nykgeneralmanager wrote:Why would we send Duncan down, a guy who has helped the team and has become the right handed pinch hitter in favor of Cairo. Cairo isn't even the utility guy anymore, he is the BACKUP utility guy. He has no role on this team. Suddenly we're going to hurt the team by sending down Duncan just for 3 weeks just to save a BACKUP utility guy?
Duncan doesn't need to get at bats in AAA, he isn't a top prospect who has to play everyday. He is a right handed slugger. Like you said, his role is matchups. If Giambi gets a day off against a tough lefty, Duncan will DH. That alone is a hell of a lot more than we will be using Cairo for. We're going into the biggest stretch of the season where we play Cleveland 3 times, Detroit 8 times, the Angels 3 times, and the Red Sox 3 times. Please don't even try to tell me that Cairo can provide more than Duncan when we need it most.
I agree that Cairo was squeezed out of his role here, no question. His role at this point is as a pinch runner or to spell guys late in games. With no speed on our bench, that's a role I'm OK with Cairo in. That said, I'm for keeping as many assets as we can away from other teams until the offseason. He's not Babe Ruth or anything, but Cairo is a quality, veteran role player that can be effective on a team looking for a utility guy. I'd rather he sit on our expanded roster as an insurance policy and not make the post-season roster than get picked up by a rival.
As far as Duncan, a player like that could benefit from more at bats so he can improve his plate discipline, at bats he'll be seeing fewer and fewer of as these guys keep coming back off of injuries. He's not going to get any more patient taking BP and cheerleading in the dugout. We already have a team full of sluggers and the only one on our whole roster that he'd be a pinch hitter for is Andy Phillips - even then you're swapping a righty for a righty, so I don't see him in that role as much.
I like Duncan and I like Cairo. I can see both sides of the argument, especially with the stretch we're coming up on and the matchup possibilities with Duncan. I just worry about losing veteran talent that plays the game the right way to playoff rivals for nothing, that's all.
