Fahey looked great at shortstop last night!

[Mackus]

We should have the best possible team on the field.

That doesn't necessarily mean the best hitting team.

It is ok to carry a weak bat if the guys defensive abilities are really exceptional at a key defensive position.

The Astros have Everett.

The Pirates have Wilson.

The Cards have Eckstein.

The ChiSox have Uribe.

The Blue Jays had Adams, now Hill.

The Royals have Berroa.

The DBacks have Counsell.

The Nationals have Clayton.

So, if we were to trade Tejada- I wouldn't insist on recieving a SS back. I would look to receiving the most value. I would then have no problem giving an extended shot to Fahey.

As weak as a bat as Fahey is- right now he is tied with Markakis at .662 OPS.

Are you really ready to lump Fahey in with some of the best defensive shortstops in the game? He's better than Tejada, but I don't think he's a gold-glove quality SS.

[Sports Guy]

We should have the best possible team on the field.

That doesn't necessarily mean the best hitting team.

It is ok to carry a weak bat if the guys defensive abilities are really exceptional at a key defensive position.

The Astros have Everett.

The Pirates have Wilson.

The Cards have Eckstein.

The ChiSox have Uribe.

The Blue Jays had Adams, now Hill.

The Royals have Berroa.

The DBacks have Counsell.

The Nationals have Clayton.

.

Bolded teams have horrible offense....Italics have great offense.

Just because some teams do it doesn't mean we should.

[Sports Guy]

Another SGism! We are talking about it now. If you don't want to talk about it, I suggest you go to another thread. And that's on you.

]

Talk abotu something that has logic behind it...Just because the best offense in the AL has a crappy hitting SS is meaningless...We are far from the best hitting team, so use the analogy properly.

If we get Sexson and Dunn, fine, put Fahey at SS.

[66-70-83-??]

Bolded teams have horrible offense....Italics have great offense.

Just because some teams do it doesn't mean we should.

I agree. But, the flip side is true too- don't dismiss the idea out of hand.

My point is- teams can carry a weak stick if they make up for it in other areas.

There are scenarios where the Orioles could be a better team with Fahey at SS- For ex- if Tejada was traded for a 1B/LF/SP, Fahey would be our best current option.

[Mackus]

For ex- if Tejada was traded for a 1B/LF/SP, Fahey would be our best current option.

True, but we should also be working tirelessly to come up with a better one very quickly, because Fahey will cost us runs and wins compared to almost every other SS in the game (and I'm talking combined offensively and defensively).

[tennOsfan]

Sometimes I wonder if some posters actually watch baseball games or if they just sift their way through stat books. The Fahey debate tends to prove this. Again, something that doesn't show up in the stats -- he's at first last night, and I think it was Mora who hit a deep shot to the gap. Fahey must have immediately recognized the shot as a probable double, because he was almost home by the time the cutoff man got the ball. Jim Palmer noticed it, and he rightfully pointed it out. It was a rare moment of smart baserunning for this team.

On this edition of the Orioles, I think Fahey should play.

[66-70-83-??]

Are you really ready to lump Fahey in with some of the best defensive shortstops in the game? He's better than Tejada, but I don't think he's a gold-glove quality SS.

Did I say anywhere that he was the gold glove candidate already ?

I also lumped him in with Russ Adams and Craig Counsell ?

You are missing the point- the common denominator is that they are all considered weak hitting/good defensive players.

My point is that a team could justify starting a weak hitting player IF his defensive abilities were exceptional.

[Avsfan]

Sometimes I wonder if some posters actually watch baseball games or if they just sift their way through stat books. The Fahey debate tends to prove this. Again, something that doesn't show up in the stats -- he's at first last night, and I think it was Mora who hit a deep shot to the gap. Fahey must have immediately recognized the shot as a probable double, because he was almost home by the time the cutoff man got the ball. Jim Palmer noticed it, and he rightfully pointed it out. It was a rare moment of smart baserunning for this team.

On this edition of the Orioles, I think Fahey should play.

Fahey can't make smart baserunning decisions when he's on base less than 32% of the time.

[66-70-83-??]

True, but we should also be working tirelessly to come up with a better one very quickly, because Fahey will cost us runs and wins compared to almost every other SS in the game (and I'm talking combined offensively and defensively).

How can you say that ?

Has Markakis cost us runs and wins so far with his identical .662 OPS that we have carried in RF ?

(I know Markakis will surely improve alot, and Fahey may only improve a little, but that is the reality to this point)

We do not know if Fahey is going to be better with the bat or not. Some improvement is not out of the question.

We do not know just how good he is in the field. He appears very good defensively at SS/2B.

FYI: Lifetime Stats

Ozzie Smith - .665 OPS

Belanger - .580 OPS

Current SS: Career OPS thru 2005

Everett- .670 OPS

Wilson- .672 OPS

Eckstein- .712 OPS

I don't remember these teams trying to get rid of these guys.

IF Fahey was in the above players class defensively- why not ?

[DrLev]

I think you need to be more flexible than to think we need such and such an OPS at 1B and such and such an OPS at 3B. We need to put the best team on the field with the options we have available. For instance, if Miggy were moved to 1B and Fahey to SS the offense would suffer very, very, slightly but the defense would probably be improved greatly. You can argue that Tejada has less value as a 1B but who really cares? The object is to maximize the play of the team you have available to you.

Yes! I think people here tend to minimize the importance of defense. Granted, Fahey's bat isn't amazing, but his defensive range does, in my opinion, make up for his offensive shortcomings. Good defense means the pitcher has to throw fewer pitches, which can mean more innings, which can mean the bullpen gets a rest, and we all know how important that is!

[Avsfan]

FYI: Lifetime Stats

Ozzie Smith - .665 OPS

Belanger - .580 OPS

Current SS: Career OPS thru 2005

Everett- .670 OPS

Wilson- .672 OPS

Eckstein- .712 OPS

I don't remember these teams trying to get rid of these guys.

Ozzie Smith played in a different era of baseball, when speed, defense, and pitching ruled. This isn't the 1980's anymore.

Belanger played on a team that had Frank Robinson on it...and also was another completely different era, when pitchers ruled the game.

Everett - Houston has had problems scoring runs, you don't think they wish they had a player like Tejada? I know Roger Clemens does.

Jack Wilson - Pittsburgh is horrible

Eckstein - he has some teammate named Pujols...don't know if you've heard of him before.

[Eddie_Ripken]

This would never happen but let's look beyond Fahey at SS. The idea is to put the best defense and offense on the field at the same time. So what I see is this comes down to Fahey's bat/defense versus Conine's bat. Really. And Fahey on defense up the middle is far greater than Conine's D in LF. So why not move Roberts to SS, Fahey to 2nd, Miggy to 3rd and Mora to LF. If they want Conine in the line-up platoon him at 1st with Millar. Ultimately when Gibbons comes back put him at first. IF is Gibbons, Fahey, Roberts, Miggy and OF is Mora, Patterson and Markakis.

No real drop off in line-up but a big upgrade in defense.

Like I said, it will never happen but it's my take on what I'd do to get the most D and O at the same time.

[Avsfan]

This would never happen but let's look beyond Fahey at SS. The idea is to put the best defense and offense on the field at the same time. So what I see is this comes down to Fahey's bat/defense versus Conine's bat. Really. And Fahey on defense up the middle is far greater than Conine's D in LF. So why not move Roberts to SS, Fahey to 2nd, Miggy to 3rd and Mora to LF. If they want Conine in the line-up platoon him at 1st with Millar. Ultimately when Gibbons comes back put him at first. IF is Gibbons, Fahey, Roberts, Miggy and OF is Mora, Patterson and Markakis.

No real drop off in line-up but a big upgrade in defense.

Like I said, it will never happen but it's my take on what I'd do to get the most D and O at the same time.

Because that would be the biggest cluster-f*** in baseball...you're talking about 4-5 people changing positions.

[odogs101]

I don't know about anyone els but I am beginning to get fed up with the single up the middle to the left of 2B that shoots into CF. If I had the time I would really love to research and find out howw many of those guys have come around to score. It was a breath of fresh air to see our SS actually make those plays yesterday.

And yes Miggy may be below avg as a firstbaseman but guess what, he would be a massive offensive improvement to what we have now. Fahey would be a drop offensively at SS but the defensive upgrade is in my opinion(meager as it may be) worth as much by the runs saved.

And if Perlozzo is going to keep playing Fahey anyway, than his value is best at SS where he is best defensively.

[Eddie_Ripken]

Because that would be the biggest cluster-f*** in baseball...you're talking about 4-5 people changing positions.

But only Tejada would be playing a new position. The rest would be playing positions they have previously played....and for the most part played well.

What's a bigger cluster f*** guys playing positions they've played before or Conine dropping more balls on the warning track and Tejada letting more base hit through the infield??