John Fay has this to say:
ON JANISH: The Reds' plan - at least for now - is to give Paul Janish a shot as the everyday shortstop job. I talked to a scout who's seen him a lot and I asked about how Janish rates.
"He's solid-average," the scout said. "He's limited in range with plus hands and plus instincts. He plays a little tall and that keeps him from getting to some balls. I've always had him as an extra infielder. If you play him every day, he gets exposed a bit offensively. I think defensively I've got him on the 20-80 scale at 60 because of his hands and he's got a strong, accurate arm."
The key is getting a solid backup; Janish tends to wear down a little.
Hmmm. I thought he was wearing down a bit during that stint at the end of the season. In particular, when he had four games in a row with errors, when he hadn't had a single error all season before then.
Still, Fay seems kind of nuts when he suggests the Reds might use all their remaining budget - $4 to 5 million by his estimate - on a backup shortstop. That's more than the Reds paid for their starting SS last year. No way are they going to pay someone that much to back up Janish.
Labels: Paul Janish
