout somewhere else on the diamond...

...Though I have no more proof than SJH, I think the idea that trying him out in the OF will ruin his confidence is borderline absurd. Teams across MLB agree, as they bring guys up out of position all the time. He probably would fall off a cliff statistically, but it would be correlation not causation.

Edited by amarshal2, 08 May 2012 - 11:41 AM.

[Rudy Pemberton]

Red Sox LF have combined to hit 210 / 276 / 390 this season. While WMB may not be a LF by trade, he can hit, and should be able to catch baseballs hit his direction. Will he be a fantastic defensive OF? Probably not, but neither are the current LF's. It's a risk in that it may hurt the team's defense, but the reward is it helps the team's offense. So, why not? If such a move crushes his confidence, I suspect he won't make it anyways. It's all kind of a moot point until (if) Youkilis is healthy, but there are ways to get him in the lineup if the organization is willing to be creative and think outside the box.

[trekfan55]

Red Sox LF have combined to hit 210 / 276 / 390 this season. While WMB may not be a LF by trade, he can hit, and should be able to catch baseballs hit his direction. Will he be a fantastic defensive OF? Probably not, but neither are the current LF's. It's a risk in that it may hurt the team's defense, but the reward is it helps the team's offense. So, why not? If such a move crushes his confidence, I suspect he won't make it anyways. It's all kind of a moot point until (if) Youkilis is healthy, but there are ways to get him in the lineup if the organization is willing to be creative and think outside the box.

Someone on NESN last night compared WMB's hitting to healthy Jason Bay. Remember how lousy his defense was?

[sachilles]

So those in the camp of not wanting to try WMB in LF with Youk at 3B. Is your primary concern that if he performs poorly, it will damage him psychologically or physically? or is it that you fear his defense in the position than those that currently staff LF?

If you are in favor of trying him in LF, do you suggest he try it at Pawtucket first, or just let him have at it in the majors?

Personally, I think the bigger risk is physical injury, but not substantial enough increase to avoid it. I doubt if there will by psychological issues, if the team tells him it's an experiment to keep him there while Youk keeps his spot warm. As suggested above, I think you have him try it out in practice to make sure he doesn't develop two left feet, or run blindly into the wall and let him sink or swim in LF for a bit. If you notice his bat gets quiet or he doesn't cut it in LF, then end the experiment.

Who knows maybe he can do it all, and pitch better than our other outfielders too. It's at least worth a try.....IF Youk proves to be truly healthy..

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Just throwing this out there as another "worth a shot" example. Ryan Braun came up through the minors as a 3B and nothing but a 3B. After his rookie year in which he was a defensive disaster (but still ROY), the Brewers shifted him to LF (to move the immortal Bill Hall from CF to 3B) and he never looked back. Granted, moving Middlebrooks is going to be temporary and in mid-season, but it worked out with Braun and he wasn't as adept defensively as Middlebrooks appears to be.

I think it might be worth a shot IF Youkilis is healthy and productive when he returns.

[LahoudOrBillyC]

Chipper Jones was exclusively a shortstop in the minor leagues (he played no other position)--he debuted in September 1993 and played shortstop in a few games. The next spring, Bobby Cox chose to make him the team's starting left fielder (a position he had never played). In late March he tore his ACL on the bases and he missed the entire season. The next spring Cox made him the starting third baseman (a position he had never played). The non-scarred Jones became a star immediately.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

So those in the camp of not wanting to try WMB in LF with Youk at 3B. Is your primary concern that if he performs poorly, it will damage him psychologically or physically? or is it that you fear his defense in the position than those that currently staff LF?

I don't think the Sox should do it because I believe by the time Youk gets back -- and since he just started a "walking program" over the weekend, I expect that to take at least 2-3 more weeks -- WMB will already have returned to earth, as pitchers have made adjustments.

As his weaknesses are identified, he will likely struggle. And by struggle I really mean strike out, a lot. With little offsetting plate discipline.

I just don't expect sufficient differentiation in production between him and Cody Ross at that point, I guess. So I figure it'll be just as well for him to work on adjusting to the pitchers' adjustments in AAA. Temporarily.

Because if Youk can get healthy, he's still a better hitter than WMB. And if he can hit well for about three-five weeks, I think he'll get traded for the same reason Nomar was -- because he can't be counted on to stay healthy.

Which will leave 3B to WMB for the stretch run and beyond.

[Reverend]

For those of you who really dial down on such things, if Middlebrooks can play outfield (i.e. they experiment and he looks ok, Youks comes back and can play, etc.), how does that affect platoon splits for the remaining outfield, if at all? I'm working on the assumption that they would choose one outfield spot for WoMBat and not move him around and I haven't been keeping track, but I think Ross has played all three outfield spots, but Sweeney has only played right. Might that also affect which position in the OF they would try Middlebrooks at?

[RedOctober3829]

For those of you who really dial down on such things, if Middlebrooks can play outfield (i.e. they experiment and he looks ok, Youks comes back and can play, etc.), how does that affect platoon splits for the remaining outfield, if at all? I'm working on the assumption that they would choose one outfield spot for WoMBat and not move him around and I haven't been keeping track, but I think Ross has played all three outfield spots, but Sweeney has only played right. Might that also affect which position in the OF they would try Middlebrooks at?

I think they would put WMB in left if they are going to try him in the OF. He's played on that side of the field his entire pro career. He's used to seeing the ball come off the bat from SS and 3rd, so naturally being in LF he would see the same angles on balls he's seen in the infield. It would only help in his development in the OF.

[The Gray Eagle]

No one is going to give us anything of value in return for Youkilis unless we pay almost his whole remaining contract, and even then we'd probably only get some midlle reliever not likely to be better than some of the ones we already have. So we might as well keep him if/when he comes back. Why pay almost the same money to go from two potentially good hitters on your team to one potentially good hitter? So we can take another stab at bringing in a wildly volatile relief pitcher? Not worth it.

If we traded Youkilis, and then Middlebrooks slumps or gets hurt, then you've gone from great depth to nothing, for very little gain.

No way should MIddlebrooks be played in RF at Fenway, it's way too big with way too many balls that are hard to judge and way too many bases to be gained from misjudged fly balls. He doesn't have any experience as an OF at any level that I've heard of, and that's one of the toughest OF spots to play in baseball. Talk about getting thrown into the deep end.

He could probably handle LF in Fenway, because it's so much easier and so much less damaging when mistakes are made out there. (Which is how we were able to win 2 titles with Manny Ramirez running around out there, and why it was so ridiculous to commit huge money to tie it up for 7 years to a guy whose value is so tied up in his defense. Anyway.)

Middlebrooks is not the same kind of can't-miss bat as Cabrera, Pujols or Braun were. Those guys were almost locks to eventually become bigtime hitters. Middlebrooks isn't, he's a good prospect, especially considering his defensive potential at 3B. But not the kind of can't-miss hitter that you have to force into your lineup. Sure if he can play some LF, that helps get his bat in the lineup (for a while, but only until our LF-for-life returns.) Who knows if he'll even be hitting by then, he's not a guy who walks much, so his OBP might not be worth playing him out there by then.

If you want to experiment with moving Middlebrooks around defensively to get his bat in the lineup, why not play him some at SS too? At least he's played that position before. He wouldn't be very good and SS is obviously more important defensively than LF, but it would be less of a switch for him and would be a place where he could get some occasional at-bats when Crawford and Ellsbury are both (hopefully) back and playing every day. He'd surely be a bad SS, but the damage might not be too bad a couple games a week, where if you're ahead or tied, you pinch run Aviles for Youkilis, move him to SS and move Middlebrooks to third.

I'm fine with keeping Middlebrooks up all year and finding creative ways to get his bat in the lineup. I would guess he'd be more damaging in RF at Fenway than he even would be at SS, since he used to be a SS and never was a RF.

Too bad our big money, world class athlete LF can't ever play RF or even CF when he's back, because then you'd be able to find more ways to hide a slower, inexperienced hitter in the smallest LF in baseball.

[SoxScout]

MikeSilvermanBB: Valentine: The idea of 3B Will Middlebrooks playing in the OF has been discussed internally

[Al Zarilla]

Someone on NESN last night compared WMB's hitting to healthy Jason Bay. Remember how lousy his defense was?

But at least Bay is a career outfielder and should mostly break the right way on flyballs, come up throwing to the right base, etc. Youkilis, OTOH, was a disaster in a short sample size in the OF. But LF at Fenway shouldn't be that hard. Manny and Jim Rice played there (had to play them somewhere because they could hit like not many others). Crawford last year though, oy vey, what to say. I don't think I want to see Middlebrooks in center or right though.

[maufman]

The thought of Carl Crawford coming back and pushing Youkilis to the bench or Middlebrooks to the minors makes me want to know what Jeff Gillooly is doing these days. (The FO got insurance on Crawford's contract, right?)

[Plympton91]

Athletes always face failure for the first time as they progress through their careers, and each one reacts differently. Buchholz had a terrible time when he started struggling in 2008; it took him a year to get back on track.

The first two tears of Middlebrooks professional career were abject failures. As was his month in AAA last season. He was drafted as a SS and a P, and is now playing 3B. If youkilis is healthy, and Middlebrooks is still looking like and 850 OPD guy while either of Crawford or Ellsbury remains DLed, then, as I posted in other threads last week, Middlebrooks playing LF or RF as the case may be is a no brainer. Lahoud is absolutely right about that.

[Savin Hillbilly]

The thought of Carl Crawford coming back and pushing Youkilis to the bench or Middlebrooks to the minors makes me want to know what Jeff Gillooly is doing these days. (The FO got insurance on Crawford's contract, right?)

I hear you, although we must keep in mind the possibility that Crawford might come back and actually, you know, not suck. I hear he did that for a while in another town.

[JMDurron]

The sad thing is, I remember thinking last year: "Well, Beltre has hamstring issues anyway, so even though we'd wish for 2010 Beltre again, he was gimpy at times, and 2011 Beltre has missed time with the hamstrings again anyway. That means that we would have been stuck with a 3B with repeated injury issues even if Youk was at 1B or DH now." I also recall thinking that Middlebrooks should at least get past that issue this year. Not so much.

As much as Youk's injury issues are frustrating, the once and future alternatives aren't looking like Iron Men either. Someone can now wish for Lowrie to be around as a utility player again, with or without irony.

[Plympton91]

As much as Youk's injury issues are frustrating, the once and future alternatives aren't looking like Iron Men either. Someone can now wish for Lowrie to be around as a utility player again, with or without irony.

.321 / .412 / .512

Although, apparently Kyle Weiland had shoulder surgery due to an infection. Yup, that bizarro experience would've fit right in around here.

Edited by Plympton91, 08 May 2012 - 11:10 PM.

[reggiecleveland]

Middlebrooks has never walked much. I know he has hammered the ball for a few days, but it is tough to be sold on ditching Youks for kid that drew 26 walks all of last year. The prognosis for guys that don't walk is not so rosy.

[Pumpsie]

The sad thing is, I remember thinking last year: "Well, Beltre has hamstring issues anyway, so even though we'd wish for 2010 Beltre again, he was gimpy at times, and 2011 Beltre has missed time with the hamstrings again anyway. That means that we would have been stuck with a 3B with repeated injury issues even if Youk was at 1B or DH now." I also recall thinking that Middlebrooks should at least get past that issue this year. Not so much.

As much as Youk's injury issues are frustrating, the once and future alternatives aren't looking like Iron Men either. Someone can now wish for Lowrie to be around as a utility player again, with or without irony.

Yeah, and you don't want to be checking on how Jed Lowrie's doing these days either...he's doing just fine, thank you. And no errors in the field so far this year. But Lowrie had his own injury issues, as well, and he's already missed some time this year with an injured thumb. And we DO have a fine AAA reliever to show for Lowrie's trade.

I hate injuries. It might be my imagination, but it seems as if injuries are up this year in baseball, as well as in the NHL and the NBA. And although it's offseason for the NFL, they've been getting nothing but bad news regarding concussion and injury problems there as well. It's as if the sports planets are all misaligned in the World of Hurt, or something, and the Sox are right in the middle of all that, for sure.

[Eric Van]

[Lowrie] .321 / .412 / .512

Yeah, but what about his defense?

+3 UZR, +3 DRS, +6 TZ, which is +28 UZR/150, +19 DRS/135, +36 TZ/135.

(Career he's +6, +1, +8 per year, respectively.)

[absintheofmalaise]

Over a 5 year span he's only played 1313 innings at SS. That's about enough data for one season and not nearly enough data for UZR or DRS to make any sort of "judgement" about his fielding skills. Unless he's improved it this season, and I haven't seen him play this year, he doesn't have good footwork as a SS.

[TheoShmeo]

"It's great that Will has come and done a good job," Sox GM Ben Cherington told Sean McAdam of Comcast Sports New England on Tuesday night, "but Youk's on the DL and he doesn't lose his job because he got hurt."

http://espn.go.com/b...-kevin-youkilis

So did Ben mean this or is it designed to keep Youks' trade value up and/or be the "right" thing to say?

In my view, Youks CAN lose his starting 3B job due to the overall circumstances, which include this current injury, his injury history over the last several years, his prospects, the anticipated negatives in moving WMB to the OF and the anticipated benefits in playing WMB every day at 3B. In short, narrowing down this issue to Youks not losing his job due to injury is insufficient...if that's what Ben really thinks.

[Hyde Park Factor]

http://espn.go.com/b...-kevin-youkilis

So did Ben mean this or is it designed to keep Youks' trade value up and/or be the "right" thing to say?

In my view, Youks CAN lose his starting 3B job due to the overall circumstances, which include this current injury, his injury history over the last several years, his prospects, the anticipated negatives in moving WMB to the OF and the anticipated benefits in playing WMB every day at 3B. In short, narrowing down this issue to Youks not losing his job due to injury is insufficient...if that's what Ben really thinks.

I'd have to go with "right thing to say" or"playing it close to the vest". There wouldn't be any good reason for Youks to find out from the press that he's lost his job to WMB (assuming that were the case).

[Buzzkill Pauley]

So did Ben mean this or is it designed to keep Youks' trade value up and/or be the "right" thing to say?

In my view, Youks CAN lose his starting 3B job due to the overall circumstances, which include this current injury, his injury history over the last several years, his prospects, the anticipated negatives in moving WMB to the OF and the anticipated benefits in playing WMB every day at 3B. In short, narrowing down this issue to Youks not losing his job due to injury is insufficient...if that's what Ben really thinks.

To me, all this means is that Ben is very publicly trying to shut down rampant speculation -- perhaps reminding his manager, his players, the media, and the public at large that there is an overall plan in place for both 3B that is not going to be scrapped by one (scorchingly) hot week.

Nothing good can possibly happen by saying anything else, or by remaining silent, so this is the "right thing" to say.

[TheoShmeo]

Yeah, I'm not troubled by what Ben said; it's that he might mean it.

The warning signs -- based on things like acquiring Nick Punto and his comments re players showing emotion -- are already there for me.

The reason to make WMB a starter at 3B would not, in my view, be down to his scorching hot first week. It would be the overall context of Youks' inability to stay on the field, his limited shelf life in Boston and Will's promise based on his progression, including but not nearly limited to, his short time in Boston.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Over a 5 year span he's only played 1313 innings at SS. That's about enough data for one season and not nearly enough data for UZR or DRS to make any sort of "judgement" about his fielding skills. Unless he's improved it this season, and I haven't seen him play this year, he doesn't have good footwork as a SS.

Not to mention he should shatter like a Ming vase at any time.

[Hyde Park Factor]

Yeah, I'm not troubled by what Ben said; it's that he might mean it.

The warning signs -- based on things like acquiring Nick Punto and his comments re players showing emotion -- are already there for me.

The reason to make WMB a starter at 3B would not, in my view, be down to his scorching hot first week. It would be the overall context of Youks' inability to stay on the field, his limited shelf life in Boston and Will's promise based on his progression, including but not nearly limited to, his short time in Boston.

I really think that all that Ben is saying is that Youks hasn't lost his job simply for being hurt. He'll come off the DL, get back into the lineup and we'll see what shakes out from there. Youks may not keep his job, which is obviously something that doesn't need to be thrown out there at this juncture. I think that all Ben is saying right now is that it's Youks' job to lose, but nothing is set in stone.

Sort of like vaguebooking, this is vagueGM'ing.

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

For me, the thing to try out is sending WMB to Pawtuckett to play the outfield. At this point in time, that's where he would be most valuable to the team. He is far from an elite defensive third baseman so it's hard to argue that he would lose value if he moves to the outfield. The obvious issue is that by all accounts, he has never played the outfield professionally, or even in college.

[Plympton91]

More on the Middlebrooks to LF thing.

We've been watching over the past 2 nights an example of a tremendously successful conversion of a top 3B prospect to gold-glove LFer. Gordon even made the switch to LF while still struggling to find his offensive potential in the major leagues.

[Toe Nash]

More on the Middlebrooks to LF thing.

We've been watching over the past 2 nights an example of a tremendously successful conversion of a top 3B prospect to gold-glove LFer. Gordon even made the switch to LF while still struggling to find his offensive potential in the major leagues.

I don't think that's a good comparison. Gordon seemed to not feel comfortable defensively at third, and it was spilling over to his offense. They made the move because he failed at third, and left was easier for him and he could concentrate on hitting. Middlebrooks looks great at third.

So yes, a top prospect did switch positions, but only after he had failed at the first one. It's probably that putting him in left would have been the best thing from the beginning, but they didn't have another 3b. That's not the case with WMB -- he's certainly more valuable at third and can't really be expected to hit any better in left.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

More on the Middlebrooks to LF thing.

We've been watching over the past 2 nights an example of a tremendously successful conversion of a top 3B prospect to gold-glove LFer. Gordon even made the switch to LF while still struggling to find his offensive potential in the major leagues.

Of course another reason for the switch is that Gordon was a horrifically awful defensive 3d baseman. He had a good year in the field in 2007, but in 2008-2010 his ability to play 3B crashed and burned, at least if Fangraphs' UZR ratings are to be believed.

EDIT: Toe has it. I'd like to add that Gordon's very brief stint in RF (25 innings total) was also unsuccessful as far as UZR is concerned, which is interesting given how strong his defensive ratings are in LF.

[Eddie Jurak]

It still seems a no-brainer to try WMB in LF when (if) Youk returns. Chase Headley is another guy who moved from 3B to LF to get his bat in the lineup.

And there are 1B who have moved to OF in recent years to get their bat into the lineup, including James Loney and even Joey Votto (who was "blocked" at 1B by the immortal Scott "Moneyball" Hatteberg).

Granted, Votto (and later Alonso) got some work in at OF at the minor league level in preparation, but they were both 1b prospect who were shifted to OF to fill a major league need and were shifted right back to 1b as soon as the opening was there.

No good reason to rule this out without giving WMB a look in the OF, even if they send him down to do it.

[Corsi]

Bobby V on @WEEI -,Middlebrooks will not play in OF

https://twitter.com/#!/bradfo/status/200297823982465025

[tonyarmasjr]

It seems odd to me that they'd be willing to try Lars out there and not WMB. I guess 1B is locked up long term, so that was the only way Lars was going to play in Boston. But, if Youk comes back and performs at the level he's capable, it's not like there's a wide open road to 3B. WMB is more athletic, has always played on the left side, and has a better arm than Lars. He also happens to be absolutely mashing.

[Buzzkill Pauley]

It seems odd to me that they'd be willing to try Lars out there and not WMB. I guess 1B is locked up long term, so that was the only way Lars was going to play in Boston. But, if Youk comes back and performs at the level he's capable, it's not like there's a wide open road to 3B. WMB is more athletic, has always played on the left side, and has a better arm than Lars. He also happens to be absolutely mashing.

Getting experience in LF allows Lars to have some value as a bench bat, as well as increased value in trade.

For the Sox, LF is as locked up long term as 1B is.

[Sprowl]

It seems odd to me that they'd be willing to try Lars out there and not WMB. I guess 1B is locked up long term, so that was the only way Lars was going to play in Boston. But, if Youk comes back and performs at the level he's capable, it's not like there's a wide open road to 3B. WMB is more athletic, has always played on the left side, and has a better arm than Lars. He also happens to be absolutely mashing.

WMB also seems to have less of a platoon split than Anderson, and thus a more likely full-time player who could push Sweeney and Ross into the L/R platoon in RF to which they seem so well suited. At least through 2010, WMB's minor league splits showed him to be a slightly better hitter against RHP.

[Marbleheader]

Neither here nor there, but Young Will is on Yahoo's front page for getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend and Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Ann Lux.

http://www.thepostga...oys-cheerleader

[Reverend]

There have been a few posts scattered around about WMB "cooling off" and obviously the issue of what happens when Youks comes back has received much attention. With regards to the usefulness of sending him back down, it's worth wondering, I think, if he has only cooled down or if teams have a book on him and things he needs to correct.

Abs mentioned somewhere that he has a "hole in his swing." I'd be curious to hear the thoughts of those with greater knowledge of such mechanics. It does appear, though, that teams are playing him a certain way, in particular based on his difficulties with low off-speed stuff and a tendency to get frozen on pitches low and away. From TexasLeaguers:




It definitely looks like pitchers are trying to take advantage of his difficulty reading strikes that are low and away.

Also, he's striking out at a 32% clip, 29% of the time against RHP and a whopping 38% against lefties.

Edited by Reverend, 18 May 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Yeah, it definitely looks like he's been exposed and needs to make an adjustment. To that end, I'm not sure more time in AAA is going to help him. He might be at the point where he needs to face the more advanced approach of major league pitchers and either sink or swim by his ability to alter his approach and find a way to be effective with what's being thrown to him.

Of course, what's best for Middlebrooks might not be best for the team once Youk is healthy so there will be plenty of debate about what the team should do at that point.

[Reverend]

Yeah, it definitely looks like he's been exposed and needs to make an adjustment. To that end, I'm not sure more time in AAA is going to help him. He might be at the point where he needs to face the more advanced approach of major league pitchers and either sink or swim by his ability to alter his approach and find a way to be effective with what's being thrown to him.

Right, I go back and forth on this as to which is better for a player. But I figure that both the scouting and research is greater at the MLB level, as well as obviously the talent. So it's quite possible that this flaw in his approach was discovered at the MLB level where it would not have been at the minor league level, but if he goes back to AAA, since the cat is out of the bag, pitchers there will now try to exploit it whereas they did not before. So that might be an opportunity to work out the problem against lesser pitchers who were not previously trying to exploit it, and then return when something is figured out and see if the new approach works against major league pitching.

[JakeRae]

Yeah, it definitely looks like he's been exposed and needs to make an adjustment. To that end, I'm not sure more time in AAA is going to help him. He might be at the point where he needs to face the more advanced approach of major league pitchers and either sink or swim by his ability to alter his approach and find a way to be effective with what's being thrown to him.

Of course, what's best for Middlebrooks might not be best for the team once Youk is healthy so there will be plenty of debate about what the team should do at that point.

I think that players can quite frequently make adjustments even when not being challenged if they've already seen their weaknesses exposed, so getting sent down doesn't necessarily mean he can't continue to develop. (This is easier for pitchers than hitters since hitters are somewhat a the mercy of what is thrown to them.)

I'd generally agree though that he just needs to adjust. We've always known he was going to strike out a fair bit. His K's are high, but not alarmingly so for a high-K hitter adjusting to the majors. Almost every hitter has an adjustment period in the bigs so it's no surprise Middlebrooks is having one.

For the team, a healthy Youkilis is definitely a better player and a healthy Nava is probably not a big enough offensive downgrade from Middlebrooks to be worth changing his position. Sending him back to AAA is the right move at the moment. If he goes back to AAA and maintains an OPS that's similar or better than that of Youkilis into July then it becomes worthwhile to seriously consider trading Youkilis.