then yeah, the difference in 1b defense is significant.

But the difference between Smoak – considered a good glove at first – and Davis – who has shown he has a good glove at first at the MLB level – is not likely significant regardless of the current situation.

I don’t think Davis’ defense means a dramatic increase in wins or runs saved over Smoak. Over Blalock or Broussard? Sure. Over Smoak? Nah.

the better fielder goes there, but I’m overreacting to people just assuming (on a few weeks of play) that Davis is and always will be better and you don’t dare move him off of there. Neither is going to be a slouch there and the difference is not likely to be meaningful.

So what do we do with Teagarden? He’s a Boras guy as well.

on the Blue Jays.

I think if we’re at that 81 mark and we’re playing the way we’ve been playing, I think we’re for real at that point.

You might well be right about a Davis/Boscan/Beltre package doing it, and I’m not sure I wouldn’t want Daniels to pull that trigger.

Going off what I’ve seen of Johnson and his stats, I don’t see Beckett as a good performance comparable (which is why I replied the way I did to WestTxAg06’s post). But it’s hard to say how much that matters, given the context of the Beckett/Lowell trade. The Marlins seem to be in a different place now than they were then. But who the hell knows? Maybe not. That’s a strange franchise with an interesting owner.

The whole “Player X should be traded, because he’s too valuable to be a DH,” leads to things like Travis Hafner being dealt for a AAAA catcher, or Adrian Gonzalez being traded for 50 cents on the dollar.

It’s OK to put a young hitter at DH- there’s no rule that you have to put a guy there who’s old, or who can’t run, or who has injury problems. Put your best lineup on the field.

You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.
You don’t trade someone just because of that. You trade them if you can get something of proper value in return.

Ok, I’m not really goint to do it 1000 times, but the point is made.

Well, how much of a difference does it make?

Balls hit to the corner, and then making good picks on throws…I tend to think of it as the least relevant IF position, defensively.

No, I’m not. I just said put the better glove at 1B. How is that undervaluing defense?

If you think they should immediately shop the lesser glove, you are grossly undervaluing having an awesome, cheap bat in the lineup.

The team will make the eval when they feel Smoak is ready. But Smoak has the track record of being the more patient and complete hitter. Davis hits HRs, strikes out a lot. Both seem likely to be very valuable bats, but Smoak looks like a better bet to have fewer outs. All of this is obviously assuming they peak as projected, which we can’t predict.

I am certainly not throwing dirt on Davis or anyone else. Anyone who says the team HAS to trade one of them is a fool. You trade for value, not because you have “too many” of something.