Brew Crew Ball: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:



Around SBN: Last Jannero Pargo Post Bar-right-arrows



The Third Base Conundrum

Last night, Craig Counsell started at third against a right-handed pitcher, and according to Yost, we can expect more of the same.

"I'm going to have to do it a little more until some of these numbers come up for Billy," Yost said. "His left-handed numbers are as good as you can dream of ... but his right-handed numbers are about as low as they go."

It should be no surprise that Hall is struggling against righties; he's always had a pronounced platoon split.  Taking his career numbers, he's 276/358/498 against lefties and 254/303/451 versus righties.  That makes a lot of sense to me -- the biggest difference is in OBP, reflecting the truly awful pitch selection against RHP, when he can't see the ball as well.

Given the roster right now, a platoon for Billy means more playing time for Counsell.  The problem is, Counsell's not a very good hitter against pitchers with either hand.  He does have better career numbers vRHP--a ~700 OPS instead of a ~650 OPS.  Compare that to Billy's career ~750 OPS vRHP, or even his 713 OPS vRHP in his disappointing 2007 season.

Ultimately, difference like this don't really matter, except that I often eat dinner during games, and I'd prefer not to see Counsell at the plate when I'm trying to digest.

The x-factor here, of course, is Russell Branyan.  Branyan is a lefty, and his career numbers against RHP are 231/332/479 -- an OPS more than 100 points higher than Counsell's.  We lose some with the glove, to be sure, but I suspect that 100 points of OPS is worth it.  Plus, we gain a fearsome late-inning option against RHP on days he doesn't start--that's something we don't currently have, unless you're trying to digest, anyway.

Branyan's minor league numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, since he is the kind of guy who seems to drop off quite a bit between AAA and the majors.  But if we take a look at his splits (as of this writing, they are updated through Tuesday), we see something that screams promotion.  Not only is he OPSing over 1.100, his line against righties is a belief-defying 398/500/776.

Plug those numbers into my nifty new Minor League Equivalency calculator, and find that his equivalent line in Milwaukee would be 341/425/627.  Hell, if he were putting up his current numbers in Double-A, he'd still have an equivalent line 329/413/609.

In general, I love platoons--they are a great way to get solid production out of less-than-solid players, as we did with Menchkins last year.  But a platoon requires more than just a lefty and a righty; put another way, a platoon requires more than Craig Counsell. 

We can make the roster space: Dillon has averaged less than an at-bat per day for the last two weeks, and there's nothing Gwynn can do that Kapler can't (except for pinch-running, and Ned doesn't use him that way).

Ned is being perfectly reasonable in taking playing time away from Bill Hall.  But it's far from clear whether giving that playing time to Craig Counsell is the best decision.

0 recs | Comment 17 comments

Read Related

Story-email Email | Print |

Comments

Display:

far from clear

But it’s far from clear whether giving that playing time to Craig Counsell is the best decision.

it’s crystal clear it isn’t the right decision. branyan should replace dillon.

Bring Back The Old Logo!

by jacob on May 22, 2008 12:44 PM CDT   0 recs

remember

I’ve got to weigh my words if I’m going to keep my insider status :).

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 22, 2008 1:14 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Branyan's the only option?

I thought it would be a hoot to watch some of his games with the padres (was it last year?) and all it did was remind me how bad he looks the 90%* of the time he doesn’t run into a ball and launch it into orbit.

*Stats courtesy of the girl at Starbucks

by Marty McSuperFly on May 22, 2008 2:13 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

That's a terrible made-up stat

Adjust that up to 98%. If he hit a home run once in every 10 plate appearances, I’d be good with that.

by Marty McSuperFly on May 22, 2008 2:21 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I hate to say this,

but Bill Hall has become my least favorite Brewer. Watching a Bill Hall AB is my least favorite activity on Earth right now.

Branyan please…....don’t care who you have to move to make it happen.

We don't need dolls, we need hits! ---Ozzie Guillen

by Adam P on May 22, 2008 1:09 PM CDT   0 recs

quick question
Plug those numbers into my nifty new Minor League Equivalency calculator, and find that his equivalent line in Milwaukee would be 341/425/627. Hell, if he were putting up his current numbers in Double-A, he’d still have an equivalent line 329/413/609.

Is that because the PCL is such a hitter’s league compared to whatever you used for the AA numbers (the Southern League, I presume), or is there really that little of a difference between AAA and AA in general as far as MLEs go?

by Zeyes on May 22, 2008 2:05 PM CDT   0 recs

hrmph

That was supposed to be a coloured quote block, but it only worked in the preview…

by Zeyes on May 22, 2008 2:06 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

some of both

also, the difference is probably less for walk-heavy guys, since walks change less than hits (i think).

the cool thing about my calculator is that you can tinker with all of stuff very easily once you’ve entered a player’s stat line. so you can see for yourself how the numbers change PCL vs. IL, or even from park to park.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 22, 2008 2:14 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

Billy's Turned Turnbow-esque

Hall has some serious rethink to do with a baseball bat in his hands. I’m still a fan, but platooning is the only option now. Actually, it was the only option two or three weeks ago, but hey, that wasn’t going to happen with Yost making the decisions.

PLATOON YOST!!

by heybatterbatter on May 22, 2008 2:07 PM CDT   0 recs

Really Branyan

Is your calculator broken? His past major league experience should be enough to see that his minor league numbers are a mirage. If he was a prospect I could see everyone being so crazy about him but we already had him. If he is our savior the season is truly lost.

by Junked on May 22, 2008 2:22 PM CDT   0 recs

if you're going to criticize

and least do me the favor of reading the whole article. I said:

Branyan’s minor league numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, since he is the kind of guy who seems to drop off quite a bit between AAA and the majors.

nobody (at least not me) is saying that Branyan is the “savior.” but whether you take his MLB numbers vRHP or look at the tear he’s on right now, he’s better than Counsell, which is what I’m talking about.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on May 22, 2008 2:31 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I remember Russell Branyan.

His nightmares in the batter’s box are reminiscent of …. Bill Hall’s! Eventually, even stats take on a weird other-worldliness. I wouldn’t wish Branyan on the Cubs!! Stats are history revealed. Branyan is just history.

The Branyan gambit proposal makes me feel better about Counsel at third, ironically. I prefer the mediocrity I know over a previously-known and discarded mediocrity.

by heybatterbatter on May 22, 2008 2:43 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

I haven't
tried been able to independently confirm this, but I bet that if Toronto is interested, Capuano is available

by sheeter on May 22, 2008 5:07 PM CDT to parent up   0 recs

easy solution, really

I say we convert one of our OF’ers. lets give this braun guy a shot

"You guys know me. I take a long time to analyze things."
- Ned Yost

by SunglassesAtNight on May 22, 2008 5:31 PM CDT   0 recs

I did read the entire article

A grain of salt. You have him hitting .341. That is the entire shaker plus a packet or two of Mrs. Dash. I wasn’t saying you think he would be the savior only that this line of thought is on every Brewer blog out there. I don’t even think he is on the 40 man roster which might also be why he isn’t moving.

by Junked on May 22, 2008 6:07 PM CDT   0 recs

can they trade

for scott moore?

by baumann on May 22, 2008 10:29 PM CDT   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Brew Crew Ball is made with whole grains and contains bits of real grit. It's the perfect dessert for a quarter-century of futility. Serve it ice-cold by itself or over a fresh Yosting. Guaranteed to enhance your sarcasm and sense of irony!

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Nohuddleblueew9_small
Most Valuable Brewer: An Excercise in Stupidity
Celeb_small
Who's The Best Scooper Around?
Haas_small
The Sheets Ceiling
Cover_small
New KUG Leaderboard
Images_small
Is Ryan Braun the NL MVP?
61427post_foto_small
Will the Brewers Make the Playoffs...
Bayviewbrewer_small
Game Thread #129: Making it up as we go
Russellbranyancartoon2profile_small
2008-2009 Brewers Offseason
Celeb_small
Brewers Leadoff Hitters Since 1992
Images_small
On Hart and 20/20

Post_icon New FanPost All FanPosts Carrot-mini

Featured Poll

Poll
Who is the Brewers' top prospect?
  • Brett Lawrie - Cana-DUH!
  • Mat Gamel - A great pure hitter who could potentially play a position of need.
  • Alcides Escobar - The Brewers sorely need his defensive wizardry and contact-hitting approach. He also solves the 3B hole by shifting J.J. over.
  • Jonathan Lucroy - The best catching prospect in the system by virtue of the fact that he can actually catch. His hitting numbers at Brevard are very good on the face of it, but even better after accounting for Space Coast Stadium.
  • Angel Salome - He's leading a Huntsville team that's loaded with prospects in all three slash stats, and he has the tools to be a good defensive catcher.
  • Jeremy Jeffress - The only real pitching prospect in a sea of hitters, Jeffress could potentially ease the pain of losing two aces by blossoming into one himself.
  • Carlos George - Hey, Derek Jeter can't play defense either.

  603 votes | Results

77 - 56

6

Lost 1

29

NL Central Standings

W L PCT GB STRK
Chicago 83 50 .624 0 Won 5
Milwaukee 77 56 .578 6 Lost 1
St. Louis 74 60 .552 9.5 Won 1
Houston 67 66 .503 16 Won 1
Cincinnati 58 75 .436 25 Lost 1
Pittsburgh 57 76 .428 26 Lost 7

(updated 8.28.2008 at 4:23 AM CDT)

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recent FanShots

Salome's stance belies sweet swing
Lorenzo Cain out for the year
Wily Peralta promoted to West Virginia
Instant Replay Approved for This Season
Ryan Braun Won't Become a Gold Glove 1B, But...
The 2008 Scouting Report, By The Fans, For The Fans
Sunday Conversation with CC Sabathia (h/t Right Field Bleachers).
Cooper predicts Astros sweep
John Sickels' Top 20 Brewers Prospects in Review
Brett Lawrie's first Olympic at-bat

Post_icon New FanShot All FanShots Carrot-mini


Site Meter