If I had to pick one bone with Ozzie Guillen, it would be the need to ordain a "leadoff hitter" instead of picking the guy who is best suited for the job at the time.
We saw it last year when Scott Podsednik and Pablo Ozuna threw away at-bats at the top of the order during the second half while Rob Mackowiak languished in the bottom half of the order and Ross Gload saw 12 whole innings in left field.
We've seen it this year, when Mackowiak hit in the same place while the Wet Newspaper Gang (Podsednik, Darin Erstad, Jerry Owens) spun through the revolving door.
And, evidently,
we're going to see it next year: according to Greg Walker (who seems pretty comfortable about his job to be speaking in terms of "next year"):
''The word I think about with [Owens] is 'encouraged.' The thing that
sticks out is leadoff hitters are very, very rare. It's a rare
commodity right now, guys that are true leadoff hitters. He has a
chance to be one of those commodities.''
Additionally,
Mark Gonzalez's story on the kids refers to Owens as "leadoff batter/center fielder." And I'm guessing he selected that order on purpose.
Of course, looking through the batting orders over the last three years, this is something Ozzie has always done. The only difference is that the arsenal at his disposal has grown increasingly one-dimensional. Here's the evolution:
Willie Harris (2.5 tools): Good batting eye, good speed, good defense at second. Despite hitting a pedestrian .262 in 2004, Harris actually got on base at a .343 clip thanks to 51 walks, unusually high for somebody who isn't a threat to crush a hanger. When the hits fall, he's a force -- he's hitting .328/.397/.447 for Atlanta this year, and only the slugging percentage strikes me as unrepeatable.
Healthy Scott Podsednik (2.5 tools): Good batting eye, great speed, decent defense in left. This is the Podsednik who posted the .369 OBP and 83 percent success rate on the basepaths in the first half of 2005. We saw what happened there.
Unhealthy Scott Podsednik (1 tool): Good speed. This is the Podsednik who posted the .296 OBP and 61 percent success rate in the second half of 2006. There are varying degrees in between the two.
Lucky Pablo Ozuna (1.5 tools): Good contact, good speed. Ozuna was just fine hitting first when he batted .413 in the first half of 2006. We could say that about a lot of people, though.
Unlucky Pablo Ozuna (0.5 tools): Good speed. Couldn't get on base to save his life in July or August.
Erstad (1.25 tools): Good baserunning, very good defense. Baserunning doesn't mean all that much with a .313 OBP.
Owens (1 tool): Good speed. Even when he's "hot", he's not, really. He's drawing rave reviews during his second stint, but his OBP is still only .333. The league average is .342.
When looking at the list this way, it's makes me wonder who's more to blame -- Ozzie or Kenny Williams. On one hand, Ozzie is drawing the lineup cards and should modify his game to suit the roster, because that's what defines a great manager. That's what makes his role model, Bobby Cox, so good at what he does.
On the other hand, Williams has to be aware that Ozzie has a preset mold for leadoff hitters, and instead of trying to help Ozzie adapt or equip him better to offset the flaw, he's providing increasingly less talented players to sop up the most at-bats, day to day, in front of the team's best hitters. At this point, a cardboard cutout would have as many facets as the current options.
That's not to say Owens can't improve, because this is his first go-around as a major-league starter. Still, that ceiling is going to be mighty low, and he'll likely be a better idea than an actual asset.
And to leave you with a scarier thought, the mold is growing ever more restrictive. Look at Danny Richar -- he could be actually be both a decent
and realistic option considering he's fast, lithe and he hasn't shown a lot of pop yet. He should be exactly Ozzie's type. However,
if Gonzalez's mailbag is any indication, he won't be an option for long:
Richar moves very well but is more of a hitter than a speedster.
Quick, Danny! We need more ill-advised stolen-base attempts, more 4-3's, more opposite-field slapping! There's no time!
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Minor league round-up:- Birmingham 9, Mobile 8
- Kyle McCulloch had a rough but not terrible Birmingham debut, allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out one.
- Adam Russell picked up the win with two scoreless innings in relief; Oneli Perez had a rough time closing out the game, allowing three runs (two earned). He did manage to strike out four in an inning, which is kinda neat.
- Aaron Cunningham went 3-for-4 against his old organization with two doubles, and is batting .429 for Mobile.
- Chris Getz went 2-for-3 with two walks, by far his best game since returning from the DL. Cory Aldridge drove in three runs; Dave Cook hit a two-run homer.
- Wilmington 4, Winston-Salem 2
- Clayton Richard allowed four runs over six innings, but only two were earned; John Lujan pitched two scoreless innings in relief.
- Robert Hudson had a triple and an RBI; Paulo Orlando and Rod Allen had two hits apiece.
- Kannapolis 6, Lakewood 3
- Michael Dubee picked up the win with four scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and three walks while striking out five.
- Archie Gilbert went 2-for-4 with a triple, a homer and three RBI.