Back to base-ics!

Took a couple weeks off the blog - been dealing with overzealous city inspectors. Its called the 4th amendment, guys, look into it.

Anyways,
Now we have traded C Curt Casali and relief pitchers Jimmy Patterson and Jake Thompson for OF Jeremy Moore and reliever Kevin Brandt.

Talent wise, its one of the worst shafts we have gotten. Casali is one of the strongest hitters we have seen in a Biscuits uni and the bullpen guys were beyond valuable. Thompson has the stamina for a full season of good pitching and Patterson is one of the better lefties we have had in relief in some time.

So, what did we get in return?

WE GOT BRANDT
Getting Brandt from Port Charlotte is a fair replacement for Thompson, both are starters learning the conversion to the bullpen. Appearing in 2o games at three levels last year, Brandt excelled in the small sample size of innings. His conversion to reliever began last year at Charlotte and again for the StoneCrabs this year. He has great stats, but has only tossed 15 games above A-ball, and a meager 41 career games since being an 18th round pick in 2012. His durability could be tested in Montgomery, as the Rays would probably like to get a better gauge of his stamina.


Ah, and then we got fan favorite Jeremy Moore....
WELCOME BACK, SNAPBACK

His first game here, I boo'd him heartily, heckled like I had never done to a home player. Like a pitcher who has waited all offseason for another chance to face the guy who hit a homer off of him and watched it too long -  I took great pleasure in being loud and obvious.

Moore is less

WEAK! YOU STINK!
Yeah, we see what got you here - so far thru two games Moore is oh-fer eight with five K's. I suggested in my blog last summer that he had vision issues, though he had no problems giving me the stankeye during his final at bat of Mondays affair - a strikeout that included two check swings and a watched strike three.

He made the play in left field on the final fly ball of the game. He should be glad, I would have been all over him for dropping an easy fly ball.


PROLONGING THE INEVITABLE
At 26 Jeremy Moore is already a player hanging on for dear life. The frustration was apparent last year when he confronted me and other fans angrily, and its obvious now in the struggles at the plate. Having had exactly one hit in the majors, Moore comes with the tag "former big leaguer" which also brings expectations from fans, managers and front office folks.

However there is no evidence to support the idea that Moore is working back to the bigs - the term generally used for this kind of player,"organizational depth", is more telling of what Jeremy brings to the team.

Moore had a cup of coffee, but if you want to see what kind of player he is between the lines we have to look at his Minor League service time. He lost 2012 to a hip surgery, so there is a full season lost. However, on both sides of the injury the numbers are the same. In any season Moore plays 100+ games he has 100+ strikeouts. He topped 2009 with 151 K's, arguably his best season.


CAN HE RUN?
Defensively, Moore's ability rests on his legs. If he has the speed after his hip issues he could be the defensive fielder of the the "good field, no hit" variety. Primarily a left fielder, his .966 fielding percentage and his 1.77 range factor numbers are underwhelming.

His stolen base totals before the hip injury were good, racking up twenty bags three times. However he is also a lock to be thrown out at least a third of the time and in some seasons up to half the time. Since the injury Moore hasn't run much at all, 10 steals in 18 attempts last year.

OVER NOW, OR SOON ENOUGH
I wont rag on him after this, I got him back for last years incident, so to me, its over. I would suggest that Moore should look into night school, because a change of profession is on the horizon!

See ya at the park!