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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 15, 2007
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So i have been wondering lately if Daric Barton is on the verge of being sent down and having Mike Sweeney become Oaktowns everyday First Baseman or will they continue to let him work out his struggles so far, in the Bigs. I really like Barton and this kid has a ton of potential. With our recent struggles though I am wondering if the powers to be will want to get Sweeneys bat in the line-up more often. If so they will either send Barton down or he will see his playing time greatly reduced.
Heres some stat Breakdowns on Sweeney and Barton so far this year.
Daric Barton in 139 AB
Total vs. LHP vs. RHP w/RISP
Ave. 230 .205 .240 .381
OBP.333 .295 .347 .481
HR 2 - 1 - 1 - 2
RBI 15 - 4 - 11- 14
Mike Sweeney in 92 AB
Total vs. LHP vs. RHP w/RISP
Ave. 326 .341 .313 .316
OBP. 382 .400 .365 .364
HR 2 - 0 - 2 - 0
RBI 10 - 4 - 6 - 7
Now looking at this side by side i can see overall Sweeney has performed better this year, But Barton flat out rakes with RISP. I think the best solution here is to get Barton out of the 2 hole and move him down to the 5th or 6th spot in the line-up were he is more likely to bat with RISP. Heres the Line-up i think would work best.
vs. RHP
- Mark Sweeney
- Bobby Crosby
- Jack Cust
- Frank Thomas
- Emil Brown
- Daric Barton
- Mark Ellis
- Jack Hannahan
- Kurt Suzuki
I think this would be a better look against RHP and get Barton in a better spot with more RBI Chances.
vs. LHP
- Rajai Davis
- Mike Sweeney
- Frank Thomas
- Emil Brown
- Jack Cust
- Bobby Crosby
- Mark Ellis
- Donnie Murphy
- Kurt Suzuki
I went ahead and Kept Sweeney in the 2 hole because he seams to get on base a lot when he is there in the line-up.
Well what do you guys think.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 16, 2007
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Nice breakdown of their stats BigPappa, and personally I would love to see M. Sweeney in the lineup everyday, whether it's at first or DHing. As I've mentioned in the past, I believe he can still hit both righties and lefties effectively. The problem with having him in there everyday is Barton's development and to a lesser extent, Frank Thomas (not really a problem, so to speak... just not enough room in the lineup... see below).
I doubt the A's would sent Barton back down to AAA at this point though, unless he tanks even further. Not sure what the brass is thinking right now but 2008 was supposed to be a rebuilding year, with Barton's development an important piece of that puzzle. However, since we remain in contention (and I truly believe we can stay there), do they change their long-term thinking at the expense of Barton's growth by playing Sweeney everyday at first? I'm not sure if they'd risk that...
So far, Geren has done a nice job of regularly rotating Barton, M. Sweeney, Thomas and Cust so each doesn't lose too much rhythm and is ready to play at any given time. I'm pretty sure he (Geren) and most of us would love to have all four of those guys in the lineup every game, but unfortunately that's not possible. Oh, and with the upcoming interleague schedule, this situation gets even worse... should be interesting!
Anyway, let's hope some of the bats start coming around (we just got swept by Cleveland) on a more consistent basis. It's difficult being on this "12-runs-one-game, get-shutout-the-next, get-three-hit-the-next" rollercoaster we're going through right now, but let's not jump off yet... we all knew some tough spells would be part of the long season and we're in one of 'em, but still only a half game out of first.
Peace, out.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 20, 2008
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I can see where Barton will get only a few at bats against Atlanta, as either Sweeney or Thomas will play 1st Base. We also have 6 NL games in June where I don't see him getting used much either. He may be the victim when Chavez is ready.
The run of good pitching against the A's has put a few players in slumps. Our Catchers are 0-25 after todays game. Wasn't Sweeney a catcher in a previous life.
They let Johnson go with the idea that Barton was going to be there man at first, but that was before the signing of Thomas. Barton does have more home runs as an Athletic than Thomas does.
I would like to see us settle on an outfield, and get Ryan Sweeney, Raj Davis, and Brown as the steady group. And that would leave Sweeney, Cust, and Thomas to play first and DH. Again, under that thought, Barton is odd man out.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 18, 2006
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Another excellent post megbydawg.
Daric Barton is definitely supposed to be a big part of the A's future. He has typically been a slow starter the past few years in the minors if I remember right, so this could just be that same thing. If it isn't, well Travis Buck is supposed to be a big part of our future outfield I think and look at where he is right now. It would be conceivable, although highly unlike I think, for the Athletics to send him down to Sacramento for a week or two to get his swing and confidence back if this starts to look like more than his typical slow start.
Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney are not the A's future. They are both there to provide veteran leadership and solid threats in the lineup. I can't see the A's forgoing their future to get them everyday ABs over the youth. Even if they wanted to do so it wouldn't be in the best interests of the team. Usually young bats need consistent plate appearances to keep their rhythm going. Veterans often can still perform well on irregular ABs, and therefore make better pinch hitters. Of course, this isn't always true, but often times it can be.
I'm really hoping to see the bats coma around soon on a consistent basis as well. Bobby Crosby had a couple hits today, and Thomas did also. I think having Mark Ellis out of the lineup is hurting us a little too. He's not an offensive monster, no, but he is solid for a second baseman and his defense is tough to match. I am hoping the return of Buck to the major league lineup will boost our offense. I know that the rapidly approaching return of Eric Chavez will. I know how good Emil Brown has been with RISP, but outside of that he is really not looking good. He's done a lot for us so far this year, and so I am not going to say we should just bench him. However, I do think he should be on a short leash. I would much rather see our young guys (Ryan Sweeney, Buck) getting regular ABs and developing over him. The tough part is that I think we do need Jack Cust in the Lineup as well, and all 4 of those guys are much better suited to corner OF positions when in the field. Cust is, of course, best suited to the DH slot. I don't know how good Rajai Davis can be, so I don't know if I would want him (even though he has killer wheels) as an everyday starter in CF. I know Chris Denorfia was a really highly touted prospect in the minors, but he is injured and was off to a slow start. The management definitely has a lot of options and decisions to make. That is a very good thing because it means there are any number of things that can be done to get out of a prolonged slump.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 18, 2006
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ace_cannon, I don't think we'll be seeing Frank Thomas get any time at 1B during interleague play. He has not sniffed anything outside of DH since 2004 when he started 4 games at 1B. He is older now than he was then. Two years ago we had it easy with Thomas in that he was sore heading to interleague play so we were able to put him on the DL. This season I see him strictly seeing time as a pinch hitter in NL parks. The last time he played 1B with any regularity was back in 1997.
Mike Sweeney hasn't caught consistently in 10 years (since 1999). It is likely he would be our emergency catcher if both Kurt Suzuki and Rob Bowen got injured. Daric Barton got a little time there while in the minors with the Cardinals, but I think Sweeney would be the first emergency backup.
I'm not sure why you want to see Rajai Davis as an everyday starter, aside from the fact that he is probably the only true CF on our roster right now. He has very good wheels, and good range, but I haven't seen much at the plate from him. that's not to say there is no potential there (he did well in the minors) but I haven't seen it yet in the majors. He hasn't even been walking much. Of course that could be due to a lack of playing time keeping him from finding his groove.
I'm not sure why you would want to leave Barton as the odd man out at 1B. He is our best defender there, as well as being a big part of our plans for the future.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 20, 2008
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Wow! I suggest a few things to shake up the line-up and you jump all over me. Yes, it is true that Thomas has not bent over to field a grounder since 2004. But I hate to have him not play when we are in a NL park. I would like to see him get more than one at bat per game in those ballparks. As for Barton, he has one more hit than our catching staff over the last 7 games. But they have none. If it wasn't for the fact right now that no team in the AL West is playing well right now, except Texas when they play us, there would be a greater urgency to shaking things up. I may have to start looking at the Sacramento roster to see who we have that can play. Probably a bunch of outfielders. Don't need any of those right now. Oh yeah, there is a 3rd baseman we could use
It is only May, yet if the Angels were playing better right now, we could be seeing our season slip away very early. That would make it easy to get August and September tickets to any game you want to see. How do the Royal's fans handle a lost pennant race so early in the season, I wonder. Let's look no further than the other side of the Bay for that answer. Giants?
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Reputation:87
Level:All-Star
Since:Jan 5, 2007
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I am of two minds when it comes to Daric.
He has potential to be a good (not great) 1B. When he is not hitting it hurts something fierce and he is is inconsistent(like any young player) while Sweeney is very consistent.
At first, when I saw that Thomas had been released I was like oh boy the cure to our power troubles but now I think it screwed our chemistry up. We were hitting fine, although without too much power, before Frank got signed, we have not hit nearly as well.
To be perfectly honest, Geren should play the younger players, if they seem to have some problems, give them a day off to re-group and play someone else.
As for Cust, please oh please get rid of him. Not a fan of him last year(purely as a player, it was a feelgood story though). he is a liability in the outfield and lets be realistic here, i'll take a one legged Frank Thomas over Cust anyday of the week at DH.
Trade Cust and move forward without him. Put Brown in LF, Buck(again in my opinion not a ML starter at RF) in RF and R Sweeney in CF(I do like Rajai though) Can rotate DH between Sweeney and Thomas with Sweeney giving Barton a day off at !B here and there.
We are not supposed to be contending and I think by us contending at this time, hurts more than anything(signing Frank Thomas). Personally if you want power, trade for Crede and get rid of Eric Chavez. Trade Street for a leadoff man(Brian Roberts) and make Har | |
