A Salute to Alfredo Amezaga
Yes, that would be Alfredo Amezaga with the nuttiest play at shortstop ever. I am not sure if this is from the World Baseball Classic or from when he played in the Mexican League, but it's still absolutely awesome.
Our gritty utility guy has turned himself into a pretty good player over the past year plus. Let's take a look inside the numbers, shall we? In 2007, the Amazing One is hitting .267/.320/.355. Those numbers are not good by any stretch of the imagination and I would be an idiot to argue that. I truly believe Alfredo, more than anyone on our team is hurt by hitting 8th and stats continue to back me up on that. In 85 plate appearances hitting 8th, Fredo is hitting .244/.306/.346. He is a combined 3 for 27 when hitting 6th, 7th, and 9th in the order. Now take a look at when he leads off for the Men in Teal. In 161 plate appearances, he is hitting .308/.352/.390. That's pretty good for a leadoff hitter. He benefits so much from having Uggla, Hanley, Cabrera and Co batting behind him.
And we need to continue to keep his bat in the lineup. Maybe he is a very streaky hitter, and if that is the case we need to keep riding that wave. In his last 7 days (29pa), he is hitting .321/.345/393. His last 14 days (45pa), he is hitting .341/.386/.439. And finally, in his last 28 days (90pa), he is hitting .286/.326/.381. Keep him in the lineup. As much as I love Brett Carroll and Co, they aren't these hot shot prospects ala Hunter Pence who are being blocked by the continuous use of Amezaga.
In all seriousness though, it might be time to move Hanley into CF. I love the guy to death and I believe he can someday be a very good SS but right now we have a fantastic one in Alfedo Amezaga and if Bill Hall can learn CF (albeit shaky at first), I think Hanley can certainly be above average out there too.
It's too bad SS prospect Robert Andino, who is supposed to be known for his glove, is having a rough go of it in Albuquerque. He now has 24 errors but his batting average is approaching .300 which is a pleasant sign. I guess we'll have to wait and see with Hanley, even though he probably finishes this season in shortstop. Next season is a different story altogether.
