The real thing to look out for would be Lnagerhans stealing too much PT from Balentien just as he's maybe showing signs of getting a little more comfortable in a starting gig. I'm no Balentien fan, but I'd still rather see him in the line-up most nights than Langerhans unless you feel you need plus D that night because Washburn or Vargas or Olson (ah crud...that's 3/5 of our rotation) are pitching.
Mike Morse is worthless to the Mariners unless he showed any sign of being able to play third when I wasn't looking. Nope? K...we're good. And no...Langerhans isn't going to eat PT from Saunders...since Saunders isn't close to being ready yet and neither are Halman or any of the other outfielders.
The real question is...what does Z do tomorrow to plug the third base hole and the shortstop hole. Because we're in deep doodoo if we try running Branyan out there at third, Carp at first and Cedeno at short (whoooooo-boy!).
Perhaps the Wacky-Jack Wilson rumors will resurface.
The Mariners lost Endy Chavez, so they went out and replaced him with Jeremy Reed. A shade the better, a shade the worse, no complaints no worries.
Langerhans is:
(1) a "tweener" outfielder who can back up fine in CF or
(2) play a plus defensive corner OF; he
(3) hits lefthanded and
(4) if he helps a little offensively, it will be with a bit of OBP as opposed to a bit of power.
He's 5) nearing 30.
Ryan Langerhans *is* Jeremy Reed. How good would you feel, or not, about Jeremy Reed moving back into the OF line in the org? That's where we're at with Langerhans.
You don't really want a 29-year-old Reed cutting into line in front of Saunders & Halman & Wilson & Balentien & etc, but ... He may be necessary, very short-term. That's fine.
.................
You say, I don't care for Saunders or Wlad backing up in CF. They can't play CF like Langerhans can.
Non-issue. Nobody plays CF in Seattle except Franklin Gutierrez. Whoever backs up in CF is an emergency policy. Sure, the Cheney guys (and Ichiro, and even Cedeno) have you covered if Gutierrez spontaneous combusts while tearing after a gapper.
Langerhans isn't needed for CF, though it's convenient that he plays there.
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=== Ulp, Hope for the Best Dept. ===
The good news is, he's shown a little surge since summer 2008 -- not a "becoming a starting player" surge, but a "may be a plus bench player rather than a mediocre bench player" surge.
He created 6.5 runs a game in 100 at-bats last year, second half. Ron Shandler said "it was his peak flying by."
The good news is, Langerhans has shown a bit of pep the last 12 months. bad news is, he's done it in the NL (and, similarly, in the minors). Ask Ronnie Cedeno about fringe ML players coming to Safeco from the NL.
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=== Swiss Army Knives and Ball Peen Hammers Dept. ===
I've got nothing against Ryan Langerhans, any more than I've got anything against the Mariners acquiring (say) Jeremy Reed or Stan Javier or any other do-it-all-and-do-it-mediocrely outfielder .... though my bias is towards bench players who specialize in something, as opposed to bench players who make the manager's job easy.
As 4th OF's go, I'd much rather have (say) an Endy Chavez -- who provides you the specialized skills of impact defense and 8th-inning pinch-run stolen bases. Or maybe a guy with a big platoon split and a glove, or something like that. Endy Chavez, Mike Sweeney and Ken Griffey Jr. were all Earl Weaver-type "ball peen hammers" coming out of ST.
Capt Jack would also have preferred Chavez to Langerhans, but now that the injuries are piling up (Chavez, Beltre and Griffey is a question, as is Sweeney's back) there's no harm in a "comfortable" player.
Langerhans is a sensible, avoid-disaster-scenarios insurance policy.
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=== Just Doin' My Job Dept. ===
All 30 GM's spend half their lives making sure that the tire doesn't blow out and leave you with Russ Branyan at shortstop Sunday afternoon. :- ) Langerhans is a professional move by a professional GM. But let's note in fairness that previous Seattle GM's were also smart enough to be able to trade for a Jeremy Reed if one of their 5 current outfielders broke a leg.
.... I *am* a Capt Jack fan. I do like the consistent pressure towards LH hitting, and the systematic replacing of the scaffolding with ballplayers who respect the game.
But let's hope that Jeremy Reed is here for the minimum time necessary, because there's quite a traffic jam at Cheney. :- )
Cheers,
Dr D
Comments
I like Langerhans too, in the 4th OF, *NOT* blocking anyone role.
The eyebrow raise with Langerhans (for me), is this. Major leagues - most ABs in a season was his first (age 25) -- 326 ABs. Anyone else here know of any lefty hitters who became instant "he's only a platoon guy" -- but became successful when given a full-time gig somewhere? Anyone?
No. He's not gonna pull a Branyan. But, what has he done when you multiply his games by 3, and come up with a number less than his AB total?
2008 - AAA - 62-G; 213-AB -- .310/.418/.446/.864
2004 - AAA - 135-G; 456-AB -- .298/.397/.518/.915
Everywhere else, he's been platooning and pinch-hitting. I don't know what the plan is with him. The upside, however? The (nobody can get that lucky twice) pie-in-the-sky with Langerhans is that his production has been suppressed as a RESULT of him never getting a chance to be a full-time player. Maybe Z likes the way he approaches the game. Maybe the club remains disappointed in Wlad.
Unlike someone like ... Gabe Gross ... Langerhans has never managed to post the .800 OPS in the majors to make the potential upside as obvious. And I have no expectation that Langerhans is going to come in and start hitting .850. He could just as easily pull a Cedeno. But, given the results with Branyan ... let's just say, I'm open to open to the possibility that he could exceed expectations.
Theres definetly that upside scenario too. What I like about Langerhans is hes got his adjustment period over with and has shown improvement last year. Hes ALREADY a positive asset at the MLB level (at least in the NL) and that counts for a lot. Hes also shown improvement the past three years with his performances in AAA. Its not a Ronny Cedeno scenario where hes having dumb-luck with his BABIP in AAA and has never shown the ability to hit at the MLB level.
I'm a little concerned about the conversion to the AL, but its a no risk proposition. Good trade. Is Langerhans in the lineup for tommorow?
I'll preface this by saying that I'm not calling for Langerhans to be a full-timer - just trying to clarify something. In 2004, yes, he had 456 AB in 135 games. He also had 70 BB, 6 HBP, 2 SF, and 4 SH. 538 PA, or 3.99 a game. In 2008, it was 213 AB, 40 BB, 1 HBP, 2 SF, and 1 SH, or 4.14 a game.
Aren't these pretty much expected full-time numbers? If he was near the top of the lineup, perhaps a touch more. For example, Ichiro, always leading off and pretty much playing every inning gets 4.66 / game this season. Lopez, who gets some in the front, some in the middle, and some in the back of the lineup, has 4.16 / game. Betancourt, who pretty much hits (hit) in the back of the lineup, and wasn't pinch-hit for that often, has 3.89 / game.
My apologies, I think I misread a sentence and thought you were saying something you weren't.
My apologies, I think I misread a sentence and thought you were saying something that you weren't.
My apologies, I think I misread a sentence and thought you were saying something that you weren't.
Langerhans looked a heck of a lot better than a tweener to me tonight. Granted, Sabathia dind't have his "A" game, but he made Branyan look like a little leaguer up there and Langerhans killed the ball four straight times while seeing 18 pitches in 4 trips, running the bases well (bad luck on that slide through 2B that cost him a SB), and playing a good defensive outfield. Am I missing something?