Gaby Sanchez Wins 1B Starting Job

[Bobbob1313]

And if we pay him 2 mil and give up a couple of C prospects, that's fine.

I don't want to pay him half of his salary or even 1/3. He's not worth that to us.

[Bobbob1313]

Battle over.

Logan reassigned to minor league camp.

With his .409/.460/.659 line, nobody can say Gaby didn't earn it. Now let's see him put up a .790 OPS and at least be passable.

[Party]

Gaby Sanchez Wins 1B Job

The Marlins reassigned Logan Morrison to minor league camp this morning, which makes certain what has been pretty much a given for more than a week: Gaby Sanchez will be the Marlins' first baseman.

Statistically, it was a no-brainer.

Sanchez has hit .409 this spring (compared to .244 for Morrison), to go with a .460 on-base percentage and .659 slugging percentage. Add that up, and it comes to a very nice OPS of 1.119 -- best on the club this spring among players with at least 30 at bats.

The Marlins also reassigned right-handed reliever Scott Strickland to minor league camp, leaving 33 players on the spring training roster. That means eight more cuts need to be made to get to the 25-man roster for Opening Day.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez will likely bat Sanchez in the eighth spot.

The bullpen picture remains fuzzy, with a handful of contenders vying for basically one spot. The cast of hopefuls includes Tim Wood, Rick VandenHurk, Seth McClung and Hayden Penn. Just a hunch, but I think it comes down to Wood and VandenHurk, who quietly pitched a scoreless ninth inning Sunday against the Astros.

Read more: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_...#ixzz0jZn9wuBa

[Bobbob1313]

I'd rather somebody like Cody bat 8th. Cody's going to mash no matter what, and Gaby will likely have a better on base percentage than him, so it'd be nice to have someone on base for all those extra base hits. And then Cody's low on base percentage doesn't hurt that much in front of the pitcher.

Though with Gaby's good plate discipline, he should be fine.

[Chewford]

I'm not sure what to expect but Gaby, but it should be interesting. I don't think he's going to have that jawb all year though.

[m26555]

I'd rather somebody like Cody bat 8th. Cody's going to mash no matter what, and Gaby will likely have a better on base percentage than him, so it'd be nice to have someone on base for all those extra base hits. And then Cody's low on base percentage doesn't hurt that much in front of the pitcher.

Though with Gaby's good plate discipline, he should be fine.

I was thinking the same thing about Cody, but I think I'd rather have him in a spot in the lineup that is more conducive to driving in runs, like sixth. I really don't want to put one of our better RBI-guys in the eight-hole.

[Bobbob1313]

He doesn't really make great contact so he's not necessarily a great RBI guy, though.

[Omar]

Over the last 3 years, Cody's numbers:

RISP: .296/.376/.549
RISP w/ 2 outs: .272/.385/.551
Runners On: .300/.361/.531

I think he's ready to bat in the 4/5 slot.

[Fritz]

Oooh, luck stats.

[Party]

Is it luck when it's done over the course of 3 years?

[Fritz]

Yes.

It's like saying, well, I guess Cody doesn't like trying to hit well when there's no one on base. Do you also think A-Rod was trying to suck in the playoffs from 2004-2007?

[Party]

ARod had nowhere near the amount of PAs Cody has in those categories. (Didn't actually check this out)
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The argument wouldn't be that he doesn't like hitting with the bases empty. Perhaps there is a general pitch selection with runners on amongst pitchers that is favorable to Cody.

[Swifty]

It's luck that there are men on base, but there's also a thing called situational hitting that usually makes a player a "good RBI guy" and I don't think that's luck.

[nny]

Situational hitting is certainly real, the issue is dealing with sample size and how much luck/variance goes into results.

[Omar]

Yes.

It's like saying, well, I guess Cody doesn't like trying to hit well when there's no one on base. Do you also think A-Rod was trying to suck in the playoffs from 2004-2007?

Not quoting the stats doesn't mean they weren't good, they just weren't relevant. Also, a sample size of 533 (runners on), 297 (RISP), and 147 (RISP/2 outs) is not something to scoff at. It comes out to 45% of his AB the last three seasons.

That, of course, is not counting Festa's accurate points about pitch selection and the like.