The Outfield Going Into 2012
I walk a minimum of three miles every day. One and half miles to work and then of course back to my “room”. Of coures this doesn’t count walking to the chow hall and the various things that I have to do and take care of over the course of the day. I have plenty of time to think to myself and it’s not entirely unusual for me hold conversations with myself.
Just go with it and act as if that’s normal.
Something that I’ve spent a large amount of time thinking during those walks the last few days is the comments made by Eric Wedge during his Winter Meetings sit down with the press. If you wanted to read them I’m sure you’ve gone out and done so. It wasn’t anything ground braking. In fact it was the usual things you’d expect a manager to say about his outfielders and players in general.
His thoughts on Mike Carp:
“I’m looking at him more in the outfield – that’s where the bulk of his time is going to come in spring training. When he was out in left field on a somewhat regular basis, he was more and more comfortable.”
“I don’t ever like to put a guy in a position — especially young in their career — to where they’re platooning. You know what I mean? Like when we brought (Shin-Soo) Choo over to Cleveland (from Seattle) to give you guys an example of someone you know. It’s just real easy to do and I think it’s the wrong thing to do. It’s the wrong message to send a player. I’m not smart enough, you’re not smart enough to figure out whether he can or cannot hit against lefties. You have to watch him do it and watch him react to it. I’ve got a pretty good eye for what I feel like he’s going to play. From the right side or the left side against right-handers or left-handers and I think he’s going to be able to hit left-handers too.”
Thoughts on Casper Wells:
“He had some eye issues, head issues, sinus issues, he had some things going on upstairs that really affected him,” Wedge said. “And we feel like we’re on top of that right now.
“The guy is a rock. Athletically, he’s very good. I love him in the outfield. I love him on the bases. We saw a couple of weeks that were pretty special. I know what he’s capable of doing.”
Thoughts on Franklin Gutierrez:
“His weight is actually better than we thought it would be,” Wedge said. “I know what he can do when he’s good. I’m talking about getting on base, stealing bases. I’m talking about being … a run producer.”
The quotes are taken from the Seattle Times/Tacoma News Tribune. So thanks to Geoff, Larry and … well … Larry.
Tags: Carlos Peguero, Casper Wells, Darren Ford, franklin gutierrez, Ichiro, Michael Saunders, Off-Season
Posted in Mariners