In one of Sunday's posts from Atlanta, I wrote that Wes Helms told me he doesn't believe he has been relegated to a platoon situation at third base. But, clearly, he has lost his grip on the starting job.Helms, who usually starts against left-handed pitchers, wasn't in the lineup tonight against soft-tossing Diamondbacks lefty Doug Davis. He has started only eight of the past 20 games, just three at third base. Charlie Manuel says he still has faith in Helms, but with switch-hitting Abraham Nunez and lefty-swinging Greg Dobbs outplaying him, Manuel is inclined to use them more often, regardless of the two-year, $5.45 million contract Helms signed in the offseason. Dobbs will probably play tomorrow against D-Backs right-hander Micah Owings, and all bets are off Wednesday with lefty Randy Johnson on the mound.
Reasons abound for Helms' reduced playing time, but almost all are tied to his performance relative to Dobbs and Nunez. Helms hasn't homered in 132 at-bats, the longest he's gone into a season without going deep. Batting in the middle of the lineup, he has only 14 RBIs, fewer than No. 2 batter Shane Victorino (21) and No. 8 batter Carlos Ruiz (18). And, a 4-for-25 skid has dropped Helms' average to .265.
Meanwhile, Dobbs has four homers and 21 RBIs in only 85 at-bats and is batting .306. He's also been something of a lucky charm for the Phillies, who are 13-2 when Dobbs starts. Nunez is batting .299 and has more speed and plays better defense than Helms or Dobbs.
OK, time for you to play manager. Who should be the starter at third?
3 comments:
That's a tough question since Nunez's glove is outstanding and he is hitting well this season. The defense of Dobbs isn't nearly as good as Nunez, and might not even be as good as Helms, even though we all know that Helms seems to reign supreme as the third-base Error King.
I love having Dobbs off the bench, but if we could have him semi-regularly for 4 AB's per game, that would be fine too. He gets the job done and he wants to be here and help the team.
It's still a tough question, but I say start Nunez for now, leave Helms on the bench, bring in Dobbs as a late-inning replacement and also let him start for Utley or Howard when they need a day off. Utley and Rollins could use one desparately, which would allow Dobbs to start at third and Nunez at second.
Having an infield like our current one certainly seems to be a luxury so far.
nunez against lefties and dobbs against righties. with helms getting some starts against lefties to give nunez a day off. nunez also has to play SS and 2b as well, so he will get plenty of AB's. it'd be good to give him some starts against a tough lefty to give chase some more days off.
when that happens helms can get some starts at third. plus i kinda like helms off of the bench as a hitter. same with dobbs. dobbs has great AB's all the time. works the count and gets favorable pitches to hit since relievers HATE to walk people.
Theyve been platooning since opening day at third, and they should just continue to do so depending on the situation/starter. Two weeks ago, I would say that Dobbs should play everyday at any position, depending on who needs the breather. Now, while I'm not as confidenet as I was in his defense, I still think many of his recent mistakes we're mental and would still feel cozy with him out there late-inning. He's had some exceptional scoops at first and some good knockdowns at third.
He'd be a great DH, actually.
But his bat needs to stay in the lineup right now. That's for certain.
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