So our ever-lovin' manager has decided that Aaron Hill and Adam Lind will bat second and third respectively again this year according to posts by Jordan Bastian and Richard Griffin. Both have Cito saying he wants Hill and Lind "comfortable". I guess the prevailing opinion is Lind can't handle the 4th spot, on the evidence of the 4 games he hit cleanup last year. His batting line in those 4 games was .294/.294/.471. I don't know, don't you think having the manager talk about how he isn't comfortable in that spot more likely to "play with his mind" than just sticking him there and saying 'it's no big deal, just hit like you always do'.
I mean Lind is a grown up and, as we've been told 100,000 times now, it's a rebuilding year, so if you want him in that spot, put him there and leave him until he gets comfortable. It isn't like he's being asked to play catcher or asked to do brain surgery. If the manager doesn't make a big deal about it, don't you think the player will follow suit at some point?
Griffin finishes with has this little zinger at Cito, Cito says
When Lind gets here I'll make sure I talk to him."
Lind has been here for a couple of weeks already.
Cito also tells the two of them that Jose Bautista will be the leadoff man and Vernon will hit fourth. I hate the idea of Bautista leading off against RHP and I hate even more that Cito has made up his before the first spring training game. I guess it wouldn't bother me so much if Cito wasn't so intractable once he makes a decision. I'd like him to, you know, see if a platoon setup could be worked out.
Also, in Griffin's blog entry from yesterday, Richard wondered why Cito hadn't made an appearance before today's first 'official' workout:
talking casually with newcomer Brandon Morrow every day this week in the near-empty spring training clubhouse it's clear that he doesn't really know many people here and that new pitching coach Bruce Walton is the only major-league coach that came early. The talented but unproven Morrow is being counted on as a mid-rotation starter, but has likely heard nothing encouraging from anyone in charge since phone conversations with GM Alex Anthopoulos as he now works out with virtual strangers. Perhaps Cito had visa problems. Oh wait, he lives at EastLake Woodlands about a 15-minute drive from the Bobby Mattick Training Centre. Maybe I'm overreacting but I don't think so and it's not right.
Strange to see one of the local media guys say anything remotely negative about Cito.
And in Bastian's blog he mentions he talked to Marc Rzepczynski about the nickname Scrabble:
After today's workout, I headed over to Rzepczynski's locker and asked him if he had heard the nickname some of the Blue Jays' bloggers had given him since he joined the club.
"Scrabble?" he said with a laugh. "Yeah. A buddy of mine told me about it."
He shook his head and smiled.
"Add it to the list..." he said.
"Why? What else have you been called?" I asked.
"Alphabet. Eye chart," Rzepczynski replied with a laugh. "I don't know. There's a lot."
There's only one problem with calling the lefty "Scrabble." There is only one "Z" included in the famous word game.
"I have two in my last name," he said.
Yeah, the only problem with the nickname is that there is only one Z in the box. Hey Jordan...You only have 7 tiles to use at a time and you aren't allowed to use names in the game as well. Those are problems with the nickname too, but you name me a major league last name worth more points.
Hmmmmm I guess if someone already had the work SKI on the board and there was an R in another word 8 spaces before it in line with the SKI and if you had the letters ZEPCZYN in your tiles (let's say the second Z is a blank, wild card, tile) and you were playing a game where names were allowed, you could really clean up. 40 points (well actually less than 40 with the blank tile), and you would almost have to hit a triple word score or some bonus space some where in that. I'd imagine it would be a million to one shot.
But it is cool he asked. Thanks Jordan.