Parmelee at Third?

I think there is a majority opinion that we have to find AB's for Parmelee. We have a boatload of good outfielders, we are really short of talent at every position in the infield, except first base.

Can Chris Parmelee play any worse at third than Plouffe? Other than the 6 week run where Plouffe hit every thing that was thrown near the plate, I would have to give him a failing grade in 2012. He has continued his inconsistent play in the field and his hot streak didn't last that long. I think we are now seeing the real Plouffe. If we stick with him at third we will see inconsistent play in the field at best and flashes at the plate but more than likely a .245, 12 HR, 45 RBI guy.

Would it really hurt to give Parmelee 20 games at third base to end the season? Just to see what we have? I have always thought he showed some pretty good glove while at first and I really think he will have more consistent at bats than Plouffe, if given the chance.

We are heading into the offseason with question marks at 3B, SS and 2nd. It sure would be nice to see someone grab one of those spots with some solid play over the final 3 weeks of the season.

Plouffe is still playing with his thumb issue. Not a fair criticism if you ask me. When we found out exactly what it was, I thought he was in for a tough rest of the season. Inconsistent at 3b? He has been much better than expected and continues to improve. He'll never be a gold glover, but fielding at 3b has been adequate. I realize he had one good streak, but the streak ended with his injury... which kept him out a month... and had to alter the way he holds the bat to avoid putting pressure on the nerve causing the discomfort. I'd like to see him rebound too, but his season this year has given him the opportunity to see what he has next year.

Parmelee at 3b? No. Its one thing to put him out in RF where he has a lot of experience, its another to put him at 3b where he has none.

Nope

Plouffe had another error at third last night, however once again the official scorekeeper called it a hit. Don't get me wrong, I have wanted to find a spot for Plouffe ever since he made it to the majors. I would have actually given him a longer lease at SS, thinking he would eventually work his way out of his throwing problems. I just don't see him coming up with the ball, when it is sharply hit in his direction. The guy is a great athlete, seems like a good team mate, but to play in the majors, you have to contribute with the glove or the bat. I think Plouffe is below average in both areas.

I hope you are right and that the thumb is bothering him. He had a great run prior to the All star break. Although I don't think he will even turn into an average fielder at third, we can overlook his fielding shortcomings if he returns to that guy that stuck with Willingham homer for homer for a while. Like I mentioned, If Plouffe is the answer, that is the end of the discussion. I have a feeling that we are now seeing the real Plouffe and that we will continue our search for a third basemen. Parmelee needs to find a home. If you can hit, being average in the field will work.

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Originally Posted by minn55441

Plouffe had another error at third last night, however once again the official scorekeeper called it a hit. Don't get me wrong, I have wanted to find a spot for Plouffe ever since he made it to the majors. I would have actually given him a longer lease at SS, thinking he would eventually work his way out of his throwing problems. I just don't see him coming up with the ball, when it is sharply hit in his direction. The guy is a great athlete, seems like a good team mate, but to play in the majors, you have to contribute with the glove or the bat. I think Plouffe is below average in both areas.

I hope you are right and that the thumb is bothering him. He had a great run prior to the All star break. Although I don't think he will even turn into an average fielder at third, we can overlook his fielding shortcomings if he returns to that guy that stuck with Willingham homer for homer for a while. Like I mentioned, If Plouffe is the answer, that is the end of the discussion. I have a feeling that we are now seeing the real Plouffe and that we will continue our search for a third basemen. Parmelee needs to find a home. If you can hit, being average in the field will work.

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First off, there is no reason why Plouffe can't be average or close to average at 3B, prior to the injury he was playing just fine. I'm not sure how he was "below average" at the plate as well, he was hitting close to a .900 OPS prior to the injury.

You also just can't assume Parmelee would be average in the field at third base when there is about a 99.9% he wouldn't. It would most likely be a disaster, and there is a reason why Parmelee has only played 1B/RF coming up in the minors, if there was even a slight chance he could play anything else, they already would have given him reps.

Last and most damning of all, Parmelee throws with his left hand. Lefties don't play third base. There have been 4 in the history of the game who have played more then 50 games at the position.

Case closed?

Parmelee puts his glove on the wrong hand for 3B.

Not only would he have to play a position he has never played before. He would have to spin around and do a unique dance before making throws across the diamond. That's a tough thing to add to a guy who hasn't played the position before.

There is a difference between making throws from third to any base, and just catching them.

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Originally Posted by minn55441

Can Chris Parmelee play any worse at third than Plouffe?

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Absolutely yes. First, he's not as athletic as Plouffe, but he's also left-handed!!

Left-handed! D'oh. I'm all for thinking out of the box, but let's be real here.

Ok, we shot down the Parmelee at third experiment before it even got off the ground. I still want to find a spot for Parmelee and the only openings I see are at 3B, SS and 2B.

I think Justin is back and the only starts he will be giving away next year at first will be for Joe. I just can't see Parmelee and Doumit splitting time at DH for a whole season. I hope I'm wrong about Plouffe. It would be nice to have a productive player at 3B that can make the routine plays. I'm not proficient with the fielding statics, but how has Trevor done at 3B so far? In my mind he hasn't passed the eye test. As far as I know, his thumb issues have not affected his fielding.

Why do we go through this cycle of thinking everybody who has a hot bat for a period of time should shift position so we can get them in the line-up? If it is that easy to play third, why have the Twins been searching for a good 3B man since the prime of Corey Koskie?

I agree that Plouffe hasn't had time to really show what he can do since his thumb injury. Unfortunately he was hurt just as pitchers were adjusting to him so we haven't yet really seen if he would then be able to make adjustments himself. And we don't know if the thumb is affecting his fielding.

I don't know if Plouffe is the answer but I have some confidence that putting Parmelee in to play 3B in the majors when he appears to have only played outfield and 1B in the minors is NOT the right thing to do.



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OOPS! I probably would have written something different if I had refreshed my browser before posting. I stand by what I said but it seems a little "off" given the comments right before it.

The defensive metrics haven't been nice to Plouffe. I haven't watched many games in the last month, but the ones I have watched I don't think he's looked great, but acceptable. Maybe he wont be the answer, but the Twins will give him the chance to find out.

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Originally Posted by minn55441

Ok, we shot down the Parmelee at third experiment before it even got off the ground. I still want to find a spot for Parmelee and the only openings I see are at 3B, SS and 2B.

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Isn't the assumption, at this point, that the Twins will trade Span, move Revere to CF and they'll play Parmelee in RF most days next year?

Third base, outside of catcher, is the most unique position on the field. Plouffe is a shortstop so he definitely has the range. It takes time to adjust to being ~10 feet closer to the batter at third and unsurprisingly, Trevor has struggled with his reaction time at the hot corner. It's a different world at third; you have no time to set yourself up for the ball and the position is dominated by instinct and reflex, not necessarily range. Trevor definitely has the arm to stick at the position so that's not a concern.

In short, Plouffe needs more time. Third is a tough position to play and it's going to take him time to adjust. An offseason and a full Spring Training at third should help him considerably (along with healing his thumb). If he's still flailing away out there in early June, then you consider moving him off the position for good.

Plouffe has played very little 3B, let's give him another year....

The answer is easy, trade Morneau, and sign some starting pitching. Put Hicks or Arcia in RF. This isn't really that hard to figure out.

wasnt sure how serious the question was........it was???

Short answer, no.


Long answer, noooooooooooooo.

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Originally Posted by minn55441

Ok, we shot down the Parmelee at third experiment before it even got off the ground. I still want to find a spot for Parmelee and the only openings I see are at 3B, SS and 2B.

I think Justin is back and the only starts he will be giving away next year at first will be for Joe. I just can't see Parmelee and Doumit splitting time at DH for a whole season. I hope I'm wrong about Plouffe. It would be nice to have a productive player at 3B that can make the routine plays. I'm not proficient with the fielding statics, but how has Trevor done at 3B so far? In my mind he hasn't passed the eye test. As far as I know, his thumb issues have not affected his fielding.

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I really don't think the Twins will make it through another season with Mauer/Morneau/doumit/Willingham all being healthy. The playing time issue will work itself out and there's even a chance that we're short solid hitters at 1B/DH next year due to injury/trades.

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Originally Posted by mike wants wins

Plouffe has played very little 3B, let's give him another year....

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George Brett, Wade Boggs and Mike Schmidt were all pretty poor fielding third basemen in the beginning of their careers. All three became gold glove winners, Schmidt quickly and often... Boggs and Brett later in their careers. Of course, they only got the chance to improve because they hit the hell out of the ball. So Plouffe should emulate that.

I'm comfortable with the possibility that there is a hypothetical player who is athletic enough to play third base in spite of throwing left-handed. I do not believe, however, that Chris Parmelee is the specific manifestation of that talent.