Nick Johnson anyone?

by brianphayes on Jun 2, 2009 8:27 PM CDT

What's the solution at 1B for the second half if Davis/MaxRam can't get things turned around real quick, and the Rangers deem it inadvisible to bring up Smoak and let him sink or swim in the heat of a pennant race?

What's the best plan:

Stick with Davis and let him OBP .250 and obliterate the strikeout record and hope he can hit 35 HR and continue to play good defense while doing it?

Give all the 1B/DH playing time to Blalock/Andruw and effectively make them both full time starters?

I still have a lot of hope that Davis will get himself turned around but if he can't, then I'd go after Nick Johnson as a rent-a-1B for the 2nd half. The Nationals have already told everyone he's definitely available and the Red Sox supposedly turned down the Nationals offer of Johnson for pretty good but nothing particularly special middle reliever Manny Delcarmen (although I believe Washington now denies this)

Yeah, he's hurt a lot but he's been able to play most of this year and he's pretty much EXACTLY what this offense needs: a guy sporting a .431 OBP. He makes negligible $ (5.5M for the entire year) and he's a free agent after the season. Sounds perfect to me.

What would it realistically take to get him? Would you trade, say, Kiker and another lesser but decent prospect for him? Would it take more than that?

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I really love Johnson as a hitter

But he’s been a shitty defender at 1B this year, and that, combined with his injury history means he’d probably be best-used as a DH if we got him.

DH or not though, if we’re still leading/close to the lead at the trade deadline I’d love to go after him if the price isn’t too steep.

wORLD sEIRES HERE WE COMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Win Column

by LSJ on Jun 2, 2009 9:09 PM CDT reply actions

Unfortunately,

from what I’ve seen of Jones this year, he also is basicly a DH.

I don’t really mind Blalock at 1B against righties, but I’d really like a RH bat for the lefties.

"Guillermo Moscoso despite his stunning game yesterday, is not a legit prospect. He is simply too old, too skinny, too weak, and lacks the fastball to make it at the professional level. ." - crops.mlblogs.com

by DJCahill on Jun 2, 2009 9:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Jones

I believe several defensive stats have rated him as a good defender in the outfield, although the small sample size caveat could come into play.

"Was this really necsarry?" - cowpoke/hurler hurley

by trza on Jun 2, 2009 9:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Yah, Blalock's .950+ OPS versus righties makes up for a lot of mediocre 1b defense.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

Chris Davis will be fine. Relax.

by thedirkatron on Jun 2, 2009 10:08 PM CDT up reply actions

no thanks

although i like him, we have enough internal options between davis/blalock/smoak/ramirez

by kumizi on Jun 2, 2009 9:11 PM CDT reply actions

forgot

Jones

by kumizi on Jun 2, 2009 9:12 PM CDT up reply actions

Jones should not be a first-base option

I don’t care what TR Sullivan says.

wORLD sEIRES HERE WE COMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Win Column

by LSJ on Jun 2, 2009 9:26 PM CDT up reply actions

He should be our everyday LF.

Either that or get him working on his 1b skills.

Cause as it is he looks pretty bad there.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

Chris Davis will be fine. Relax.

by thedirkatron on Jun 2, 2009 10:11 PM CDT up reply actions

"I don’t care what TR Sullivan says"

That might be the smartest thing anyone has ever typed here.

I have no objection to man walking on the moon.

by Chad Crudup on Jun 3, 2009 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions

If we're going to trade Kiker plus

I’d rather see what we could get in the way of relief help.

It would be great to get a high OBP to place in the middle of the lineup, but I think that the upgrade from Davis to Nick Johnson (factoring in defense and some reasonable improvement from Davis) is less than the upgrade from one of our spare relievers to a good one.

"He's old school in that he give up his groin like that. It hurt me when he do that" -- Worsh on Chris Davis' stretch at first base to end the game vs. the Angels on 5/16

by tricer on Jun 2, 2009 9:19 PM CDT reply actions

Kiker could be relief help

I don’t think you trade high prospect pitchers for relief help for a couple reasons…relievers are inconsistent from year to year, depending on the player etc and injuries, also you can get cheaper options that would possibly work like a Latroy Hawkins/Valverde (injured), Tony Pena/ Chad Qualls. Our bullpen has been performing better, but I’m not giving a top prospect unless I get a large return.

A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.

by NothinG on Jun 3, 2009 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions

I'd like to get him

Hell, if Delcarmen is available, let’s make it a 3 way deal and get the both of them. Have no idea what that would take.

"I saw your act, just didn't make it for me. Just a lot of fluff."

by scoop16 on Jun 2, 2009 9:22 PM CDT reply actions

Nick Johnson is a hell of a talent

Unfortunately, he makes JD Drew look like Cal Ripken, Jr.

If we could have him for a pittancey couple of C or C- types? Sure. For that price: pass.

I'm Matt mutha-effing Bush, bitches, and mutha-eff East County.

"I'm as passionate and knowlegeable as any fan out there." Josey Wales

by Brian Thomas on Jun 2, 2009 9:27 PM CDT reply actions

lol

I miss the days on this site where we could endlessly debate why Daniels was asleep at the switch for failing to sign Barry Bonds and JD Drew.

"Was this really necsarry?" - cowpoke/hurler hurley

by trza on Jun 2, 2009 9:56 PM CDT up reply actions

I've said for a while this is the sort of guy who's tailor made for the DH.

He’d be great here and might actually stay on the field long enough to help us out.

Certainly he’d be an incredible boon for our offense when he plays.

The 40 Trumps All!!!

Chris Davis will be fine. Relax.

by thedirkatron on Jun 2, 2009 10:10 PM CDT up reply actions

The solution is easy

Demote Davis, Move Blalock to 1B and keep him 6/7 in the order, keep Jones at DH primarily and move D-Murph into the starting lineup. Boggs and the other OF rotate from the OF to DH.

Removing Davis and keeping Blalock at 6/7 in the lineup is addition by subtraction with one less hacker in the lineup and the hope that Blalock keeps up his relatively improved hitting approach that he has displayed over the last week or so lower in the order. Getting Jones and D-Murph in the lineup full-time further decreases the hackalicious character of the lineup with Boggs giving us a nice option to rotate who can at least work a walk.

http://minormoosings.blogspot.com/

by Goyogringo on Jun 3, 2009 4:10 AM CDT reply actions

i was with you

until you suggsted that boggs DH heh

Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
-
Scout to KG: On Sandoval: "Man, that fat [expletive]-er can hit."

by knockoutking on Jun 3, 2009 7:36 AM CDT up reply actions

Yes if Boggs is in the lineup...

…it should always be in the field.

I have no objection to man walking on the moon.

by Chad Crudup on Jun 3, 2009 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions

yea

thats my point

Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
-
Scout to KG: On Sandoval: "Man, that fat [expletive]-er can hit."

by knockoutking on Jun 3, 2009 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions

I don't ever want to see...

..Blalock or Murphy starting against a LHP under any circumstance. They both are helpless against LHPs, now and always.

If you send down Davis without bringing up Smoak and without being willing to give up what it would take to rent someone like Nick Johnson, then you’re more or less stuck with one of Blalock or Murphy playing every time a lefty starts, and that could have horrible consequences.

If the scenario above actually occurs, then the Rangers need to either keep Boggs active (even after Hamilton comes back) or call up MaxRam or even Steve German to serve as at the co-starter with Andruw at DH/1B whenever a lefty starts against us. They’re all much better than Murphy or Blalock against LHP

by brianphayes on Jun 3, 2009 5:12 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah, if Davis is gone

you really need to get a RH bat to cover Blalock’s half of the platoon. I think you can get by with Byrd/Boggs/Cruz against righties in the OF, but having another RH 1B/DH would really help offense versus lefties. Even Little Stevie German would be a decent upgrade from Davis against Righties. Not sure about Max Ram though. I think I want him to get his act together in the minors.

Unless you can rent Johnson cheap (and I really don’t think you can), I’d be willing to go with internal players for the 1/4-1/3 of games we play against lefties.

by DJCahill on Jun 3, 2009 7:50 AM CDT up reply actions

fugetaboutit...

Davis put a charge in 3 last night, two the opposite way, he’ll be back…. and did you see the goatee? Nick Johnson can’t touch that.

by jcAustin on Jun 3, 2009 8:51 AM CDT reply actions

I said this late last week

but I was a bit ahead of myself. I think Davis is about to break out of the slump, by the end of this week. I think his June looks like late 2008, something like .280/.330/.500.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Jun 3, 2009 8:56 AM CDT up reply actions

I certainly hope you are right

last night’s at bat’s were more promising than the night he hit 2HRs.

by DJCahill on Jun 3, 2009 8:59 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, I've had the feeling

off and on for the last week that his at bats look a bit better, so I’m being optimistic. I’d love to see him rip an opposite way double tonight. Of course, I won’t see it, because I’ll be working, so I’d love to read about it I guess.

G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....

by t ball on Jun 3, 2009 9:10 AM CDT up reply actions

thats a pretty damn good player

carlos pena career:
.249 BA
.356 OBP
.500 SLG

so if he gets to be a .250 BA, .330 OBP and a 500 slg + his defense

im happy with taht

Scout: He was a first-round pick right? Got a huge bonus?
KG: Oh yeah.
Scout: Well, he spent a lot of it on milkshakes.
-
Scout to KG: On Sandoval: "Man, that fat [expletive]-er can hit."

by knockoutking on Jun 3, 2009 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions

if the price is right

Id love it, of course i think we’d have to demote Davis which im not sure if this team is ready to do that. Also, AJ should get more time in LF now that hamilton is out and he should get at least half the starts out there IMO while also getting a start over Blalock or whoever at DH against LHP. With Hambone out, AJ needs to be playing about 75% of the time.

"The House That Ruth Built, 85 years old, goes out as The House That Hamilton Knocked Down"

by blalock84 on Jun 3, 2009 9:55 AM CDT reply actions

With Hamilton's injury

Looking like a longterm thing, I think I am much more receptive to this move. Our offense which looked borderline before, definitely could use some help now.

by DJCahill on Jun 3, 2009 10:56 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah, I agree

I’d be OK with trading some prospects for him. If they really think they have a real shot to win, I don’t know why they’d hesitate — unless it’s something obvious like they want Holland/Feliz/Perez or something like that.

"He will not coddle them. Nolan Ryan doesn’t coddle." - Jeff Passan

by Dirk Diggler on Jun 3, 2009 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions