Thursday Rockpile:

Hmmmm…. I went with Barmes, because I think Nix is a year or two away from being ready to be a solid starting 2B on a competing team. Which is not to say that he’s been a disappointment. He seems solid in the field (although I haven’t seen the plays to justify some of the hype in this area), and I love his ability to work the count and draw walks. I just haven’t seen that solid contact or power (and I’m not looking for all that much) that makes me think pitchers will continue to allow him to be so patient at the plate. Plus, I just got a gut feeling (which is to say it’s based on nothing but last week’s burrito and cheesecake) that he is back to the pre-deer Barmes.
But it’s more complicated than that. As much as I’d like to see Barmes be an impact 2B for us this year, I think it’s more important that Ianetta start getting consistant playing time. I think his bat’s better than Torry’s now, and his potential is considerably higher. To the point where riding the bench too much could be a detriment not only this year, but for years to come. I do think Torry has the better glove, and is a plain rock-solid starting catcher or in the least the world’s greatest back-up. If there were no Iannetta riding the pine, I wouldn’t have a bad thing to say about him. So, had there been an option for INCREASED playing time for Ianetta, I think I’d have gone that direction. Ideally I’d like to see Ianetta get 60% of the starts, but would settle for even 40%. Since I do sorta believe in catchers and pitchers getting to know how each each other works, let’s say Francis and Redman since they should theroretically serve up the least amount of 58’ sinkers and wildness.