Q. Strategically, what is a guy like Ryan good for?
A. As we opined when the M's picked up Jack Wilson: SSI is sympathetic to the idea of a dependable, glove-first shortstop. That's the Whitey Herzog way.
If the SS is, further, a great defensive player, I'm more than sympathetic to the concept. I'm enthusiastic about it.
Gimme (1) a ballclub to run, and a chance to (2) put Freddie Patek or Omar Vizquel or Jack Wilson or Brendan Ryan at short, and I'll do it. Then (3) I'll get to work getting bats everywhere else.
..............
Brendan Ryan, theoretically, gives you a chance to --- > pair him with a bat-first player at 2B ::coughexackleycough:: and your ballclub meshes very well.
Zduriencik tried it with Wilson and the plan went KABLOOEY like a mouse in a microwave. But here's your second cut, with a young Jack Wilson who doesn't make $5M.
Jack Wilson v2.0, and that v2.0 is used in its normal sense of here's the second version, the one that works right.
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Q. What does this say about Dustin Ackley?
A. We presume that this makes it feasible for the M's to get their 7th year out of Ackley, delaying him until June 1.
If Wilson's healthy, then you've got to play him, as CA has reminded. Without a doubt, Plan A is to try to get 2 months out of Jack Wilson and then kiss him goodbye.
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Q. Any chance that Jack Wilson plays short all year?
A. None worth worrying about, IMHO. Not only is he hurting all the time, but he tried to retire already. And why was that? Because he knows he's overmatched.
Jack Zduriencik doesn't know that, at least not publicly, but he is, and he knows it.
Two more months out of Wilson, if you're lucky, and then you can eat his last $3M.
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Q. Suppose Wilson pulls his hammy a month early -- on March 20 instead of April 20?
A. We presume that the tightwad Mariners -- we mean it in a good way -- will cobble together some lineup to keep Ackley in Tacoma for two more months.
I would ordinarily recommend doing Ackley the favor of letting him come North, after he hits .380 this spring, and then working out a 15-year plan with him. But Scott Boras is his agent. So the 6.7-year plan is probably forced on you.
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Q. Is Ryan the SS for the next three years?
A. Could be, although you have to think about Nick Franklin (or Carlos Triunfel) tearing up AA/AAA in 2011 and in April-May 2012.
If Franklin comes up in June 2012, wow. Brendan Ryan is one whale of a championship-level fifth infielder.
Till then, he gives the saberdogs a -25 runs position into -- > a 0 to -10 runs position, and he gives the Old School a Whitey Herzog shortstop.
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Okay by me,
Dr D
Whitey had an agreement with Ozzie that everytime he hit the ball on the ground Whitey would give him $100. It didn't matter if he made an out or reached on a hit Whitey would give this millionaire $100. Ozzie became a pretty good hitter because of this. He no longer went to the plate looking to rip the ball into the gaps but to pound the ball into the turf. It helped him that Busch Stadium had astroturf but the concept was solid.
Ozzie had a bit more pop than people remember (and it is easy to simply remember perhaps the best ever SS prowess).
From '83-'91, the core of his career, he failed to reach 30 x-base hits only 3 times. He had between 36 and 44 four times.
Granted...they were almost all doubles....But can you imagine the value of Ryan or Jack Wilson if they could hit 36 doubles?
Ozzie had some pop.....now I don't know if they were all GB's down the line, but they were doubles all the same.
moe
bat control and did hit a lot of doubles down the lines, whether he pulled them or go opposite field. His only HR from the left side (at least through the middle of his career) was in the 85 playoffs against Tom Niedenfurer of the Dodgers. He became a good hitter sort of like Omar Vizuel has developed. The big difference for those guys is they made the Majors when they were very young and were able to develop over time due to their out of this world defense.
It would be for the Mariners to try to persuade Ryan to be quicker at the plate.
The guy loads up too much, for somebody who can never drive the ball. He might as well up his CT%.
If he did that, he might very well improve a bit as an offensive player.
But oddly, when he squared it up, it came off the bat crisply (Ozzie was wiry-strong). Then that turf gave him some acreage under the worm-burners and he could get to 2B and 3B.
Once again, Ryan is dropping the weight, putting the shoulder into the ball ... and then it clonks when he squares it up, anyway. The whole approach is worthless.