Domonic Brown must win his job
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Domonic Brown must win his job
Matt Gelb
In each of the last two springs, Domonic Brown had a chance to win a starting job. He batted 16 times in 2011 before a freak fracture of a bone in his wrist handed Ben Francisco right field. Last spring, Brown batted all of 20 times while hamstrung by thumb, neck and knee ailments. John Mayberry Jr. started in left on opening day.
This is not revisionist history. Was Brown guaranteed anything by the Phillies? Absolutely not. Did he do enough to secure anything? Definitely not.
So, with a few weeks before camp opens, Brown stares down his third chance. The 25-year-old was anointed the Phillies' best prospect for three straight years by Baseball America. He has batted 492 times in parts of three major-league seasons with inconsistent results, at times displaying the tantalizing talent that seduced scouts. Mostly, he grades as incomplete because the sample size is much too small.
"I'm kind of interested to see how guys react to the opportunities they’ll have in spring training," Ruben Amaro Jr. said, "because they're going to have the chance to play."
The Phillies GM was not talking specifically about Brown. But if the erstwhile top prospect cannot beat out Darin Ruf, John Mayberry Jr. and Laynce Nix for playing time this spring, it could finally signal the end of a complicated marriage.
Amaro created this drama by signing Delmon Young to a one-year, $750,000 deal and labeled him the everyday right fielder "in a perfect world." That was viewed as Brown's spot. It had not been guaranteed. Brown did not lose a job. And there was no reason to hand Brown a job given his checkered injury history.
This is merely another chapter in the curious journey of Brown from ultra-hyped prospect to major-league player.
When asked if there needed to be a platoon in left, Amaro said, "not necessarily." Consider the competition: Ruf is 26, has never played outfield for a full season and has 37 major-league plate appearances. Mayberry, 29, resembled more platoon player than regular during his first full season in 2012. Nix, 32 and the highest paid outfielder on the roster, is a bench player.
And, again, this all assumes Young can competently man a position he has not for six years; overcome microfracture surgery on his ankle; maintain acceptable conditioning, all while hitting for power in the middle of Charlie Manuel's lineup. There very well could be two corner spots to fill.
The Phillies will let spring training decide things. Two team officials admitted it would be ideal if Brown could finally seize his moment. That way, either Ruf or Mayberry could occasionally pop into the lineup maybe to spell Brown against a tough lefty or provide rest for Young.
Both Ruf and Brown have options remaining, so they could be sent to the minors. Mayberry does not.
"Domonic Brown and Darin Ruf will be battling out in left field," Amaro said, and later added Mayberry is "in the mix as well."
Whatever is said between now and April 1 has little bearing. It will be decided on the field, and the Phillies' request of Brown is reasonable. Show us.
He has amassed a total of 36 at-bats in 13 Grapefruit League games during the last two springs. There are fingers to point regarding the handling of Brown over the years, but the fact remains he is still 25. There is time. There is an opportunity.
It's not Delmon Young, Darin Ruf, John Mayberry Jr. or Laynce Nix who will prevent Domonic Brown from attaining a regular role.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Comments (47)
What's with the choices there for that question? who wrote the answers to that??? ridiculous. The choices should be: A. No, he doesnt deserve anything and has to win playing time or B. Ruf should get the starting job. It is his to lose. C. Let Ruf play most of the time and give Brown some starts vs tougher rightees. I would rather have Brown platoon with Delmon Young. Delmon Young will get hurt anyway. He is way out of shape. He needs to learn how to walk also. Amaro, dont you care at all about on base pct or scoring runs?????? Come on man.— gmo709- Brown would have gotten lost on the Thunderbolt at Willow Grove Park— stoky
- Phills cannot be figuring Delmon for RF. Delmon is a liability in leftfield. This guy can hit and he's young, still not much interest by other teams. This should tell us something. Phills prospects for beating out Nationals and Braves keep looking smaller. A lot of things will have to come together for Phills to do well.— Don w
- The ideal situation is that Brown and Ruf nail the RF and LF spots, they both prove they can hit left- and right-handed starters and we're good to go. We're younger. They can hit for power. Brown doesn't field well but has a cannon for an arm. And Ruf is at least as good at Greg Luzinski in left. That's the ideal.
But that's unlikely to happen in the same month (April 2013) and we have a team with a one-year window at this point, seeing that Halladay, Utley, M. Young and Ruiz -- all four of them -- are likely gone in 2014. I'd add Kendrick but he's more easily replaced.
So, after kicking the overpriced tires on Ichiro, Hairston and Wells, Amaro settles on the flawed Delmon Young, who may be the No. 1 "low cost, high upside" acquisition in Phillies' history.
Am I sold? Of course not. But the guy can hit. You don't get 600 at bats in 2012 on a team that knew all season that it was playoff-bound, with some total studs in its lineup -- and win the ALCS MVP award -- if you can't hit. He can hit. We'll see how he holds up otherwise.
— eman - Has everyone seen his great LF play in the World Series?
http://forum.sbrforum.com/baseball-betting/1973714-delmon-young-worst-throw-world-series-history.html— s - This could possibly be the worst OF in all of baseball. Great job Rueben. How bad is the situation when your GM hands the RF job to a guy coming off of microfracture surgery and hasn't played the position in 6 years. When do Eagles start training camp?— 76sixers
- all starting players must win their jobs it is not a certainty that ruf will hit but he will get his chance as brown, mayberry, d. young can hit if healthy, lose 20-25lbs don't look for revere to bat 8th he will hit 2nd outfield(corners)with young and ruf will be slow they could hit a 3run hr in one inning, give up a 3 base error leading to 2-3 runs in the next.— only 9
Comment removed.- Not true. Ruf may in fact prevent Brown from playing left field.— alwaysphil1
- sign michael bourn for a year. play him in CF. what - we already have a CF? with ruf, d. young, brown and nix holding down the corners, we're gonna need two CFs. at least.— bubba church & granny hamner
- @phillyboyinnyc --no, I don't post using other names...do you still pretend that you're not a schizophrenic fruitcake ...who can forget these gems from the pen of phillyboyinnyc:
"Why is ALL the blame on Amaro?"...
"...if you were looking for MOTIVES. Rube is slightly clueless...So, if they are not delusional, see the big picture, instead of foaming at the mouth like a clueless one note "warrior", WHO has the motive?..."
"...I eviscerated ( look it up ), both Amaro and gave the manager the moniker, "GOMER GUMP". .."
"Just check out a two year battle I waged to rid the Flyers board of a SIX alias poster, who was merely a Cindy loving Penqueen fan, the latter another term I coined, and now in general use."...
"I could go on and on, but I post so infrequently [SIC]... I admit to hating trolls on a sports board, especially the one who plagued the Flyers boards for years under six aliases. Anyone there remembers "Supreme One", Flyers losers", "Big Tom threw 3", and many more. Perhaps he was finally institutionalized...."
"I warned you doggie bone..
those "voices in your head" ...
I showed the bizarre aspect ...
manic, over-the-top hysteria....
I warned you to stay away from me. You didn't listen...reflection of one day is haunting you already..."— warbiscuit - The only thing more moronic than naming Dominic Brown the everyday starter in right-field is naming Delmon Young the starter.— Boru
- HE DOES NOT BELONG IN THE BIGS! HE STINKS! AS A HITTER HE IS CLUELESS---not a MLB BIG TIME PLAYER ---
ENOUGH OF DB----TIEM FOR SOME ONE ELSE ..— carmen2 - Darrin Ruf will have a better spring at the plate than Dom Brown. Short, controlled compact swing vs. long, looping swing. Guess which one will be able to handle 2-strike pitches, including off-speed offerings? I fear that we will see how over-rated Domonic Brown is. But that is baseball. For every Cole Hamels there are 10 Brad Brink's or Tyler Green's.
— Original #11 - Looks like the acquisition has now resulted in a platoon in left. C'mon, let Ruf play his way out of the lineup. The kid had a fine September and showed signs he could be that power RH this team begs for. It really looks like the outfield corners are just as in flux now as when they were on October 1, 2012......— DelawareRiverRat
- I have read the posts and it seems like everyone has give up on Mayberry, JR and Brown. I remember sitting having a beer with my uncle at the Vet when an .098 hitter walked to the plate and and was booed and cat-called and my Uncle turned to the crowd and said you sorry-a-- people are booing a future hall of famer and there is no need to mention his name because everyone knows who it is. Mayberry, JR and Brown may not be HOF'er but something in there demeanor tells me, do not trade or give up on them. These are two players that have not found the their niche and it has not clicked for them. I believe that they will find there niche. Now what do I know, as I thought same of Ted Savage and Ruben Amaro, JR who both disappointed me.— jpelle36
- how does that look like a good lineup? rollins isnt a leadoff hitter, howard will be lucky to hit .230, utley has degenerating knees and is a question mark, revere's speed wont be a factor batting 8th and the guy has no power whatsoever anyway, young's coming off a poor season, ruiz is coming off a roided season. their stats have been in decline for years, also. why would one think that this year that trend will reverse? i dont blame the players, i blame the incompetent gm who cant run a team except into the ground. yea, the prospects he traded havent panned out but what did he get for the prospects? pence - gone. halladay - howd he do last year? oswalt - gone. world series ring - nope.— tonybps1
- I thought the point of perfeshinil sports was that the players were supposed to earn their jobs EVERY year!— BEMiller
- Brown has yet to prove anything, but it's funny, the same guys who are crying for him to be released or traded or who claim he should have been traded five years ago, are the same guys who would have crucified Amaro if he had. Same pathetic complainers every day after every article. Phils outfield doesn't look very good but there wasn't anything, out there, in the FA market this year worth what was being paid for outfielders. Have to hope someone can sstep up. Lets wait until June and see how things are going. Same pitiful people, complaining now, will be the first to step up and say "they knew it all along" if Brown does well. Give him a full injury free spring, then make your judgements.— dond2885
- Dom Brown must.......GO - trade him for a cheesesteak - he stinks!— bigdaddyG
- I am SOOOO tired of Dom Brown.— BleedPhilly
- The question isn't if Dom Brown can win a job in the outfield, the question is if he ever won it could he keep it?!!— southern eagle fan
- I'd give Brown another half-season to show he can be an everyday player. If he can't win a regular spot by then, I'd start shopping him.— p-diddy
- Dom Brown must win his job, whereas everyone else must win their job. Wow, these writers are torturous.— justacarpenter
- Brown is a joke...He still cannot judge a fly ball...He should have been traded 5 years ago as a prospect, and now since he has been exposed no one will want him.....so jsut release him...— nuggett
- Brown has had enough chances, time to let him go. If they (Charlie) can't make room for Ruf they don't deserve to win.— sjfella
- You guys who are dogging Amaro do need to consider that what he has been trying to do, with the exception of last season, is find someone who filled a need that would make them a better bet to win the WS. He didn't do it, yet. That doesn't mean he should stop trying. It is very unlikely that any of the young players who got traded would be starting for the Phillies this season, with the exception of Gio Gonzalez. I like the fact that they have a lot of young outfelders with potential. If any of them becomes a good everyday player that's great. If more than one does, even better. D. Young, like M. Young, has proven he can hit. Delmon needs to prove he can pay the outfield well enough to be in the lineup every day. He easily solves the DH question, when they play an American League team. Rollins, Utley, M. Young, Howard, D. Young, Ruiz when he gets back, Brown/Ruf/Mayberry, Revere...looks like a good line-up to me. They won't be the best defensive team in the league, that's for sure.— Paul SoTX
- Is there any real mystery to Dominic Brown? He is a very poor outfielder with a great arm; only problem is you have to get a good read on a fly ball, get to it efficiently, and catch it; Dominic has not demonstrated that ability. A solid outfielder makes defense look easy, effortless (recall Clemente here as the benchmark). He is a also a poor hitter, stupid stance and approach (long awkward swing, zero quick bat), easily fooled on any breaking pitch. So where is all the potential I ask?— BKMcD
- Right cloudkitt -- that's the measuring stick: whether the top prospects Ruin Tomorrow Jr. has traded for garbage are currently tearing up the Majors ... Yep. Good logic there. I guess with Ruiz suspended, you'd like to see them trade Biddle for a back-up catcher. That way, you can say it was a good trade right up until Biddle makes it to the Big Show and starts tearing it up. And you would continue to defend that trade even when the back-up catcher that you got for Biddle turns out to suck. Have you ever thought that trading your top prospects for garbage might actually prevent you for trading them for players that are actually good?— Copper34
- How does Brown have options? He's been in the majors 3 years now. As far as I know the rule is once on the 40-man, a player has 3 option years. Brown hit the majors in 2010 and it wasn't as a December call-up. He's spent part of every year since in the majors. That's 3 years. There's a 4th year possible but it pretty much involves playing single A ball.
I believe the only players with options are Ruf, Galvis and Revere.— s - Not as a September call-up ...
The guy has less than 500 PA's in those three years which pretty much tells you all you need to know about how the Phillies manage their younger players.— s - And/or evaluating them. Who are the clowns that are drafting these dogs? — justacarpenter
- Brown was a 20th round pick like Ruf was. The difference was Brown got hyped up and people bought it. They should have traded him while that value was high. If not, they should have put him out there more regularly and made a decision earlier rather than waiting until he's out of options. Brown still may show something. I think it's possible. I think his play drops off when he doesn't have a regular role, whereas a guy like Mayberry can do pretty well as a bench player. Brown strikes me as the type of player who ends up on another team where he can settle in and looks 10 times better than he did here. His other big issue is staying on the field. The "too many outfielders" problem may take care of itself by opening day by way of injuries. — s
- They should've traded Brown when his stock was still high.. Now they won't be able to get anything at all for him.
— BosoxJohnny - Ruf in left and Brown in Right, this is the best case scenerio, all Phillies fans should hope that Ruf and Brown win these jobs in spring. We need thier youth in the lineup and we need both to develop into productive everyday players.— LOVEMYCITY
- That's right, Brown hasn't earned himself anything more han a chance to win a job. May the best men win and hopefully don't combine for the worst OF in MLB in 2013, as it was looking quite possible they'd be.— PhillySubsMac
- And which of those great prospects that Amara gave away are currently tearing up the majors, Copper?— cloudkitt
- Do we still pretend that Copper isn't also warbiscuit? I love it when they "talk to each other, or one ALWAYS references the brilliance of the other.
Dom Brown has been a bust. In Ruf we trust, and I don't understand why a kid who waited for our hillbilly manager, who doesn't trust rookies left him on the bench for weeks, and only hit homer after homer, just like the minors, is still a question mark. Revere, Ruf, and Ready Delmon are a semi-solid OF on paper.
Lets face it, this season is a transitional one, but it has to be better than last year, if you want any silver lining. - warbiscuit may not be brilliant - but he had Amaro nailed as a fraud long before the rest of us. And, his analysis of the personnel moves made by Ruin Tomorrow Jr. were the only ons in print until David Murphy's piece today. So, don't hate on warbiscuit. BTW -does anyone really care what you "love" in the philly.com comment section? I know I don't care ... You should go back to focusing on the despicable ownership group!! — Copper34
- I guess being a "new poster", that you were unaware, long before my detestation of Bill Giles and cheap ownership ( it rivals biscuit's hatred of the Rube ), I took daily shots at the "brilliance" of Uncle Chollie, his veteran love and rookie distrust, and yes, even the Rube. Somehow this site doesn't save everything, but you would be hard-pressed to see me ever defend Amaro last year, all season long, for as long as last summer's comments are saved on this site. I also took an unpopular stand with one poster who shall remain nameless, who defended Howard , when I took a shot at his shoddy year. That back and forth battle he made racial, when it was always about just plain lack of plate discipline , year in and out, hurt, or uninjured. I got tired of the "flail and bail" on every outside slider, a mile off the plate. Also, given his weight, he could have used other "plate discipline".
I took exception to biscuit's penchant for thin skin, and when someone who was a "newbie" didn't agree, and he wrote five consecutive posts against one innocent poster, I was moved to respond, though I watched him and his doppelganger stalker fight all last year without a word. Anger management would be helpful therapy, as well as losing his paranoid streak. To disagree on OPINION, is not to disavow biscuit per se, just the virulence of the expression. Biscuit, ironically , is his own worst enemy, because he may be right , but a broken record, with poor delivery, DILUTES the message. I think we can all agree, that the success of the 2008 Phillies was a joint Wade/Gillick success, while the Rube has squandered his money, like a spendthrift, wastefully and recklessly, and been cheap when he should have ponied up for talent that was there. Don't get me started on the trade pieces he gave up. - Throw yourself back in time a few years and imagine a world where the Phillies' GM signs an injured, overweight designated hitter, coming off a season of sub-.300 OBP as a parasite in a lineup with two of the games biggest sluggers, and anoints this cast-off as "the answer" at RF. Amaro has driven this team off a cliff and into the ocean and is will jump out and start digging when they get to the bottom.— jtj10
- Why is he still on the team?
— lostInPhilly - It's so sad that Dom Brown is the ONE PROSPECT that Rube decided to hold onto. Over the last two years, he jettisoned every other top farmhand for trash. But the guy he simply refused to part with turns out to be a bust. warbiscuit might be right - Amaro might be the worst GM in professional sports.— Copper34
- DB could have been moved in the Halladay deal, but was then an "untouchable"...by the time the Oswalt and Pence deals came about, Ed Wade was in no way interested, as the holes in DB's swing were already exposed, along with defensive shortcomings...Despite the improved plate discipline, his BP power has to surface more often in games for him to make a showing...I'd try a strict platoons to start, and hope someone steps up, while gaining confidence. — bearsfriend
- I agree on the Brown article. "Top-notch" prospect has been suspect at best. Do you-know-what or get off the pot.— mrjarn
- they should forget about trying ruf in left field and play him at first base... find a team that is willing to pay howard's huge salary and give him away to them... i think it is all downhill from here for howard.— zwarte piet
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