How about Buck Coats?

We’re up north anyways, let’s try a Coats on. Yeah!!!

Awful joke aside, why the hell not? Dellucci is a bum, 35 years old, carrying a slow bat with no upside, the Jays seem to have no interest in Harper, Snider is still struggling, Cooper is struggling, so on and so forth.

I’m a bit of a speed whore (that probably comes out wrong). Ok, I’m a baseball speed whore (is that any better?)

With all of the late inning heroics and greater OBP Yankees CF Melky Cabrera has 23 runs vs speed demon Brett Gardner’s 25 runs. Yeah, Gardner gets extra base running opps but he always hits 9th in the order. The Dodgers installed Juan Pierre at the top of their lineup and he’s producing. And let’s face it, this is the year of the steal.

Buck Coats plays a mean centerfield, bats left-handed, is all hustle (as we all saw in spring training of 2008 when he killed himself going into an outfield wall), can work a walk, steal a bag and hold his own vs righties.

This season Buck has been the 51’s best hitter. Against right-handed pitching he’s hitting .366 with 17 BB vs 21 K in right around 200 PA. For the season he’s 17 for 20 in stolen base attempts. His total OPS vs righties is .915 this season. The Jays have lacked any real speed for about a half decade. Why not give it a trial for a week or two in the nine spot of the order vs righties?

Coats can play all three outfield spots and even the middle infield if absolutely necessary. Coats came up as a short-stop and filled in once at second this season for the 51’s.

I could be wrong but I could see Coats bringing more to the table than a washed up, 35 year old Dellucci, both in terms of production and hustle.