The big fear with Adam Lind taking over the Blue Jays left-field job now is what happens the first time he — inevitably — misplays a ball Reed Johnson would have put in his pocket.
Lind is a far cry from Johnson in the field — facing back surgery and will miss at least three months — so what happens if the fans get on him about his defence? Is that going to cause him to go backwards as a hitter? That happened to Carlos Delgado in 1994 when he was 21 and the Jays did not have a position for him, but wanted his bat. He ended up in left, hit six homers right away, then ended up back in Triple A after his numbers took a nosedive and it was obvious the position had him overmatched.
If people have in their heart to boo a rookie whose long-term destination is first base, so be it, but the Jays can ride this out with Lind and Aaron Hill flip-flopping in the No. 2 hole and Alex Rios leading off. If the know-it-alls want to carp and harp on the smaller detail of outfield defence, well, so be it.
This also points up the hazard created by the fact rosters have remained at 25 players while teams have gone from eight-man to 12-man pitching staffs over the past two decades. There isn't room to carry an outfielder just for his glove. The Jays went with Matt Stairs is the fourth outfielder, and no one needs any reminder about his defence.
(UPDATE: It's a little better than initially feared... B.J. Ryan is out 4-6 weeks, but Troy Glaus is on the disabled list.)
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