Blue Jay Frank Menechino Should Be Cut Now

Sorry Frank. Nothing personal but the Blue Jays just cannot afford to
carry a backup middle infielder and pinch hitter who is batting only
..187. I am sure that the Jays have a middle infielder in their farm
system that can do better than this.

But you are not the only drag on the team, Frank. That other
Frank--Catalanotto--who was re-signed during the off-season as a "bat"
by J.P. Ricciardi has only 13 runs batted in and the season will soon be
half over.

During the off season J.P. Ricciardi's most pressing need was to get a
good catcher, as Kevin Cash, an excellent defensive backstop, had been
traded away and Guillermo Queroz
(like Cash so far not very impressive as a hitter)
suffered a collapsed lung, which might jeopardize his baseball career.


Greg Zaun, not a regular catcher,
should be used only as a backup. Meanwhile the Jays have a log jamb at
third with Koskie, Hillenbrand,
Hinske (who played there for two seasons) and now the best candidate of
all, Aaron Hill, a rookie.

Ricciardi blew money on Koskie and Hillenbrand, both of whom are
disappointments. Hillenbrand's
batting average is okay (.308) but his rbis (27) and home runs (6) are
mediocre--not much better numbers than those of Russ Adams, another rookie.

Rumor has it that Ricciardi now wants to make more trades. Blue Jay
owner Ted Rogers should say NO.

"Cerberus" <cerberus DeleteThis @remailer.com> wrote in message
news:tfudnc0zgZCd-DHfRVn-vg@rogers.com...
> Sorry Frank. Nothing personal but the Blue Jays just cannot afford to
> carry a backup middle infielder and pinch hitter who is batting only .187.
> I am sure that the Jays have a middle infielder in their farm system that
> can do better than this.
>
> But you are not the only drag on the team, Frank. That other
> Frank--Catalanotto--who was re-signed during the off-season as a "bat"
> by J.P. Ricciardi has only 13 runs batted in and the season will soon be
> half over.
>
> During the off season J.P. Ricciardi's most pressing need was to get a
> good catcher, as Kevin Cash, an excellent defensive backstop, had been
> traded away and Guillermo Queroz
> (like Cash so far not very impressive as a hitter)
> suffered a collapsed lung, which might jeopardize his baseball career.
>
>
> Greg Zaun, not a regular catcher,
> should be used only as a backup. Meanwhile the Jays have a log jamb at
> third with Koskie, Hillenbrand,
> Hinske (who played there for two seasons) and now the best candidate of
> all, Aaron Hill, a rookie.
>
> Ricciardi blew money on Koskie and Hillenbrand, both of whom are
> disappointments. Hillenbrand's
> batting average is okay (.308) but his rbis (27) and home runs (6) are
> mediocre--not much better numbers than those of Russ Adams, another
> rookie.
>
> Rumor has it that Ricciardi now wants to make more trades. Blue Jay owner
> Ted Rogers should say NO.

How did teams do it 30 + years ago? When players tended to play entire
seasons without breaks. The only way a regular, would sit out a game would
be because he was injured, not because the manager thought, just because he
was left-handed and facing a left-hander he suddenly lost his ability to hit
the ball. This season Menechino has yet to prove he can still hit left or
right handed pitching. What other skills does Menechino possess to balance
his lack of hitting? Is he a defensive star who can save a game with a super
play? Is he a base stealing threat who can snag a base or two, if used as a
pinch-runner?

Gibbons should use left vs right stats to assist him to make a choice, but
not to force him to make a choice. He follows the formula, as if it is
written in stone, with the delusion a .182 right hand hitting bench warmer
will out hit ANY left hander that may be available on the bench, just
because a lefthander is pitching.

It gives the appearance Gibbons is a "players" manager because he uses the
above silly rules to get the benchwarmers into games. If the benchwarmers
want lots of playing time they should either join a seniors, or industrial
baseball league or show they can actually produce some offence on a
consistent basis. Who cares if the stats show that right handed hitters are
batting .300 against a particular left-handed pitcher. They are not batting
1.000. Some individual players are batting successfully, but that
left-hander is still successfully getting outs against more then 1/2 of the
right handers they face. I am sorry but Menechino falls into the .700 who
fail to hit. It is about time the team made their choices based on a players
actual performance rather then allowing a player to build a career off of
other right handed hitters success against left handed pitchers.