The Counselor elevates our usual shtick to higher courts.  Thusly:

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A platoon player is a benchie by a different name.  Every team has a four man bench, except the one that McClendon manages; it has a three man bench.  If there is going to be a platoon, the player should be part of double coverage of up the middle defense, since that is necessary anyway.

Catcher platoons are ideal.  This is because catcher is too physically demanding to play every day.  So if a team can set up two catchers with a platoon advantage, this is all gravy.

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Fo' sho'.  Wasn't it the Red Sox who, about a decade ago, had a lefty-hitting catcher they could use in a platoon?  

;- )

Problem is, if you get a lefty catcher who can actually rake and catch and throw, he's A.J. Pierzynski. Even supposing his teammates can tolerate standing within 50 feet of him, more likely that you come up with a B.J. Surhoff.  Who you play at "catcher" even if his rep is roughly that of Jesus Montero behind the plate.

Here's a list of the best lefty-hitting catchers ever.  Darren Daulton is in the top 10.   Rich Gedman's in the top 25.  :- )

The middle infield isn't a lot different of a problem - Gordon is the only one who ever talks about Brad Miller's lefthandedness as being part of why he's such a treasure.  But there you go again:  if Miller jells, nobody's going to give 25% of his AB's to a right hand shortstop ...

Point is, Brad Miller is one whale of an organizational asset.

.........

Consider the 2014 Orcs,

Jaso:  

• 283 AB vs. RHP= .272/.344/.449 35 RBIs.
•  24 AB v. LHP= .167/.259/.208 5 RBI's

Norris:

• 173 AB v. LHP, .311/.393/.470 29 RBI
• 269 AB v. RHP, .244/.340/.359 29 RBI

Blend em:  

• Norso: .267/.350/.413 98 RBI

Change the RBI to the 650 ABs that you would've got if Norso were a real person, and you get 85 RBIs.  This isn't a hypothetical projection, this is what Norso did in 2014.  

There were a few Mariners who didn't hit .267/.350/.413 with 85 RBIs in 2014.

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If Norso were an actual person, and if John Jaso were an actual catcher, you mean?  :- )

No, honestly, here we delve again into the dungeons of the Mojo data-rich environments.  Beating in the saber bugbear's head and opening the treasure chest?  If the Dungeon Master rewards of with 2 platoons of NORSO quality, in a given year, we're just as liable to find yourself about +72 wins, -44 losses at the start of August ...

Go get a NORSO at catcha.  Which is a little like the teenaged Johnny Carson mailing away for a kit to perform the saw-your-assistant-in-half trick.  He got back a pamphlet which said, "Step One.  Saw your assistant in half safely per your favorite method.  Step Two ..."  True story.

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I don't think Doc has any objection to a platoon at catcher, all other things being considered equal, but the question is what happens when the platoon player starts to take the place of the utility player, who can accurately be thought of as part of a defensive and baserunning platoon?

Here's a hypothetical situation: Jackson starts in CF, but gets too many games there and his "greyhound" lean frame breaks down, and he stops hitting.  Skipper only trusts James Jones to back him up, but Jones isn't on the roster because of the Ruggiano/Smith platoon.  

This all works out well if your platoon bat is also your platoon defense guy, that is, if Ruggiano or Ackley can spot Jackson in CF with minimal horse(manure), or you have other players that can play multiple defensive positions, like an Ackley or a Zobrist type. 

But, this is nothing new.  Teams have used their final three or four bench spots to some effect for the last hundred years or so, and platooning on offense and defense and providing rest days to overworked every day guys is part of the game.  The old timers used to call platoon hitting advantages pinch hitting.

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Heh!  

Well, McClendon certainly PH's more than Hargrove used to.  Which is whenever there is a blizzard over the river Styx.

ML managers want to control the matchups from the mound, rather than the batter's box.  The only good reason for this is the "comfort zone" illusion.  Insecure coaches emphasize defense.  No swipe at McClendon, who's doing a great job, but there is a fair amount of pressure when you're on ESPN every night.  So we're told.

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I think about this problem as follows.  There are at least six benchie goals that have to be met, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. Providing pinch running for slow hitters

2. Providing backup at catcher, SS and CF

3. Providing late inning defensive replacement for bat first guys in the corner outfield

4. Providing rest for the every day guys

5. Providing a platoon advantage in hitting

6. Provide a developmental spot for a promising youngster to get MLB experience

Its beyond my pay grade to determine which of these goals is paramount, but bench players should be judged on how well they meet each of these goals, and how they complement the rest of the team.  

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Lou solved it by having one catcher and three switch-hitting MI Desi Relafords all at the same time... you want to talk laser focus, talk Lou and Mojician's list of bench-task priorities.

Couldn't agree more that the benchies are typically there to compensate for flaws in the reg'lars.  And this becomes more important as you double and treble up on your bullpens.  

Which is an unseen game completely invisible to saberdawgs.  There's a "Tipping Point" here as well -- no latent impact from the bench makes the ballclub very easy to prepare for, puts the SP in a rocking chair, etc etc.

Still, when you're talking about weapons off the bench ... the 2001 Mariners had BENCH players who clocked in at +3.5 WAR and +2.6 WAR.  One was a Ben Zobrist type, playing SS/3B/OF, and the other was a switch-hitting backup CF who OBP'ed .375.

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Dr. D thinks that Justin Ruggiano could be a championship-level benchie; he has averaged solidly over +2.0 WAR per full season's AB's.   THE LEAST INTERESTING MAN IN THE WORLD

Obviously if Seth Smith were to become a benchie he'd be fantastic.  Even more fantastic would be the Mariners' willingness to pay $7M to a benchie.

But if they somehow DL Willie Bloomquist for large patches of season tundra, and start Chris Taylor, and move Brad Miller everywheres, there's a third potential McLemore/Javier ...

Everybody's ticked out of their minds at Jesus Montero, and in no mood to even think about him.  But Zduriencik is talking him up as Logan Morrison's safety net.  And past Orcs have delivered the .500+ SLG mail in partial (unexposed) seasons -- Brandon Moss .600 SLG in 300 at-bats a couple years ago, Jack Cust a .500 SLG as a platoon guy for them once, Bobby Kielty, Eric Byrnes, Jose Guillen, etc. 

In 2007, the Orcs had Mike Piazza at DH, Shannon Stewart and Nick Swisher in their OF, and at various points in the year, they had the following players on their bench:

• Jack Cust
• Marco Scutaro
• Mark Kotsay
• Daric Barton
• Milton Bradley
• Todd Walker
• Chris Snelling
• Bobby Kielty
• Dee Brown
• Ryan Langerhans

Get a few of the Mariners' kiddies swinging good now, and McClendon will have to acquiesce to one LOOGY.  If you've got four bench players forcing your hand, what's he going to do?  Ship Brad Miller out to make room for Lucas Luetge?  Oh, wait...

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By this measure, Jaso is a great platoon guy, as he can run and hit RHP and play a passable catcher. Norris is also a good platoon guy, as he is just a good hitter, who happens to catch.  Conversely, Carlos Peguero is not a good platoon guy, as he can't hit to corner OF standards and can't play CF, SS, can't run, and can't spot multiple positions.

On the Mariners, Ackley and Ruggiano seem like good platoon guys, they run well, field well, and sometimes hit well, and Smith is a pretty good hitter.  I wish they all hit better, ran faster, and had better throwing arms, but all of them should comprise the best outfield that the Mariners have had in many years.

The Mariners have had some bad benchies in the past.  Upgrading the position seems like a good thing, but doesn't equal Justin Upton plus another scrub benchie.

Or didn't Doc already say all of that?  

- See more at: http://seattlesportsinsider.com/article/platoons-vs-real-ballplayers#com...

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He did not :- ) but wishes that he had.

Thanks again Counselor,

Jeff