It’s debatable how much of an impact the last two have on total wins. And his hitting splits actually favor LHP this year. Plus there are expectations of power from a firstbasemen that Casey will never live up to. Having said that, I still believe Casey has a place as a valuable contributor on this team.

Given that his value is tied to BA much more than other players such as Sheffield, Monroe, Thames, etc, the fact that he struggled getting hits in April was much more detrimental and pronounced than the other players who also struggled to hit safely in that same timeframe. But he has hit very well since then. Basically, I think going forward he will hit more like he did in May than April and end up with an OPS a bit below 800, around league average. With the other hitters on this team that is satisfactory production. While the offensive production may be below average for a 1B, I’m not convinced the other internal options would be any better vs. RHP and I don’t think there is any need to abandon Casey at this point.

I know a lot of draft pundits had him as a steal at 10, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be wrong and that I can’t long for the thought of having Colby Rasmus coming up through the ranks.

We’ll ignore Upton since he was taken No. 1 overall, but let’s focus on Jay Bruce (No. 12 overall) and Colby Rasmus (No. 28 overall).

Maybin has 35 BB’s and 58 K’s in 177 AB’s in High-A ball. He’s got 7 doubles and 3 triples this year. firstinning.com has him listed for 7.9 runs created/27 this year.

Rasmus has 22 BB’s and only 32 K’s in 180 AB’s in Double-A. He’s about 8 months older then Maybin. He’s hit 10 HR’s and 20 doubles in Double-A baseball. 8.4 RC/27

Jay Bruce has 19 BB’s and 54 K’s in 205 AB’s in High-A ball. He’s also got 10 HR’s, 15 doubles, 5 triples. Jay Bruce is 1 day younger then Maybin. 8.2 RC/27.

Now, their GB/LD/FB splits:
Maybin: 66/12/32
Rasmus: 36/32/62
Bruce: 65/30/50

They all elevate the ball much more then Maybin. And what’s especially glaring is how much more advanced Rasmus has been. He’s excelling in a higher level and will be in Triple-A soon and possibly be in the Cardinals OF by the end of the year. I guess I’m less ‘concerned’ with Maybin and more ‘bummed’ that those others are excelling (bruce, mostly in the power numbers) then Maybin is. Right now the others seem to be building towards reaching their potential and Maybin looks to be just still potentially good to great.

And I didn’t touch on Jacoby Ellsbury who could’ve been the leadoff hitter of the future which would’ve let Granderson hit lower in the order where, at his peak, I think he could/should be.

T Smith – I’ve actually refrained on the Casey bashing for the bulk of the season because he was doing about what I expected him to do and I’d already said my piece on the subject. I wrote about it now because of what Leyland said which is newsworthy. The title of this article came directly from a Leyland quote.

Billfer: I do see your side and part of me is like that. But for the 6th pick in the draft, I don’t like what I see. Especially when other HS hitters like Justin Upton, Jay Bruce, and Colby Rasmus are out performing Maybin. And it’s not even close. Especially when you factor in that Bruce and Rasmus put a lot more balls in play. I hope I wind up wrong on this, though.

Dave Wagner: Yes, Kevin Whelan is DEALING in the minors. But, we gave up him, Clagget and Humberto Sanchez. At least 2 of those pitchers would have to turn into outstanding pitchers for me to call getting a potential HOFer that affects every spot in our order both on and off the field. Even if Whelan goes on to be a great reliever, I’ll call this at the VERY LEAST a “fair” trade.

William: Whelan’s great, but he could just as easily get called up and flop for Detroit or NY. And, we’ve got Dallas Trahern who is a groundball machine. We’ll be okay. I still think we got the better of the deal.

Mark P: I agree with that article on Maybin. He’s got terrible GB/LD/FB rates and that coupled with a sky-high K rate, I don’t like the way things look. Right now, he’s got great speed, a reportedly good arm, and is pounding everything into the turf. The only thing I can hope for is that he’s trying to pull everything and it’s just being rolled over on.

T Smith: Sheffield had a terrible April, but when he was hitting under .150 he still had an OBP of over .310. That’s remarkable and helped tons. Casey doesn’t have that. However, he is getting less playing time when he just started to hit.

Mike R. thanks for some perspective on Teixeira.

http://firstinning.com/content/200705106

I agree and I actually think Sheffield can play for a while–at least thru 2009.

but–and someone else pointed this out–Whelan was pretty damn good. I know know one could have predicted what has happened to the pen this year, but bullpen arms are a valuable commodity for us–moreso than starters, given the fact that we have a top notch rotation that will only get better when Miller is added in a year or so.

I basically agree with you, though–it was a good deal for us.

Sheffield immediately appealed the suspension, allowing him to keep playing while the two sides await a hearing on the issue. ”

Oh for god’s sake

I’d love to get Teixeira but don’t want to pay what it would take to get him. He’s awesome, but the Tigers don’t need awesome. Average would be perfectly acceptable.

Mike – I understand your Maybin concerns, but I don’t think it’s fair to label him a slap hitter yet. At least I don’t have enough info to label him that. I don’t see the grounders he’s hitting so I don’t know if he’s hitting them well or not. I’d love to see more line drives, but I also see he’s improved his numbers from last year. Plus he seems to have extra base power to the opposite field.