The obvious difference between Gio and the pitchers is that there aren’t two other starters outperforming Chen/Sanchez/Paulino pushing for the job. The choice at second looks to be the lesser of three evils at the moment, just as it was last year.

Let’s be honest. The entire rotation are guys that you have to hope rather than know. They can afford to have Gio out there if they also think they can afford to match up Chen/Sanchez/Paulino against superior American League lineups.

Yes!But in September Greg not April when the season is just starting & we all have that start of the season delusion that we are competing on a level playing field & have dreams of winning the AL Central

We need as good a start as possible to build as much momentum as we can & playing a player in hope rather than what we KNOW he can produce is a luxury not worth paying!

Yep. Colon never projected as a major-league SS due to lack of speed, but it was thought he could play second and hit and get to the bigs quickly. He showed signs of life in the AFL, so a good couple of months at Springdale could get him on the fast track again.

“Does this quote not apply to Master Chen or is working on things?”

I’ve already suggested Chen as moving to the ‘pen if Mendoza and Paulino beat him out and maybe even if Paulino doesn’t, as Paulino has never had much luck in the ‘pen. I think Mendoza has surprised quite a few people, including me, and is earning a spot. Paulino and Chen aren’t exactly dominating, so that last spot is up for grabs.

Jim I know you like to be the last guy to post in these write ups but how many times do you need to be reminded that Colon as a college shortstop? So you are saying they used the 4th pick overall on a player they projeced to fail at SS and then transition to 2nd?

“He does project, but he’s not delivering yet, and he’s not trending upward.”

Does this quote not apply to Master Chen or is working on things?

Opinions vary. The first question for the team is whether Gio can hit enough better than Yuni and Getz to cover for his defense. Last fall and this spring, the answer is “No”. The next question would be, “Why is Gio’s defense so poor and can it be fixed?” Next after that is, “Will Gio ever hit major league pitching?”

“Maybe we could send them Getz.”

Or Gio? Who do you think they give more for?

“Sending Gia to AAA and playing Getz/Yuni leaves us with the same questions NEXT year.”

It does unless Gio goes to Omaha and fixes his issues. If he goes down and picks up a step defensively and shows that the changes in catching the ball he’s working on are working, and if he shows that he’s getting his stroke back, then he comes up and Getz goes down and Yuni goes back to utility. Better for Gio and the team to play every day in Omaha than ride the bench in KC to play 2nd a couple of days a week when Yuni is spelling Escobar or Moustakas or getting his own day off.

“when options look similar.”

Takes me back to David Lesky’s in-person observations of Gio’s jumps. Takes a lot of hitting to make up for three routine grounders getting through.

With all the bad news hanging over this team I did see where Philly may be looking a 2B. Maybe we could send them Getz. He’d return very little, but save the 1 million and get a lottery ticket maybe.

And we know what Getz has defensively and I hope to start getting some good information on Yuni’s 2B glove in the next few days. So far Gio looks like Yuni/Aviles with the bat and Aviles/Betemit with the glove.

“If we’re changing organizational plans based on a few hot or cold weeks in March”

And last year. Gio’s defensive problems go back a long way, so you should be comfortable accepting that he’s a poor defensive second baseman. I’m holding off on that judgement for a little longer until I’m sure there isn’t a medical problem.

“We do not KNOW what Gia can give us. He projects to hit better than either of them.”

He does project, but he’s not delivering yet, and he’s not trending upward. And given his defense, he has to hit much better than an average defender does. The assumption was that the hip injury caused his bat speed, mobility, and footwork problems and that fixing that would fix his game.

“We know Yuni/Getz fail as everyday players.”

2B is a systemic weakness. Yuni and Getz get the chance because the team doesn’t see a better choice at the moment, just like last year when Getz got the job by default.

“We’re going to be in the same spot at 2B in Spring of 2013″

No doubt, as I don’t think Colon is going to be anything more than a utility player. That’s why I suggested last year that Soria be traded for a good AAA 2B if possible. The position has no depth and no real prospects. Irving Falu is supposedly a smooth 2B, that might be an idea if Yuni can’t show an above Getz glove. Need more information.

As you might guess, I don’t subscribe to this line of thinking. If we’re changing organizational plans based on a few hot or cold weeks in March then we have bigger problems than I thought. We KNOW give or take what Yuni/Getz will give us offensively b/c there is a ton of MLB plate appearances to give us that indication. We do not KNOW what Gia can give us. He projects to hit better than either of them. We should find out if those projections can hold true–an not just over a couple of weeks or a month in Arizona.

This is Kila revisited. I know many just finished the book on Kila based on a couple of months of sustained MLB playing time, but I would have felt better about moving on if he had taken a season worth of Jacobs ABs the year prior. It still would not surprise me if Kila emerged as a decent bat in MLB. Hasn’t had a legit shot yet.

We’re going to be in the same spot at 2B in Spring of 2013 unless Gia gets the majority of ABs this season. He could very well fail. It’s not looking great, but would you rather figure that out now? We know Yuni/Getz fail as everyday players.

No secret that 2nd is a systemic weakness, that is why Christian Colon was taken early in the 1st round. So far he looks like a fourth replacement player at the position.

“I can see how you can put Roy Oswalt and Bruce Chen in the same sentence. Wow Jim wake up dude.”

Oswalt is hurt and unemployed, so you may be right, but I was just going on production the last two years after Oswalt got hurt and Chen reinvented himself, the current reality. Career numbers don’t take the field, as we saw with Mike Sweeney after his degenerative discs.

“Not saying he will, but I think I’d choose him.”

That was the thought going into spring, but Giavotella doesn’t seem to be grabbing the chance. I still think his hip is an issue, not totally recovered from the surgery. One of the local bloggers is in Surprise for a couple of weeks, so we’ll find out if he sees the same thing David Lesky at Pine Tar did. A 2B with Gio’s experience shouldn’t be having problems getting reads on balls off the bat after seeing 10,000 or so at-bats in his lifetime. That tells me something may be physically wrong, whether eyesight or hip.

“zero major league experience at second”

How is Yuni doing at second down in Surprise? This is a case where eyeballs might come in handy. Haven’t heard much on that, so we probably could use an on-site report on it.