As part of A’s FanFest this past weekend, a few members of the A’s staff took some time out to attend a bloggers-only press conference in the bowels of the Oracle Arena. A’s manager Bob Melvin was kind enough to stop by between his various autograph sessions and photo ops to field a few questions. And A’s Farm was particularly eager to get the skipper’s take on the A’s current situation at second base…
On Jemile Weeks, Scott Sizemore and the competition at second base…
Well, first and foremost, I like that we have some competition there. And I think that for both those guys, in spring training, it’s important because they’re playing for their job right there. And you want to see what kind of shape somebody comes in, what kind of desire, what kind of attitude they’re going to take towards that. Now they’re not the only two guys. Certainly Adam Rosales can play everywhere. It almost works against Rosie some that he is so versatile and can play other positions. And then we’re also going to look at Grant Green who’s going to get some at-bats over there, as well as Eric Sogard. So we have some options there. As we sit here right now, probably the two most prominent options are Weeks and Sizemore. I think it’s nice that we have some competition. And the versatility plays into our club as well, in that Scotty can play third and we can move some guys around to try to get our best lineup on a particular day. But both those guys will be in a competition type mode in spring training…In the case of Scotty, who played a full year at third, got hurt, and now he’s going back to second base, you want to make sure he gets comfortable over there first. And you don’t start evaluating right away on him, because you know it’s going to take some time for him to be comfortable. You know, it’s not uncommon for a guy who has a rookie year like Jemile had to not have as good a year the next year. And I think, even though it was difficult for him last year, he’ll probably benefit from that going forward, with his mindset each and every day coming to second base. It’s easy to read your press clippings – you know “I’m the untouchable guy,” “I’m the guy that’s the leadoff guy,” “I have the second base job.” And it’s not his fault – a lot of younger players have to go through that. That can be dangerous. But I know, I’ve talked to him here recently, and he is really looking forward and knows that he still has an opportunity and is grateful for that. I think you’ll see a different Jemile Weeks this spring…But there’s no limitations on Scotty. He’s a hard-working kid, and he put himself in the position of going to spring training this year to have no limitations based on the way he rehabbed and worked. It’s going to take probably a little time. It’s a completely different angle over at second base. The balls are on you a little bit later. You have different things that you have to do. He has experience doing it before. But there’s still going to be a learning curve for him, turning double plays and just learning the angles and the position again. And, therefore, we’ll give him some time to be comfortable before we really start evaluating him more objectively. But as far as the rehab goes, he’s 100% and looking forward to getting out there and contributing however he can.
On new shortstop Hiro Nakajima…
Well, I think it’s tougher to get a handle on an international player probably more so defensively than offensively. We do know that he has a lot of leadership qualities – that he likes to be the guy. He seems to have a great personality. And I’ve said before, it seems like the guys who were leaders in Japan seem to have the best chance of succeeding over here – whether it’s a Matsui, whether it’s an Ichiro – and we feel like he falls into that category. We’re excited about it. But until you get your hands on him and watch him on a day-to-day basis, you’re not 100% sure if your evaluation is right, certainly on the defensive end of it.
On what he’s looking for in the leadoff spot…
Well, I think Coco Crisp does a good job at that. Granted, you look at it and you look at on-base percentage and Coco’s not a .380 on-base guy, but he’s there when you need him. We do have some other guys on days that he doesn’t play. Chris Young has led off against left-handed pitchers before. Look at his numbers against lefties. He hit a bunch of homers for me in his rookie year, and he understands leading off as well. You know, John Jaso is a guy who has led off. And you look at the on-base and you look at what he does, not only his patience but batting average with balls in play, there are a lot of things that would suggest this guy can hit up in the lineup, based on his on-base and the way he handles the bat. So whether he’s hitting in the two-hole one day, or if I have some guys off, it’s not totally out of the question that he could potentially lead off too. He gives us a lot of flexibility where he can hit in the lineup. And based on some increased power last year too, we feel like he can kind of go to a different level as far as that goes and could be a production guy later in the order.
On former first baseman Daric Barton’s chances of making the roster…
Well, you know what, you make your chances. And he did years before to put himself in the position to play every day. And that’s the way he has to look at it again. I don’t want him coming in thinking, “I have no chance to make the team here.” If you look at it, defensively, he’s the only true defender at the position. And he’s a good defender at the position – very good. So we felt like it was important to keep him. I mean, if Brandon Moss goes down, it’s obviously a natural for Daric Barton to take over that position. Chris Carter plays over there some too. So coming into camp, he’s going to be fighting to make a 25-man roster again. And I know he’s appreciative of another opportunity for him. So as quickly as it can change, it can flip back the other way as well.
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