Apparently, Peter Gammons said on ESPN Radio last week that Omar Vizquel might be a good replacement in Boston for the oft-maligned Julio Lugo. Nick Cafardo briefly mentioned Vizquel in his Sunday Notes section, saying that:
Vizquel is quite fond of Boston but would be interested only if he were a starter. He has a close relationship with Manny Ram??rez from their Cleveland days. Vizquel still has a terrific glove and can hit.
Okay, cool. He’s fond of Boston. Interested only if a starter? Understandable. Close relationship with Manny? Sweet. Terrific glove? Won’t debate that. Can hit?
Wait… can hit? Did Cafardo really define someone who struggled to a .241/305/.316 line last year as someone who “can hit?”
Yeah, Omar has a .360/.467/.440 line this year. That comes in eight games. Yeah, for three years before last year’s anemic line, he showed he could hit for contact and get on base, but has zero power.
He’s also 41 years old and wants to play in 2009. I’m just not seeing it happen, not right now. If Lugo continues to make three errors a game, then maybe I can see us acquiring Vizquel in a desperation move closer to the trading deadline, but when Lugo is hitting .287/.357/.341 — a very close approximation of Vizquel’s ceiling at the moment — then you don’t make that move until Lugo’s defense (or lack thereof) absolutely forces your hand.
I’m a fan of Omar — always have been one, always will be one. But to think that Omar would present an upgrade over Lugo at this point in time is awfully shortsighted. We have to keep playing Lugo. We didn’t have any complaints about Lugo’s defense last year, right? We complained about his offense, and Lugo’s handling the stick fine these days (not well, but fine, and we’ll take fine) but we’re going to let a month and a half dictate our opinion on his defense?
Lord knows we all are frustrated with Lugo and he’s our favorite whipping boy, but Omar Vizquel does not represent a significant upgrade over Lugo at this point in time.
Perhaps my tune will change in the coming months, but right now, acquiring Omar looks like a big mistake.
What do you think? Am I way off base, or should we look to bring Omar to Boston?
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