Well, that’s a bit of good news. Thanks for setting me straight.

When compared to what you can get out of a farm system, I actually think it is.

I’m not really married to the idea of WFB as the utility IF, but I understand the front office is. That being said, though, I’m more inclined to look in the minors for an underrated guy trapped in a minor league system than paw through the FA market. Think of this as AbCab in reverse. As such, you’re likely to have more roster flexibility than with a “proven veteran”- where the choice is basically to dump him in spring training or force him onto the roster somehow.

I’m not sure they even consider this…either that, or they’re so married to the idea that major league experience trumps talent, that they will never do it.

I’m not really married to the idea of WFB as the utility IF, but I understand the front office is. That being said, though, I’m more inclined to look in the minors for an underrated guy trapped in a minor league system than paw through the FA market. Think of this as AbCab in reverse. As such, you’re likely to have more roster flexibility than with a “proven veteran”- where the choice is basically to dump him in spring training or force him onto the roster somehow.

Actually, crooked numbers usually come from mashing the ball off, over or at least to, the fence. Hitting a bunch of singles is what the M’s did this year, and the result, while not terrible, is usally a run here, a run there, lots of guys left on base, and lots of streakiness. That’s not necessarily a negative, but it’s also not an improvement over this year.

Someone suggested non-tendering Ramirez. I thought he was under contract for 08. If so, I doubt anyone would take him off our hands. I don’t know if a move to the bullpen would help him, but I would not, under any circumstances, give him a shot at earning a rotation spot in Spring Training. ST is way too small a sample size, with a variable quality of competition. He could look really good in Peoria, but there’s no “turning around” for him to do. He is what he is, and I’d either turn him into long relief, or stash him in Tacoma as an emergency starter.

The only problem with bringing someone in to challenge Lopez for 2B is that there’s just no place for the loser to go. We already have a utility IF in Bloomquist, and already have a logjam at DH. Whoever loses would probably need to go out. I assume Lopez still has options left, and he also has some trade value (young, former All-Star middle infielder, struggling as of late? I’d take him). Anyone they sign to challenge for 2B probably has neither. I’d really hate to see them give up on Lopez, but I expect they will.

So to summarize, you’d like a lineup with high averages, average or above walks, and power in the middle? I think that’s what every team in baseball wants. Easier said than done.

As 49 pointed out, that’s not likely to happen with this lineup. All the coaching in the world can only do so much, so while it’s certainly a noble goal to do the things you mentioned, I think we need to be a little more realistic about what we’re working with. Even if the guys we have improve, we can easily still be the worst team in the AL at walking – there’s just that much distance between us and the rest of the pack (KC had 39 more, and we were approx. 150 below the AL average in ’07).

I think the more realistic approach is that we look for high OBP in future signings, rather than focusing on our existing players. I don’t think we’re going to teach our ‘old dogs’ (Beltre, Ibanez, Guillen, Ichiro, Johjima) any new tricks. Put some work into Betancourt, Lopez and Jones, and we might see some improvement. Feel free to straighten me out on this if you know better, but I have the impression that once you hit the major league level, significant change in walk rate is unlikely.