All Things Bubba

Paul Janish doubles in the winning run

The pride of Rice University, Paul Janish, is finally getting real playing time. He was so buried on the bench for most of the season that "Where's Janish?" was a running joke.

But since Alex Gonzalez was traded, the Reds seem to be giving Janish a legitimate opportunity to show them what he can do. He's never going to be Derek Jeter at the plate, but he's hitting better since he's gotten regular playing time. Last night, he was 3 for 4 with three doubles and the game-winning RBI. (It's uncanny, how many doubles he's hit in his limited playing time.)

He is still not hitting as well as the Reds would like. The Reds desperately need offense, and having possibly the worst-hitting starting position player in MLB next year wouldn't help.

But...the Reds are not the Yankees. They can't just go out and buy a hot-hitting shortstop. (And it's not like there are many available, either.) They also have a lot of other holes to fill, and not much money to do it with.

I think the Reds should make Janish their starting SS, at least for one year. The alternative, knowing the Reds, would be to sign a veteran player who is no better than Janish, and possibly worse, to an expensive contract that's way too long. (See Mike Stanton, Alex Gonzalez, Willy Taveras, etc.) At least Janish is cheap. If he doesn't work out, well, Zack Cozart should be ready by September.

This guy actually crunches the numbers and finds that a case can be made that Janish is the Reds' best option. His bat is not great, but his glove is so excellent it more than makes up for it. (Though as Charlie Scrabbles notes, Janish's value drops considerably when you take his relief pitching performance into account. ;-)

Hal McCoy (who is being honored tonight at Great American Ball Park), really likes Janish.

THERE ARE TIMES when you lose your objectivity, when you pull for somebody’s success. They don’t come much nicer or more polite than Paul Janish. If he could use a bat the way he uses his personality, he’d be a .300 hitter.

Yeah, I know. Nice doesn't count in baseball. But it sure would be great to see a nice guy succeed.

Labels: Paul Janish