My thoughts on Schneider, Polanco, and Gload (Part II)
Although Polanco is a two time gold glove second basemen, after winning it again in 2009, he has not played third base for an entire season in his career, and also not regularly since he left the Phillies in 2005. Feliz was very solid defensively for the Phillies, and it is tough to make a position change for any player. Having said that, I believe that Polanco will do a good job switching to third base for the Phillies in 2010. Polanco has played most of his career at second base, but he does have 322 games under his belt at third base as well. In fact, looking at the numbers it does not seem to be a dramatic difference between the two players. In 10 seasons at third base for Pedro Feliz, he has a .955 career fielding percentage, and in seven seasons at third for Polanco, he has a .953 fielding percentage. Therefore, if the Phillies do not end up losing anything with this move defensively, it could end up being a major upgrade for the team.
Lastly, Ross Gload, whom the Phillies signed away from the Florida Marlins, provides another good bat off the bench. Gload has very good numbers for a utility player. Gload, who is an outfielder/pinch-hitter, has a .283 career average, and he brings a .300 average as a pinch-hitter to the Phillies. Gload is also coming off a very good year for the Marlins in which he hit .318 as a pinch hitter. With the way Greg Dobbs struggled last season, Gload is another left-handed bat off the bench that can provide some insurance. Gload now completes the Phillies bench to go along with Dobbs, Ben Francisco, Schneider, and Juan Castro. The Gload two year signing means that Matt Stairs will most likely not be back in 2010. Stairs had a great run with the Phillies though, and his majestic homeruns will always be remembered. The 2009-2010 offseason continues, so make sure you keep coming back for more updates, opinion pieces, and “getting to know your Phillies” pieces.
Topics: Career Average, Dramatic Difference, Entire Season, Fielding Percentage, Florida Marlins, Gold Glove, Good Year, Greg Dobbs, Homeruns, Juan Castro, Matt Stairs, Opinion Pieces, Phillies, Pinch Hitter, Polanco, Position Change, Ross Gload, Second Basemen, Seven Seasons, Time Gold
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