Tony La Russa is right to be upset with Juan Encarnacion’s episodes of non-hustle, and I applaud the manager for doing something about it. This isn’t about Juan E’s style; I’ve defended him in the past, because he gives the impression that he’s coasting in the outfield, when in fact (last season) he had the best zone rating of any full-time right fielder in MLB. In other words, I don’t care how he looks, as long as he’s getting to the balls he’s supposed to catch. But this year Juan’s zone rating has declined. It isn’t bad; he’d rank about 7th in the NL in zone rating by RF. But his concentration isn’t what it should be. He’s had some glaring instances of lax hustle, in the field and on the bases. This is a team fighting to stay alive, and Encarnacion just doesn’t seem locked in.
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As for trading Encarnacion… I don’t know how all of this is going to go down. The team is off Monday; La Russa is visiting his family in Oakland before rejoining the team in Milwaukee on Tuesday. La Russa does not take kindly to players ripping him in the paper. Maybe La Russa tells Walt Jocketty: enough, get rid of the guy. Or maybe Tony uses this little blow-up as a reason to really clear the air, and motivate Encarnacion. The Cardinals must proceed with caution. They have LH outfield bats in Ankiel, Jim Edmonds and Chris Duncan. But Duncan is really struggling now, Edmonds doesn’t play against all LH pitchers, and if you take Encarnacion out of the mix you have only two RH bats in the OF in So Taguchi and Ryan Ludwick.
Trying to move Encarnacion now would be a player dump pure and simple, and I wonder if you could get anything interesting in return. Still it might be preferable to him sitting on the bench and bitching to the Post-Dispatch. Given the salary owed him next season I don't think there would be much difficulty getting him through waivers, but who in the playoff chase needs an extra alright-not-great bat? Boston likes to have plenty of spare parts, but this year?
As fr being all that worried about the right handed at bats left in the Cards lineup without Juan around, I wouldn't be. Between Pujols, Rolen and Ludwick we should be alright, and it isn't as if we are doing fabulously against lefties anyway. La Russa's all righty lineups against southpaws have been just as feeble as any otehr lineup, so why worry about it? I'd rather have Duncan and Ankiel get all the bats against left-handers that they can. If they are gonna be everyday players, then let them play everyday.
And who knows, if you could move Encarnacion for a useful bullpen arm that could be an actual help this season. (I know that scenario seems unlikely.)
I've always been underwhelmed by Encarnacion for some reason, so his leaving would hardly register for me.
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