Jed Lowrie will return. And many are patiently awaiting that return. And by “patiently,” I mean we are waiting because we want him to return, but also because Nick Green has been more than enough since Lowrie went down.
And the best part of Nick Green is…that he’s solidified the position defensively.
After the first month of the season, Green was defensively challenged. He made a lot of errors, and simple plays turned into a success for opposing hitters.
But his UZR, and what we see with our eyes, suggest something much different now.
Green makes plays, difficult plays, and he is making them often.
His UZR now sits at 0.0. And that means he is holding down the fort. And since it used to be in the negatives, it means he has been improving. As we know now, Green is a natural second baseman. So “naturally” it took him some time to adjust to the new position that was shortstop.
Green’s “indifferent” UZR sits in between Nick Punto and Hanley Ramirez. Not bad company. Punto is a slick fielder as we are aware, Ramirez is not.
UZR may not be great in smaller samples, but it is the most reliable thing we have access to right now.
As for the solution at the position? It seems that Lowrie, upon return, should be eased back into the lineup. And eventually, he should take the position back, assuming Jed’s in good health.
Green should then serve as the utility infielder, as he can play second, third, and of course shortstop.
And the Lugo contract should probably just be rid of. It has failed. Whether they can absorb most of it and trade Lugo, simply to get a team to pay a little of it. Or if they just simply release him and take on the remaining dollars, they will have little problem dealing with. Although, even large markets teams hate paying money for nothing.
Either way, Lowrie is the most logical choice to start at short. Nick Green has definite holes in that swing. As he will seemingly chase that slider down and away all day long. His pitch type value for the slider is actually -1.7. But even that might be generous.
The defense more than makes up for that. But if Lowrie can duplicate that defense, his bat should be serviceable enough once he return.
And Nick Green can be serviceable as that aforementioned utility infielder.
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Jed’s got some fairly serious holes in his swing too, and Green’s seen a great deal more major league pitching in his career than Jed. I’m actually a lot more comfortable with Green starting the majority of the games, even when Jed’s available.
Oh. :) But Lowrie hasn’t really been healthy when we have seen him. Plus, he is a switch hitter…
I have tried posting more news stuff lately (Magadan and Smoltz) although little has happened since you said something. Hope that area is improving.
I hear what you’re saying on Jed’s health and it’s not that I don’t see his potential. I just figure Green’s solidified the position, hit well enough and as you point out, begun to field the position too. I see no reason to move him to the utility role when Jed also plays all infield positions and will not only be rusty, but doesn’t have a history of sustained success to shake the rust from. He may well be the SS of the future, but this team is clicking and they should let them click.
The news has been well covered, nice job. I was really just looking for a post to go off on all the “trade Penny” types after Dice-K went to the DL. I found that debate really frustrating, as someone actually said Theo would be an idiot if he kept the veteran depth. I think it’s clear now who the idiot was.
Haha. I was on that trade Penny bandwagon, partially (I never thought it would be dumb to hang onto him). I still believe in Buchholz. But calling Theo an idiot? Well, he and his crew are as smart as they come. I never would have gone that far.
What has impressed me most about Nick’s learning the position is how far he now ranges to his left, and how comfortable he has become in making tough plays at the edge of this newly expanded range.
Equally impressive is his range to his right, getting balls just beyond and behind the reach of Mike or Youk . . . and then using those quick reflexes and cannon of an arm to, often as not, make a play at first. This is not the Nick Green we saw in April/early May. Watching him make those rocket throws from the grass in left has me wondering why he isn’t pitching, like Casey Kelly; and how well he might spell Mike at 3b if needed . . . keeping Youk at 1b.
Speaking as a non-stat-head, I wonder if there is a way to quantify those recently developed (May/June) skills (arm, range, lack of E’s, put outs, assists, DP’s, etc.) and compare them to Lowrie (before the wrist injury got bad), pre-injury Lugo, and maybe the O’Cab or Renteria of today as well as in their prime. I am curious just how good a SS Nick can become. I understand that Nick has a long road to October, but If he can have a .280BA season with above average range and D, he has certainly found a home. He and Jed Lowrie could not only resolve the SS issue for years to come, but provide the kind of infield depth teams can only dream of.
Sorry , Gerry. I couldn’t find UZR splits. I was looking for them because I wanted to compare Green this month vs. the first part of the season. It would have been a small sample, but it would have proven my point statistically. Although, simply going from a negative UZR early on to 0.0 kind of proved that. And if one watches the games, like last nights great play as he was in fact ranging to his left, then the defensive improvements are obvious.
There is also the very real possibility that Lowell will need lots of time off, he may hit the DL or worse, so if Jed is healthy he could play some 3rd, then Lugo becomes the utility infielder.
Good point, Ted. I’m just hoping a few days off now will cure Lowell.
I said Theo will be a moron if he didn’t trade Penny. And I still think this was a perfect time to look for vaule for him. And by the way, I also think Ted is a hopeless moron, but I keep my opinion of him to myself, because I want to keep civility on the page, and because I hate to lower myself to name-calling.
I don’t have any problems with people who have different opinions about how to manage the team, I have seen plenty of discussion in this page, but always with guys who have class, and who can keep the argument apart from personal insults.
Just for you Ted, I in fact has being a Theo’s supporter many times. Just as an exapmle we have Sean O, one of the most veterans firebranders, who actually thinks Theo is the worst GM in baseball. I disagree with him, but I can respect diferent opinions. I don’t need to cry or throw shit every time someone disagrees with me.
Hi MAG. Good to hear your ‘voice’ again. Sorry you and Ted are having issues. Both of you are among the most knowledgable posters here on Firebrand.
I think the argument re: Penny was valid either way.
When Papi was flailing, I agreed that we may need insurance and hoped, with you, for V-Mart who could come aboard and share time at C, 1b, DH, allowing Youk to cover 3b for Mike. This would have provided perhaps the best solution for several possible problems. I was adamantly against trading Buchholz for a bat, but saw Penny as a good solution, though I was reluctant to trade him. I was not in favor of trading for JJ (who I like) because of Green’s progress and Lowrie’s imminent return.
Lucky for us no one wanted to take a chance on Penny, despite his strong early showings. (In this, Theo is a genius, as he took a chance on Penny, Smoltz and Saito at their nadir, while other GM’s would still be afraid to take such a risk). Also lucky for us, Papi is truly back, Nick Green & Kotsay can handle 1st and 3b as well as SS, Mike plays well even hurt, Kottaras is doing better than expected, and a Rocco/JD platoon works. The trade wasn’t necessary . . . though Theo could still surprise us at the deadline.
IMO, this means that with Daisuke perhaps out for the season, Buchholz is next up if someone gets hurt. Our depth would then be Bowden. With no one wanting Penny, who is evidently returning to 2006 – 2007 All Star form, we may have a rotation of Five Aces. That would be cheating anywhere else, but the Sox legitimately managed to score five, maybe six Aces.
That’s my opinion. I hope you and Ted can find ways to communicate which are as civil and intelligent as you both appear to be. Selfishly, I enjoy reading your posts too much and this site would be diminished if either of you stopped posting; and would be diminished if your posts are uncivil.
Well, Gerry, I agree with you. I don’t claim to be the owner of the truth. Maybe I’m wrong about Penny, maybe I’m not. In any case, each of us have a different way of looking the game and I personally enjoy reading different points of view. That’s the whole point about discussing about baseball, right? If you don’t want to see other opinion but your own, then what are you doing here?
My only problem with Ted is I don’t like personal insults, or provocations, like the “I think it’s clear now who the idiot was” line of the #3 post.