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Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER Adam Kennedy is at second base today and should be there more moving forward. |
Somewhere along the way, the plan changed. Desmond became the everyday shortstop and Guzman became the regular second baseman, leaving Kennedy rotting on the bench. When the veteran did play, he struggled at the plate and in the field.
So today, Riggleman made it clear he intends to go back to the original plan. Kennedy is in the lineup starting at second base against the Mets, and he figures to get significantly more time there moving forward.
"Earlier in the year, we were winning more games when that rotation there was more involved," Riggleman said. "I kind of fell into the trap. When Cristian Guzman was just tearing the cover off the ball, it just became too hard not to put him in there. And when I did that, I allowed a little rust to get on Kennedy and [Alberto] Gonzalez."
Guzman hit .345 in his first 39 games this season. In 32 games since then (30 of them starts), he's batting just .231. Kennedy, meanwhile, is batting .206 over his last 36 games (only 16 of them starts).
"I think I'm going to have to avoid the temptation of always playing the hot hand and keep Kennedy and those others involved," Riggleman said. "It seems to work better for us. A lot of clubs, their lineups work better when they put those same eight guys out there every day. But that's not what works best for us."
14 comments:
How the hell can he make that statement when he has NEVER put his best lineup out there for more than 2 games in a row?
The Phillies are looking for a middle infielder while Utley is out; can you spell "showcase"?
OK, is it strAHS-burg or str-ASS-burg? Joe Buck has said it both ways.
Like OlneyTerp, I would like to know the pronunciation as well. I've heard both so many times by the same people I'm confused.
The correct pronunciation is "Strahs-burg." Joe Buck had it wrong earlier in the game.
This pathetic team is now grasping at straws. Kennedy can't hit and he can't field. What's the point??? Is Pete Orr next???
Yeah, Buck was really getting on my nerves with that. Also not really thrilled with Millah's talk of the Morgan glove-tossing "highlight." What an O's homer. Heh.
I threw up reading this. The guy is a .250 hitter and is not great in the field.
DC needs a Kennedy in town like we need a hole in the head. Time for Rizzo to man up, admit his mistake, and take this mess off of Riggleman's hands.
You folks are forgetting the Jimmy Riggs patented line-up philosophy. When a marginal player is out of sorts and in need of a tune-up, most managers would send them down to the minors. Riggleman sends them into the starting line-up.
More seriously--the timing of this makes no sense. Guzman's batting average has been in decline for more than a month, but even with his slide, his BA is better than Kennedy's. And Guzman deserves credit for something else: his strikeouts are down and his BBs are up (only 3 SOs, 6 BBs in his last 10 games, vs 37 SOs and only 8 BBs for the rest of the season). Instead of getting rewarded, he gets platooned.
And in the field, Guzman is still better at 2d--6 errors in 399 innings at 2d base, vs the same # in 100 fewer innings for Kennedy. But at SS, I still think you've got to go with Desmond. If Riggs is suggesting he's going to play Guzman more there, then this is a double plus ungood idea.
I think that Guzman has figured in everything good that has happened this year. [And a few not so good moments, too, I guess.] Anyway, it seems to me like he's one of the guys that should be somewhere in the lineup every day.
I missed the TV coverage so I can't comment on Buck. Typically I don't find him all that annoying. But McCarver - there's the definition of annyoing. Can't stand his banal chatter.
I know... I know... this doesn't make sense to us, but we're not managing and we've got 20-20 hindsight. Riggs is making some sense here: our offence was beter, our defense was better (look it up), and our record was better.
Personally, I think our problems are mental. If we can get on a little roll after a H-U-G-E win, things might turn around.
Kennedy is a better ball player than Guzman, I'd rather see him at 2nd on a regular basis than see Guzman play a lot.
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