Log-Jammin': Middle-Infield Style

post from Royalscentricity on 19 March 2010 05:00:00 AM. © Royalscentricity

First things first, I need to apologize for my month long absence here. I've spent much of the last two months writing preseason fantasy baseball articles for Sports Grumblings. Sure, I've only written three articles, but they were 6,326, 4,775, and 6,829 words long, and when you couple that with the increased hours working as a result of being a quasi-seasonal worker and officiating over a now-three-week-long Year: One Keeper League fantasy draft on a message board, you could say I've been spread pretty thin lately.

So again apologies all around, but if you thought about the prospect of writing 18,000 words for draft kits while balancing a 60+ hour work week, you would probably understand the lack of output here (and at my other three blogs--yes, there is a third one).

Anyway, we're in the throes of Spring Training, and we've already got everyone and their sister writing about who should be cut or jettisoned from this roster that most closely resembles Frankenstein's monster.

There's Jackie Treehorn-style Log Jam in the middle infield, especially at second, where not only Chris Getz and Alberto Callaspo are duking it out, but so is Mike Aviles, whose surgically repaired (Tommy John) throwing elbow is thought to need more time to recover and therefore will not be able to throw across the diamond from short quite yet. Obviously, everyone who doesn't work in the Royals front office would love to see anyone other than Yuniesky Betancourt at short. Assuming that Aviles' elbow isn't ready yet, why is there virtually no talk of trying the fleet-footed Getz at short and Callaspo at second. The Royals have given Getz a total of five at-bats at short over the course of two games, both of which occurred almost two weeks ago.
*warning: video not appropriate for all ages

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For a team that was willing to explore the possibility of slotting Mark Teahen at second base last season to get his bat into the lineup, it would seem that a slightly more logical move like trying to move Getz to short for the time being would make a whole helluva lot more sense given their roster make up and their need to get Callaspo's bat into the lineup everyday.

Despite Dayton Moore's assertions to the contrary, Betancourt is a vortex through which the entire team will get sucked if allowed onto the field too much--and "too much" could just as easily read, "at all." With his already abysmal glove and brutal batsmanship, nearly any middle infielder on the roster would be an upgrade.

Unfortunately, if we are meant to judge positional playing time as an indicator as to where players may end up, the only other player in camp who is getting any in-game reps at short is the limited Wilson Betemit. Why they have decided that Wilson Betemit is the best in-house option as the non-Yuni shortstop is utterly baffling. Sure, Betemit has garnered playing time at all of the infield positions, but the only position he has logged enough time at to draw any reasonable conclusions from is third, and there is nothing about his play there and his career -11.1 UZR/150 in 1623.2 innings that would suggest a move to short would be wise.

Yet, this is where we find ourselves. In-house options make more logistical sense than what seems to be playing itself out on the field. One of the only legit bats on the roster is being squeezed out because Jose Guillen presumably needs to get $12 million worth of at-bats, and there is no room for that bat at second because the moves that beg to be made will not happen.

Meanwhile, lesser options are getting more audition time to play back up to a man they're stuck with because The Management saw fit to trade two minor league pitchers (one being a top 10 organizational prospect, of course) to hamstring the team with the worst defensive shortstop in baseball and the worst offensive shortstop in baseball complete in one sleek package.

What do you do if your starting shortstop is the worst at his position in all of baseball? Well, if you are the Royals, you try to slide a below-average third baseman (both offensively and defensively) into that slot. It's likely that Betemit couldn't possibly be worse than Betancourt. Unfortunately, even if that were true, it does nothing to get both Getz and Callaspo's bats into the lineup, which is really what needs to happen.

So while Betancourt needs to be cut loose now (as does Guillen, of course), there is nothing to indicate that common sense has crept into Dayton Moore's train of thought because they continue to pursue non-solutions to their problems.

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http://www.royalscentricity.com/2010/03/log-jammin-middle-infield-style.html

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The Return of Ted Lilly ... and Other Cubs Notes

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 19 March 2010 02:05:00 AM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

Ted Lilly returned from the birth of his first child, Theodore Roosevelt Lilly IV, and threw to hitters on Thursday. Lilly threw two sets of 20 pitches. The Cubs will decide the next step for Lilly after they find out how he feels on Friday.

According to a report from ESPN Chicago, the plan for Ted Lilly is to "throw to hitters again in a few day" and "follow that with a simulated game." If all goes as planned, Lilly is expected to make one Cactus League start before camp ends. After that, Lilly would make three minor league starts before rejoining the Cubs.

Angel Guzman decided to have surgery on his right shoulder. Dr. James Andrews will perform the surgery on Tuesday in Birmingham, Ala. Guzman will try to rehab the shoulder after surgery. According to a report from ESPN Chicago, an MRI last Friday revealed a tear in his shoulder that is related to "an injury that caused the Cubs to shut him down with two weeks left in the 2009 season."

Dr. Andrews performed Guzman's other two surgeries ... a torn labrum in 2003 and Tommy John in 2007. Guzman is out indefinitely.

Here are the notes from Arizona, including updates on the bullpen and Aramis Ramirez ...

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So What Do We Think About Jordan Parraz

post from Royals Review on 19 March 2010 01:04:03 AM. © Royals Review

So, Jordan Parraz.

Thoughts?

Schaum has him as the 16th rated prospect in the system. The Royal Tower has him at #11, and Darren here at RR, had him at #12.

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http://www.royalsreview.com/2010/3/18/1380353/so-what-do-we-think-about-jordan

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Scully hospitalized overnight after fall (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 19 March 2010 12:38:37 AM. © MLB News Blog

Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully was admitted to a hospital Thursday night after he got up from bed too quickly, fell and bumped his head. Scully, 82, was taken from his Hidden Hills home to West Hills Hospital and Medical Center as a precaution and would stay overnight for observation, Dodgers spokesman Josh [...]

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Friday Links

John Smoltz has accepted a job as on the baseball broadcast team at TBS and says the odds he’ll pitch again are 50-to-1.Mac’s review of the latest Willie Mays biography is a must read.This week in Braves previews: I do a Q&A with Crashburn Alley and Andrew Simon has an excellent third-party preview over [...]

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