Two Takes On Second Base: Marlins And Dee Gordon

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Flash Gordon is back. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

When the Miami Marlins open up a huge series against fellow NL Wild Card contender St. Louis Thursday night at Marlins Park, they will do so with a brand new All-Star second baseman on the roster.

Dee Gordon is back sports fans, and the reigning National League Batting Champion could end up playing a huge roll in pushing the Marlins on toward October.

Or he could end up being a monumental distraction that helps bring this feel good story crashing back down to Earth just in time for the crosstown Dolphins to start playing preseason games.

Or maybe he’ll play just well enough that some team loses their head and offers the Marlins a top-flight starting pitcher in exchange for Gordon and the team’s top two healthy, eligible prospects.

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All are possibilities. The only certainty is that Don Mattingly and the Marlins are going to have some tough choices to make, and in a hurry. The issue of who gets sent down to clear a roster spot looms large, and could merit an article all on its own. Can you really demote Don Kelly after Wednesday’s 3 for 5, 2 RBI outburst? Can you roll with just four bonafide outfielders, and get by without Cole Gillespie? Does Dee Gordon effectively replace Miguel Rojas for two months? Everything could be on the table, even stalling for time and briefly demoting a member of the bullpen.

But the biggest question for me is what Gordon will spend tomorrow doing. Tomorrow particularly, but really this whole initial series back with the team. Start him or sit him? Situational player or immediate regular? Does he get slotted directly back into the leadoff position, or should he have to earn that back?

Personally, I’m of two minds on the matter. So rather than just pick a side, I’ve decided to put both positions out there for your consideration before weighing in. And I’m anxious to hear from you, Marlin Maniacs. What is the best use for Dee Gordon, and should he get his full job back right away? Tell us in the comments, poke at us on Facebook, chirp at us on Twitter…you get the picture.

Next: The Case For Starting Dee Tomorrow

When your parents let you come out of the corner, more often than not they probably stopped making you feel bad about what you did to get put there in the first place.

Okay, maybe sometimes they did. It was a very nice family heirloom after all, and there are better backstops in the house for Nerf bullets. What’s that? I’m projecting and getting off topic? Got it- back to Dee Gordon.

Let’s clear the air. He cheated. He was caught. He was selfish. He put his team in a tough spot. It’s a stupid rule that he was still paid like a $50 million player during those 80 games he missed. He was my favorite player, and now is not. The list can go on and on. But under the rules that are in place, he paid his penance without a whisper of complaint, and has done his time.

Nothing will send a clearer message that the entire team has moved on than sending Gordon back out there tomorrow night as part of the starting lineup. He’s too gifted an athlete to stable when you don’t absolutely have to, and as of July 28th, the Marlins no longer absolutely have to. With the debt having been paid, treat it like he was out with an injury. There’d be no question about him starting if he was making his triumphant return from a broken bone or partially torn ligament.

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While the sabemetricians amongst you can crow all you like about a flukey BABIP and an inability to work the count for a walk, and many more among you will point out that anyone would look good if they were putting the PED in “lapPed the league”, this is an All-Star we’re talking about here. No one else in the division, no one else in the Wild Card race, projects to make this huge of an add to their everyday lineup this week.

The man won the batting title, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glove, and a Wilson Defensive Award. That means a lot of people who do this for a living thought he was the best second baseman in the NL last year, in just about every way you measure a player. He was even a Roberto Clemente Award nominee.

Yes, the drugs probably helped some of that. But the studies suggest the drug in question was much more about staying healthy than getting better. And, alright, not going to fall into the rationalizing banned substances trap. I will say this though, the speed and the defense were likely the least impacted of his talents. And putting that kind of Gold Glove range out there at second would be a huge boost to the ballclub, even if he regresses back to that .280-.290 average.

Next: Why Gordon Shouldn't Start

Who said catchers can’t play leadoff? Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Should we move past this particular transgression so quickly though? I feel the injury comp can be a valid one, but then again, I don’t think Jose Fernandez or Giancarlo Stanton had any control over whether or not they were injured the past couple seasons. Dee could have prevented this. He should have, by respecting the game that by every account he really, really respects. Except, of course, when he can gain an unfair advantage over others who play the game right way and excel or fail based on their merits.

Even with the star power of Fernandez and Stanton, Gordon had in many ways made himself the face of the franchise. And he fell flat on it. Really put his teammates in a bind. The fact that his team dug deep, found themselves, and went 45-35 without him shouldn’t let him off the hook. He’s entitled to nothing, other than apparently every last cent of a contract that should have been rendered null and void the moment he was suspended. Okay, off the soap box.

He should have to earn back every at-bat. Every one.

The team did, after all, go 45-35 without him. Guys stepped up, and just moving them aside would seem poor homage to their efforts. More to the point, guys stepped up at certain spots in the lineup. J.T. Realmuto is batting .321 at leadoff this season, with a .348 OBP. That OBP is only 11 points worse than what Gordon did last season, and monumentally better than anything Dee has shown us in 2016.

Derek Dietrich? Glad you asked- his 2016 OBP is .420, and he’s hitting an even .300 when he bats at the top of the order.

Apparently, there’s also some guy named Ichiro that helps out now and then.

So why in the world should Gordon immediately get the leadoff hitter job back, when two players have shown they can do it better than he did in 2016, and one of them has shown they can even do it better than he did in his breakout season last year?

If the answer to Billy Pitt is no, the only takeaway would have to because he is being paid infinitely more than Dietrich and Realmuto, and contracts carry weight in personnel decisions, regardless of the sport or the team in question.

The right message to this team, the team that has played about at the same level or better than the best teams in baseball since Gordon’s suspension, would be best delivered by easing Gordon in slowly. He’s there to help only, not to take back anything. Besides, he can’t play in the postseason. That last point was so important it was worth officially overusing italics. Stick with what’s gotten you this far.

Well, get another pitcher too. But other than that, stick with what’s gotten you this far.

Next: The Verdict

Behold the secret weapon. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports /

My take? Don’t start him Thursday.

Maybe that’s partial wishful thinking on my part, but I think you make him play cheerleader for a game. He can pinch run or pinch hit late, obviously go in if an injury occurs, but don’t pencil him in on that lineup card.

After all, he is an awesome cheerleader. From last year’s postgame dunks, to every instance of him chest pounding, clapping, and yelling, his enthusiasm is infectious and his clubhouse presence is one of his strengths as a ballplayer. Sure, he’s spent the last 80 games just watching. But he hasn’t spent the last 80 games just watching beside his team. Get behind them, support them, fire them up.

Besides, Jose is pitching and Adam Wainwright isn’t. You can afford to go with what you’ve been using to this point, and provide an extra lesson to Gordon and the rest of the Marlins.

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Beyond Game One though, it gets trickier. On the one hand, he can’t play in the playoffs. On the other, that’s a serious case of putting the cart before the horse. By virtue of defense alone, he can make the Marlins better right now. And while some teams around the league are considering either outright selling or not buying because they “probably won’t win the World Series”, that’s one particular First World problem the Marlins don’t have.

He should play often, but not necessarily regularly, and not always leadoff.

To me, the best course of action would be to treat him like an uber-Ichiro. Mix him in at both second and short, and give him four starts a week. The reason for this is two-fold. One, it ensures a steady flow of at bats for the players that can play in October. Secondly though, and more importantly, it keeps Gordon fresh. Remember, the purported reason for his juicing in the first place was to help him stay fresh and healthy. The necessity of providing at-bats to playoff eligible players allows for the luxury of regular rest days. Beyond that, he’s on late game replacement and pinch running specialist duty. Make him a secret weapon.

As for hitting leadoff? Trickier. For his career, he’s been by far at his most productive when setting the table. Conversely, Dietrich and Realmuto have not only been extremely productive at other spots in the lineup, but in some instances have actually been more so. Realmuto especially has seemed to almost thrive on his versatility this season. Plus, in both cases, the power difference is immense, and power plays much more effectively lower in the order.

At the end of the day, eventually, Gordon should get the opportunity to play leadoff again- provided it doesn’t change the rest of the batting order. Martin Prado, Christian Yelich, even Adeiny Hechavarria…leave em be. Gordon bats first, or he bats seventh, that’s it. The team that got the Marlins this far, and the only team that can take the Marlins as far as they want to go, is the one without Gordon. Don’t rock the boat now, just do everything you can to help it stay on course.

If handled the right way, that’s something Flash can do.

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