Jason A. Churchill on 09-01-2011 18:19:37Liddi is NOT part of the future because he isn't any good and can't play anywhere but third base where Seager is light years better, anyway.
So apparently Jason found some good things in his skillset once Liddi made the 25-man. Alex is showing that power tool is not exaggerated, and he can play third without embarrassing himself (regardless of the bad hop today). I've described him as-is as a Tony Batista type of 3B. His skillset has value even if he doesn't max it out, and if he DOES, then he's some version of Troy Glaus.
But Churchill believe he's got "good hands" now, so that's something. Baby steps. I think Liddi gets a raw deal sometimes because he's European in appearance and so the expectation is not for him to have such a raw skillset. If he was from Cuba all the talk would be about his potential - except from me and Matt, since we both dislike Cuban hitters.
It's taken Liddi a while to get a handle on his skillset, as raw as he was. He's repeated leagues and looked decidedly below-average at times, but his power has grown with his frame. He's mastering defense far better than I believed he would - I saw him play SS competently in Tacoma, and he definitely has the arm for 3rd or the OF if we feel like we HAVE to move him there.
I've heard people talk about how he's just a platoon bat, which also doesn't make sense to me - he's worked really hard on hitting righties, and was better against RHP than LHP last year. He slugged .500 against righties at 22 years of age in AAA. That'll work.
He's got a big zone. He's gonna strike out. But if you're willing to bear Glaus / Sexson level Ks, and Liddi will keep taking on balls outside instead of putting himself in a bad position...
We're gonna have trouble passing him over as a player who's "not any good." And I say that as an acknowledged doubter that Liddi will reach his upside. His current-side is still plenty useful, as we're discovering, and he's obviously still improving in the field and at the plate.
~G