Luis Hernandez

[ChrisP]

As far as I can tell he's a better fielder than Fahey and couldn't possibly be a worse hitter. Who could?

I agree with this. He made 3-4 nice plays last night and looked SMOOTH while doing it. I hear that adds to your OPS somehow.

[ChrisP]

Let me just point out that you guys are arguing over which of 3 players would make the best utility guy on a team in need of starters

=)

Just wanted to point that out.

I think the 3 are interchangable- but honestly- why do we need any one of them with Gomez around?

GREAT point....Because JR House is busy and Val (or someone else in AAA) needs more seasoning.

[DrungoHazewood]

Sure it does. The team has been playing better with iron glove Tejada out of the lineup. The fact that the defense is so much better now at short than before and they are winning more games even with the loss of Tejada's offense speaks volumes. I personally would like to see Tejada no mas at shortstop.

We realize that. Your purpose in life seems to be only to convince the rest of us of your rather ridiculous proposition that Tejada's fielding is so crapulently abysmal that Luis Hernandez' whiffle ball bat needs to be in the lineup.

At some point you need to accept that the rest of the world thinks that idea is just as fanciful as it appears at first glance.

[rolliefingers]

I like to think I have a little bit of an eye. I was a Mora fan when he was a part-timer with the Mets, and I always thought Roberts would be way better than Hairston. Bedard in A-ball looked like a no-brainer, and ditto for guthrie in spring training. I've been wrong too, but there's something about Hernandez I like. He's been young for his leagues in the minors, and his swing isn't that bad. I wouldn't write him off as a no-talent yet.

Well, you're wrong now, too. As well.

[bobmc]

Well, you're wrong now, too. As well.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I have read Drungo. I have seen pics of Drungo. Drungo is the "cut to the quick" champeen around here. You, my friend, are no Drungo!

[33rdst]

Hernandez just turned 23 last month. If I'm not mistaken we picked him up as a minor league free agent this year. That means he came into pro ball at a very young age from Venezuala. The guy is just now beginning to mature as a person let alone a baseball player. To dismiss him out of hand at this point seems to be an overreaction.

[DrungoHazewood]

Hernandez just turned 23 last month. If I'm not mistaken we picked him up as a minor league free agent this year. That means he came into pro ball at a very young age from Venezuala. The guy is just now beginning to mature as a person let alone a baseball player. To dismiss him out of hand at this point seems to be an overreaction.

I'll qualify my position: There's no objective evidence of any type that suggests Luis Hernandez will hit enough to be a decent major league player. Some infinitesimal percentage of such players do go on to have somewhat valuable careers.

[33rdst]

I'll qualify my position: There's no objective evidence of any type that suggests Luis Hernandez will hit enough to be a decent major league player. Some infinitesimal percentage of such players do go on to have somewhat valuable careers.

You're right there isn't alot out there ojectivily that would suggest that Hernandez will amount to much. However there were a couple of years when he raised his batting average by 30 or 40 poits. Still low but there was some improvement. Clearly he will never be in Tejada's, Guillen's, Cabrerra's class as a hitter.

He has had a total of 1800 abs since coming to this country. I'd like to play him at short in Norfolk for a year or two and see what happens. It's not like he's blocking anyone.

[bobmc]

I'll qualify my position: There's no objective evidence of any type that suggests Luis Hernandez will hit enough to be a decent major league player. Some infinitesimal percentage of such players do go on to have somewhat valuable careers.

This is more of a MLB question, but I have wondered what type of MiL #'s David Eckstein had. He's a decent MLB'er but with few readily identifiable tools. Was he one of the minority or did he also produce in the minors. Thanks!

[Ruzious]

It's nice to finally see a good defensive SS, but he's obviously no more than a stop-gap type utility man.

[Eli Eon]

The runs he takes away are negated several-fold by the runs he takes away with his bat.

How can you take runs away that you never scored to begin with?

[Eli Eon]

The runs he takes away are negated several-fold by the runs he takes away with his bat.

How can you take runs away that you never scored to begin with? If you mean he would leave a lot of runners in scoring position due to a weak bat, you need to recognize that he is not batting cleanup and even the mighty Tejada who bats third or fourth has left more than his fair share of RISP and his defense IMO is not good enough when guys like Gomez, Fahey, and Hernandez are clearly superior with the glove.

[Eli Eon]

We realize that. Your purpose in life seems to be only to convince the rest of us of your rather ridiculous proposition that Tejada's fielding is so crapulently abysmal that Luis Hernandez' whiffle ball bat needs to be in the lineup.

At some point you need to accept that the rest of the world thinks that idea is just as fanciful as it appears at first glance.

Actually, I don't think Hernandez's hitting has been all that bad. The problem with some of you is you won't put on your thinking caps and forget that your shortstop doesn't have to be a power hitting, offensive machine like AROD, but the offense can be gotten from other less vital defensive positions in the lineup. I like Tejada's bat but not his glove. I like Hernandez's glove and his bat could be compensated for by a big bat in LF, 1B or even DH. Some of you seriously way undervalue defense versus offense.

A great defensive play by a shortstop (or any position) a lot of times will not only save a run but lower a pitcher's pitch count and demoralize the opposition. The added momentum can also have a positive impact on the offense after a boost in spirits by a great defensive play. There are far more opportunites in general for a shortstop to help his team with the glove than with the bat even if he is batting cleanup or third. If he's batting way down in the lineup like Hernandez his bat isn't that much of an impact as some of you seem to think anyway. I would gladly keep him in the lineup and DH Tejada or see if he (Tejada) can learn to play another position if he's back next season.

The funny thing is if and when Tejada comes back and we start seeing weaker defense and failed turnings of double play balls and the team doesn't improve their W-L record I will be pointing this out again. Not because I like being redundant, but I know what I see on the field and that is Tejada should be improved upon by someone replacing him at short. The proof is in the pudding, that the team just plays defense and pitches better with improved fielding at the most key position in the infield (other than catcher).

[DrungoHazewood]

This is more of a MLB question, but I have wondered what type of MiL #'s David Eckstein had. He's a decent MLB'er but with few readily identifiable tools. Was he one of the minority or did he also produce in the minors. Thanks!

Eckstein had three different minor league seasons with OPSes over .800.

[rolliefingers]

Eckstein had three different minor league seasons with OPSes over .800.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/E/David-Eckstein.shtml