In This Case, A Threesome Is No Good

By Tracy Coppola
Posted Thursday, July 5, 2007

Easley, Valentin, and Gotay are all sharing time at second. How can any player get into a rhythm when he is only playing one or two games a week? Ideally, it would be nice to have an everyday second baseman, but neither Easley, Valentin, nor Gotay are standouts at this point in their careers. The Mets should utilize one guy against LHP, and one guy against RHP. For the most part I feel Willie is doing just that, but adding a third guy to the mix is redundant. Two of these three guys in my opinion are doing the same thing.

Let's take a closer look at the candidates.

Damion Easley (38)

2007
8 HR .255 Avg. .791 OPS
vs. LHP - .322 Avg.
vs. RHP - .209 Avg.

FPCT - .979

Career
vs. LHP .261 Avg. .764 OPS
vs. RHP .247 Avg. .722 OPS

FPCT - .982

Jose Valentin (38)

2007
3 HR .259 Avg. .723 OPS
vs. LHP - .295 Avg.
vs. RHP - .242 Avg.

FPCT - .979

Career
vs. LHP .211 Avg. .599 OPS
vs. RHP .253 Avg. .818 OPS

FPCT - .962

Ruben Gotay (24)

2007
3 HR .306 Avg. .858 OPS
vs. LHP - .125 Avg.
vs. RHP - .333 Avg.

FPCT - 1.000

Career
vs. LHP .220 Avg. .589 OPS
vs. RHP .258 Avg. .700 OPS

FPCT - .983

From a defensive perspective, all three of these guys are about the same. From an offensive perspective, Easley clearly should be starting against LHP. He hits for a higher average and has significantly more power than the others. Valentin and Gotay, however, share pretty similar stats. But the main difference is age. Valentin is at the end of his career. Gotay is young, agile, and a second baseman by trade. Why not begin to develop Gotay into an everyday second baseman? I understand Valentin had a tremendous year last season and is a leader in the clubhouse, but at this point he is not adding any value.

My analysis is brief, but by comparing their current stats for to 2007 to their career stats, and after watching them play so far this year, I strongly feel we should be giving Gotay more playing time. At this point the Mets have nothing to lose. The team's on-and-off-again slumps and sloppy play indicate a need for change. I am not suggesting that pulling Valentin out of our threesome at second is the solution, but a little consistency can't hurt.

What do you think? Tell me what I am not seeing in Valentin...
 

Check out Tracy's blog at: www.DoMeWright.com