The "Jose Bautista is starting at third base" GameThread

One of the little rules that I've subscribed too, and that I've used to judge managers by, is never move around your stars to make room for a scrub. Put your stars in the spot they are most comfortable in, and move the other guys around to accommodate them.

It's one of those things that Bill James wrote, many years ago. Keep the stars comfortable.

So, I'm not a fan of putting Bautista at third base. I went to spring training, a few years ago, when the team decided to move Jose back to third base. I watched him practicing with Brian Butterfield and I walked away thinking 'he really doesn't want to play there'. A few days later, the team announced that Bautista would play RF and Edwin would play third (even though Edwin hadn't played any third all spring and he really really needed the practice time there). Edwin playing third didn't go well.

But, they kept their star comfortable.

Today....Jose plays third so that Coghlan and his .207/.288/.293 batting line can play left. Coghlan has made 4 errors at third, so you can understand the reluctance to letting him play there more, but I'd take a Coghlan error over playing Jose there.

Anyway, the Brewers are starting Jimmy Nelson, who is 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 8 starts. Among his acomplishments is that he lead the NL in hit batters in each of the last two seasons. Over the two years, he's hit 30 guys....which sounds like a normal week for Aaron Loup.

Biagini had the one bad inning in his last start. Ignoring that inning, he hasn't allowed an earned run as a starter.

GO JAYS GO!

As always, remember we have rules around there. Mostly it's "don't be terrible". If a moderator ask you to stop doing something, please stop. Remember losing makes Tom a wee bit grumpy. Also don't debate the rules in the thread. Send Tom a note instead (he doesn't get near enough email).

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