Trail Droppings 2045-7 Power Contact?

[indiansfan]

Power or Contact?

The team has 5 players for 3 spots in the lineup between 1B , RF and DH. Last year Tim Battle played 1B against righties, Francisco Medina continued his reign in RF and newcomer Matt Normore hit .309 at DH. The problem is the team has 1B Bryan Gill, who tore up the Spring with 7 homers, and OF Hadji Ufanisi wasting their talents in limited roles or on the bench. The team also has OF Steve Rogers that brings his lefty bat and speed to the party. So the team is looking at some options.

Go Power/Defense - The option would platoon Gill and Battle at 1B, put Ufanisi in RF and DH Medina. This gets the team the most power and improves the defense by getting Medina out of the field. The drawback is there is no place for Normore who hit for the highest average of the group. Rogers is also left out.

Go Contact/Defense - In this option Medina is the odd man out. Gill and Battle still handle the 1B duties, Ufanisi sticks in RF, mabye platooning with Rogers and Normore moves back to DH. Medina is 5th on Calgary’s all time home run list and is a favorite of the fans. He also averages nearly 50 HR a year. There would be an uproar if he was benched.

Status Quo - Keeping things as is would see Gill being added to a 1B platoon as the only real change and Ufanisi spends another wasted year at AAA. It also means that the team’s defense continues to suffer with Medina’s glove in RF. Rogers would get some at bats in the OF and at DH.

Not Happening - I am sure there are some others that would suggest replacing Juan Karyabwite in LF with Ufanisi. Not happening.

We may get an idea of what direction the team is going based on tomorrow’s cuts. Gill looks to have a job either way, but it is doubtful the team keeps Ufanisi in Calgary if he isn’t going to play a major role.

[Ted]

That's really tough. Medina is a better bat that either Nomore or Ufansi. I'm not sure Ufansi's glove upgrade is enough to take media out of the lineup. Ufansi in the field and Medina at DH is probably the best offense/defense option, but that poteniatlly downgrades your OBP a good deal since Nomore is the best of the three there. I think you have to try Ufansi in the field and bench Nomore until you know whether or not Ufansi can hit enough to justify his rather modest glove upgrade.

Who knows. Really tough mix.