but with everett getting hit by a pitch and having a bruised hand, i would expect to see blum starting at ss this afternoon.
I think Blum has the better glove...and a cannon arm to boot. Not to say Ensberg is bad defensively, but I think Blum is a plus defensive player and Ensberg is more on the adequate side. The only question with Ensberg is, where do you hit him? I'd prefer him down in the batting order in a run producing slot, but who else could hit 2nd? If Hidalgo wasn't red hot, I'd consider moving him (high OBP), and if Everett ups his BA a bit, he becomes a prototypical #2. Too bad Auto-Out Ausmus can't hit the ball. I think Brad Ausmus' BA is now higher than Adam Dunn's...I don't understand how a hitter like Dunn can be teetering at .200. Props to Jimy last night for actually saving one of the big 3. Now Dotel can pitch today on a day of rest, rather than perhaps having all 3 of them go 3 consecutive days.
Especially conisdering the Pirates third baseman (Ramirez) is a decent player and is a year or so younger than Ensberg. Ensberg is also cheap and will continue to be cheap for a couple more years. Benson is currently making over 4 million a year. I don't know who would start that rumor.
Probably the same person who started the Ramirez/Lofton to Chicago for Kelton and Cruz trade rumor. And I would imagine the Pirates would like to move Ramirez off of third base eventually, because he's an atrocious fielder.
Another homerun for Ensberg- 18 now. This is getting ridiculous. There is no way this guy should be platooning with Geoff Blum of all people. Maybe if we had Troy Glaus or Scott Rolen we should platoon Ensberg. So what if Geoff provides marginally more defense? It's not as important ss or right field. Yeah, I do think it's dumb to put Blum at SS, but it's also dumb to not put a prime time hitter like Ensberg in there. Just platoon Blum all over the field. Side note- Bruntlett looks a little shaky at ss.
Look at the numbers he put up. They were some of the best for any hitters regardless of position in the National League. He should certainly have been in the discussion with Rolen and Lowell. And he certainly deserved it over Boone.
I did look at his #'s and even with his missed games [Rolen has missed some games as well],I doubt his #'s would be as good as Rolens or Lowells.I did forget about Boone making the All Star team though.
Surprised that wasn't Dunn then - I knew there was a story behind that. re : Lowell and Rolen - Lowell has all of those homers, and Rolen has his sparkling defense - but Engsberg gets on base at a superior clip to them both, and slugs it better than both.
dirt: Yeah, it's not even close to be honest. Lowell as an OPS of .937. Rolen's is .930. Ensberg's is a whopping 1.038. While I suspect that his #'s might not be quite so high with a larger sample size, that's still spectacular. And I doubt it would be that much lower if he'd gotten some extra playing time. While I doubt it will continue indefinitely, Ensberg's currently batting like a Hall of Fame 3rd Basman. MVP #'s. I don't see why he's not being given a fair shake. Over 200 at-bats, he's put up some of the best #'s in the league. And he's being made to platoon with a career bench-warmer. It's craziness.
