FanPost

Ziggy the Starter!

1) Before you blast the notion, remember the debate from two years ago on whether Duke should be a starter. Many said he was simply too valuable in the pen to move to the rotation, and as Billy seemingly agreed with that argument, there was no factual way to disprove how bad a decision it was. Until this year when we saw firsthand that as good as Duke was as a reliever, he’s even more valuable as a starter.

 

The basic rule of thumb is the following: The better the pitcher, the more innings you want to get out of him every season. This lowers the total runs the team gives up per season, which in turn improves the Pythagorean and the expected number of wins. If anyone in the pen can make the transition to starter it is probably Ziggy, as he is so efficient with his pitches. He pitches to contact and gets lots of double plays. I’m sure he’ll eventually add an “out” pitch that will make him even more dangerous. That may slightly increase his number of pitches per inning, but he’s still a great candidate for making the transition.

 

We have some great relievers without him, and besides, relievers are much easier to find than starters. Why waste his arm warming up every other day when we can get so many more total MLB pitches out of him by putting him on a 5 day rotation.

 

2) Once I’m spouting heresies, send Barton to AAA next year and have him split his time between first base and catcher. Chavez will be our first baseman next year, and with Cust as DH and four young outfielders who will be needing time, there is no room for Barton to play fulltime in the majors. We rushed him a bit thinking he would be the next Pujols, and heck, even I thought so with the way he ended last season. Now that it seems like he has room to grow, while he have other promising 1B/DH types behind him, why not let he return to the position he loves? A first baseman who is also a reliable backup catcher is much more valuable to us and to any team we consider trading him to, plus it lets us get more of his prime years.

 

3) Instead of just attacking my heresies, also try to produce your own. The best way to mock my suggestions is to make an even stronger case for an even more absurd idea. So come on. Let’s see what you've got.