Thread: Hughes Left On The Bench

I found it interesting today that when Casilla was lifted for Burroughs, and Gardy had to go to his bench for a new second baseman, that he brought in Plouffe over Hughes. It was certainly a defensible move, but it raises the question - exactly when would Hughes be a bench asset?

Plouffe can play every position Hughes can and he would probably be the preferred pinch hitter when facing lefties. Is the only time that Hughes going to be used when Plouffe has already filled in somewhere else?

It was a curious move, I did a double-take when I saw Plouffe take second (not that I was shocked or anything, I was just expecting to see Hughes). I imagine we'll mostly see Hughes when Plouffe is starting in right and occasionally spelling Casilla. I suppose there are lots of possibilities but it would cause significant shuffling of the deck.

Hughes is significantly better defensively at 2B than Plouffe and while that is not saying much, the offensive prowess is not much different at this point. Both should get their time as both should start against lefties.

I was surprised by the move as well. Plouffe had a decent spring, but Hughes' was better. Either it was a gross over-thinking by Gardy, or a gut-instinct move. I'll got with the latter.

In that whole sequence, I was most disappointed in Burroughs. Must have been the moment, or something. First pitch as a PH? Come on.

taking a few pitches would have been good, but Burroughs got a good pitch to hit... I wonder how patient the twins will be with Cassilla if his offense starts slowly?

Originally Posted by shanewahl

Hughes is significantly better defensively at 2B than Plouffe and while that is not saying much, the offensive prowess is not much different at this point. Both should get their time as both should start against lefties.

I wouldn't say Hughes is significantly better defensively at 2B than Plouffe, if fact I would say the exact opposite. Plouffe is/has been an above average SS at times. His problem has been the ability to throw the ball from SS to 1B consistantly. Plouffe is quicker, has more range and has a stronger arm than Hughes, it is yet to been seen whether Plouffe's throwing problems with follow him around the diamond.

I like Hughes, I would have preferred to see Hughes first off the bench instead of burroughs. We could have left Hughes in the game at 2B and not have been forced to make a defensive substitution at that time. As it was, with Borroughs taking the at bat, Gardy was forced to put someone else in at second. It would have been better to save both Plouffe and Borroughs for another spot. Then again, they don't pay me to manage. Maybe borroughs looked better in BP. Maybe Luke hasn't looked so good since they left camp?

Come on guys it's only the first game of the season. If anything you should be second guessing yourself for thinking that Gardy would be smart enough to make a proper decision no matter the situation. He probably bases his decisons by using a magic eight ball.

Originally Posted by minn55441

I would have preferred to see Hughes first off the bench instead of burroughs. We could have left Hughes in the game at 2B and not have been forced to make a defensive substitution at that time. As it was, with Borroughs taking the at bat, Gardy was forced to put someone else in at second. It would have been better to save both Plouffe and Borroughs for another spot. Then again, they don't pay me to manage. Maybe borroughs looked better in BP. Maybe Luke hasn't looked so good since they left camp?

Exactly. Hughes should have been the go to over Burroughs for that at-bat. Yeah, I know what you're all thinking.. Burroughs is a lefty going up against Lindstrom the Righty, but Hughes hits better off RHPs than he does LHPs. Also, note that it was Plouffe who ended the short rally in the ninth vs. Johnson ( RHP vs. RHB ). Plouffe does not hit as well as Hughes off RHP.

Well, Revere ended up pinch-running for Parmelee in the ninth. Had the Twins scored and gone to the bottom of the ninth, Hughes would have come in for Revere and played first... right? (Unless Gardy was going to move Revere to right and Doumit in to play first...)

Originally Posted by woolhouse

Well, Revere ended up pinch-running for Parmelee in the ninth. Had the Twins scored and gone to the bottom of the ninth, Hughes would have come in for Revere and played first... right? (Unless Gardy was going to move Revere to right and Doumit in to play first...)

That is correct. Revere moves to OF. Although you could also move Mauer to 1st and Doumit to C.
So, by choosing Burroughs over Hughes to PH for Casilla and replacing Burroughs with Plouffe, you reduce your options for OF as well.

Thoughts:
1.) can't make any rash judgments based on one game, but
2.) I didn't like Burroughs swinging at the first pitch, but then again, he got a pitch right down the middle and who knows if he would have seen another one of those.
3.) I definitely did a double-take when I saw Plouffe at 2B instead of Hughes. He did make the one play hit at him...

Originally Posted by shanewahl

Hughes is significantly better defensively at 2B than Plouffe

False (apparently I have to use at least 10 letters for a post, so this is what this is)

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Thoughts:
1.) can't make any rash judgments based on one game, but
2.) I didn't like Burroughs swinging at the first pitch, but then again, he got a pitch right down the middle and who knows if he would have seen another one of those.
3.) I definitely did a double-take when I saw Plouffe at 2B instead of Hughes. He did make the one play hit at him...

Plouffe is a better player and has a much higher upside/chance to be a contributor on the major league team then Hughes. I don't understand why people are so shocked?

I think Hughes has a chance to be a decent bench player for a couple years, but for whatever reason he seems to be one of the more over-rated players Twins amongst fans.

Agreed with VodkaDave... Hughes may not be 'significantly' better than Plouffe at 2B, but he is better... Also, Plouffe has much more upside offensively and defensively than Hughes.

Hughes has huge spring trainings when he gets a chance to play every day. Then the regular season starts and he plays about every third day. I think many fans (myself included) are curious what he would do if he did get every day playing time and at bats for a couple of months. He may be terrible, and he could hit 7-8 homers in a month.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Agreed with VodkaDave... Hughes may not be 'significantly' better than Plouffe at 2B, but he is better... Also, Plouffe has much more upside offensively and defensively than Hughes.

Hughes has huge spring trainings when he gets a chance to play every day. Then the regular season starts and he plays about every third day. I think many fans (myself included) are curious what he would do if he did get every day playing time and at bats for a couple of months. He may be terrible, and he could hit 7-8 homers in a month.

I agree. I'm thinking this season via injury he will get that opportunity. This is the best bench we have had for awhile. No stars but capable players with upside.

Originally Posted by Seth Stohs

Agreed with VodkaDave... Hughes may not be 'significantly' better than Plouffe at 2B, but he is better... Also, Plouffe has much more upside offensively and defensively than Hughes.

Hughes has huge spring trainings when he gets a chance to play every day. Then the regular season starts and he plays about every third day. I think many fans (myself included) are curious what he would do if he did get every day playing time and at bats for a couple of months. He may be terrible, and he could hit 7-8 homers in a month.

Hughes also has issues staying healthy which is another reason why he has never really been viewed as a starter. He certainly has some raw power, but to be honest he seems to strike out quite a bit when he faces good major league pitching. He's not exactly a AAAA type guy, just more or less a guy who is nice to have in the organization because he won't kill you if you have to start him for a week or two.

In August and Sept last year Hughes played nearly every day. (35 of the final 39 games, 29 of those games he started)

He put up a rather unimpressive line of .206/.277/.374 but did have 4 HR, Hughes struck out way to much though (over 25%) I just don't see him ever being an every day guy for this organization.

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