Mike Scioscia's tragic illness

Robb Quinlan Is Also Not the Answer

Normally a rumor like this isn’t worth devoting an entire post to, but with the “Dodgers of the Decade” series running strong, I’ve somehow managed to eat up nearly two weeks without having to actually write a post about these dark, cold, winter days (which, ah, are only going to get colder since the low is 13 degrees for the outdoor hockey game at Fenway I’ll be attending tomorrow). Also, this one pretty much writes itself.

Via the Twitter of TrueBlueLA, MLB.com’s Lyle Spencer writes…

Dodgers interested in versatile Robb Quinlan as fourth outfielder.

Versatile? Sure, in the sense that he’s seen time at both infield corners and both outfield corners. You know what, though? I’m versatile in that I can play a little bass, sort of play guitar, and atrociously play drums, but that doesn’t mean I should be joining Green Day anytime soon.

Just think of all the qualities Robb Quinlan could provide! I mean, who wouldn’t want a guy who’s old (34 in March), on the decline (steadily decreasing OPS for four years in a row) and unplayable when not injured (steadily decreasing at-bat totals for four years in a row).

But oh, the positions he can play! Four of them! And he’s only below-average at, well, three of the four of them. UZR scores for his career have him being slightly below-average at 1B (-1.0), lousy at 3B (-7.9), average-ish in LF (-0.3), and slightly below-average in RF (-1.0).

Really, the fact that this guy has even stuck around for as long as he has is nothing short of miraculous. He can’t really field, he’s not much of a hitter (somehow striking out 26.1% of the time last year to go with that ridiculous .275 OBP), he’s not a great runner (14 career SB) and, as I said, he’s old.

If you want a backup outfielder, you have Xavier Paul or Jason Repko, who both at least offer strong arms and solid defense in addition to whatever hopes you can put on their bats. If you want a mediocre veteran who can play a few positions, well, isn’t that what Doug Mientkiewicz is for? Quinlan is NRI material at best, and even that’s a stretch.

(Don’t forget to cast your vote for RH reliever in the Dodger of the Decade competition, in the next post below. It’s a dead tie right now between Paul Quantrill and Guillermo Mota! I’ll put up closer tomorrow morning, which should be hilarious, and let you animals chew on that through the weekend.)