The real reason Repko will never replace Span in CF

by bobpuller on Sep 3, 2010 11:24 AM EDT

Repko is a superior outfielder to Span in every way. Speed, catching, and arm are all better. So then why doesn't Gardy start Span in a corner outfield spot, and Repko in CF when both are playing?

The reason is simple. Playing in CF in Gardy's world means you need to bat leadoff, right before whomever the second baseman might be that night. And despite Span's recent mediocrity, he is a better choice then the slumping Repko as the leadoff man.

Maintaining the sanctity of the batting order is more important to Gardy than properly utilizing his defensive assets.

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Although Span is inheriting the CF legacy of Puckett and Hunter

The truth is he doesn’t need to be as good as them. Just be serviceable at the plate and in the field, in my opinion. And do MUCH better baserunning. He’s been very meh this year, almost zombie-like at times…out of our starters, definitely the one I’m least enthused about.

by MarshalltheIrish on Sep 3, 2010 12:00 PM EDT reply actions

Not really

Moving Span to a corner instead of Repko will probably make Span worse in CF on those days Repko isn’t in the lineup. It doesn’t make sense to switch your starters around, you depend on them to make the plays.

by DJL44 on Sep 3, 2010 12:28 PM EDT reply actions

Repko, aka Ripcord

Four K’s last night. How often does the swing and miss? A lot.

Let her rip, Ripcord.

by Old Twins Cap on Sep 3, 2010 12:37 PM EDT reply actions

The actual real reason Repko will never replace Span: Repko isn't that good.

by Jesse on Sep 3, 2010 1:44 PM EDT reply actions

agree, Repko is not that great, but

let’s face facts on Denard Span. He is atrocious. His on base percentage ranks 7th out of the current 9 starters. If Morneau was here, Span would be battling Hardy for the lowest OBP.

That would possibly be defensible for a great fielding middle infielder..which, Span, of course, is not. Or it might be acceptable if Span could drive the ball and have a tolerable slugging percentage.

But as it is, Span is struggling to reach an OPS of .670 That is anemic in every meaningful way. Add in his baserunning ….and defense…and you have a guy that would be fine if he batted 9th on this team…but is off the charts awful for a leadoff hitter on this team.

by NorthDakotaTwinsFan on Sep 3, 2010 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I hate to say it

But I agree His hot streaks have been ever so brief, punctuated by long stretches of easy outs. And he isn’t even taking many walks, or pitches for that matter. Maybe his eyes are bad again.

Still, Repko is not the answer. I’ surprised they haven’t made him stay on the ball more. I’ve never seen such a dead-pull hitter in all my life.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Sep 3, 2010 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with you.

But he’s still better than Repko.

by Jesse on Sep 3, 2010 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions

It's my #1 off-season dream right now

Delmon + whatever it takes for a lead-off hitting, ground covering center fielder. Span moves to left and bats ninth.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Sep 3, 2010 7:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Maybe Revere is that guy

So we can use Demon to get a second baseman.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Sep 5, 2010 1:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Brunansky for Herr?

It always makes me nervous to discuss trading an outfielder for a second baseman. I guess they could repeat Lawton for Reed instead.

by DJL44 on Sep 6, 2010 9:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Or, it could be for Kendrick or someone

He’s the kind of player it would need to be.

"You're thinking too much. Just have fun." -- Bennie "The Jet" Rodriguez in Sandlot

by cmathewson on Sep 7, 2010 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Hes a terrible hitter in every way imaginable. Incapable of producing at the Major League level. He should be a late inning defensive replacement only.

by Brady Eyestone on Sep 3, 2010 4:27 PM EDT reply actions

CF

Luckily 3 of our top 10 prospects play this position and will hopefully push Span in a couple of seasons. Perhaps Span’s play is due to a lack of competition with Gomez gone and no mlb ready center fielders at AAA.

Of course, it could also be Span regressing to a level he consistently played at throughout the minors: .287/.357/.358. His MLB composite is now only slightly superior: .290/.370/.394.

by WV3 on Sep 3, 2010 5:21 PM EDT reply actions

60 points of OPS is not slight. That's a lot.

Let’s not write Denard off after one bad season. Hell, one half of a bad season. The man has still been a monster at Target Field.

by Jesse on Sep 3, 2010 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

by Buddy Grant on Sep 7, 2010 1:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Perhaps not slight

But if his downward trend continues for another season or so it won’t be far off. All i’m saying is that you can’t disregard 7 seasons worth of minor league data in having a realistic expectation of the type of MLB player he will ultimately become. And given that data there’s reason to expect that his one bad season is worse than his potential but so were his previous two seasons better than to be expected.

by WV3 on Sep 3, 2010 10:04 PM EDT reply actions

I thought the real reason Repko will never replace Span in CF

Was because Revere was going to do that?

Ok, J/K.

Repko is kind of old though, no?

"It happened in the moment, and it happened." - Carlos Gomez

by myjah on Sep 5, 2010 12:30 PM EDT reply actions

30 in December.

by Jesse on Sep 5, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Someday Span should be moved to left field

Defensively he lacks arm strength. Everything else he does defensively is really good. If we had somebody just like Span defensively, but with a better arm, that guy should play center field. Maybe that’s Repko. Maybe not.

Gardenhire is not going to move Span around though just because Repko happens to be in the line-up that day.

by medicineball on Sep 6, 2010 8:46 AM EDT reply actions