Saturday, March 14, 2009

Center Field

Let me start by updating the stats for each of the candidates for the position of center field.

Dewayne Wise - .391 (9 for 23), 1 HR, 1 3B, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 0 CS
Jerry Owens - .200 (7 for 35), 0 HR/3B/2B, 3 RBI, 0 SB, 3 CS
Brian Anderson - .200 (6 for 30), 1 HR, 0 3B/2B, 3 RBI, 0SB/CS

Going by the numbers it's pretty clear that Wise is the starting center fielder. However, I think it would be intelligent to keep Anderson on the roster for defensive purposes as well as to play against lefties. Anderson just hit a home run today against a lefty and over his career he has fared real well against the left handers (well at least better than Wise is vs. lefties). I know Owens is supposed to infuse the speed into the lineup that Kenny wanted, but 0 for 3 in the spring is not good, and frankly when I've watched he doesn't look like a great base stealer.

I posed this earlier and I'll talk about it again, I think it might be wise (pardon the pun) to give Alexei a shot in center if Beckham is going to continue playing as well as he is. That being said, you can't just make that move. Alexei will have to play some in center this spring if he is going to play there when the season starts, and I think they are trying to get him as many games at short as possible to get him acquainted with that spot. So don't bet on Alexei in center and Beckham at short, but I don't want to rule this out totally.

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