Saturday, May 25, 2013

Lombardozzi shines in Nats' win vs. Phillies

Photo by USA Today
Ask Steve Lombardozzi to do just about anything for his baseball team and he’ll do it. Since his debut with the Nats in 2011 he’s played second base, third base, shortstop, and left field. Last year when catchers were going down left and right, Davey Johnson said he would call on the Columbia, Md. native as the emergency backstop if the situation ever presented itself.

So when it was discovered Danny Espinosa would be out at least a few days with a floating chip in his right wrist, naturally Lombardozzi was there to step in. The super utility man known as ‘Lombo’ made the most of the opportunity, going 3-for-4 with two RBI in the Nats’ 5-2 win over the Phillies on Friday night.

“You never want anybody to get injured,” Lombardozzi said. “But when my name’s called, I’m gonna be ready.”

The 24-year-old Lombardozzi doesn’t say much. In a rare postgame session with reporters, he spoke softly and kept his answers short, always polite and often deflecting praise to his teammates. But after his three-hit performance at the plate, a big part of the Nationals’ win, Lombardozzi’s teammates weren’t quite as restrained.


“You’ve got a guy that’s in here watching film all game long trying to help out our lineup when he’s not playing,” Adam LaRoche said. “And then to go out and have a big game, get a big hit, we love it for those guys because they support us the nine out of 10 nights they’re not playing, they’re out there backing us up.“

“Lombo had a great night tonight,” Tyler Moore said. “He’s a great hitter. It’s just good for guys to step up when runners are on. It was getting later in the ball game. And that’s how you win ball games, with clutch hitting.”

Lombardozzi’s big swing came in the fifth inning with two outs off Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick. Down 2-0 to start the count, Kendrick decided to pitch to him despite having Jordan Zimmermann in the on-deck circle. Kendrick ended up laying a sinker in the zone that Lombardozzi took to right-center, lofting a double into the gap that scored Moore and Kurt Suzuki.

“I was just setting myself and staying ready to look for something in a small zone that I could drive and I got something I was able to hit,” he said.

Replacing Espinosa, who has in many ways embodied the Nationals’ offensive struggles this season with a .163 average, Lombardozzi stepped in when the team badly needed it. They were returning from a west coast trip in which they 4-6 and sat just one game ahead of the Phillies in the division.

“Today was a big day with Espinosa out for Lombo to do what he did,” Johnson said. “And to score five runs, we’ve been kind of stuck on none or one or two. So that was big. Big shot in the arm for the offense.” 

72 comments:

nats guy said...

Two questions:

1. How can you tell when a National is lying about an injury.

a. Are their lips moving.

2. How can you tell if Danny Schmuckanosa is hurt or just playing bad?

a. That's a clown question, you can't tell.

SCNatsFan said...

Have to like a guy who sees an opportunity and makes the most of it. Make them drag you out of the lineup Lombo.

baseballswami said...

To me this is classic tortoise and hare. Espi brings all that sexy defense , the cannon arm and the " potential". Meanwhile, blue collar, soft spoken, hard working, learning every day, baseball smart, slow and steady Lombo shows up every day willing to do what is asked of him. Reminds me of guys like Scutaro that seem to be no one's superstar, but just keep plugging away in the background. Everyone is not going to be Bryce Harper. And don't let that quiet exterior fool you -- did you see how pumped up he was after that hit???

MurrayTheRed said...

This is now the second time Espi has hidden an injury from the team. To me that is not a team player, that is a selfish player. Very disappointed in Espi right now. I don't care that he has more long term upside then Lombo, he is not better while injured.

Joe Seamhead said...

To me, a player should not lose his position due to injury. Well, as of right now, I think Danny is in serious jeopardy of losing his position, not from injury, but by getting beat out by an over- achieving, selfless, utility player that is not only making the most of his chances, but is earning the respect of the veterans on the team. More than a quarter of the way through the season and I can't remember Espy having one game this year as good as Lombo's was last night. I agree with Gonat, give him 20 games.

Does any one else remember what Espy said when they first brought Lombardozzi up? Let's just say it didn't come across as being supportive. I liked ALR's quote Mark posted above:

“You’ve got a guy that’s in here watching film all game long trying to help out our lineup when he’s not playing,” Adam LaRoche said. “And then to go out and have a big game, get a big hit, we love it for those guys because they support us the nine out of 10 nights they’re not playing, they’re out there backing us up.“

SonnyG10 said...

Loved the contribution Lombo made last night, won us the game. Steve also did very well on defense, except for that errant throw. Having said that, I'm still an Espi backer and haven't given up on him being able to hit. Get well Danny.

Laddie Blah Blah said...

"How can you tell if Danny Schmuckanosa is hurt or just playing bad?"

He is going to play bad, regardless. No injury can force Espinosa to swing at a bad pitch, or keep him from not swinging at a bad pitch. He is swinging, and missing at more and more bad pitches.

In his September 2010 call-up, Espinosa had 9 walks vs. 30 Ks, about 3 Ks for each walk. In 2011, Danny had 57 walks vs. 166 Ks, again, about 3 Ks for each walk. In 2012, Danny only had 46 walks vs. 189 Ks, an increase in K to walk ration to over 4 to 1. This year Espinosa has had only 4 walks vs. 40 Ks.

He is swinging at, and missing, more and more bad pitches, so pitchers are giving him fewer and fewer good pitches to hit. If he took those bad pitches, he would be drawing more walks - instead, he is drawing fewer and fewer of them because he swings, and misses, at whatever junk the bad guys throw at him.

If that is your approach at the plate, you are going to strike out more and more, and draw fewer and fewer walks, no matter what ails you, or doesn't ail you. He can come back injured, or have the operation and heal. It won't make a tinker's damn, either way, if he keeps getting himself out. The pitchers are not going to come to him if he doesn't force them to.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

baseballswami, I will take a Jamey Carroll/Scutaro/Lombo type at 2nd base any day and twice on Sunday!

Joe Seamhead said...

Two thumbs up, Ghost @ 12:06!

Section 222 said...

But Ghost/Joe/swami, he's a GG on D. You can't give up that up the middle defense. He is the best athlete on the team. He could play any position. Who's going to back up Desi at short? He has more natural ability and a bigger upside than Harper. He's a future Hall of Famer.

Who are you going to trust? Me or your lying eyes?

:-)

SonnyG10 said...

I strongly disagree with those of you that say Danny was hiding his injury. Danny, himself, did not know his hand was broken. Remember, the initial examination did not show a break. Danny and the medical staff thought the injury would just get better with time. Its only when he realized it was not getting better that they examined it again and found the break. I feel certain that everyone on the staff knew he was playing in pain.

I do think that if Lombo plays well, Danny may have a hard time getting his job back. Whatever Davie and Mike work out is fine by me.

peric said...

Last year in July before his injury "schmuckanosa" was hitting .300 for the month. Yes, he had 36 K's against 9 walks but three were intentional and there was a reason. And yes that ratio needs to improve. In that month he scored 14 runs and had 10 RBI. He had 8 doubles, 2 triples and 3 homers sole IN THAT MONTH.

Ryan Zimmerman has hidden injuries at least 3 or 4 times in the last 3 years!!!

You all know absolutely zilch about baseball that is clear ... and as for man crushes Ghost you have a huge one for Lombo as do many others.

Lombo is a good player, he is solid, but even he hates to walk which is why he has yet to succeed in beating out Danny. UNLESS LOMBO learns plate discipline the way Rendon has he'll have a good game or month here and there but he will never be a starter period.

Danny does have the same issue but in the field he is vastly superior and so he starts.

Section 222 said...

Lombo definitely deserves a shot at the position. But give him 20 games, not 50, because his historical numbers do not suggest he will go 3 for 4 every night with an extra base hit.

And Rendon should be playing at 2B in Syracuse every day for the next 20 games. There has to be a fall back plan.

peric said...

Who are you going to trust? Me or your lying eyes?

Might the moronic brain that opens its pie hole whenever Zim makes an errant throw ... he's not injured now is he? Yeah right moron.

peric said...

And Rendon should be playing at 2B in Syracuse every day for the next 20 games. There has to be a fall back plan.

W-R-O-N-G as usual moron. They now need a backup shortstop. They have plenty of second baggers and right now Mr. Kobernus is the backup at second base.

They don't have one at shortstop.

Rendon will continue to play third base because that's where they need him to be. Zim might not make it to the end of the season there if **HE** suffers another injury and "lies about it".

Section 222 said...

Its only when he realized it was not getting better that they examined it again and found the break.

You're probably right about that Sonny. The fact that it took him a month to realize it wasn't getting better, and even then played a 10 game road trip before asking to be re-examined, while mired in a historic slump, means he's not only selfish, he's stupid. And if someone did that, and Danny said, "No, I'm ok. Just a little twinge. I can play through it," then once again, Danny is a selfish player as MtR said.

I feel certain that everyone on the staff knew he was playing in pain.

If that's the case, and no one said, "Danny, you need to take the day off and go get another x-ray," they are stupid too. Just a guess, but I'll bet there are at least a few hand specialists on the West Coast.

But here we are again, speculating. Baseball journalists, step up to the plate.

Anonymous said...

Two final notes from last night's game. Span untucked on the way in from center field after the final catch, but there was not a lot of untucking in the line (weather may have been a factor--I will wait for the next warmer game before making assumptions about untucking or the lack thereof). Soriano does talk to his hat, but unfortunately I wasn't quite close enough to read his lips.

See (some of) you there tonight.

ArVAFan

peric said...

while mired in a historic slump, means he's not only selfish, he's stupid. And if someone did that, and Danny said, "No, I'm ok. Just a little twinge. I can play through it," then once again, Danny is a selfish player as MtR said.

Hmmm sounds a lot like Zim last season and this season. So is Zim a selfish, stupid player? Because that is what you are saying moron.

Section 222 said...

Ah peric, I knew we could count on you for a thoughtful opposing view When I was channeling you, I left out the bolding and childish personal attack. My apologies.

My offer is down to $90. :-)

peric said...

My offer is down to $90. :-)

I think you need the money for a brain transplant and maybe another pair of eyes. Clearly you discriminate against one player while favoring one or more. You would make a terrible GM that's for damned sure.

Let us hope Mike Rizzo, Roy Clark et al are far more discerning that the small mind of section 222.

SonnyG10 said...

You're right 222, it's speculation since we don't have the inside information. Like I said, I'm willing to accept whatever Davie and Mike work out.

Section 222 said...

Actually, Zim did play through it and, with the help of possibly too many cortisone shots, improved his hitting. Or have you forgotten his .319/.381 /.564 with 17 HRs second half? Espi can only dream of those numbers, even when completely healthy. So no, Zim is not a selfish, stupid player. He didn't conceal his injury and he got treatment, which luckily, worked.

peric said...

I will wait for the next warmer game before making assumptions about untucking or the lack thereof). Soriano does talk to his hat, but unfortunately I wasn't quite close enough to read his lips.

Julia Alexandria apparently got Lombo to do an untuck in front of her jet engine heater. Maybe the heater is what is needed.

peric said...

Or have you forgotten his .319/.381 /.564 with 17 HRs second half?

I also remember the splits from May and June which were truly miserable. And had many here howling. No one knew he had an injury then. For more than 2 months right? Shakes head ruefully.

SonnyG10 said...

Now that I have let go of my expectations, I'm enjoying the Nats a lot more. We still have a very young ball club and they are going to get better as the team matures a bit more.

I've been wanting to post about Suzuki. I think he has been doing a great job as a receiver. I was amazed at the leaping snag of a wild pitch over his head on the West Coast trip, as well as the nice blocked balls in the dirt. He's been hitting well for us also. If it wasn't for the fact that he's almost 30 years old, I would almost prefer him to Ramos behind the plate. Of course Ramos is a lot younger and will hit with more power, so he's our best long term bet.

Section 222 said...

I remember those splits for May and June too. Pretty bad, but well above the Mendoza line, not to mention the Espinosa line. And, if I recall correctly, he received his first cortisone shot in late May, so Davey and the team were aware that his shoulder was bothering him by then if not before. The comparison to Espi is wafer thin.

I'm not discriminating against anyone. I'm just evaluating the admittedly incomplete evidence as best I can and offering my opinion. What are you doing?

Joe Seamhead said...

Sonny, that was a super human play by Zook!
You all have a good day!
GYFNG!!!

Natstown said...

To compare Zim playing through an injury with Espinosa doing the same is ridiculous

Natstown said...

To compare Zim playing through an injury with Espinosa doing the same is ridiculous

Natstown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Natstown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
natsfan1a said...

You can say that again. Oh, wait...

Section 222 said...

Natstown, not sure if you meant to post the same thing three times, but if you did, well played Sir. :-)

Off to enjoy the beautiful weekend. Let's keep the winning streak going!

nats guy said...

Peric,

Since all of us here know so little about baseball, why do you bother to communicate with us peons/morons. Go back to reading Nationals Prospects to get all your info so you can pretend to be all knowing. Have you ever played the game beyond T-ball yourself? Have you ever even played T-ball? I wonder, everybody wonders. If we make you so angry why do you boter with us.

nats guy said...

My concern with RZim is that he might have done some more permanent damage by playing with the shots last year. I think he is still having problems. He Olays a lot of plays he used to dive for, he is still hitting mostly singles, and his throwing leaves a lot to be desired. He at least was honest about it last year.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Section 222 said...Trust but verify, you say, and I agree with you. The problem is that we as fans have no way to verify. Only the journalists covering the team can do that. Will any of them step up? Because there are a lot of questions raised by this episode. Some of them aren't very comfortable questions, but they deserve to be asked, and answered.


I don't think any smart journalist in this town would question this more than the simple questions otherwise it is like impugning their honesty.

Do you remember RZim lying about the condition of his shoulder before he later came clean that some of us called "bull" on it long before he told the truth.

This isn't a big deal. Espi played better after the injury until right before the road trip started and this latest slide in the past 14 days where his BA dropped about 40 points.

In fact 9 of Espi's 12 RBIs happened after the injury.

Again, I believe they needed some strategy to pull him. He hasn't had any RBIs since May 10th. He is in a funk of a slump.

baseballswami said...

I think Zim's throwing is looking less dramatic and more routine. Shoulder surgeries are tricky things. And the hitting looks sweet, not much power yet but a beautiful stroke. It's a smart, unselfish player who , knowing the power is not there, uses other parts if the field to help the team instead of making repeated outs at the warning track. Zim is making compromises and adjustments to stay on thd field. I will take that. He could wreck himself again to save one increment of ninety feet, or he could stay intact and get the next one. Not even six months on that surgery. I am quite ok with him being smart about his body. Harper has already learned that he does not have to sprint around the bases with a bum knee. We don't need broken players on the bench.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

By the way, Lombardozzi is the backup shortstop. He's played a couple of games at SS for the Nats and did fine. Because of his weak arm he's a big downgrade but he is an emergency player and the Nats hope they never have to call on him.

Not sure why Peric is sweating this.

baseballswami said...

I do not consider Lombo 's arm to be weak. For a 2 b, Danny's arm us unusually strong. For a 2b, I would say Lombo 's arm is average. Same with his range. Average. What we need right now is a player with adequate skills who knows how to use them in a smart way and who can play a complete game. Earlier I mentioned Scutaro, someone else mentioned Jamey Carroll. I am sure those guys heard the same things throughout their careers. Sexy tools are nice if you have them and use them well. If not, what good are they? I have a sioft spot for mortal beings who work really hard and make the best of what they have.

Unknown said...

Joe Seamhead reminded me of Espinosa's 2011 interview about Lombo call-up.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/nationals-watch/2011/sep/8/lombardozzi-gets-first-major-league-start-espinosa/

Yes, this guy is a selfish and stupid schmuck who cares only about his playing time and puts himself ahead of the team. Looking back, this guy shoulda been replaced by Lombo back in 2011, when he started stinking.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

swami, exactly right on Lombo's arm. 2nd baseman in the Majors are former High School shortstops that didn't have the big arms.

I was the one who mentioned Jamey Carroll. What a nice career he's put together and Scutaro has found instant stardom in SFG at the age of 36.

Scutaro spent almost 10 years in the Minors and fought his way up as nothing was handed to him. He became a starter at the age of 28 and had to figure out how to take his walks while hitting for average and that's what Scutaro got known for as a high OBP scrappy 2nd baseman that would give you everything he had. I think it comes from fighting your way on to the team and expecting no guarantees back in return.

It's funny that a couple of the same people that are big Espi supporters bashed Scutaro when he was batting under Mendoza on April 9th. There's a reason why you don't make too much of a sample size of 8 games. He was slashing .337/.382/.442/.824 during the Nats series. Did I mention he will be 38 years old later this year?

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Mac Guire said...
Joe Seamhead reminded me of Espinosa's 2011 interview about Lombo call-up.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/nationals-watch/2011/sep/8/lombardozzi-gets-first-major-league-start-espinosa/

Yes, this guy is a selfish and stupid schmuck who cares only about his playing time and puts himself ahead of the team. Looking back, this guy shoulda been replaced by Lombo back in 2011, when he started stinking.

May 25, 2013 2:16 PM


I thought you were being facetious until I read that interview. I remember that interview now and it didn't mean much at the time. Now it does. It's more to what people talk about Espinosa's "sense of entitlement"

Also interesting the feedback at the time:

"As for Lombardozzi, he hit over .300 at both Double-A and Triple-A this season, and it’s difficult to find a Nationals official who doesn’t rave about him both offensively and defensively."

BxJaycobb said...

Question for Mark. Why can't we revoke Peric's blogger access to this site? Is there anything wrong with disallowing hostile people who curse at others and call people offensive names from participation? I don't care all that much personally because I literally skip past most of his posts when i see the bells of death tolling "p. e. r. i....".. but why not ask? Christmas would come 6 months early.

JamesFan said...

Give Lombo his shot. Let him play 25 straight so we can make a real assessment. Espi had his run and it did not turn out so well. Defense-only secondbasemen are a dime a dozen.

JamesFan said...

One more point. If Espi plays at Nats Park now and goes O-fer again and again, he's going to get booed big-time. All it would take is a Nats loss when he whiffs to kill a rally. They best put him aside for awhile.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

JamesFan, first you asked for 20 games, now you want 25 games? ;)

Lombo will be lucky to get 5 games.

baseballswami said...

One more thing-- last week the usually buttoned up ALR spoke about Danny on camera very frankly, saying he just refused to believe it is mental, just keeps looking at video and going to the cage. I was surprised. Last night the very same ALR made quite a long speech about Lombo- don 't know if you heard it, but obvious respect for him. I never, ever remember Adam talking about teammates so candidly or saying so much. If you listened to both interviews, there was quite a difference in tone. How do you think you would feel if a young player who won't listen and is not performing just seems to have a free pass. This seems to be a good clubhouse, but if you follow as obsessively as I do, don't you get a feeling about things from watching interactions every day?. Maybe our impressions of him are actually not wrong or unfair. He is very talented and I do not wish him ill, but I am an educator and sometimes there are young people who just seem to have to do things the hard way. I get that read on Espi that he is his own worst enemy.

baseballswami said...

Ok, enough of this-- what do we know about Kobernus and will he play much?

BxJaycobb said...

I'm posting the Espinosa quote from the article from 2011 here because it's THAT arrogant and obnoxious:
“I’m not going to give up my spot just to help someone,” Espinosa said then. “I won’t do that. … If that’s what happens, that’s what happens. I hope that doesn’t happen.
Asked about the possibility of sitting to give experience to others, Espinosa was emphatic about the work he and Desmond had put in.
“I think we need the opportunity to finish our years,” he said. “We’ve worked too hard, and we’ve played every single game. We’re two young ballplayers. It’s not like we’re two older guys that are on the way out or something.
“No one’s talked to us and said that that’s what we’re going to do. I can’t speak for Ian, but the way I feel is that we’ve worked too hard and spent every day working together for someone to come up in September and all of a sudden for us to take the backseat. It’d be different if Desmond and I were 35 and 36 years old, huge difference.”

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Just wonderin' said...

A Nats version of the Tinkers-Evers-Chance relationship?

Unknown said...

Ghost, I'm sorry for being facetious, but I really don't like Espinosa. I still can't stop thinking that the Nats coulda won the NLDS if Espinosa had not been there in the lineup. A few more hits here and there at clutch times, and one add-on run or more in Game 5 coulda made the difference. If I were him, I woulda taken myself out of the game because it was so clear then being in the lineup with the injury would not have helped the team win. This guy is so selfish and only cares about his playing time.
In contrast, Lombo does every little thing he is asked to do to help the team win. I love that type of player. I think he can be a Scutaro for the Nats.

baseballswami said...

So the no drama Nats have had plenty of it this past week. This has nothing to do with who is a good guy or not, but this whole 2 or 3 days rest for Danny just does not sound like a good idea medically or baseball wise. I think those days are just to let the swelling to go down enough for a better exray. Then if the bone looks healed I bet you they run him right back out there instead of letting it really settle down. If he goes on the DL for two weeks then he can do a rehab start or two to work out his hitting stroke. Sounds like a better deal for him, too, no? If he was only going to sit out a couple if games, would they make the Kobernus move ?

nats guy said...

Swami,

I hope you are right about RZim's shoulder. I hurt my shoulder playing at 2B for University of Maryland and my throwing never came back. Hitting either. The follow though Right or left is extremely painful. Hopefully because of better medical techniques he will be OK. I'm just doubtful.

RZim plays a power position and while he could become a decent singles hitter I don't think thats what they want at 3B or 1B. He is too big to play 2B. I think Washington fans owe him a lot for what he sacrificed last year. I just hope it wasn't everything.

I would just like these players to be a little more honest about their injuries. If they are hurt get fixed. You are only hurting your team and yourself by hiding injuries.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Mac Guire, I have no problem with what you said. At first I thought you were posting a glowing article about "Good Danny" and was speaking facetiously.

Some people look in the mirror and see something more than everyone else and Danny is one of those guys. He started on fire in 2011 and once the league figured him out he hasn't been close to even serviceable with a bat from the left-side.

I don't like guys with a sense of entitlement unless you have earned it. Espi has never shown good baseball smarts and is a bench player at best IMO or a starter on a team like Houston or the 2008 Nats. Not on this team. Kelly Johnson should've been on Rizzo's list of Free Agents in the off-season if he didn't have this love affair with Espinosa. Is it Espinosa or this payback to Scott Boras, you have to wonder.

Time for Rizzo to do what he is supposedly good at and that's evaluating talent like a scout.

nats guy said...

By the way Lombardozzi reminds me very much of Jamie Carrol. He was a major loss. You have to have players like him. They are worth everything.

JamesFan said...

Ghost,

3-4 gets Lombo an extra five games:)

baseballswami said...

Game post :)

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

baseballswami said...

this whole 2 or 3 days rest for Danny just does not sound like a good idea medically or baseball wise. I think those days are just to let the swelling to go down enough for a better exray. Then if the bone looks healed I bet you they run him right back out there instead of letting it really settle down.


If it's a few days rest it will just go to my conspiracy theory that this whole undisclosed injury was a farce. Come on, it's been 40 days. Maybe it's a new injury like Mattheus.

The whole thing is stinky. If it's Davey's love affair with Espi then it's Rizzo's responsibility to break them up. It was bad enough playing him in the post-season with that 1-15 series and now it's just more of the same.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

nats guy said...
By the way Lombardozzi reminds me very much of Jamie Carrol. He was a major loss. You have to have players like him. They are worth everything.

May 25, 2013 3:41 PM


Exactly, I said that at 12:06. One of my favorite players.

DWS said...

Maybe the GM is realizing that favorites don't play in the majors. Perhaps he's seen the light. Who knows, as long as they put the best team available on any given night on the field. And if somebody already posted this out of the blue suggestion, sorry.

NatsLady said...

From 2010 (I won't say who)

Desmond is not the answer. He's a short term stop-gap measure. He is NOT good defensively and isn't much of a hitter. He will bounce around the majors for a decade as one team after another is seduced by his "potential" but will never be a real starting SS on any team that finishes above .500. The Nats don't happen to have anyone else right now, so we will have to grin and bear it until the off-season. THEN Rizzo needs to fix it by getting a real SS.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

NatsLady, Is Les still posting here? You could spend hours going through poor assessments of players on this team by past posters.

JSLSais said...

I see a lot of posts here for and against Lombo/Espi.

Folks please pay close attention to Lombo's fielding and throwing. He is slow to the ball and slow to the throw. He does not have the range that Espi has. Espi can't hit--healthy or not healthy.

If this team is built around power hitting, then having Espi in the lineup makes better sense than Lombo because you can count on the other 7 players. And every now and then Espi will go on a streak. But the reality still remains, Lombo isn't in the same category as Espi when it comes to defensive acumen. And you cannot fix something you don't have. Lombo is a good utility player someone every team would love to have on their bench but not necessarily someone you want to have on the field every day.

Baseball isn't just about hitting but one would never know it by reading all of these posts.

NatsLady said...

Well, here is a current poster (this is from 2011). What gets me is not the content, but the air of CERTAINTY. If it's the same JD, I usually like his posts, as thoughtful and moderate.

JD said...
I haven't read anything yet which contradicts my call to try Lombardozzi at 2nd alongside Espinosa at short sooner rather than later. It is my opinion that Desmond ain't the answer at short; utility infielder maybe everyday player - not on a championship team.

NatsLady said...

Ghost, yes, I could. I'm not usually one for dragging up past quotes; however, I'm just a little tired of the trashing of a player who is working as hard as he can to improve, who has a bundle of talent, and, as far as I can see, hasn't done anything seriously wrong--like take steroids, commit crimes, etc.

NatsLady said...

And boy, as I was reading, some of the stuff that turned out to be UNBELIEVABLY, LAUGHABLY WRONG. I had not discovered this site in 2010 or 2011... But a little humility, people. And, mostly the same people who are calm and reasonable now were calm and reasonable then.

Ghost Of Steve M. said...

Yah NatsLady, there were quite a few calls for Espi to SS and dump Desi. It was more the people after the 2011 season that surprised me in their Espi to SS and dump Desi efforts.

As I wrote to those same posters, Davey's work with Desi in the last month and a half of 2011 really paid off.

Holden Baroque said...

Another interesting point in that June 30, 2010, post NL linked to, was the back-and-forth on Desmond, especially DC Wonk, pretty much alone in that discussion, defending Desmond's possibilities.

jeffwx said...

Peric, In my mind, I don't think written attacks is helping to make your point. It may be better to stick to the facts that you bring across to get your ideas through. Your argument will carry much more weight by omitting the following lines that occurred within a 20 min period :
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I think you need the money for a brain transplant and maybe another pair of eyes.

Might the moronic brain that opens its pie hole whenever Zim makes an errant throw ... he's not injured now is he? Yeah right moron.

You all know absolutely zilch about baseball that is clear

Because that is what you are saying moron.

W-R-O-N-G as usual moron.
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One thing that a blog facilitator should demand is respect from his participators. Continuing to Permit mean spirited behavior not only looks poorly on the blog leaders but also the organizations which they belong to. This behavior has been going on for years and therefore, wonder if the insider actually condones these comments.
I will be forced to write to the employers of the NI facilitators if nothing can be done to moderate this kind of interaction.

Less Platu said...

Observation of Peric

While usually agreeing with Peric's opinions, and there are many -- any disagreement in the slightest brings out the ugly in Peric.

He becomes insulting, belittling and quite a Bully. He is getting tiresome.

I, for one, would be glad to sign a petition banning the rude and bullying behavior of anyone here -- STARTING WITH PERIC.

peric said...

yes you are right that I focused on only one blogger's post and that is misleading and unfair.

And Jeffwx? You woke up a troll named Less Platu.

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