Mike Morse, Utility Infielder?

by ~ June 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm

Uhh.. no.

Even since Mike Morse burst onto the scene a couple years ago there has been a ridiculous amount of unjustified Mike Morse love.  With every Spring Training and every injury there is a large contingent of people that think Morse is the guy the M’s need to carry with that 25th spot.

I like Mike Morse.  He’s a very nice and likable person in real life and he’s not a terrible hitter, but the reason that he’ll always struggle to hold onto a Major League job is that he has no place in the field.

You may look at his minor league logs and see that he’s played all over the diamond for Tacoma, but that should illustrate the poor construction of the Tacoma roster rather than the versatility of Morse.  Chris Shelton playing third base everyday doesn’t make him a third baseman.  All 260+ pounds of Brad Nelson playing the outfield on a regular basis doesn’t make him an effective outfielder.  The Tacoma Rainiers baseball team is a collection of bats stuck at random defensive positions.

Morse came up as a shortstop, and while he looks somewhat natural at that position he has terrible range.  That’s not a knock on Morse in and of itself; there has never been a good defensive shortstop that stood 6’5/6’6 (Morse’s height) and there never will be.  I’ve seen him play second base a handful of times and on top of the lack of range he has an extremely difficult time playing with his back to first base.  Double plays are uncomfortable to watch more often than not whether he’s starting them or making the pivot.  He’s no good in the outfield, where he’s inexperienced, slow, and appears downright clumsy.  We all saw him seperate his shoulder diving for a ball that is a can of corn for any other Major League outfielder.

First and third base are the only place on the diamond that he could be at least close to adequate.  His bat, while okay, doesn’t play at first base, and the team doesn’t need another first baseman on the 25-man roster (Russell Branyan, Mike Carp, Mike Sweeney).  He wouldn’t be a terrible option as a backup third baseman, but still would come in at below average defensively.

Is a guy who can pinch hit here and there and backup Adrian Beltre when he rarely misses a game worth carrying?  I repeat, he CANNOT play shortstop or second base or the outfield at the big league level.

I’m pulling for Morse to find a big league job, but not if it means playing the middle infield or the outfield for the Seattle Mariners.  For all you out there calling for Morse to replace one of the Ronny Cedeno, Chris Woodward, Josh Wilson trio (and I’m not picking on Mariners121212 or Brandon, there are tons of people on a lot of different sites with the same idea), please justify it by citing something other than the number of games he’s played at X position this season or the fact that he is a natural shortstop.  Neither point means much at this point.

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  • http://www.section331.com section331

    I saw his shortstopping last Friday. It just looked strange. You’d think that someone that tall would be a good reach guy, but I don’t remember Morse getting to anything that wasn’t hit directly or almost directly to him. He just looks sort of stiff anywhere but a base, and even that is still kind of odd and uncomfortable to watch….he reminds me a lot of Sexson in his awkwardness.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Dustin Shires

    unjustified Mike Morse love.

    Why does it have to be justified? We all have players that catch our eye, and we haven’t a clue why. There’s always that player who we go, “Dang, I like this guy, and I can’t explain why…”

    For some people, that may be Mike Morse…

  • Slurve

    Where does all the Morse love come from? He took steroids he kinda sucks at defending and I don’t really see the grit, heart, hustle and soul that fans love.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    @ Dustin

    I’m speaking in terms of calling for him to fill a role on the big club that he simply can’t fill. Should have made that clearer, but obviously people should be able to be fans of whomever they please without justification.

    I get that, and I have had my share of players that weren’t great but I loved for whatever reason. It’s the human element. Stats and metrics aside, people are drawn to the little guy that has built a career out of grit and hustle rather than relying on god given abilities. Willie Bloomquist, Rich Amaral, Charles Gipson, Joey Cora, etc. Morse isn’t quite in that category, but it’s easy to feel for the guy. He’s been in a position where he looked like he might be Seattle’s next shortstop before being supplanted by Yuniesky Betancourt of all people. He’s been close a few other times as well. He’s a likable guy and hits pretty well. I’m a fan, but it doesn’t mean I want him playing second base for the Mariners. I wish him the best, of course.

  • Brandon

    I think he should replace Josh Wilson because he sounds like a poor man’s Cedeno (OUCH!) He can’t play outfield, and he is a sucky hitter. Why is he worth holding onto? Might as well use the roster spot on someone who can at least hit.
    He does suck at defense, I won’t argue that…I just don’t see the point in having three guys who have pretty much the same skill set.

  • SABR Matt

    I would drop Cedeno and Wilson, make Woodward my utility infielder, call up an extra pitcher and an outfielder from AAA. At least…that’s what I’d do once Lopez was back from his bereavement leave.

  • Mariners121212

    I never knew he took steroids. That made me lose all the respect I had for him.

  • SABR Matt

    That’s a pretty ignorant reaction to the removal of ignorance. He took steroids in 2005 while attempting to recover from a series of nagging injuries…he was desperate to get back in playing shape and made a bad judgment call. He also served his “time” on the suspended list and has not used since that incident.

    People who act like steroid/PED use is the highest crime a ballplayer can commit need to get some perspective. Players have tried to get the “edge” since the game was played in sandlots in the 1860s. The only thing different today is technology. The methods at your disposal to try to get an edge and make it in a very difficult sport grow increasingly effective.

  • http://bleedingblueandteal.com Jon Shields

    The point has been made that there are many completely acceptable unnatural things that players are doing to gain an edge. Tommy John surgery, for example, is when an elbow ligament is replaced by a tendon from elsewhere in the body. Putting a piece of tissue from your knee into your elbow is about as unnatural as you’re going to get, and players are able to keep their careers going and some pitchers even come back throwing harder than they ever did before. If some of the greats from yester-year had this option, the record books could look a lot different today. Or what about this new procedure in which players are having the platelets extracted from their blood, concentrated, and then injected into an injury. This procedure is causing incredible recoveries of injuries that should have taken much longer to heal, much like the positive effects of using steroids to recover from an injury. Hell, even Hank Aaron admitted to using amphetamines during his career, but no one is vilifying him.

    I used to view ever PED user as a complete disgrace to the game and felt that their numbers would mess everything up, but baseball fans will remember what went on over the past couple decades and future fans will hear of the Steroid Era just like we hear about the years when the mound was higher, or the Dead Ball Era when spitballs and other illegal pitchers were allowed, and so on.

    I no longer have ill feelings to steroid users in baseball unless they blatantly lied about their usage. When Mike Morse was caught he came right out with a public apology and explanation. He didn’t have to– as a minor leaguer he could have just lowered his head and waited for people to forget, but he took responsibility and that is commendable.

  • SABR Matt

    Indeed. Mike Morse did what any sane, red blooded male fighting tooth and claw to save his career and any chance he had of fulfilling his dream of being a full time big leaguer would do. He took whatever steps he could to get healthier faster so he could get back on that field and try to win himself a job.

    He shouldn’t have defied the rules, he was caught, he apologized, and he received a fair punishment for his mistake. It’s over now. And he’s STILL doing absolutely everything he can legally do to get himself a big league job…he’s playing all over the diamond in AAA trying to prove he has value as a flexible warm body on defense and a good solid hitter. To “lose all respect” because of the steroid thing in 2005 is more than a bit silly.

  • Slurve

    It’s because Morse never accomplished any thing big for us to complain about. But does Morse plays his heart out I’ll give him that. ANY WAY back on topic Morse is a good guy but he might do more harm than good on a ML team.

    And @ Jon he came out and everybody still forgot that he did steroids.

  • SABR Matt

    Um…everybody forgot that? I certainly didn’t…Jon certainly didn’t…perhaps the casual fan has forgotten that about Morse but the casual fan has essentially forgotten who the heck Morse is.

    How much can a utility player negatively impact defense anyway? He’s a bad fielder…so are half of the supersubs out there.

  • MtGrizzly

    There are better options in Tacoma for virtually any role that Morse might play for Seattle. Want a 4th OF’r? Redman is much better than Morse there. Want to replace Sweeney? Shelton has a bigger bat. Backup MIF? Woodward fits the bill better. Additional RH PH thumper for the bench? Shelton or Nelson have the pop that Morse doesn’t.

    The only role that Morse could possibly fill is super sub but as a no-power, no-walk, no-speed guy that can’t adequately defend any position on the field, he doesn’t really fit that role either. Morse, like LaHair, is a redundant, AAA “just in case” insurance piece.