Life Would Be A Lot Easier If The Tigers Played Their Best Hitter Every Day
I genuinely like having A.J. Hinch as a manager. I wish he was given better rosters, but they can win with him. He's level-headed, intelligent, and analytically minded. He's done a masterful job managing the bullpen every year that he's been in Detroit. This is not some anti-Hinch blog. Even with me saying that I'm sure there will still be people who claim that I am clamoring for A.J. Hinch to be fired. That isn't the case. A.J. Hinch has not failed the Tigers. The Tigers have failed him. I have one massive issue with Hinch, and it's an issue that only became a thing this season. The man is addicted to playing matchups. On paper, I have no problem with this. I encourage it in most instances. But with Riley Greene still, on the I.L., this team has one legitimate, middle-of-the-lineup power bat named Kerry Carpenter. Yes, I'm aware Jake Rogers and Spencer Torkelson have more home runs, but Carpenter has been the team's most consistent hitter, and yet A.J. never plays him against left-handed pitching.
Kerry Carpenter is a name that most people in baseball probably haven't heard of. There are reasons for that, a significant one being that he plays for the Tigers, but because Detroit hasn't developed a star power bat in 30 years, Carpenter's ascension has been inspiring. He hasn't had to deal with a lot of growing pains. He's played 74 games at the big league level and put up a 127 OPS+ with 14 home runs. He's a good Major League hitter, far and away the best this pathetic offense offers. Everyone can tell that the team is different when he's in the lineup. Everyone except for A.J. Keep in mind, I have ZERO issues with any manager playing the matchups. There are still many instances in which going with your gut matters. Humans still play this sport, but I'd say it if I genuinely felt Kerry Carpenter wasn't the best option against left-handed pitching. A.J. is trying to be logical and avoid the lefty-on-lefty matchups. But his logic doesn't make sense when you look at the other players on this roster.
Kerry Carpenter has only had 38 plate appearances against lefties in his Major League career. He has a .257 batting average at a .744 OPS. Those aren't incredible numbers, but I feel like that's par for the course. He's hit two home runs off of lefties as well. He's only had 12 plate appearances against lefties this year, but his OPS is over 1.000. In the long run, his numbers against left-handed pitching will be weaker than they are against righties, but he's still serviceable. The same can't be said about other players on the team. Yesterday, Carpenter sat to start the game. Eric Haase played left field, Carpenter's usual position. Haase has 57 plate appearances against lefties this year. His OPS is .466. Jonathan Schoop gets consistent at-bats against lefties. His OPS against them this season is .611. Javier Baez attempts to play baseball almost every day in the heart of the Tigers lineup. His OPS against lefties this year is .591. None of these guys get punished or sit out against left-handed pitching. The only player constantly sitting in the dugout against lefties is the one player on the team that's done his job with the bat in his hands.
If Kerry Carpenter were thrown out against left-handed pitching every day and going 0-4, I'd hate to see it, but I'd still support the decision to play him. He's in his second year. He needs to learn. Are you going to give those at-bats to Schoop? Jonathan Schoop is essentially Milton from "Office Space" at this point. He works for the Tigers, but people need to learn what he does. The same goes for Eric Haase, who has been a fantastic story over the last two years for Detroit, but he's been abysmal at the dish this year, and his defense behind home plate isn't good either. So what am I missing? I feel like I'm talking crazy pills. If I thought A.J. Hinch was some bozo who doesn't have a good feel for his clubhouse, I'd shrug my shoulders at this stuff. But I know this guy is a good manager. I know that he sees what we see, so it baffles me that he constantly sits his better hitter. Maybe you throw Carpenter out there, and he never learns how to square up lefties. Perhaps he's destined to be a platoon guy for life, but we will know when he gets the reps. Even if he struggles, you can't convince me that putting Haase, Schoop, or Javy in the lineup instead of him is a better option.