Third base is on my mind this fine Wednesday in bucolic Bristol, because I seem to be getting a lot of questions about situations involving the position. So, why don't I just discuss random third-base situations that interest me and give my thoughts. Either that, or it's 1,500 words on why I think Tim Lincecum is going to be a top-10 starting pitcher this year. See, I just said that in about 10. Third base will take far more words.
Los Angeles Dodgers: OK, so you're a major league team scuffling to score runs, and Wilson Betemit isn't hitting, so you bench him and promote top prospect Andy LaRoche. This is not a bad idea at all. In fact, Betemit has now started to hit, mainly in a pinch-hitting role. The problem is, the Dodgers didn't do that. They brought up LaRoche, used him inconsistently for 30 at-bats and then went to Plan B, which is apparently Tony Abreu, who did put up some interesting numbers in the minors, but he's not a power hitter. LaRoche is. He takes walks, he fields well, he certainly deserves a chance. However, Abreu started at third base Tuesday. I don't get it. What do the Dodgers intend to do here? Are there any other third basemen in the farm system? Maybe they'll promote James Loney to play first base and move Nomar Garciaparra across the diamond. Fantasy owners are pretty confused here. What do I think will happen? I bet LaRoche gets sent back to the minors in the next few days. He might be back in a month, but the Abreu promotion was directed at him. It's possible LaRoche isn't ready for the majors, but I also doubt Abreu is. Betemit had his chance. I wouldn't do this, because fielding and health would matter to me if I was a manager, but I actually think we'll see Nomar switch positions at some point. Never mind that he's got as many home runs this season as Jason Schmidt.
Los Angeles Angels: On the other side of town, Chone Figgins is hitting a sad .130, which is really hard to do. It's hard to do this and keep your job. Figgins gets a pass because he's been a valued member of the team for years, and he's coming off a DL stint for broken fingers, but how long can this continue? The Angels disabled Maicer Izturis on Tuesday, in order to activate Howie Kendrick, but all that means is that Erick Aybar goes back to the bench. Brandon Wood remains in the minors, and I think he needs another year there, but I don't get the impression the Angels believe this, since Wood has already had two stints with the team. I don't want to cut Figgins, because he's one of the top base stealers in the game. He hasn't run much, but he hasn't been on base much. How long can we wait? It would certainly be easier to put up with this if Figgins still had middle infield eligibility, but I think we still have to wait.
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Eric Karabell
