do hope that the Nick Punto reign of hustle, and every other kind of Nick Punto everything comes to an end for us this off-season. I know it will not, but a guy can hope.

Gardy will have the whole winter to reflect on that play. He makes a play like that once a week on average, but, for some reason, Gardy has a short memory when it comes to those plays. He’ll bench other players for doing that kind of stuff, but not Punto. Well, maybe this will stick in his craw a little over the winter and convince the FO not to rely on him as an everyday player in 2010.

As we all know, Nick Punto is awful in odd-numbered years (struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line) and legitimately good in even-numbered years (near-100 OPS+ with above-average defense), which leaves us with hope for Good Nick in 2010. However, there is another factor at play here – the good years have occurred when he has played his way into a starting role, replacing an ineffective starter (Tony Batista in 2006, Adam Everett in 2008), while the bad years have occurred when he was placed in a starting role at the beginning of the year (third base in 2007, shortstop in 2009).

Both factors were at play this year – he stunk up the joint during the first half of the year after being installed as the everyday shortstop, but then he claimed the second base spot when Luis Rivas took off his Alexi Casilla mask, playing legitimately well down the stretch. In fact, Punto played so well at the end of the year that I could see him starting next year as the opening-day second baseman.

So, which Nick Punto do we get next year? The .290-hitting super duper utility man who can replace a black hole of suck in the long-term if necessary, or the .190 hitter who makes the ninth place in the lineup look like something out of the National League?

but Punto has been about a league average player over the last 6 years. He doesn’t hit well, but makes up for that by walking a lot (why pitchers continue to walk him I have no idea) and playing great defense. He is absolutely good enough to be on a contending team. Tolbert, Harris, and OCab are the ones who need to go. Tolbert brings absolutely nothing to the table, and Harris is just too poor of a defender to be valuable, even with his decent bat. Cabrera’s decreased range and lack of any hitting skills besides batting average have made him a below average player.