Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey signing.

by Allen Chace on Feb 2, 2008 1:16 AM EST in Open Thread Comment 13 comments

More Competition for the Sox' Annual World's Slowest Man Contest.
This one almost goes without saying. No longer will ONLY Dougie, Papi, and Lowell be the ones to turn 2Bs into 1Bs. "Help is on the way."
No tough decisions about where to play him.
He plays 1B. In 8,640 1/3 ML defensive innings, he has never played a position other than 1B (in 81 total MiL games, he has played only, you guessed it, 1B). You don't want to have any questions about where you put your bench players. For my bench, versatility is a big negative.
No waiting around for the big HR.
Don't worry. He's not going to give it to you anyway. Lowered expectations make them easier to reach.
A Natural Leader.
Once led the NL...in GIDPs! Did I mention that he's very slow?

So...

You might get the idea that I'm not entirely thrilled with this signing. I'm not. I have no problem with Sean Casey. I don't think he'll create any issues for the club, and his .OBP is likely to be solid at worst. A couple of things though.

The Sox don't need a defensive replacement at 1B. - Even if they did, I'm not sure Casey would be the best choice. Regardless, the Sox could've gone a little more offensive-minded in terms of a LHH off the bench.
The Sox (or any team) could use more versatility out of their bench players. - For what the Sox will expect him to do, he'll be fine. But when you have only four bench slots to begin with, your non-backup C-types should be able to play more than one position. Casey isn't an option for anything but 1B. Or DH, I guess, but then Mariners' fans would be able to laugh at us. And it would mean Papi was something less than healthy.

All right. I guess that's really only two major complaints. This isn't a bad signing in my mind. Just think there were some other options out there (Chris Carter, Ryan Klesko, etc.) worth exploring first. And, it could be that the Sox did and didn't like what they saw.

I dunno. These are just my opinions. Feel free to just state: "Allen, you're dumb", in the comments. I can take it.

Programming Note: Expect the next Top Moment Saturday afternoon (CST), with possibility of special bonus post.

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I agree 100%

I've been saying the exact same things. I think Casey is a good value at under a million bucks, but I don't see how he fits on the Red Sox bench. Seems like a waste of a bench spot to me.

by T on Feb 2, 2008 9:30 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: I agree 100%

I'll take him over Hinske. At least he can hit.

by Longsuffering on Feb 2, 2008 10:01 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

His bat is overrated

He's the equivalent of Mark Loretta with the bat. Good, but nothing special, especially for a 1B/PH. The one major advantage he has over Hinske is his ability to put the ball in play and not strikeout, but other than that he's not that big of an upgrade over Hinske with the bat. And Casey gives you no versatility off the bench in terms of playing multiple positions defensively.

by T on Feb 2, 2008 11:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think he's a good fit

He's slow, but I think a guy who hits like a starter coming off the bench is no problem. And he'll be more than a boost in the clubhouse, from what I've heard. His contract isn't big enough so that even if he doesn't suck up money even if he doesn't get much playing time.

by Liza on Feb 2, 2008 10:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

Well, Casey may not play great defense at several positions, or hit for power, or steal ten million bases, or be a former college punter. He may lack a criminal record like Alex "The Probation Violation Sensation" Cora. He might not be a proven winner, having not proven his winning by playing on a winning playoff team.* He might not compete with David Eckstein in the annual Lilliputian love fest bowl (which Pedroia could enter if he wasn't actually an excellent player). He might lack the Adonis physique and baseball mediocrity of Gabe Kapler, or the fragile Dirtdogitude of Trot Nixon. He might not have a teammate / BFF inject illegal substances into his butt, or be mentioned in the Mitchell Report. He might not have trapped dogs in his house and forced them to fight for his entertainment.

In short, Sean Casey does not provide a lot of qualities, both tangible and intangible. He does however provide a solid OBP and AVG off the bench, unlike nearly every other bench player, and lets us rest Lowell / Youk.

*Casey DID hit .529 with 2 homers in the WS against the Cardinals; unfortunately his team's pitchers gave up 5 errors and the offense went to sleep.

by 0157H7 on Feb 2, 2008 1:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

I think Alex "The Probation Violation Sensation" Cora would look great on a t-shirt.

by Allen Chace on Feb 2, 2008 1:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

Put me down for ten.

You know, a lot of people say they didn't want to die until the Red Sox won the World Series. Well, there could be a lot of busy ambulances tomorrow.

by BoSox415 on Feb 2, 2008 4:08 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lilliputian?

Heh.

Manny Ramirez is a bad man

by tommy.otm on Feb 2, 2008 1:31 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

I'm hoping that Youk gets time at 3B with Casey at 1B when Lowell needs rest/recovery. It would be an effective way to allow Lowell his time off, and prepare for any situation the club might encounter when we need another corner IF once Lowell's deal is up. It might be easier to find a first baseman than a third baseman in the future, so it's a good idea to start preparing now, and making sure Youk hasn't lost any defensive ability at the hot corner.

by Schulz on Feb 2, 2008 7:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

He is an upgrade on Hinske. This is a 24th/25th man argument. I always love 1-year contracts. He offer professionalism, a good glove at 1B. He will give Lowell some solid time off on days they want Youk to play 3rd. I suspect they will test drive him in LF also occasionally, although if Crisp and Ellsbury both make the club out of camp, the 4th outfielder that Hinske was is superfluous.

I admire the Patriots, but I LOVE the Sox.

by sriram12078 on Feb 4, 2008 7:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Presenting: the Positives of the Sean Casey si

You're right, except that I can't see Casey playing a defensive inning at a position outside of 1B. He's slow, plodding, every other adjective for being a drain on team speed that you could think of. I don't hate the signing, just think he's so extremely limited in "versatility" as to be questionable.

by Allen Chace on Feb 4, 2008 9:48 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs