That's What Cheesehead: 36.44 - Thealer Learning on the Fly

[7teen]

When Mons Raider (.356/.459/.417, 1 HR, 17 RBI) returned from the Disabled List a few weeks back, it created a "good" problem for Wolves manager Millard Davis. Davis was now faced with the problem of having too many good hitters. The problem was figuring out how to get them all in the lineup. The problem was who played 1B and who played DH between Raider, Jon Mick (.284/.345/.581, 38 HR, 115 RBI), and surging rookie Natanael Barral (.259/.385/.418, 5 HR, 31 RBI). Considering Barral helped fill the void in the lineup while Raider was on the DL, the option of sending him back down to AAA wasn't really in the cards.

"Yeah it was a good problem to have" said manager Millard Davis. "But one we didn't know how to figure out at first. We didn't want to send Natanael back down considering he's had some success since being called up. But we also didn't like putting him on the bench and just having his waste away up here while Raider and Mick monopolized most of the at-bats. So we had to think outside the box a little." And that's what the Wolves have done.

Rather than force one of those guys out of the lineup, the Wolves decided to put Mick back at his original position of 2B. Yeah, a lot was made of Raiders poor range and inability to play 2B well. But with that said, he had some of his highest WAR seasons ever as a 2B with the Wolves in 2032 and 2033. "I just wanted to do what I could to help the team. Even if it meant moving back to 2B" said Raider. "Barral has done a great job here. He needs to stay in the lineup."

With the Wolves offense floundering, it was a move that needed to be made. Of course then it created a new question: What to do with Jharod Thealer (.253/.376/.320, 1 HR, 35 RBI), the Wolves' current 2B and on-base guy. "Yeah, answer one question and just create another one" said Davis.

The answer to that question became: Move Thealer to SS. Or perhaps that should read: Move Thealer to SS!?!

That's what the Wolves have done. Over the last 2 weeks since Raider's return, Jharod Thealer has moved to SS, a position he had only played 4 times in his professional career. But one that allowed him to stay in the lineup and boost the Wolves' offense.

"I was a little hesitant at first to make the move, but whatever the team thinks is best" said Thealer. "It's obviously a learning process but we'll see."

With the Wolves well below .500 still and the team still a long-shot at making the post-season, it was a gamble the team felt was worth it. "Yeah we know the 'expert' will critique the move and explain how Thealer can't play the position" said Davis, "but what do we have to lose? We're quite a ways back in the wild card race at the moment. If we don't make it and we crash and burn then we are in teh same position we were in already. If it works, we'll look like geniuses. Yeah, I said it. Geniuses. What do we have to lose?"

Thealer doesn't have a lot of range and his arm isn't exactly the best. His rating at SS is also only a 3 at the moment. So yeah, he's a bad fit up the middle. And with Raider not being an exceptional 2B option, the Wolves defense up the middle may be one of the weakest in the league. But it does keep the offense at a pinnacle. So we'll just have to see how it goes.

Oliver Burrell (.231/.269/.331, 3 HR, 22 RBI) will shift from starting everyday at SS to a defensive replacement late in the games and as the starting SS against LHP.