The Corey Patterson Outfield Experiment of Hilarity may just have hit its nadir on Saturday night. After Patterson replaced Thames in right field for "defense", he spun and twirled and turned a possible inning-ending fly ball into a walkoff hit. It was ugly and Jays fans (myself included) took to Twitter with our knives out.
There isn't a lot of love for Patterson among the Jays fans, most of whom are ready for just about anything and anyone else to take those at bats. The calls for Adam Loewen puzzle me, however.
Adam Loewen is a cute story but calling him up now or any time before September 1st makes very little sense. For my money, Eric Thames is the fringiest player in need of a serious look for as long as possible. With the Brett Lawrie call-up all but a certainty on August 1st, bring up Adam Loewen would only clog up the works.
As a guy without options and a very limited skillset, I can't bringing up Loewen and having him rot on the bench as a positive move for him or the team.
When I say "limited skillset", I am making an assumption based on very little. A career pitcher suddenly reborn as a plus outfielder seems unlikely, doesn't it? He continues to show an improved approach at the plate but a .920 OPS at Las Vegas is only worth so much, especially when you consider Chris Woodward's .860 OPS in 330 PAs in the very same ballpark.
Other than offering him a cookie for waiting in the minors like a good soldier, bringing up Loewen is a waste. Bring up Lawrie (NOW!) and play him every day at third. Snider starts in center against righties with Thames in left and Bautista in right.
You need as much information on Eric Thames as possible. Bring Loewen up in September and give him some run when other guys need rest. But get as much of the core you want to see in the future and let them play. Sorry Adam, it's all in the game.
Corey Patterson image courtesy of Killer Movie Reviews, which is weird.
Do we have a good defensive alignment for the outfield? Davis has been bad on both UZR and +/- this year. Patterson has looked out of place in both RF and CF. Is there a better defensive alignment than Snider in centre, Thames in right and Patterson in left?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. If Adam Loewen can turn into a 4th outfielder with some pop who can make a spot start here or there, that would be awesome. To expect anything more than that is asinine.
ReplyDeleteLook no further than Rick Ankiel, who burst onto the scene with the Cards (I think during a playoff run), filled everyone's hearts with joy, then flamed out when reality caught up. Since then, he's been overexposed as a hitter and has been basically a replacement level player.
If Snider can stay in CF, then Thames is going to need as much time as possible to show whether or not he's capable of being a full-time LF or DH. Bringing Loewen up to appease maple boners does not help the team long term. Besides, when Lawrie is on the team raking, the nation's maple boners will already be at climax.
Definitely a happy ending to this season for our nation's maple boners!
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