The Espinosa Question: What should happen with him?

[MorseTheHorse]

awful.

call up rendon.

this worked!?!

[PC]

LOCK THIS THREAD!

[BigMeech]

I hope to never see him in a National uniform ever again.

[madj55]

I hope to never see him in a National uniform ever again.

Eh, I don't wanna see him again this year. Next year I'm intrigued to see if he comes to ST ready to live up to the hype his "tools" have gotten him.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Best case scenario is he never plays another game here: Rendon plays so well at 2d that he cannot be displaced and Espinosa is so good in the minors that he becomes valuable in trade.

[BigMeech]

The man who replaced Espinosa got the walk-off tonight after a fantastic at-bat.  We also got our first walk-off win the first game after Espinosa was gone.

He was a curse.

[mitlen]

He was a curse.

Then again, maybe it was Carpenter.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Slate - while you don't value the defensive aspect on WAR, do you agree that, given the same offensive performance, a guy who can play shortstop better defensively than 2 out of 3 shortstops is more valuable than a guy who can who plays 2d better than 4 out of 5 second basemen*?   I think DE might even be better than that if he were a fulltime SS.

As for his O, I think the wrist and shoulder probably were killing his swing, forcing him to start early and making his pitch selection look worse than it might have been had he been healthy.  He had a decent stretch after the ASB last year until the shoulder injury.  I'm not sure his O is shot forever, but it was not getting right until everything healed up.



* I picked 4 out 5 because we had were able to come up with about 6 - 8 guys we thought were better than Espinosa defensively, almost all in the AL.  30 teams. 

[madj55]

I've read from Kilgore and seen quotes from reporters on Twitter that initially Espi was sent down to the minors. Guess he finally stopped trying to be Superman and took his DL trip. Ya'll probably won't believe it, but I was really pulling  for Espinosa to break out this year...I predicted in the 2013 prediction thread that he'd hit .260 with 22 homers. Clearly I was way off, but I hope the guy can come back next year and play like he did the first half of his rookie year because his fall from "grace" was pretty ugly.

[HalfSmokes]

Slate - while you don't value the defensive aspect on WAR, do you agree that, given the same offensive performance, a guy who can play shortstop better defensively than 2 out of 3 shortstops is more valuable than a guy who can who plays 2d better than 4 out of 5 second basemen*?   I think DE might even be better than that if he were a fulltime SS.

As for his O, I think the wrist and shoulder probably were killing his swing, forcing him to start early and making his pitch selection look worse than it might have been had he been healthy.  He had a decent stretch after the ASB last year until the shoulder injury.  I'm not sure his O is shot forever, but it was not getting right until everything healed up.



* I picked 4 out 5 because we had were able to come up with about 6 - 8 guys we thought were better than Espinosa defensively, almost all in the AL.  30 teams. 

the question is how long will it take to get him right- if Rendon manages to stick, they can still option Espinosa for the rest of the year, after that they pretty much have to trade him. I think the only way we ever see espinosa in a Nats uniform again is if either Rendon can't play second or Desmond tanks/gets injured- I think sticking Espinosa (young former starter) on the bench is asking for club house problems in the same way putting Morse on the bench this year would have been

[RL04]

He was a curse.

Espi wasn't a curse.   He just sucked.

[varoadking]

In the preseason prediction thread, I said tht Rendon would replace 3Kespi before the end of May.  Didn't miss by to much...

Hope we drag that thead out at the end of the season...

[PowerBoater69]

I've read from Kilgore and seen quotes from reporters on Twitter that initially Espi was sent down to the minors. Guess he finally stopped trying to be Superman and took his DL trip.

On 106.7 this morning Davey didn't outright say that Espi was being moved down to the minors, but twice he used the phrase sent down rather than being put on the DL.  Based on Danny's reaction yesterday he won't be back at Nats Park until he gets himself right down in AAA.  Should have been done a month ago, but I understand wanting to give starters plenty of time to get themselves right, you want guys to believe that they will be given a chance to work their way out of a slump.

[tomterp]

On 106.7 this morning Davey didn't outright say that Espi was being moved down to the minors, but twice he used the phrase sent down rather than being put on the DL.  Based on Danny's reaction yesterday he won't be back at Nats Park until he gets himself right down in AAA.  Should have been done a month ago, but I understand wanting to give starters plenty of time to get themselves right, you want guys to believe that they will be given a chance to work their way out of a slump.

Yesterday in the pregame he said Danny was going to the  DL to heal and then would be put in AAA to "find his swing". 

[PowerBoater69]

Yesterday in the pregame he said Danny was going to the  DL to heal and then would be put in AAA to "find his swing". 

Ah, thanks, I've been falling behind on my Nats news.

[sportsfan882]

MLB ‏@MLB 28s
Yasiel Puig’s 10 RBIs tie the @MLB record for most through 5 career games (Jack Merson, 1951; Danny Espinosa, 2010).

[DPMOmaha]

Yeah, well, a 2 HR, 6 rbi game will do that.

[welch]

One of the things that ticks me off is that everyone here knew that either Lombo or Rendon was better than Espi.

But Espi still played for the first third of the season.

It was so obvious that he was crap.    It may be the injuries.  I don't know.   But it was still crap.

+1. I would have started Lombo until the All-star break, just to give Rendon time to refine his hitting and 2B fielding. Maybe this is about like the panic call to Harper last season, but so be it.

I hope management has had a serious talk with Espinosa:

(1) Skip the cortizone. Get surgery on the shoulder and do what the doctors want to fix the broken bone in the wrist. There are no shortcuts.

(2) Rest

(3) Find an old-time hitting instructor. Learn the strike-zone. Swing at strikes and ignore balls. If you see a good pitch to hit, then hit...even if it's the first pitch in the at-bat. To quote Roy Sievers (and probably Ted Williams): you might not see another good pitch if you keep your bat on your shoulder and start every AB down no balls and one strike.

(4) Be ready to compete in February, because Lombo is better, and Rendon seems better than Lombo, and who knows what (Obiwan) Kenobi can do if they give him a chance?

[mitlen]

There is a no longer a question.   

 

[tomterp]

It seems that TT is retiring and NO I don't want to take his place.. It is IRONY

It's all yours AB.

[Slateman]

It seems that TT is retiring and NO I don't want to take his place.. It is IRONY

ironing is delicious

[GburgNatsFan]

Ironying?

ironing is delicious

[RL04]

+1. I would have started Lombo until the All-star break, just to give Rendon time ...

I hope management has had a serious talk with Espinosa:

Get surgery ...

(2) Rest

(3) Find an old-time hitting instructor... 

(4) Be ready to compete in February, ...

Your entire post:  spot on.    

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I'm locking this.  He's not on the major league roster.  There is a farm thread on Espinosa.  I'm going to break out the Rendon stuff and keep it in its own thread.