Craig Counsell

[Zeno]

What is it with Craig COunsell? He hardly plays all spring, he's 35 yrs old and he batted a whopping .256 with a .350 OBP last season and he is going to lead off? Counsell is a valuable utility guy who can play all the infield positions and pinch hit, he should not be a starter, especially with Stephen Drew in the organization.

What is the justification to send Drew to the minors? Drew had a very good spring, is 23 yrs old, is generally considered by baseball people in the know to be one of the best prospects in the game and major league ready..yet D-Backs management sends him to Tucson. I don't get it.

 

[Stan C]

Just a thought but it's spelled d e f e n s e. The guy looked incredible on a couple plays this weekend.
I know where you're coming from, but no sense rushing things with this pitching staff.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

What is it with Craig COunsell? He hardly plays all spring, he's 35 yrs old and he batted a whopping .256 with a .350 OBP last season and he is going to lead off? Counsell is a valuable utility guy who can play all the infield positions and pinch hit, he should not be a starter, especially with Stephen Drew in the organization.

What is the justification to send Drew to the minors? Drew had a very good spring, is 23 yrs old, is generally considered by baseball people in the know to be one of the best prospects in the game and major league ready..yet D-Backs management sends him to Tucson. I don't get it.

The justification is that Drew has barely any minor league experience, and none above AA (which he did not do very well in, but that can partially be attributed to being injured for part of it). Even though he had a strong AFL and spring after that, going from AA straight to starting in the bigs is one heck of a jump. Is he major league ready right now? Maybe... maybe not. It is much safer to send him to AAA first and let him progress rather than throwing him straight into the fire, taking the risk of stunting his development in the process. It will be well worth the wait.

 

[Zeno]

Just a thought but it's spelled d e f e n s e. The guy looked incredible on a couple plays this weekend.
I know where you're coming from, but no sense rushing things with this pitching staff.

I went to a couple of games in Tucson and watched Drew play short while Counsell was out....he looked very good in the field as well as at the plate. He's poised, confident and ready, not every player has to play at every level in the minors before they are ready for MLB.

As for the pitching staff, I have the opposite feeling. Its horrible and isn't going to get any better, the team is going to lose around 85-90 games and isn't going to challenge for a Wild Card, what better time than now to get our younger players more PT?

 

[FinleyLover]

Being in Tucson, I had the chance to see a lot of ST games. While Drew is very poised, I still think he would do better if he spent the better part of this season in AAA. He is going to develop into an awesome player, but I agree with not rushing it. Counsell has incredible instincts and knowledge of the game, and the Dbacks would do well to use him all they can.

 

[devilfan02]

What is it with Craig COunsell? He hardly plays all spring, he's 35 yrs old and he batted a whopping .256 with a .350 OBP last season and he is going to lead off? Counsell is a valuable utility guy who can play all the infield positions and pinch hit, he should not be a starter, especially with Stephen Drew in the organization.

What is the justification to send Drew to the minors? Drew had a very good spring, is 23 yrs old, is generally considered by baseball people in the know to be one of the best prospects in the game and major league ready..yet D-Backs management sends him to Tucson. I don't get it.

Game 1 vs Rockies- 3/4, 2 runs, a couple outstanding plays at SS, and the game's not even over yet. Not to mention his clubhouse presence, versatility, and maybe the fact that he can teach Drew a thing or two once he gets to the majors. He's playing through a very painful injury and seems to be producing just fine. No way Counsell is a bench player on this team

 

[Zeno]

Game 1 vs Rockies- 3/4, 2 runs, a couple outstanding plays at SS, and the game's not even over yet. Not to mention his clubhouse presence, versatility, and maybe the fact that he can teach Drew a thing or two once he gets to the majors. He's playing through a very painful injury and seems to be producing just fine. No way Counsell is a bench player on this team

Well I guarantee you he won't be batting .750 when the seasons over(going out on a limb there)...he is a mediocre bat and good fielder but he is nothing special. Drew will be something special at the plate and more than hold his own on the field...he'll hit more HRs by his second year than Counsell will have had in his career.

Counsell is a bench player on 2/3 of MLB teams. The D-Backs aren't very good so he'll start here, if I was manager I would start my young guys and throw them to the fire much earlier. Drew isn't some guy straight out of high school, he played well for a good program in college and then last season played extremely well in the minors followed by a solid first spring training...he is ready now and shouldn't be in the minors while a player like Counsell plays ahead of him...you could make the argument if he had Jeter in front of him or about 10 other guys but its Craig Counsell give me a break.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Counsell is a bench player on 2/3 of MLB teams. The D-Backs aren't very good so he'll start here, if I was manager I would start my young guys and throw them to the fire much earlier. Drew isn't some guy straight out of high school, he played well for a good program in college and then last season played extremely well in the minors followed by a solid first spring training...he is ready now and shouldn't be in the minors while a player like Counsell plays ahead of him...you could make the argument if he had Jeter in front of him or about 10 other guys but its Craig Counsell give me a break.

And your rationale that Drew is positively ready right now is based on what exactly?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

You said it yourself - his OBP is .350 which probably better than anyone else we could plat at SS right now. Not to worry as Counsell is done with the team after this season whether it be retirement, trade, or otherwise.

 

[Lefty]

You said it yourself - his OBP is .350 which probably better than anyone else we could plat at SS right now. Not to worry as Counsell is done with the team after this season whether it be retirement, trade, or otherwise.

Drew will get some playing time before the year is over.