Pondering a Platoon

The Milwaukee Brewers re-signed Craig Counsell yesterday to a one-year pact worth $1.4 million. Counsell spent last season primarily at shortstop while seeing time at second base and third base as well. Despite Counsell’s age – he turned 40 in August – there’s a case to be made that he should find himself in the lineup more often in 2011. The Brewers’ acquisition of Yuniesky Betancourt has led many to crown him as the starting shortstop. One tiny problem: Counsell might be the better player. Over the last three seasons Betancourt has managed a .262/.288/.384 slash line (in nearly 1,700 plate appearances) while playing poor defense; Counsell, meanwhile,  has hit .259/.349/.356 (in nearly 1,000 plate appearances) with better defensive marks. Expecting a 40-year-old shortstop to play daily is a bit much, which means a platoon is a better idea. The contrast in batting hands allows for a perceived natural platoon and the numbers support the idea. Betancourt doesn’t do much well, but his...