Cintron

[mark1]

Why isn't he in the lineup everyday? Cintron can hit and is this teams future at shortstop. Play him everyday and he might hit 300 for this team.

 

[AZZenny]

Completely in agreement. Took him a week or two to settle in (thank you Carlos Baerga for mothering him through that) but this is the Cintron that tore up Tucson. He's learning the lead-off role, too.

 

[Matrix31]

I see him more as a craig counsell type guy, he can play 2nd, SS and 3rd. He looked a lot more patient out there today then he has. He didnt walk of course, but he wasnt swinging at pitches he couldnt do anything with and drove the pitches he could hit. We have Cintron, Olson and maybe even Kata(more of 2nd guy) to hold over til Santos comes in a couple of years (if he keeps progressing and doesnt outgrow short)

 

[Lefty]

I think Alex will be playing every day. Maybe Brenly was playing Tony because he did not want to play Alex unless he was 100%. Remember, he tweaked his hamstring.

 

[mark1]

Originally posted by Matrix31
I see him more as a craig counsell type guy, he can play 2nd, SS and 3rd. He looked a lot more patient out there today then he has. He didnt walk of course, but he wasnt swinging at pitches he couldnt do anything with and drove the pitches he could hit. We have Cintron, Olson and maybe even Kata(more of 2nd guy) to hold over til Santos comes in a couple of years (if he keeps progressing and doesnt outgrow short)

Maybe me and Zenny are the only ones who feel this way but, the people on this board underestimate Alex's potential. He is a solid hitter already and only getting better. Every year he has improved his strength and average. This guy looks like a solid 300 hitter to me for many years to come. He is not your prototypical leadoff hitter because he is a hacker and doesn't take walks, but at this point, he is by far our best option. I think he is a natural 2 hole hitter, and will go there eventually if this team ever gets a leadoff hitter.

Edit:
Over Cintron's last 56 at bats he is hitting .321

 

[sly fly]

I think Cintron has "star" written all over him. Reminds me of a young A-Rod (without the power, of course).

The future is now. Cintron needs to play.

Hillebrand has been impressive. 3rd, SS, and 2nd look to be locked up for the next few years.

 

[moviegeekjn]

Originally posted by sly fly
The future is now. Cintron needs to play.

Hillebrand has been impressive. 3rd, SS, and 2nd look to be locked up for the next few years.

Gotta like the young talent there... Overbay will need to step it up to keep his present/future job.... Hillebrand is a natural first baseman, and Tracy is looming down the I-10 freeway!

 

[green machine]

Originally posted by moviegeekjn
Gotta like the young talent there... Overbay will need to step it up to keep his present/future job.... Hillebrand is a natural first baseman, and Tracy is looming down the I-10 freeway!

I think Overbay would be better if he played every day, not every other. He is a young guy, and every time he goes through a slump Grace gets half the playing time. Overbay needs to be playing in most of the games consistently. He'll produce. The guy can flat out hit. Pinch hitting is not for him though.

adam

 

[Stan C]

For a team that is constantly critiqued for trading away all their young talent and a poor minor league system, they do seem to have a log jam ahead of them with respect to the infield. I wish they had a little more power in the outfield, but it looks like they were sure trying to get some in the last draft.
I agree Cintron looks like he has real talent, and I know this will be an unpopular statement, but I don't believe he has the range of Junior or Tony when it comes to fielding. Balls get cleanly by him that I think Tony would have got sometimes. But we do need hits right now, not all star fielding (not saying Tony or Junior are all star fielders either, just quicker).

 

[Forrestham]

Cintron needs to play every day. There is absolutely no reason whey Womack should be playing ahead of him. When Counsell gets back, I propose putting him at 2B and moving Spivey to RF.
Cintron would stay at SS and Hillebrand at 1B. Bautista is not cutting it as a RF needs to hit more than 1 HR this far in the season. Either Bautista is still not 100% or the 2001 post season and 2002 seasons were a fluke

 

[mark1]

I believe, management believes, that Overbay is not the future at first base. He is a soft .270 hitter who doesn't drive the ball. Every time he hits into double plays (which is frequent) Brenly has a sour look on his face, and Grace is back in the lineup the next day.

 

[AzKarl]

Originally posted by mark1
I believe, management believes, that Overbay is not the future at first base. He is a soft .270 hitter who doesn't drive the ball. Every time he hits into double plays (which is frequent) Brenly has a sour look on his face, and Grace is back in the lineup the next day.

Totally disagree Mark1. Overbay has many good instincts as a hitter and displays patience at times. I believe with experience he will drive the ball to all fields and with power. He needs to reconstitute his body and build more muscle. He looks alot like Baby Huey of cartoon fame. Someone needs to redo him physically and add some bulk. He has a good eye and just needs experience. You don't hit like he has at every level and then just bust. Added strength and more experience will cause him to drive the ball more. He's not going to be a prolific slugger but he is a 40 double, 20-25 Homerun kind of hitter. If he works on it this guy could consistently be a 90's type of RBI guy.

 

[moviegeekjn]

Originally posted by Forrestham
When Counsell gets back, I propose putting him at 2B and moving Spivey to RF.

Spivey is an excellent athlete, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him worked into the OF.... Having versatile players to play variety of positions is a huge plus--Robbie Hammock fits into the mix too... Those possibilities would send BB into ecstasy, given his penchant for varying the lineup daily!

 

[AZZenny]

Rush to judgment?! C'mon, Overbay has been in the top 2-3 NL rookies for hitting so far this season, and that's getting very intermittent playing time.

I was never enamored of Lyle - or of Cintron, for that matter - but I think Cintron has grown up better than expected and will develop the fielding ability - he had very few errors in Triple-A - and Lyle will develop his hitting and his fielding (which shows some improvement) only with regular playing time. For all the talk of youngsters, BB still is more comfortable with familiar veterans, which is why Matty got more time in bad matchups than he should have, and why Grace and Tony get too many starts over Cintron and Overbay.

I continue to believe that what Overbay needs is a real hitting coach. Love to see Yount take him over. But apparently he has been gently put on notice that Chad Tracy was originally a first baseman, too.

 

[mark1]

Originally posted by AzKarl
Totally disagree Mark1. Overbay has many good instincts as a hitter and displays patience at times. I believe with experience he will drive the ball to all fields and with power. He needs to reconstitute his body and build more muscle. He looks alot like Baby Huey of cartoon fame. Someone needs to redo him physically and add some bulk. He has a good eye and just needs experience. You don't hit like he has at every level and then just bust. Added strength and more experience will cause him to drive the ball more. He's not going to be a prolific slugger but he is a 40 double, 20-25 Homerun kind of hitter. If he works on it this guy could consistently be a 90's type of RBI guy.

We will see. But, don't be surprised if Overbay isn't gone before the trade deadline. I don't see what others see in Overbay. We will have to agree to disagree.

 

[schillingfan]

Originally posted by AZZenny
For all the talk of youngsters, BB still is more comfortable with familiar veterans, which is why Matty got more time in bad matchups than he should have, and why Grace and Tony get too many starts over Cintron and Overbay.

I agree with you on that, but Brenly is not unique among major league managers, they all seem to have a comfort zone with veterans. Larry Bowa drives me crazy that way, and Dusty Baker seems really, really inclined towards the vets. Goes with the territory, I guess.

However, BB seems better than many. For example, in the past he has been willing to play the hot rookie hand when the vet isn't performing, look at how long he played Spivey in 2001 when Jay Bell wasn't playing well. Also, he definitely is not afraid to put the young pitchers in extremely difficult positions. Gosh back in 2001 I remember him putting the kids in whenever they came up from Tucson the same day. Seems to have followed that pattern this year. He's certainly not afraid to have a young closer, Kim & now Valverde.

 

[mark1]

Another great game by Alex. He is filling into his body and starting to develop a little pop in his bat. He now has as many homeruns and RBI's as Overbay with 60 less at bats. Overbay will never be more than a journeyman first sacker. Grace will get more and more starts at 1st as the year goes on.

 

[Matrix31]

I dont see how you can claim Overbay will be a journey man after 148 ABs and Cintron our next SS after 84 ABs. This is Overbay's first year, he is going to struggle. Overbay has hit at every level and has not got consistent playing time here. He was on a role for a while there, batting well over .300. THen he hit the HR in PIttsburgh and there was talk of the coaches wanting to change his approach at the plate, wanting him to be more agressive and start swinging at the first pitch. That is when he started to struggle. You may be right about Overbay, but i still believe its way to early to judge.

 

[mark1]

I don't go by how many at bats a guy has, I go by what I see and my 40 years of baseball experience. If I am wrong about Overbay I will apologise to him and everybody else. I hope I'm wrong, I have no axe to grind, we need Overbay to be successful. This team a few years back had 1st basemen in abundance, now, it is Overbay or bust.

 

[Dback Jon]

Originally posted by mark1
I don't go by how many at bats a guy has, I go by what I see and my 40 years of baseball experience. If I am wrong about Overbay I will apologise to him and everybody else. I hope I'm wrong, I have no axe to grind, we need Overbay to be successful. This team a few years back had 1st basemen in abundance, now, it is Overbay or bust.

I don't think it is quite Overbay or bust. As pointed out earlier, Tracy is a converted 1B baseman, as is Shea.
1B is at the end of the defensive spectrum, and defensively, it is easier to make a 3Bman a 1B man.

 

[mark1]

Does anybody know what has Happened to Tracy Lately? Has he been hurt? He was right up there with Alex in Tucson, hitting about 370, now he is down to 318. He is in a terrible slump. I wonder if his injuries of last year have resurfaced?

 

[mark1]

I give Lyle credit, he's been pounding the ball lately. Go Lyle, make me look stupid!

 

[Matrix31]

Tracy has 8 hits in his last 3 games, so it looks like hes back. I wonder if he had a little mental letdown after the trade for HIllenbrand, wondering what his future held. It looks like he is over it now, and is hitting like his normal self. Good to see.

 

[mark1]

Matrix31

What do you know about Kyle Nichols at Lancaster. He has 16 home runs, 54 RBI's and hitting .327 He strikes out way to much, but he has some serious pop.

 

[Matrix31]

We drafted him a couple of years ago out of college, he is really old for the Cal league at 25. That means he probably will not ever do much in the majors if he makes it. Nice to see the big numbers, but for a 25 year old in high A it doesnt mean much.