Jason Donald and Andy Tracy in the bigs

by PhillyBruin on Jul 29, 2008 3:00 PM EDT

I have been wondering several things. First, why not bring Donald up eventually and play him at 3rd? We rave about Feliz's glove but if you put a good SS at 3rd he will be pretty good as well. He can hit and he can play defense.

Secondly, completely unrelated to Jason Donald, but why not entertain the idea of bringing up Andy Tracy to start at 1B when a lfty starts. Ryan Howard sucks against them and Tracy is hitting .295/.374/.547 agains them with an OPS of .921. Once a righty comes in from the pen, put Howard back in the game. Seems like a logical idea. Maybe I am missing something?

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because tracy is hitting .295 against AAA lefties.

by Bilzo on Jul 29, 2008 3:13 PM EDT reply actions

Donald is at the Olympics, and has never played 3B (though they really should try him there). It’d be nice if he could replace Bruntlett, at some point.

As for Tracy, he’s a 35 year old career minor leaguer who can only really play 3B, and even though he’s hitting lefties well this year, he’s a lefty himself so it’s possible his numbers are a fluke. We all know Taguchi is a waste, but they’d want to replace him with someone more athletic, versatile, and right handed.

by bugbear on Jul 29, 2008 3:22 PM EDT reply actions

I meant can only play 1B, not 3B. And he’s 34, not 35.

by bugbear on Jul 29, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Still

thats better than ryan howards .189/.250/.361 OPS .611 against major league lefties. Tracy would for sure be better against lefties than Howard. If not, its worth a try, Howard is doing exactly how I would do aganst lefties in the majors, nothing! I know he can only play 1B but thats th epoint, plus he would be a much better player off the bench than Taguchi. I think its worth a try.

by PhillyBruin on Jul 29, 2008 3:25 PM EDT reply actions

I’m not saying it’s a terrible idea, but the only indication he can hit lefties is 95 AB this year in AAA. There are plenty of options more palatable than Taguchi, and Tracy might be one of them, but certainly not the best use of a roster spot.

by bugbear on Jul 29, 2008 4:16 PM EDT reply actions

also, howard has been MUCH better against lefties in all his others years in the bigs. no need to cause all of the fuss of making howard a part-time player when he is likely going to get better

by char6587 on Jul 29, 2008 9:21 PM EDT reply actions

I believe there’s a quote from a a phillies mouth piece earlier this season regarding jason donald and trying him at 3rd base and they dismissed it because he doesn’t fit their idea of a 3rd baseman.

I’m sure he’d suck much worse than bell, nunez and feliz have done since rolen left.

by jemagee on Jul 29, 2008 9:39 PM EDT reply actions