So Manny Options

I've been trying to avoid the Manny/many pun for as long as possible, but every man has a breaking point.

So Manny is coming back in a month or so, and Joe Torre has said that Juan Pierre will be moving back to the bench upon Manny's return.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/06/june-10.html

I know I'm a lowly sports blogger and Torre is a future Hall of Fame manager, so he'll probably show the world that he is right in the long run, but I personally think this is a wrong move on a couple of fronts.

1. Why would you risk deflating Juan Pierre's confidence? He's playing well enough to start on any other major league team, and quite frankly he doesn't deserve to go to the bench. Torre also went on to say that Kemp is the best center field option (which he is) and Ethier gives them good power (which he does) but that's basically saying that he values Ethier's power more than Pierre's speed and ability to get on base. I'm sure Torre had spoken to Juan Pierre personally, but it's another thing to announce it through the media. Most importantly, there's still about a month left before Manny comes back and anything can happen in terms of injury. Again, there's no reason to risk jeopardizing Pierre's confidence in case Ethier or Kemp get hurt and Pierre has to play full time.

2. Why move anyone to the bench? Health is a major concern in a 162-game MLB season. Why not rotate Pierre, Kemp, Ethier and Manny? I know Torre likes to bring Pierre off the bench to replace Manny in the 6th inning or so if the game is in hand, but the Dodgers haven't been able to put opponents away early enough in games to effectively use that strategy.

Each outfielder will play 3 games, rest one game, play 3 games, rest one game, etc.

The biggest concern is that players will lose their rhythm if they are hitting well, but I think this is an overrated concern. Teams have days off between series all the time. Also, health is more important than any perceived increase in production due to playing every day.

The best part of the plan is that you don't actually have to "bench" anyone.

Defensively, since Pierre can play all three OF positions (Pierre hasn't played much RF to my knowledge, but if he can play LF and CF, how much harder could RF be for him?), Manny can always play LF and Ethier can always play RF when they play.

LF Ramirez, CF Kemp, RF Ethier
LF Pierre, CF Kemp, RF Ethier
LF Ramirez, CF Kemp, RF Pierre
LF Ramirez, CF Pierre, RF Ethier

The only drop off defensively happens in the last formation, but it's only 25% of the time, and if the Dodgers are leading after 6 innings, Kemp can come in as a defensive substitution.

Obviously, this would be a moot point if the National League had a DH, but that's another topic for another day.

Of course, another intriguing option, with the decent, although thus far short-lived, play of Xavier Paul and Jamie Hoffman is to trade Juan Pierre, maybe for some starting pitching help the Dodgers have been hurting for.

The Dodgers can do any number of things, but in my opinion benching Juan Pierre would not be the most prudent choice.