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Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:32 pm
by LittleOzzy
No one would be surprised if Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston opted to move rookie Travis Snider higher in the lineup, not with the keen eye the left fielder has displayed at the plate or the monstrous home runs he has launched.
Gaston is not quite ready to shift Snider out of the ninth spot of the batting order, though. Toronto's lineup has been firing on all cylinders in the season's first two weeks, so the manager does not believe a change is necessary right now. That makes Snider a powerful option to have in the last spot.
"I know you guys are saying, 'When are you going to move him up?'" Gaston said. "But he's doing fine down there. I'll leave him there for a while. If he continues to hit, and you've got guys in front of him that aren't hitting as well as he is, then you move him up. But right now, everybody is pretty much doing their thing."
Gaston has said since the early stages of Spring Training that he doesn't want to put too much pressure on Snider, either. The left fielder is only 21 years old and is only in his fourth season with the Blue Jays organization. Gaston believes hitting ninth can help Snider ease into things in his first full season in the Majors.
http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/ar ... p&c_id=tor
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:05 pm
by TorontoSF
No reason to move him right now, with the offensive clicking like it is. Don't fix what isn't broken.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:07 pm
by Relentless88
TorontoSF wrote:No reason to move him right now, with the offensive clicking like it is. Don't fix what isn't broken.
+1, good to have some pop at the bottom of the lineup.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:12 pm
by youngLion
TorontoSF wrote:No reason to move him right now, with the offensive clicking like it is. Don't fix what isn't broken.
+1 As long as the team is dropping 16 and 19 hit games then there's no reason to change a thing.
I have been surprised by the number of games that Snider has spent on the bench though. I think by mid season he'll be starting every day and hitting in the 7th spot.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:42 pm
by BasketballAbyss
Leave him in the 9th spot forever I say. He'll be the greatest 9th hitter of all time I tells ya!
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:47 pm
by J.Kim
They need to get him out there vs. Left Handed Pitching. He can't got a full season on a platoon role vs opposition hitting - he may get in to bad habits...
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:54 pm
by Alfred
I'm pretty sure that Cito is just bringing Snider along slowly. He's letting him get used to being great at the plate (against righties) to build up his confidence, which has worked really well so far IMO.
From what we've seen, Snider looks like one of the best hitters on the team. That's probably because he's not batting against lefties. Maybe keep it like this a little longer, and then give him the opportunity to hit against a weaker southpaw.
Keep in mind that he's still technically a rookie.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 1:49 am
by J-Roc
Bottom line is wait till we start losing before making moves. And we will start losing eventually. It gives Cito an option of how to shake things up.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 6:56 am
by seanied
Man is he ever hot. He's had 8 hits, only one single. Four doubles, three HRs.
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:45 pm
by The Duke
Keep him down there... especially if the guys ahead of him are doing fairly well.
When they go on a slum... its a very easy change, to change the tempo for Cito
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 7:59 pm
by righteous015
yeah, scutaro and hill are both doing really well. (if only rios could tear off a page from their books) lots more rbis for them and until he really gets that home run stride going, id like him down there.
Franchise FTW!!
Re: Snider staying in ninth spot for now
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:54 pm
by evilRyu
I think Rios should be moved down, not because he deserves a demotion, but I think we should place him in less pressure situations to get out of his slump... he'd be an awesome #3 hitter, but he's not there just yet..
As for Travis Snider, it's working out so far. The batters in front of him are getting on base, so he does have his RBI opportunities