DO is the correct lineup position he currently plays.
Career-wise, (to be fair) he has been a more than serviceable bat against lefties.
Last year there was no difference, this year he's hitting less than .120 against them.
He no longer whacks to a split advantage. He's done.
If we play this current lineup against lefties all the time, for a (very short) bit, I could (just barely) stomach that.
Although sitting Seager against lefties fulltime is pretty majorly brain-dead stupid.
At some point soon, Z or Wedge must realize that we're packing dead weight in Olivo and our better options are innumerable.
At some point you have to make that decision. It is inevitable. It should have been made in ST.
Soon or sooner please.
Or even just make him Montero's caddy. Montero's Pat Corales, you know.
moe
.............
The debate rages on Olivo as Team Captain (TM). From where I sit, twenty rows up in the third deck, the debate has evolved in three weeks.
The SSI position in March was that, as he pushed this boat away from the dock, Sgt. Wedge had a reasonable case to make that Ryan and Olivo were going to provide steadiness to the sail.
We don't sez it's the correct call. We sez, for all we know as shlubs on the couch eating chips, it could be a necessary price to pay for reversing the Wussy Disease. And the M's have had it, B'lee DAT.
............
It's clear to most (or all) of us that the benefits of Olivo's captaincy are dwindling, and the price paid is skyrocketing. At the same time, Jesus Montero is challenging anybody, everybody, to specify just exactly what it IS that is supposed to be wrong with his catching.
Whatever the arguments about who should handle the pitching staff ... this stuff about Miguel Olivo DH'ing, needing 70 of the first 80 games, is pretty over the top at this point. Other ML teams would not do so under the same circumstances!
This calls into question whether Olivo is benefitting from nepotism - whether he is a comfort zone for Wedge, a corporal under his sergeant-ship, as opposed to a real-world team captain.
.............
If you were wrong, how would you know? Well, Geoffy's basic input is that you just don't know how anybody is going to hit this year, Olivo or anybody. It's too early. (And it was SSI that pointed out how badly Olivo's BABIP is lagging his LD%. True that his numbers are deceiving.)
Most of us on SSI would have a handy reply. Nobody is judging Olivo based on April 2012. Olivo is what he is, and his OBP starts with a 2. Let's not lose sight of the fact that Miguel Olivo's WAR last year was 0.1. That's not the end of the discussion, but it better be on the table when you are selecting the day's DH.
We don't know that Alex Liddi (for example) is going to be Eddie Matthews, but we do know that he is a good hitting prospect -- and that AB's invested in a good hitting prospect are AB's well spent.
.............
The vestiges of an argument for Olivo are in the idea that he is the 13th pitcher, that he gets you 0.20 or 0.30 ERA. All it would take is a theoretical 0.20 ERA in order to produce 3.0 WAR per season.
But that doesn't relate this DH'ing shtick. As we've gotten a look at other lineup options, such as Alex Liddi, the use of Miguel Olivo as a DH becomes more outrageous, er, dubious.
...........
Whoop! We notice that today, Miguel Olivo is DH'ing in place of Kyle Seager. Well, this device is rolled out in the name of lefty-mashing; Casper Wells is in for Figgins, too, so that mitigates.
BABVA,
Dr D
Comments
It would take longer. I expected to have to scream about it for weeks - and in Olivo's case I probably will. But Figgins is seeing less time. Liddi and Wells are getting time. And Liddi is destroying people. His home run was a JACK.
Wedge is on the same page we're on: the kids who are swinging well need to play. Unless your name is Jaso, then you're screwed because Miguel must ALWAYS be in the lineup.
But even with that willful blind spot he's getting some guys early days off in the schedule. Well, not Olivo and Ichiro, but he's being fairly rotational in other ways, and Montero's catching more - as he should.
When our lineup was struggling as much as it was ya gotta play the guys who are hitting. We've done that the last few games, and so far so good.
~G
PS - Alex Liddi looks like I want Smoak to look so far at the plate. Willing to take singles, wanting to do damage. And getting some of both.
~G
Now, while there isn't an excuse for playing Olivo at DH, there are at least mitigating factors to be considered for not playing one of the hard hitting benchies or Seager in his place.
First, Seager is 2 for thirteen against lefties this year with no walks.
Second, Jaso is a lefty, which is not ideal.
Third, going into the game, the M's were facing some 88 mph meatballer rookie substitute named Wilks. If there were ever a guy who could help Olivo smash some of that 19 home run power, and get a tape measure highlight reel shot in to boost his confidence and get his mojo back, Wilks would have been him. It's not like the Mariners had to face Doug Fister tonight.
The Mariners just detonated the Tigers tonight...that was a TON of fun. Ichiro is absolutely DESTROYING the baseball on every piece of contact right now...Montero's getting better looks...Saunders looked grrrrreat yet again...Ackley is looking better of late, good stuff from everyone except Smoak and Ryan. Even Olivo hit the ball hard three times.
for passed balls in a season since 1900.
See a list of the current top (or bottom) 10 during that period here:
http://www.marinercentral.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6963&pid=134204&...
And this does not take into account pitches scored as "wild" that most catchers would have successfully blocked or otherwise controlled without runner movement.
I'm not sayin' this is the be-all end-all for Olivo discussion, it's just one factor. And I'm not saying Olivo is going to keep up this pace, he probably won't. He's never had more than 16 in a season. All I'm sayin' is, his start to the season in this department has not been good. At all.
With the anti-Olivo, anti-Figgins, anti-Veteran sentiment at a fever pitch they come out and win us a ball game :)
Figgins 3-4 with the winning double
Olivo dug a bunch of important sliders from Lutege out of the dirt protecting a thin lead late and homered
:)
It's just one game, but maybe for one night we can let the old dudes off the hook ;)
Come Saturday Morning though I'll be back beating the "boot the old dudes" drum :)
Wedge's idea is "to get these guys going" and, per MLB code, he's supposed to give them at least April.
Blowers on the pregame had Olivo in the role of "not taking no for an answer from Noesi," getting him back into the strike zone, and .... you can see what he's getting at.
If it winds up in a 12-to-make-9, Oakland style, that's a possible success story, if the loyalty to the vets doesn't cost too high a price.
Usually the stated concern is that it causes an unsettling effect on pitchers, who feel lousy about going below the zone. If Jesus Montero had a problem with PB's, it's all we'd hear about.
Perhaps that stated concern is waived for Olivo :- )