What to do with JPA on his off days?

Kapono · Post #1 » by **Kapono** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 4:21 am

Molina is slated to catch every Morrow and Drabek game. Should Arencibia DH those 2 out of 5 games so we don't lose his bat on the bench?

The thing is if Molina gets injured in a game and Arencibia is forced to move to catcher, we lose the DH spot and our pitchers have to bat.

Also we lose on building Rivera's value.

But do we really want to keep JPA's bat on the bench every 2 out of 5 games?

baulderdash77 · Post #2 » by **baulderdash77** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 4:28 am

I think he should DH at least 1 of the 2 games he's going to miss. It seems like a waste to not get him in the game.

pierro · Post #3 » by **pierro** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 4:56 am

Yup... he should be DH'd, especially if our plan is to really see what he can do in a full season.

He is potentially a future 1B/DH anyway, since d'Arnaud is the favoured catcher of the future

SharoneWright · Post #4 » by **SharoneWright** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 6:07 am

manicure, pedicure, haircut, and blowdry.

Randle McMurphy · Post #5 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 7:05 am

Yeah, I'd just play him at DH for one of the days.

Post #6 » by **YogiStewart** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 11:54 am

ticklefest!!!

J-Roc · Post #7 » by **J-Roc** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 1:53 pm

Alan Ashby was saying the other day he doesn't agree with 2 of 5 starts not going to JPA. Not sure if he sits completely now, but if he proves to have the bat, they could easily give him the extra start per week. He has to develop as a true everyday catcher at some point.

evilRyu · Post #8 » by **evilRyu** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 2:01 pm

speaking of JPA, just wanted the pleasure of seeing him lead the league in HR's.. I go to: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/stats, and his name isn't even listed.. WTF? You click on "complete stats", and then you see him..

Randle McMurphy · Post #9 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 8:22 pm

evilRyu wrote:speaking of JPA, just wanted the pleasure of seeing him lead the league in HR's.. I go to: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/stats, and his name isn't even listed.. WTF? You click on "complete stats", and then you see him..

They want to keep the Canadian teams down.

flatjacket1 · Post #10 » by **flatjacket1** » Sat Apr 2, 2011 10:50 pm

Don't jump the gun, he had a great game offensively and defensively he did okay.

3/5 starts is good for his development, it gives him rest in between and takes some pressure off. Don't forget he had a poor spring and will more than likely go through rough patches though spring.

JP in the minors: 29% CS percentage
Jose Molina in majors: 41% CS percentage

Add in the fact Drabek is young and not very experienced, pairing him up with JP would be a disaster. Even against teams with slow players the game would be turned into a track meet.

I think if he does see any additional at bats it should be at other positions (DH) but at catcher isn't feasible. Hes a young player with a bright future but unless he gets better behind the plate he won't stay there.

Homer Jay · Post #11 » by **Homer Jay** » Sun Apr 3, 2011 12:25 am

If Molina gets hurt, then JPA would have to move to catcher from DH, and the MLB rule is if the DH takes the field, we lose the DH and the pitcher must bat. I don't know if the manager thinks that is worth the trade-off of having JPA over Rivera, Nix or E5 playing DH.

lijon912 · Post #12 » by **lijon912** » Sun Apr 3, 2011 1:33 pm

I was wondering, is JPA only getting scheduled offdays on drabek and morrow? He will catch Romero, Cecil, #5 starter on most days?

evilRyu · Post #13 » by **evilRyu** » Sun Apr 3, 2011 1:41 pm

lijon912 wrote:I was wondering, is JPA only getting scheduled offdays on drabek and morrow? He will catch Romero, Cecil, #5 starter on most days?

from what i heard/read, that seems to be the case.

Lateral Quicks · Post #14 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Sun Apr 3, 2011 3:23 pm

I don't think you'll see Arencibia DH unless he's consistently amazing AND Encarnacion lays an egg. He can be used as a pinch hitter and backup at catcher and first base during his off days. He might get a start or two at first during the year to spell Lind, but I doubt it.

satyr9 · Post #15 » by **satyr9** » Sun Apr 3, 2011 3:28 pm

If in June or July he's hitting at a high enough rate to warrant DHing then fine, but I have no problem letting him have 2 of 5 off. Hopefully he'll be sitting and learning/studying. Sit close enough to listen to Jose and his pitchers. Pick Don and Dwayne's brains whenever you can and watch pitchers like crazy. Maybe getting up 3-4 times a game would make that watching more productive, I don't really know, but I don't have a problem trying to work him in still.