Platoon worth consideration if Rowand goes cold

Aaron Rowand is just 2-20 with his new team this spring with a high number of strikeouts. If he continues to struggle, it wouldn’t be a bad play to ease him into full-time duty by giving Victorino more time against right-handed pitching.

Rowand is undoubtedly the center fielder of choice, but the Phillies could do well leaving some of his strikeouts and low on-base percentage on the bench if the team feels he is not seeing the ball correctly. He’s not an ideal No. 2 hitter, which is where he’s been penciled in by Charlie Manuel. The team is losing close to .70 OBP over last season’s duo of Jason Michaels and Kenny Lofton if Rowand produces what he did last season (.329)

On the other hand, last season’s International League MVP could be a very nice switch-hitting No. 2, with good speed and potentially little loss of defense in center field.

If Rowand’s timing is not where it should be, and Victorino looks ready, the Phillies should not sacrifice a spot in the lineup just so Rowand can work it out. I’m ready for the Phillies to explode from the gate, and if Manuel feels something is off with his new center fielder, he should do what it takes to make sure the bottom line is met, and the bottom line is winning.

Hopefully, it’s much ado about nothing and Rowand adjusts by opening day. Odds are, he will, but expect to see a lot more of Victorino at the corners than we did of Jason Michaels. Bobby Abreu and Pat Burrell are not spring chickens.

Comments

[Ed]

It's WAY early for this I think.

[J. Weitzel]

Call it "platoon awareness."

[John Salmon]

It may be too early-but it would be nice to know Manuel would be flexible enough to do this. There's real potential for Rowand to be a problem in the 2-spot.

[RickSchuBlues]

I don't think that would ever happen, even if Rowand started 6 for 60. He's the Phillies' prime off-season acquisition and besides, Manuel has demonstrated that he'll stick with his veterans (i.e. David Bell) regardless of their struggles. Moreover, you don't want to rely too heavily on Victorino, who has not showed (in any positive way to date) what he can do with increased exposure on the field. I think Rowand will be fine, anyhow.

[Ed]

I should rephrase:

It's WAY early for this, I HOPE. :-)

[That Dude]

NOW we miss Jmike's OBP? Lol

[Adam]

Agreed w/ Ed and Rick. Way to early.

Plus, I have no clue how Rowand normally performs early in the season, or what a typical spring training for him is.

One thing I can say is that the Phillies definitely traded for him under the assumption that his stats would, at the least, be somewhere between 2004 and 2005, if not at 2005 levels considering Citizen's Banks proportions. That would mean an OBP of at least .340 or .350, plus increased power and defense. A good trade-off. And there's no guarantees about how Victorino will adapt to Major League pitching, he started off slowly this spring too.

[Tom Goodman]

I cannot believe people are ready to even consider platooning an established player after 20 something AB's in Spring Training.