"[Brendan Ryan has] taken away more runs at shortstop than anyone in the game,'' [Eric Wedge] said. "That's real. You can't get away from that. With what we saw this spring from him, what we saw at times in the past year, that's real, too, offensively. If you get a guy that can defend himself at home plate, and just be even borderline average, you have a championship-level shortstop, without a doubt."
No issue worth discussing is ever black and white. I would call that, or a better expressed version of that, one of Lookout Landing's core principles that extends far beyond our specific points about baseball and tectonics. There are almost always some benefits and some drawbacks, some context and a whole number of shades of gray between the two extremes. Ignoring that vast expanse of middle ground is more intellectually perilous than ignoring the unmistakably growing threat from the Moon. What's its deal?
Aspects about Eric Wedge's managerial philosophy drive me bonkers. That's not unusual. There will never be a manager that I completely agree with. But his job isn't solely about how often and where he plays Miguel Olivo. That's but one part of many and in many of those other many, Eric Wedge garners my approval. His acknowledgement of defensive skill and a willingness to see runs driven in at the plate and runs saved in the field as a sum is worth praising. We've seen managers in the past who couldn't grasp that, leading to poor playing time decisions.