Desmond...Not so much!

I think the real problem is that he’s pressing at the plate stuck in the eight spot and getting nothing to hit then on the field is a recipe for disaster for a young kid, but they game Alberto his chance, gave up on Guzman at short and committed to letting Desmond grow while the team wasn’t competing. Hopefully he starts to hit and cuts down on the E’s in the second-half, or you at least know what he can get done over a full season, and at 24 I think he’s in the Bernadina/Maxwell category where he has to do it now or never…

Are you serious? Trade him for WHAT, and to WHO??? Do you really believe someone would trade for the MLB leader in ERRORS? Patrick is absolutely correct…..gotta try and let him work it out, and I for one thinks that he will be fine in the long run.

I see that you’re new around here, and I’m always glad to see new people who want to respect express their opinions. I honestly think that this fanpost may have been more appropriate in one of the game writeup threads or even better one of the gamethreads where there’s more folks around and we had a betters sense of where you’re coming from. Venting about Desmond is a pretty common deal around here and a lot of time’s it’s best to learn about who the other posters are before you jump into the deep end of the pool.

I don’t think that management thinks “Desmond is so good.” I think that they feel that he is the best option for the long term development and health of the team. His issues are issues that can only be learned at the big league level. He needs to learn how to hit situationally better and he needs to learn how to reduce his errors in the pressured environment of the Big Leagues, where every at bat and every play goes onto your record and helps determine whether you’ll make it or not. He’s probably in the bottom third of the league in shortstops because of his errors and his low On Base Percentage.

But if you’re going to pull him, you’ve got to come up with a better answer for the long term growth of the team. Throw Guzman out there? He’s not under contract for next year and he’s a proven no range defender. Throw Alberto Gonzalez out there? He’s had multiple opportunities to prove that he can’t play defense. Trade for someone? That requires we give something up of value. You’re going to have to give up something to get that piece. Even Adam Dunn for Beckham of the White Sox (2B highly regarded young player for the White Sox) currently doesn’t seem to have much chance of happening. We don’t have the Beckett + Lowell for Hanley Ramirez level prospects package to offer for that. Call up someone for the minors? Who? Danny Espinosa is at AA and barely hitting enough to deserve a callup to AAA next year. There really is no young talent on AAA Syracuse’s roster.

If you want to trade Desmond, you’re basically talking about the equivalent of what the Braves just did in trading Yuniel Escobar for Alex Gonzalez and a couple of moderate prospects. Difference is we’re a lot closer to the Blue Jays side of that equation and need to find ways to take our young flawed players and coach them into improvement or give them every chance to learn from their mistakes.

Desmond’s improvement would be worth more to me than passing the Marlins. But even if he remains the same, the starting pitching, CF offense, and 2B problem are greater issues for me going forward. Yep, he’s certainly not great and I agree with you hat he’s bad now. But he is one of the few players on our roster who might get better. Half a season ain’t enough to doom someone or guarantee success for the rest of their career, as hard as it is to watch them fail consistently as a passionate fan.

That I keep hearing and that doesn’t make sense to me is people saying you learn to play defense in the minors. Major league players are just better than minor leaguers and I don’t think a player can really learn how to handle a ball coming off a bat that is moving faster than a bat moves in the minor leagues. The speed of the game is just faster at the major league level. Our pitching staff is also a super pitch to contact staff and logically it stands to reason that Desmond has probably had more chances on balls than other short stops that have a better pitching staff in front of them. I just don’t see his errors as anything that can’t be worked out.

Dude/(Dame?) drops by, lobs a grenade, and then runs away. People are debating you. Stand up and defend yourself or admit changed viewpoints!

This is his first year and shortstops tend to make a lot of errors their first year. Sometimes Desmond tries to do to much. He wants to make the heroic play and doesn’t do the smart thing. He’ll learn. Sometimes you just have to hold it and not make a throw. He has many errors where he tries to force things, then it would only compound the problem. Have you seen some of the fantastic plays he can make? He has incredible range. I’m not concerned at the moment. Yes, it is very frustrating but those are growing pains. He is going to be fine.