=== Jonny Gomes Non-Tendered ===
Let's say that you were looking for a Three True Outcomes muscleman who fit the following criteria:
You can't use Jack Cust, because Cust's EYE is a reliable 0.50; Jack Cust walks a ton. Like 100-120 times per full season. Extreeeeeeme pitch stalker.
You can't use Rob Deer, because Deer wasn't really very good. He'd fan 200 times, full season, and hitting .179 in a season wasn't shocking for him.
You can't use Adam Dunn, because Dunn does not hit 27 home runs per season. Also, Dunn walks >100 times. Dunn is the legit-4 hitter of the TTO players.
You know who fits Jonny Gomes' TTO profile? This guy rat cheer. That's who fits Gomes' profile, albeit from the other side.
As a nontender, in a role, that's a whale of a pickup. Assuming that you have some kind of role in mind for him ... 4 OF's to make 3, or somesuch.
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Safeco? No big whoop. Check the hittracker. 400-440 to left, and he hits them deep out to RF as well.
The platoon splits -- aren't. He hit 15 homers in 203 PA's last year against righties, and 5 homers in 111 against lefties.
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Gomes is certainly not a platoon hitter -- most pitch-stalkers are not -- but you could use him with respect to some other player's platoon problem. You could use him in LF when there's a tough lefty, or in LF (with Saunders in CF) when there's a righty who gives Franklin Gutierrez problems.
Let's say you pull off the giant trade for Adrian Gonzalez, or let's suppose you settle for Adam LaRoche at 1B or something like that. The Custs and Branyans and Gomeses of the world tend to come pretty cheap.
Getting 300+ AB's, Gomes is very likely to provide you a Branyan-esque 125 OPS+.
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I'm partial to Three True Outcomes players, and love them in Safeco. I predict Gomes to have a Cust or Branyan career, but more of it.
Whether there's enough a fit for that with this club, to let Bill Hall go, you tell me. :- ) I for one would certainly look at whether it makes sense to eat the $1.5m on Hall (IIRC) and sign Gomes cheaply.
-jemanji
I like Gomes' profit potential with the bat, but hes a REAALY poor defender in the OF. So much so that I don't think he fits as a 4th outfielder type.
If the Ms strike out on their DH alternatives and are looking for a guy to share DH with Griffey? Sure...he'd be another fallback plan though since hes not the greatest Safeco fit.
At what point is a player so inept that he shouldn't be on the field. :shrug:
I grew up with guys like Greg Luzinski, Boog Powell and Dave Kingman playing, so to me when people nowadays say that Raul Ibanez is an embarrassment who shouldn't own a glove, it sounds a bit extreme...
Once again, I note that Gomez runs well -- very good SX scores for a left fielder, e.g. 16 SB's all levels in 2007 -- so my first question is the proof that he's a bad left fielder, before I ask whether he's a laughingstock in LF.
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I notice that on the Fans' Scouting Report, Gomes is rated above Johnny Damon, Delmon Young, and a bunch of guys...
If Gomes were here, you wouldn't be talking about his playing 140 games in left. You're talking more like 40 games in left, perhaps on days when groundball pitchers are out there, if necessary.
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In general, I hate to see ballplayers labeled "can't be allowed on the field" so easily.
With Cust or Dunn, fine. But if Jonny Gomes can't be allowed on the field, well, there are about 70 starting players on FSR ranked lower than Gomes, who also shouldn't be on the field, I guess....
If you (and Capt Jack, and whoever) sees Gomes as a DH only... then, yeah, you're looking at a DH who gives you the kind of offense that Sweeney did in the 2H last year...
Would agree that if he's DH only, he's a fallback plan... would much prefer somebody who can help in the field. Agree 100%.
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Of course, these fallback plans get taken off the board quickly, as Gomes easily could be...
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Personally would only want Gomes -- as a LF'er -- if 1B was going to be Your Big Move. Like with Gonzalez.
Fans scouting reports have him as a putrid defender...
I think you move a player down the defensive spectrum when a player is bad enough in the field that it cancels out his contributions with the bat.
Ibanez is poor glove at this point, but good enough that you can play him in the field in a non-spacious park without him losing much value.. Gomes is really, really bad.
Ya, I agree with that.. I can see Gomes in that role sharing PAs with Griffey.
I can't really see him in the OF, even part-time (only in an emergency when the offense is slumping big-time).. I think if Z gets him, hes thinking DH.
I'm seeing 2.63, with 3.00 average -
The Power.. And the .400 OBP career in the minors. Last year was actually a pretty poor season for Gomes as he didn't hit that well in AAA. He's also been .372 OBP in the majors in the past....
I don't know but I could see Gomes hit 50 hr given 650 Plate Appeareance. Just let him play everyday... If that means putting him in OF behind 3rd then put him behind 3b. He'll be good enough...
That post was done by me.
OBP_Train