Comments on: Why Kirk Nieuwenhuis Should Absolutely Positively NOT Bat Leadoff

By: JorgeLCastanos

JorgeLCastanos — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:40:14 +0000

Sorry but I can’t imagine Kirk batting 70 runs in =/

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:58:47 +0000

Batting order doesn’t matter much. Just give the highest obp guy the lead off and order it from there to maximize abs for best guys. It isn’t very important.

By: Metsie

Metsie — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:14:30 +0000

A little too lefthanded if you ask me….
And I’m not sure valde is a decent guy in the OF yet…
I would prefer (if he plays OF)

Valdespin
Tejada
Murphy
Wright
Davis
D’Arnaud
Duda
Platoon CF (Kirk and maybe Cowgill)

I know convention says to bat Wright 3rd but call me unconventional…I think Murphy with his high Contact/BA and Gap power is the better choice to bat 3rd and he also breaks up the R/L splits better.

I know everyone thinks your best power hitter should bat #3 but Keith wasn’t our best power hitter and he did pretty good batting 3rd and I always prefer a Lefty who when he pulls the ball can advance the first two runners further than a RHB who pulls the ball to LF can.

Wright aside from Davis is our best HR threat and more of a HR hitter than Hernandez ever was…In fact Murphy’s power is much more like Hernandez’ (When projected over a full year with last year excepted) and with his high average a much better #3 than Wright.

By: Matt Balasis

Matt Balasis — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 20:00:15 +0000

Valdespin is pretty good with the glove too at 2B if I recall.

In fact, what would be so bad about the following lineup?

Valdespin RF
Tejada SS
Wright 3B
Ike 1B
Duda LF
Murphy 2B
Kirk CF
D’Arnaud C

By: Hitman

Hitman — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:37:13 +0000

Tsk tsk tsk. When will you ever learn to be impartial?

By: Metsie

Metsie — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:30:33 +0000

Valdespin is the closest thing to a potential Leadoff hitter we have on the roster and the problem is he is just a bit too free swinging to be very good at it!

He has the speed to be the guy he just doesn’t have the discipline to be the guy….

But then again Mookie did pretty well as a leadoff hitter and he was as much a free swinger (maybe more) than Valdespin is….

The problem is where are you going to play him everyday?
Unless you trade Murphy there really is no place to put him.
And I do not support trading Murphy unless it’s part of a Stanton deal where I can then move Valde to 2B.

By: jdon

jdon — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:10:35 +0000

AAAA player. Call him when you need him.

By: Matt Balasis

Matt Balasis — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:53:58 +0000

Yeah, 6th or 7th, that’s where I’d bat him.

By: Matt Balasis

Matt Balasis — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:51:59 +0000

Baxter is surprisingly quick too … that’s not a bad idea. There’s also Valdespin. I have to say, based on speed and a general disruptive approach, he may be one of the better options on the roster to bat leadoff.

I don’t believe all the nonsense about Valdespin not making the team. I think they’re playing head games with the kid, trying to make him “earn it” and whatnot. He can play the OF (CF no less) and back up the IF, yeah I would say he’s got a pretty good shot.

By: Donal

Donal — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:48:59 +0000

I like Murphy in the 1 spot, but people are too hung up on stolen bases. Never mind the fact that a guy like Murphy can hit 50 doubles and wind up on second base without risking a caught stealing.

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:11:43 +0000

Did I mention Cowgill at leadoff either? I do think his minors numbers show he would be more suited for lead off than Kirk and that because of Kirk’s power but K’s he might be better off in the 7 spot but I am willing to let Kirk have a try there. To me I think IF they were using the best guy right now to lead off it would have to be Tejada by default.

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:10:14 +0000

The 162 game average doesn’t give both players 500 AB’s on BR. It gives Kirk 559 PA and Cowgill 473 PA.

If you want 500 PA then you will get:
Kirk 11 HR, 6 SB, 156K’s.
Cowgill 5 HR, 16 SB, 127K’s.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:06:59 +0000

TRS, EVERY Met OF have a lot to prove. hell, i don’t care who is the ones manning the OF if they’re producing, don’t criticize nor say kirk doesn’t belong in CF or as a leadoff when the other options you mentioning are worse than he is… It’s my point.

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:04:05 +0000

Alex, how many times do I have to say that I like Kirk. Go back and read all my comments on him. I have high expectations for him. In fact I challenged you when you said that Sandy had surrounded the team with crap and said I didn’t believe that Kirk was crap.

In fact I still like Kirk more than Cowgill but to me they BOTH have a lot to prove and are BOTH right on the border of either being MLB players or 5th OF/Minor league guys and if they don’t take advantage of this opportunity that is what will happen.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:03:44 +0000

Well, in a 162 per, it gives me different stats on both with 500 at bats:

Kirk: 252 BA 315 OBP 376 SLUG% 15 HR 50 RBI 7 SB 25 DOUBLES 174 SO (and remember this, towards the last month or so he played, his numbers dipped big time due to injury)
Cowgill: 255 BA 319 OBP 311 SLUG % 4 HR 39 RBI 15 SB 11 DOUBLES 120 SO

Who you rather have???????

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:00:26 +0000

Also, keep in mind that their OBP are very similar with a big advantage to Cowgill in the minors.

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:59:10 +0000

You do the math. 216 PA compared to 314. You can also do this math. 80/98 tries compared to 47/68.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:57:45 +0000

Wel,, fine, but i rather have our PO’s than someone else’s. i mean, you got a kid coming from oakland, where there’s a bunch of guys trying to prove themselves and yet, they let this guy go because they didn’t need him. shouldn’t that tell you how highly they think of the guy? again, funny how quickly you guys are dismisive of kirk and valdespin, yet so quick to praise guys like cowgill, brown etc based on nothing but because sandy brought him here… you guys are something else…the double standard continues. Kirk and valdespin are not good and don’t deserve to be up, but guys with less productive numbers should be given the chance to prove themselves, ummm, what??????

By: TRS86

TRS86 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:57:37 +0000

Also assuming averages, over 700 PA (which is what Bourn got last year) Cowgill would have 7 HR and Bourn had 9. Kirk would have 16. Again, pretty obvious that Kirk has more power, but he also would have 221 K’s over that time.

By: Alex68

Alex68 — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:54:08 +0000

How is cowgill on the bases? doesn’t he need to get there first (319 OBP) and secondly, 7 SB in 2 years is better than 4 SB in one year? do the math….