Could Marcus Thames be any worse defensively?
Monday, April 26, 2010 at 1:06 am by SJK
Look at the jump (lack of) he gets on this ball. The broadcast has enough time to switch cameras before he takes off.
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7658725
Tags: game 18, highlights, thames
No…. He can’t, He has all the grace of roid-less Jose Canseco
Hey, at least he’s not Brad Hawpe.
That was atrocious. Even Damon makes that play.
Alfonso Soriano has been giving him tips on how to effectively play LF. I can see the tips are paying off.
I can’t believe Wood did crush that hanger out of the park . What a horrible pitch by Javy.
All that being said….Thames is awful. I wish they signed a guy who can play every day in LF this offseason. I understand they didn’t want Damon, but this platoon crap is awful.
But hes soooo dominant against lefties!!!!11!!1!!1! And hes batting .500! He’ll get the platoon batting title!!11!!
HA! The platoon batting title.
Maybe Thames for LHP DH?
No, he couldn’t.
But that’s not really the right question.
The proper question is “Is Thames bat good enough to offset his glove?”
So far, the answer is yes.
When his bat cools down, they should stop playing him. But so far, the Yankee LF platoon has been very effective.
Plays like yesterday are memorable and evoke emotional responses (rightfully so), but that’s not how they should make decisions.
It’s wierd that everyone is mocking the idea that he hits lefties, but he IS raking right now.
I agree with Collin Curtis – Thames should DH against lefties… thats about it. i dont want to see him in the OF again.
How about Thames for “released because he’s garbage and will no way keep up this type of offensive success against LHP all year!?” My head still hurts from Cashman’s decision to get him and Winn but not Reed Johnson. Ugh.
That makes sense: release him because he’s hit so well so we have to anticipate future regression!!
Thames does have a history of hitting LHers. They just need to pick their spots more carefully: more pinch hitting or DHing, less time in the OF.
Winn will be gone by July. I’ll grant you that.
Steve – there’s no way to reach that definitive conclusion this early in the season. And the more appropriate question is whether Thames bat/glove > Gardner everyday. That’s up for debate.
I just really think it makes sense to make Gardner the every day LFer at this point. But of course that makes sense so it won’t happen.
Infield hits or outfield hits…a hit is a hit…and a single with that guy is as good as a double..so I back playing Gardner everyday…at least for now.
Agreed. It’s too early to say.
But the fact is that Thames has done nothing but hit so far. If he continues to hit, then maybe the platoon should continue. But you have to accept that he’s going to give back some of the offense with his glove.
Or, maybe you decide that you can’t live with his glove, and Gardner plays every day. That decision will come with more observation, it’s still April.
Either way, my point was that people are reacting as if Thames is taking AB’s from Gardner and NOT hitting. Or they are mocking the fact that it’s such a small sample, and he will surely not hit .500 all year. No sh*t. But until that happens, you ride it out.
Please… Thames has nothing to do with why NY lost this game. Javy was ineffective and Marte, even when told by an indecisive Girardi that Morales would be swinging 3-0, Marte throws him a cookie.
Puh – leeze.
Thames had nothing to do with losing the game? You must be batshit crazy, dude.
I think the loss falls on Javy, Joe G, Thames, and Marte in that order. They all share some of the blame, but certainly it’s not just one guy. At least it’s not a game down the stretch or in the playoffs. Rather have this happen now then in the playoffs.
Nothing scares me more than the thought of Thames playing LF in a crucial game.
I rest my case.
Thames has the 9th best WAR on the team. You can argue that Thames is the 4th best hitter this year in his small sample size. He is also according to FanGraphs the 3rd worst fielder on the team. (Cano and Jeter are worse) (I guess they factor in playing time?)
As of now Thames has a URZ/150 of -148.7.
Girardi seems content with switching certain people in and out of the lineup and even positions (since I’ve heard that Cervelli regularly takes infield practice and may play 3B a little in the future). If you want Thames’ bat in the lineup, but you don’t want to sacrifice Gardner’s glove or NJ’s bat (or eye), why not put Thames in RF for a game here and there? As bad as he is defensively, its impossible to be that much worse than Swisher out there. Besides, wasn’t it barely a year ago when we thought Swisher was gonna be a platoon OFer with Xavier Nady? (I’m not saying use Thames as a full-time platoon out there, just once in a while wouldn’t kill, and this way you don’t have 2 sub-par defenders in OF in the same day.)
good thing cashman didnt bring damon back to lf now. he got that gold glover thames to play