Time to Callup CarGon?

For one thing, isn’t it asking a bit much for CarGon to come up and single-handedly “fix” the offense? His presence will not help Cust start to hit homeruns again or Buck to do something other then strike out every other at bat.

Calling up a rookie with about 100 at bats in AAA is not the way to “fix” a line-up already dependent on guys with so little experience in the Show. Sure, Gonzalez is hot right now but a year ago it was Kevin Melillo who was raking for Sac. Let’s give CarGon the chance to fail in AAA. Let’s see what happens when the scouting reports get around the PCL and pitchers start to adjust.

If he’s still raking after the PCL has seen him a second time then go ahead and call him up. Don’t let a 3 week hot streak at the start of the season persuade you that he’s ready.

No, not too early in the morning, even though it is.

But yeah way to soon to think about bringing the young man up, and way too much to put the burden of a “struggling” offense on his shoulders.

to “save” the offense. However hes a big upgrade over Buck ATM.

I also think this decision depends to a large extent on the A’s’ plans for him in the OF. If they want him to be a CF, which they’ve insisted all along AFAIK, then he needs more AAA time in CF, no matter how well he’s hitting. If they’re happy having him play RF, then he could probably handle his defensive responsibilities already in the majors and would need less AAA time.

The big question, as it always is with the A’s, is what they would do in the case of an injury—say, if Bad Sweeney tweaks his quad again and needs to go on the DL. Would they call up CarGon or Linden?

send buck down, play CarGon in center, brown & sweeney on the corners use denorfia as the fourth guy & DFA the late great Jack Cust. Also DH Linden & Sweeney (mike) if he is still hitting. Do this by mid may if they are playing to win. if not just ride it out. they can’t suck at hitting all year, can they?

cargon is in AAA b/c:
-CF defense
-plate discipline
-keeping him for one more year in his prime

has any of that changed in the last 20 days?

It’s a bit of a radical one, so bear with me – and this isn’t a response specifically to you, just a general thing I started thinking about. It’s really meant to be more tongue-in-cheek than serious and I debated whether or not to come right out and say it first or let people guess. Since a lot of people don’t know I like to go for sarcastic humor a lot I went with the clear explanation.

Here goes.

Let’s abolish all the rules about 40-man and 25-man rosters, minor league options, arbitration, service time and all that.

Whenever a player – ANY player, so even someone like Alex Rodriguez is fair game – has a couple of bad weeks, his team can send him to the minors and replace him with someone who’s playing better.

A couple weeks later, let’s say the guy they called up is playing poorly and the guy they sent down is tearing it up (which wouldn’t be that much of a surprise). They can switch again! Or, if the player they called up is still performing well then by all means, let the man stay and play and do the exchange with someone else!

Just keep sending down the ones who aren’t getting the job done, replace them with the people who are, and you’re bound to win more games than you lose. Then again, if other teams can do the same thing it’s going to balance out somewhere.

Or, teams can continue to allow for the development time they think a player needs. Some, they’re more comfortable with moving up faster because of various reasons. Others, like Carlos Gonzalez, maybe they want to give him more time to fit into what they want him to do, especially since he’s new to the organization.

I read that News and Review link Blez posted and CarGon already said, "I used to swing at everything when I was with the Diamondbacks. But with this team, everybody knows they have a different way to play. They want you to get on base, be more patient. I think that’s going to help me. That’s going to make me a better hitter."

At the game in Sacramento last Wednesday, he was swinging at just about everything but he also got pitches to hit and did things with them. I say let him keep doing that while learning more patience as he goes. When he’s ready he’ll be up here, whether he forces his way to the big club or the A’s give him a shot for another reason. It’s all good.

in Sacramento is defense – let him learn CF so he can be our next CFer and not just another good corner OFer. CFers with Gonzo’s offensive potential are Beltran-rare. We might have one.

Sending Buck down makes no sense to me. In a rebuilding/reloading year, you have to stick with your Bucks, Bartons, and Suzukis through thick and thin – they will only get better at the major league level by playing at the major league level and you have to allow them to struggle big time. Example: Dustin Pedroia hit .150 in April/May but was told from the start, “relax, we’re sticking with you no matter what” – and he went on to hit over .300.

In summary, yes Gonzo has outhit the AAA level (and if that were the only issue I’d say bring him up), but he hasn’t learned CF to the point where he is major-league ready and that’s why he needs to stay in Sactown a little longer.

Since it’s clear that Bobby still hasn’t turned the corner.

Todd Linden is now Zonis, too?

Brown and Sweeney are hitting over .300, Denorfia is hitting .276, and Buck has nothing left to prove in the minors. Admittedly, Gonzales would likely provide more power, but there’s still the growing pains of adjusting to major league hitting.

Keep ‘em where they are.

With Keith Foulke being placed on the DL I think we could let Linden up for a shot this week. I’d cut Sweeney and Denorfia’s playing time and see if Linden can produce.

He’s got big league experience and I think we let CarGon get comfortable at Sacto before we put the pressure on him. I think Linden would handle the pressure well as he’s already playing with a chip on his shoulder.

Brown is doing ok, as is sweeney. I think Denorfia could benefit from some everyday play at Sacto to get cranking.

I don’t think he’s going to learn much in AAA, and think he will instantly outproduce any other outfielder on the team, since Jack Cust is an OINO.