LaHair possible Sexson replacement?
DMZ · May 9, 2008 at 4:40 pm · Filed Under Mariners
Bryan LaHair (1B-L) is not playing in tonight's Tacoma @ Iowa game, and he's on the 40-man, so there's a fair chance they'll be shipping him up to play first in Sexson's absence. It would require a move on the 25-man to get him there, but they could put Vidro on the 15-day retroactive to May 5th for his back, maybe even toss *him* to Tacoma on one of their patented fake DL assignments, and he'd be eligible to come back in a week. Or so.
Anyway, a LaHair move would be good, because it would mean the team realizes Cairo's not an option, but it would be bad because LaHair is not, his recent success aside, a particularly good player. If the other team can get on the phone to someone in the PCL who's seen him, he's probably going to be in trouble. And his defense is bad too. He's not a good prospect.
Anything can happen in a week's worth of games, though, and he's certainly better than Cairo.
Or they could just be giving him the day off.
Update: LaHair's weighted mean PECOTA forecast was .243/.295/.358, and PECOTA pretty much thinks he shouldn't ever face a lefty.
Update update: Sexson's appealing? What? I'm shocked he got away with six. You'd think this was a timing thing, but this seems like a good stretch to sit him. Is this right? Say it's not right.
38 Responses to "LaHair possible Sexson replacement?"
Go Felix on May 9th, 2008 4:52 pm
It's definitely worth a try. What's the worst that could happen? He goes 0-4 and doesn't drive in a run……….bring him up!! Plus he has potential for a spokesman job for a French hair regeneration clinic.
"It's not your LaHair, but we'll get you more LaHair".
Wow, lame……
Gomez on May 9th, 2008 4:52 pm
Allegedly, Richie is appealing the suspension and will continue playing until his appeal is decided upon, so I'm not so sure they're driving LaHair up I-5. I'd bank on a night off… though the last time I banked on a night off, WLAD and Clement were with the big club the next night.
And yeah, he would be pretty poor as an MLB 1B. I'm not sure he's an upgrade over Richie, or that he provides an upgrade over Cairo that a number of others couldn't provide.
Xteve X on May 9th, 2008 4:53 pm
Maybe it's a situation where the org thinks LaHair has finally 'paid his dues' and earned his trip to the show.
LaHair does seem to have serious problems with lefties but … the Sox don't really have any devastating LH pitching and he could hardly do worse than Cairo or Bloomwaste, (or heck, Sexson … that must have been humiliating to watch the replay and see how far away that pitch was) so for this series why not shake things up, I agree …
Dave on May 9th, 2008 4:54 pm
Just in case I haven't said it enough – LaHair sucks. It's not worth a try. He's terrible.
Steve Nelson on May 9th, 2008 4:55 pm
Or they send Clement back down for a stretch, to "take the pressure off him" and "give him a chance to get his feet back under him".
CCW on May 9th, 2008 4:55 pm
I came here prepared to argue that Lahair might be having a breakout, and look at his 75th percentile PECOTA, etc., etc., but man… he does really suck.
Norton is not great by any means, but I still think dropping him is some of the best evidence there is that the M's FO is incompetent. The Bedard trade… defensible on some grounds. Dropping Norton and hanging onto Cairo… indefensible.
currcoug on May 9th, 2008 4:56 pm
Anything is better than seeing Cairo in any capacity.
La Hair's 90th percentile Pecota, i.e. best case scenario: .267 / .337 / .427. Hey, that's arguably better than Sexson.
MedicineHat on May 9th, 2008 4:58 pm
hmm…Sexson appealed and since the M's go to NY again in 10 days I'm guessing that's when his appeal will be heard.
DMZ on May 9th, 2008 5:00 pm
I don't know why you'd appeal it now. The White Sox are a fine team for Richie to sit out against: lot of righties, in particular. You'd think they'd want him out now, rather than potentially the post-New York stretch.
Calderon on May 9th, 2008 5:02 pm
LaHair sucks just like the league figured out Jack Cust last year.
joser on May 9th, 2008 5:04 pm
Terrible is going more than two games without a run. Terrible is getting swept by the Orioles. Terrible is getting swept by the worst team in your division, the team that was the worst team in the league. Terrible is being the worst team in the league. On this team, terrible is replacement level. Terrible is the new normal.
We need a War on Terriblism. Unfortunately, they declared that war and this is the team that showed up.
red_devil20 on May 9th, 2008 5:05 pm
To follow up with Derek's idea, didn't Richie just miss a game to deal with a "personal issue?" If he accepted the suspension now, he'd have a week to go get that straightened out. It seems like a good time for him.
Since suspensions are handled through the players association, technically the team can't tell, or even ask, as player to appeal or not appeal.
As per espn.com
Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, cited Sexson for "violent and aggressive actions."
Sexson asked the players' association to appeal, and any suspension will be delayed until after a hearing.
The problem with him accepting the suspension now is that if the appeal results in a lowering of the penalty, they can't give him back games he already sat out.
SpokaneMsFan on May 9th, 2008 5:24 pm
Oh man Joser I love "War on Terriblism." Well played my friend well played.
CC03 on May 9th, 2008 5:25 pm
OT, but [deleted, ot]
Sexson is in the lineup at 1B batting 6th tonight.
scraps on May 9th, 2008 5:30 pm
It's a nice step forward in approach, but I don't have much confidence in McLaren's ability to choose the best nine.
You think we could ship Sexson to the White sox tonight for their Blow up doll? I hear she can really hit a screw ball.
Steve T on May 9th, 2008 5:40 pm
On this team, terrible is replacement level. Terrible is the new normal.
I love this so very, very much.
So, McLaren was worried about hurting people's feelings before now, to the point of deliberately putting what he believed to be an inferior squad on the field? Interesting admission.
Maybe he was putting the guys out there he thought were best, but he felt really bad about it, and now he's just not worrying.
Hey! I just wrote that up in the game thread. Don't be stealing my jokes.
Okay, I pushed out the game thread early because you people were pilfering out of it.
I'm confused by what other options McLaren has other the same lineup he trots out all the time. Does he really think WFB, Turbo, WFB-lite, Burke, or Joh present a better option that the guys we start on a regular basis?
This statement would have made a lot more sense when he was still marching Wilkerson, Joh, and Turbo out there everyday when they were not the best options because of Burke and Norton.
Now, the only way to construe this statement so that it makes any sense whatsoever is to ascribe to scraps' line of thinking that he isn't going to worry about it any longer.
msb on May 9th, 2008 5:51 pm
To follow up with Derek's idea, didn't Richie just miss a game to deal with a "personal issue?" If he accepted the suspension now, he'd have a week to go get that straightened out. It seems like a good time for him.
he missed the game because his son was in the hospital overnight, so not really something to get straightened out
Dang, I hadn't gotten to the game thread, so I didn't give Dave any credit for the "I don't care about feelings" line of thinking.
Thanks msb, I hadn't heard that bit of information.
Alright, I quit, it was Derek, not Dave.
justinh on May 9th, 2008 6:22 pm
Lahair is obviously not going to be great, judging by PECOTA, but it is much better than Cairo. Totally agree with Derek on Sexson's appeal. I was shocked he only got 6 games. I remember when Mac charged Esteban Yan at the Safe in 2001 or 2002 and he took the helmet out then too. In that case it was a good move to throw your helmet, Yan was a beast. I believe Mac got a 8 game suspension for that. Richie was lucky.
psquared on May 9th, 2008 6:23 pm
According to Condotta in Bakers blog:
It is unclear when the appeal will be heard, but likely soon — unlike the old days, appeals no longer have to be heard in New York but can be done via conference call.
JH on May 9th, 2008 7:08 pm
Calderon (#11):
1: the league did figure Cust out last year. His post-AS OPS was 100 points below his first half totals, which is just about exactly where he's at now. He's just above league average for his position, making him a slight liability overall.
2: Unlike Cust, Bryan LaHair has never had a good season in the minor leagues.
3: I seem to remember you tabbing LaHair as the organization's #1 prospect in 2007. You also claimed before the '07 season that Ron Garth was destined to skip 2 full-season levels and begin the year in triple-A and was knocking on the door to the majors. Now you're trying to cast doubt on Dave's worth as an analyst by cherrypicking a single past prediction? Wow.
kentroyals5 on May 9th, 2008 7:16 pm
I'd get some weird sense of joy to see Lahair's name on the back of a Mariner's jersey. And I know I shouldn't.
It is unclear when the appeal will be heard, but likely soon — unlike the old days, appeals no longer have to be heard in New York but can be done via conference call.
Drayer says they also travel, so if they happen to be in Texas, say, when the Ms are there, it could be heard then.
currcoug on May 10th, 2008 7:41 am
It depends upon the definition of what a "good" season in the minor leagues is.
In 2005 (A+, 509 AB's), LaHair batted batted .310, .373, .503, 876.
In 2006 (AA, 222 AB's), LaHair batted .288, .367, .423, .790, followed by a strong second half showing at AAA (202 AB's) .327, .393, .525, .918.
JH on May 10th, 2008 10:56 am
I am aware of LaHair's minor league numbers. I was aware of them when I said he's never had a good season in the minors.
2005 was a solidly mediocre effort from a 22-year-old first baseman in the Cali league. He helped his minor league team win games and did enough to stay on the radar, but the bar for future major leaguers with his toolset is set much, much higher than that.
The first half of 2006 was horrible. He exploded in triple-A for a month ending with a respectable line. 54 games isn't a season, though, and it proved unsustainable. There's a reason I said he's never had a good season. If I had said he's never had a good 2 months in the minors, I would have been wrong.
Bryan LaHair's minor league track record says nothing to indicate he can be a passable major league first baseman. Some people defy their minor league track records and figure things out in the majors. Most don't. I'd love it if LaHair defied his and became a productive player, but I wouldn't put money on it.
samson on May 11th, 2008 7:57 am
5 games is excessive unless he wasn't really getting thrown at in the first place. I didn't see the pitch, so i dunno, but if he was a target, he's just reciprocating. If he gets a 5 games suspension so should the pitcher. a 90+mph fastball is a lot more dangerous than a batting helmet.
wlad on May 11th, 2008 10:24 pm
Ben Broussard anyone?!?