re: HELENIHI shaking the haters off...

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Argue what? If you don't think Mainieri knows what he is doing, just say so.

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I guess you dont follow the rant very closely. Go back and check my post history and tell me if any one on here defends PM more than me....go ahead...

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he really hasnt done much

he struggled the last half of last year and at the beginning of this year and just lately has started to make some contact.


why do you think he lost his job earlier this year?

he was hitting like .240's and had like 1 extra base hit in 15 games or so. He was horrible.


and no way he should be playing ahead of Hanover. Hanover has sparked our team once he entered the lineup. We were in quicksand with Helenhi out there.



and our record with Helenihi starting compared to Nola is extremely misleading. EXTREMELY.

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I agree with this.

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I agree with this

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Come on Money...you're smarter than this. Lester is like MSNBC...some of the facts but a bit misleading. No one (or hardly anyone) is really saying Helenihi should be starting ahead of Hanover. But many of us think Helenihi should platoon some against lefties..especially since J Mitch couldnt hit a lefty if he was throwing beach balls. That's really the crux of the situation...

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To go further with DH getting at bats in place of Mitchell takes us to the art of putting the ball in play.A strikeout is obviously the worst possible outcome for an at bat,the fact that a groundout or flyout has a chance to be a productive at bat gets lost in the numbers.Mitchell's propensity to strike out versus lefties really makes this move something coach PM has to consider.We scored a couple of runs today by putting the ball in play and forcing your opponent to make a play.JMHO

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well said. It took a Pinch hit hr by DH to even get this topic discussed. I wonder if DH has been lighting it up in batting practice lately and PM couldnt ignore it...

Anyhow..as an LSU fan..you have to hope DH can help against lefty pitching in postseason...

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And since when is a friggin' PLATOON over-managing?

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who do you take out the lineup?

none of those guys have proved to be competent hitters, vs LH or RH, to warrant a start over ANY of our OF's, who are arguably 3 of our best hitters.


You dont platoon your best players.

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While we're on the fielding thing, in 20 starts and 34 games, Nola's made 37 PO, 48 assists, and 4 errors for a fielding pct of 955. LeMahieu, in 56 games, has 71 PO, 129 assists, and 8 errors for a fielding pct of 962. LeMahieu makes a lot more plays and about the same number of errors. LeMahieu's defense is not substnatially inferior, if at all, to Nola's.

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I dont think Nola is any better than LeMahieu. Not at all. I said that when they inserted him in the lineup.

But putting Nola in the lineup basically took Landry out for good. Mainieri was disappointed with the lack of double plays being turned(coincidence, IMO..but he thought otherwise), so he turned to Nola at SS. He prob thought he could kill 2 birds with one stone. ie, possibly getting more DP's, and not losing anything on the defensive side. And i think he has accomplished those goals.

Besides, PM has commented many times that Nola has been hitting the ball very hard, just getting outs. Those start to find holes eventually.

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Why is Helenihi, who is also a plus defender, not getting the benefit of the doubt when he so obviously can help the team in our weakest area (hitting LHP)?

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I think his DEF is overrated. People call him a plus defender because he isnt a great hitter. They just assume I guess.

And i dont think our team improves by taking Nola out and putting Helenihi in. Probably about the same, IMO. But we've been doing pretty well with the current lineup, no need to switch it up.


with all this talk about him hitting LHP, whats his avg vs LHP?? any idea?

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To go further with DH getting at bats in place of Mitchell takes us to the art of putting the ball in play.A strikeout is obviously the worst possible outcome for an at bat,the fact that a groundout or flyout has a chance to be a productive at bat gets lost in the numbers.Mitchell's propensity to strike out versus lefties really makes this move something coach PM has to consider.We scored a couple of runs today by putting the ball in play and forcing your opponent to make a play.JMHO

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Yeah, finally. I was told never to post again by some douchebag for making a similar observation about two weeks ago. Strikeouts by Mitchell against lefties is probably about 60-70%. Strikeouts are inning killers. Is it any wonder that LSU pitching has the best strikeout totals and strikeout to walk ratio? I mean the strikeouts that Ranaudo and Coleman get have won us probably an extra 3 or 4 games this year.

Mitchell has the best OBP% on the team. Yes, he strikes out a lot, but he also gets on base more than anyone and steals bases better than anyone on the team.

Even if he cant hit lefties, you dont take him out of the lineup.

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Even if he cant hit lefties, you dont take him out of the lineup.

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even against lefties? You need to go to sleep...seriously.

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Come on Money...you're smarter than this. Lester is like MSNBC...some of the facts but a bit misleading. No one (or hardly anyone) is really saying Helenihi should be starting ahead of Hanover. But many of us think Helenihi should platoon some against lefties..especially since J Mitch couldnt hit a lefty if he was throwing beach balls. That's really the crux of the situation...

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Who is sitting for Helenihi? Mitchell? He's the only one you can consider.

But, unless things have changed, Helenihi can be pitched to just as easy as Mitchell can. I think you guys have overreacted to a little success by Helenihi. Once the book got out on Helenihi last year, he was done. You pitch him with breaking balls out of the zone(has a lot of trouble laying off) and fastballs way up with two strikes (can't lay off). Plus, you lose the speed on the basepaths of Mitchell and a pretty damn good OBP.

I like Helenihi in a pitch hit role, but I don't think he's the best option as a starter.