Luis Hernandez, Brian Bocock, and the Suicide of Two Organizations

The scary thing about Hernandez starting is that he is probably the best shortstop in the Orioles organization. That doesn't mean the Orioles did the right thing; it means the Orioles neglected the SS position over the offseason. There were plenty of shortstops who could have been signed to a league-minimum contract and provided way more plate production than Hernandez.

One example is Marshall McDougall, who was signed instead by the Padres after the Dodgers let him go. McDougall hit .304/.347/.514 for the AAA Las Vegas 51's last year; he hit 22 homers between AA and AAA (11 at each). McDougall is 29, but he plays a decent short and obviously has some good upside with the bat with those numbers, which are not a fluke. He has always hit for average and power in the minor leagues.

He's not the only player like this. There are many "Quad-A" guys who can play short and hit way better than Hernandez. The Orioles' failure to bring any of them in over the offseason, via either minor trades or free agency, is ridiculous.

Bocock became the starter when Omar Vizquel was hurt early in Spring Training, despite the fact that Kevin Frandsen could actually hit. When Frandsen ruptured his ACL and was out for the year, Bocock was left standing alone at short, even though he hasn't hit anywhere except Low-A and had a terrible spring at the plate.

Unlike the Orioles, the Giants actually have a serviceable shortstop not named Vizquel or Frandsen. His name is Ivan Ochoa, and I'd forgive you if your reaction is "Who in hell is that?"

Well, Ochoa is a plus-plus defender at short, and last year, at AAA Fresno, he hit .296/.337/.430—certainly pretty good. He turned 25 after the season ended, so he's no veteran. Yet, Ochoa barely appeared during Spring Training and was quickly reassigned to minor league camp.

Not only is Ochoa miles ahead of Bocock, he may even be better than Vizquel. He's certainly cheaper.

Further damning to these decisions, Hernandez and Bocock are likely to fail in the majors and will slump and fall into bad habits at the plate, which will destroy any long-term potential they have. Not that it's considerable.

Still, if they could find a way to get 25 percent better with the bat, both could make decent backup/utility types someday given their good defense. This insane promotion makes their odds of getting better even longer.

Andy MacPhail has made some good moves for the Orioles, but he needs to make another one quickly and get Hernandez out of his lineup. As for Brian Sabean, this is just another of a long string of bad moves by one of baseball's worst general managers.

Thank God I'm an A's fan—Billy Beane would never let players like this into the majors. As long as Hernandez and Bocock start, the Orioles and Giants will needlessly suffer tremendous losses offensively.

Vizquel can't get healthy quickly enough. 

Orioles and Giants fans can only hope these two slump so badly early that the organizations have no choice but to look elsewhere. Everyone would be better for it.

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