With Shuck, F. Martinez hitting so well, and Schafer looking a little frail, and Maxwell looking over matched...I wonder when we might see some changes?? Any OKC fans on the forum, who have seen the club in person?
schafer change isn't going to happen anytime soon. and he's played pretty well, anyway. don't know how you could have expected much more out of him than he's currently producing. maxwell is more or less a roster filler, and i'm sure that there's a plan in place for when they want to bring one of the young guys up to replace him.
Not talking about his play....I'll change the way I ask. If Schafer is forced on the DL, who comes up first Schuck or F. Martinez?
I believe the only reason Jason Maxwell is on the team is because he is a right-handed hitting outfielder. All the other options at reserve outfielder are left-handed hitters (Buck, Shuck, F.Martinez) and Mills wants the option to go to Maxwell versus tough lefties.
Ruggiano is a righty. They could have just as easily left him in the bigs, or Bixler who is a super utility player.
Wait, why are we speculating that Schafer is frail again? Injuries happen. I wouldn't call this exactly a pattern. And he is doing a nice job. Definitely can't consider him an 'issue' that needs to be addressed on this team.
I like Scafer, FUN to watch, goes ALL OUT every play, Astros need him on this team...but his style of play tends to lead to injuries. Hope not. Just wanted to know which outfielder at OKC is most likely to be called up.
Because he has been injured every year. At least this one isn't his hand/wrist like the others. I'm doubt Schafer can keep this up, but he has done a solid job of getting on base.
Saw the thread topic, expected for some reason: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4N1iwQxiHrs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Target for improvement needs to be RF (Bogusevic/Buck), not the guys in center. The reason Schafer and Maxwell's numbers aren't great is because each is overextended. Both play pretty good defense in center and give you a nice platoon (Schafer .354 OBP, .707 OPS against righties; Maxwell .419 OBP, .939 OPS against lefties), when used correctly. Problem is, Maxwell has had to make a handful of starts in the corner spots because of struggles there. That's weakened both his numbers (due to added exposure vs. righties) and Schafer's, courtesy of making Jordan the only option in center - even against lefties. If you stick Schafer and Maxwell in CF and play to their strengths, that's a very solid platoon for that position. To do that, though, you need a regular answer in LF and RF. I'm hopeful JD can turn it around, but there's little in Bogusevic's history to indicate that he'll be a capable corner OF (as a starter) in the majors. Best hope is for Fernando Martinez to get a call up soon and give you a nice upgrade in right. His numbers are more than deserving of one.
Here's your odd stat of the day: When Bogusevic starts, the team is 17-15 and scores 4.6 runs per game. When he doesn't start, the team is 4-10 and scores 2.8 runs per game. And yes, I recognize that's 25 losses where there are only 23 in reality, but that's what Rotowire tells me and I don't feel like sorting out which number is wrong.
Thats in large part because Buck has been terrible in games he has started, but spectacular as a pinch hitter.
