To shuffle. That is the english translation of Barajas. To shuffle, or to mix it up. This is exactly what Gillick has done with the signing of Rod Barajas. Our newly shuffled Phillies lineup is now a little more confusing.
First, we got rid of Conine. All the reports throughout the winter had Conine penciled in as our right fielder, right? And I wasn't complaining. Conine has always been someone that will perform. Past his prime but still quite capable, I'm sure Conine knew his role on the team and would fit in nicely with Utley and Howard doing the bulk of the work. This obviously isn't the case.
Second is the odd man out, Chris Coste. Last year's feel good story of a 33 year old rookie who finally made it, and performed superbly down the stretch is now, just another story. I'm not sure if the plan is to keep Coste around as a third catcher and use him to pinch hit. If it is the case, it is not real efficient. He does play some first base right? So maybe he's our utility guy, and our pinch hitter. I hope he sticks around, he seems like a Philly type of ball player. The type of ball player the city will love as long as he's wearing red and white.
And finally, where does this leave our outfield? Burrell, Rowand and Victorino from left to right respectively. OK. That is not that bad. I guess we did kind of have a log jam out there. And I guess this means Burrell is with us for a few more months. I think we can put up with that for a little while longer. We have Ryan, Chase and Jimmy to fill in the holes.
And now finally, Barajas. Yes, he's a name I knew. It was few years ago with the Rangers when I remember seeing his name amongst league leaders in HRs and RBIs really early in the season. He's a free swinger who hits the long ball. It appears that he's a 20 homer, 60 RBI guy. In the friendly confines of Citizen's Bank Park, that could easily be 25 and 70. Not bad. Good job Gillick! He's also here as a mentor to Carlos Ruiz, our catcher in waiting.
Let's see how it works out.
First, we got rid of Conine. All the reports throughout the winter had Conine penciled in as our right fielder, right? And I wasn't complaining. Conine has always been someone that will perform. Past his prime but still quite capable, I'm sure Conine knew his role on the team and would fit in nicely with Utley and Howard doing the bulk of the work. This obviously isn't the case.
Second is the odd man out, Chris Coste. Last year's feel good story of a 33 year old rookie who finally made it, and performed superbly down the stretch is now, just another story. I'm not sure if the plan is to keep Coste around as a third catcher and use him to pinch hit. If it is the case, it is not real efficient. He does play some first base right? So maybe he's our utility guy, and our pinch hitter. I hope he sticks around, he seems like a Philly type of ball player. The type of ball player the city will love as long as he's wearing red and white.
And finally, where does this leave our outfield? Burrell, Rowand and Victorino from left to right respectively. OK. That is not that bad. I guess we did kind of have a log jam out there. And I guess this means Burrell is with us for a few more months. I think we can put up with that for a little while longer. We have Ryan, Chase and Jimmy to fill in the holes.
And now finally, Barajas. Yes, he's a name I knew. It was few years ago with the Rangers when I remember seeing his name amongst league leaders in HRs and RBIs really early in the season. He's a free swinger who hits the long ball. It appears that he's a 20 homer, 60 RBI guy. In the friendly confines of Citizen's Bank Park, that could easily be 25 and 70. Not bad. Good job Gillick! He's also here as a mentor to Carlos Ruiz, our catcher in waiting.
Let's see how it works out.
