Gathright Part Duex

[LBJackal]

Oh good lord...here we go with the Moneyball thing again.

A speedy 1-2 punch can be just as effective as a high OBP 1-2 punch. Why? Because they will wreak havoc on the other team. The threat of a steal will take so much of the pitcher's attention. They won't even bother looking at the hitter, instead they will be glancing at Gathright and CC out of the corner of their eye. What will this cause? Bad pitches, speedier delivery out of the stretch. It ruins concentration. It ruins timing. Worst case scenario, they'll chuck a lot of fastballs to make it easier to throw them out if they run. Now, who can't hit a fastball? Having speedy guys in front of you makes it easier to hit. They set the table. It's what Pierre and Castillo did last year.

Trust me, in the era of stats, stuff is left out. The simple threat of a steal is a masterful duel of chess that will never be scored on stat sheets unless a guy actually attempts the SB, but the threat of it there will totally change the game.

Now, the OBP guy may get on base, but without the threat of the steal, the pitcher can concentrate on the batter fully. Without the SB, they have to get a big hit to drive them in.

It's hard to say which is better, but at the top of the order, I'd rather have my speedsters.

Yeah the speedsters definately have their benefits, but they're only affecting the pitchers concentration 1/3 of the time. I'd much rather have Young-Blalock at the top of my order than Crawford-Gathright. Crawford gets out too much to be an ideal leadoff man.

[hybrid]

BUT CAN ANYONE TELL ME WHEN THE D-RAYS ARE GOING TO RECALL HIM?!?!?!?

If anyone could tell you that, we would either be pyschic or be in the Rays front office.

But if you want a general idea, look for him to be up for the last 2 months of the year ... or at least a Sept. call up.

[kaz]

I'd much rather have Young-Blalock at the top of my order than Crawford-Gathright

Although Hank bats in the 2 hole, he's not a typical number 2 hitter. He's a big power guy. Soriano should ideally be in the two or even leadoff with Young at the two. Third is for the teams best pure hitter, which has to be Blalock

[LBJackal]

Regardless.......Young-Blalock is a much better start to the lineup than Crawford-Gathright.

Soriano is more of a power hitter than an OBA guy anyway, so I think he should stay at 3 with Blalock ahead of him. They have tons of power guys everywhere, so moving Blalock to 3 or 4 doesn't make much sense. On most teams, yeah he'd probably be 3, but in Texas I think they have it done right. Except Fullmer at cleanup Teixeira and Mench should be 4-5.

[thehat]

Gathright is an intriguing prospect, but he's not ready to be an everyday major league contributor.

First off, he's a lousy defender. I mean really lousy! He'll need to upgrade substantially if wants to play every day at the next level.

Offensively, he was completely overmatched on anything inside in his first tour with TB. He's going to have to get a little stronger physically.

While there's little doubt he's going to be a huge SB threat, he won't be worth a whole lot till other aspects of his game improve to the point where he'll be capable of playing regularly. In other words, he's liable to be wildly overrated on draft/auction day next year.

[wrveres]

while I don't think Gathright will be a star, well not nearly like Crawford will be ... He has enjoyed a career pretty close to a .400 OBP thoughout his short minor league career.

As for his defense ... He is a speedy outfielder, It won't be to hard for him to learn what he is doing out there ...


I also think he is at least a year away and that Tampa may be rushing him do to the success they have seen with Crawford. Pinella is on record as to wanting speed thrughout the whole lineup so he will probably play him sooner rather than latter .. I am guessing he is back up close to the trading deadline.

[stumpak]

From a fantasy perspective, Gathright and Crawford would be a useless 1-2 punch. Crawford alone almost gurantees winning SBs, so why would you even want Gathright if you have Crawford?

[slomo007]

From a fantasy perspective, Gathright and Crawford would be a useless 1-2 punch. Crawford alone almost gurantees winning SBs, so why would you even want Gathright if you have Crawford?

Trade bait, my friend, trade bait.

[Armed and Hammered]

Young and Blalock are obviously much better at this point and also the best in the league, but Crawford-Gathright would be in the top 10 by next year.

[ocmusicjunkie]

From a fantasy perspective, Gathright and Crawford would be a useless 1-2 punch. Crawford alone almost gurantees winning SBs, so why would you even want Gathright if you have Crawford?

Trade bait. Plus, having those two lets you neglect the running game in ALL your other hitters. One great SB guy doesn't promise anything. I have Podsednik in one league, but have only won SB about 75% of the time this season.