Who knew? Carlos Gomez is the early spring “Hot Topic”

If just a week ago, someone wrote an article about how Carloz Gomez would be the biggest story of spring training……I probably would not have read it.  Now, I have no choice because it has become an interesting story over the past few days.  We all know that one of my Brewers man crushes, Lorenzo Cain, was a casualty of the Greinke War and looked to be the future in CF for us.  When we won the Greinke War, we came out a CF short.  I knew that this would be something worth watching, but I did not think that Roenicke would say, “It is his job to lose.”

Let’s face facts.  Gomez is a catastrophe in the batters box.  Yet, the kid is so electric in the field and on the base paths.  Here is the problem with being really good at stealing bases, you have to actually get on base before you can steal an additional base.  CarGo has never hit .300 ……..in on base percentage!!  The kid was the leadoff batter in Minnesota, where he was quickly replaced by someone who could hit the ball for average (see Denard Span).  Now that this information is out in the open, why would you make the job his to lose?

     Potential is an amazing thing, sometimes a player reaches it and we all sit back and marvel in it’s majesty.  Other times, it acts as an embarrassing excuse.  Sometimes the pieces of the puzzle just don’t align.  Maybe the puzzle factory assembly cutting device had a little hitch that day, so the pieces are just a little off.  Carlos Gomez has a lot of potential.  He is still so young that maybe Roenicke and Sveum will be able to convince him to take some pitches.  The kid hasn’t realized this yet, but he is more valuable as a base-runner than a Home-Run hitter.  Willie “Mays” Hayes much? 

     I really want him to be good.  Seriously, I do.  The problem is that, until he learns to not swing at every-single-pitch, people will outplay him and he will be back on the bench tomorrow.  No coach is going to bench a guy who is batting .240 with a .320 OBP though?  That’s not even considering all the bases he would steal.  Coach Ron is completely aware of this fact.  If that crafty old man can get through to this young Dominican kid, what an amazing situation for us in Brewlandia.  If you don’t know about what he does in the outfield, you have not been watching baseball over the last few years.  Watch this. 

On a serious note, I am having some minor technical difficulties with videos.  My apologies, but I am providing links to ease your eye palats.  Below are some great articles and videos from the Brewers universe.

Spring Training Round-Up: Links Edition

•     Baseball Prospectus thinks we are no better than the common Cardinal.  Bob Wolfley breaks it down

•  Nicole Haas gives us very pleasant walk down Gary Sheffield memory lane.

• My man Ray DeRousse over at Redbird Rant asks a very important question about the retirement of Jim Edmonds.

• Adam McCalvy of MLB.comwrote an excellent article about Casey McGehee.

• Need a friend?  LaTroy Hawkins does too……..on Twitter.  You can follow him; @Adidas219

• Tomorrow is the first day of full team workouts.  New Boss R. Roenicke has been waiting for this moment for 11 years.