Free Blake DeWitt!

September 29, 2009 at 6:50 pm | Posted in Blake DeWitt, Juan Castro, Mark Loretta | 6 Comments

Not to completely nitpick here, since these games are obviously not the most meaningful in the world, and if they were meaningful, then Casey Blake and Ronnie Belliard would almost certainly be playing through their minor injuries.

But can someone explain to me the lineup choices at the hot corner the last two nights? Last night it was Mark Loretta, who’s been absolutely worthless all season (particularly lately, with a horrific .246/.274/.281 in the last two months) and contributed a killer error. Tonight, it’s Juan Castro, whose season line might look okay, but that’s mostly because he had a 1.006 OPS on May 26 and a .511 OPS since.

Meanwhile, Blake DeWitt sits on the bench. No one’s suggesting that DeWitt’s the savior, and he was admittedly mediocre in AAA this year. It’s just that Castro’s 37 and has been an all-glove, no-hit guy for years. Loretta’s 38 and has been so bad this year that he’s probably looking at the end of his career. Conversely, DeWitt’s just 24 and showed plenty of promise when being pressed into service last year.

“Well, MSTI,” you’d say, before I punched you in the face. “The Pirates started a lefty yesterday, and the Padres are doing the same today. Loretta and Castro are both righties, while DeWitt’s a lefty. Gotta play the percentages!”

Hey! That would make sense! And it’s almost certainly what Torre’s thinking! Except, well, it doesn’t make sense. Partially, it doesn’t make sense because Loretta and Castro couldn’t hit off a tee right now, but mostly because DeWitt has a reverse split and is far better against lefties: in his career, he’s got a .676 OPS against righties, while he’s hitting .851 against lefties.

So, here’s what we’ve got. The younger player who can hit lefties and had some upside sits while two older players who can’t hit anyone – and let’s face it, their careers are over – play. Makes total sense!

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it makes about as much sense as pinch hitting daryl strawberry for homer simpson

Comment by sumdumfu— September 29, 2009 #

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I couldn’t agree more and was actually yelling at Torre through my radio when I heard the lineup tonight.

Comment by LAFord— September 30, 2009 #

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“Well MSTI,” you’d say, before I punched you in the face!
This is one of my favorite lines of all time written on this website! It made me happy.

Comment by The Fury— September 30, 2009 #

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1 – But skip, he’s nine for nine with nine homers!
3 – I aim to please!

Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— September 30, 2009 #

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MSTI,
The answer is really simple. No matter what, Joe would rather go with a veteren hitter. He’s shown it in the past with Sweeney as PH. Andruw Jones played while Ethier and Kemp sat. Finally with Jones at .160 he had to go on the fake DH so others could play. I think it boils down to the fact that managers are players who retired and they thought they should have played when they were 38 years old because they were ‘smart’and keep those young guys on the bench until they learn the ropes. (maybe when they are 30 years old). OK all this is an oversimlification, but I think there is some validity. Its like the worst thing in the world is for a young player to make a mistake. But its ok for FAJ to strike out 4 times in a game on the same pitch in the dirt, because he has to hope every pitch is a fastball.

Comment by David S— September 30, 2009 #

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i thought he was 7 for 7 with 7 homers

Comment by sumdumfu— September 30, 2009 #

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