8-and-a-half man NBA rotation
Spec sez:
I think Wedge loves the kids-n-vets mix & match.
I think he likes Jack Wilson as his reserve infielder and I think he likes Jack Cust as his extra bat. I foresee:
- Guti-Carp-Halman-Peguero-Cust as 5-to-make-3 at CF/LF/DH
- Ackley-Kennedy-Figgins-Wilson as 4-to-make-2.1 at 2b/3b/backupSS
He doesn't like playing rookies every day and he's said so -- and I wouldn't be surprised if they kept this roster indefinitely. LRod was done in by bad BABIP, but he also just landed on a roster with too many infielders.
In 2007, the Oakland A's had the following players NOT among their nine starters, as measured by plate appearances:
- Jack Cust
- Marco Scutaro
- Kurt Suzuki
- Milton Bradley
- Mark Kotsay
- Jack Hannahan
- Todd Walker
- Bobby Kielty
- Daric Barton
- Dee Brown
- Chris Snelling
- Ryan Langerhans
Their starters were (at the 1B/OF/DH spots) Dan Johnson, Mike Piazza, Travis Buck, Nick Swisher, and Shannon Stewart. None of them got their own cubicles. You typed your 80 wpm or you gave up your seat to somebody who would.
Obviously some of these players were on-and-off the roster, as the season went along, but the example is clear. Billy Beane has enjoys using EVERY bench position as a jobshare.
He has 13-14 position players on his roster and he's going to cut the playing-time cheesecake 13-14 ways. The 25th man for Beane is liable to be Mark Kotsay or Jack Cust or Marco Scutaro ... not Willie Bloomquist or Chris Woodward or Josh Wilson.
But that will happen when your instinct is toward scoring runs, as opposed to your instinct being towards "polished" defense and easy-to-understand late-game substitutions.
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Dr. D always wanted the M's to run this kind of 13-to-make-9 rotation, and have guys earning their PT with their bats. Guess he got it!
One more huge, and legitimate reason, for getting on to the Eric Wedge bandwagon. Not only is Wedge willing to manage jobshares, but he can make them work in the clubhouse.
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Hey. Did you guys notice how smooth ex-Athletic Jack Cust was, about his losing playing time? The beat writers went to him breathlessly, "You're benched! Are you going to make trouble?!"
Did you notice how Cust sort of smiled relaxedly, said, "I know what I can do. I know my hits will fall in, and I'll play."
He knows the drill, is the thing. He is not phased by jobshares. It is really a Seattle thing in which the media reinforces the players' sense of seniority and entitlement.
Perhaps you remember the media's catalytic role in the clubhouse breakdown when Jose Lopez competed with Bret Boone for playing time. There are individuals in the media who believe more in "fairness to loyal players" than the players themselves do.
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Zduriencik and Wedge have just about kicked down that wall. Cust, with his team-oriented background, is providing an assist.
Maybe I need to stop calling for the Mariners to shed Jack Cust. Y'think?