Sean Casey is back, and that means a couple of things.
First, it means that Mike Edwards is back at Class AAA Indianapolis yet again.
Second, it means more nonsensical quotes from Jim Tracy:
Yesterday, he was asked the same question again, now that first baseman Sean Casey was back in the lineup and Wilson was left in apparent limbo.
This time, the response carried a different tone: "I won't commit to that. There are going to be days when a left-handed bat makes more sense against a left-handed pitcher, depending on the type of matchup we're dealing with."
Dejan Kovacevic seems to think this is a somewhat different answer from Tracy, and perhaps he's right about that, but personally, I don't hear anything that makes sense or anything I didn't expect. What Tracy seems to be saying here is that Jeromy Burnitz and Sean Casey - both left-handed bats - will sometimes both start in right field and first base, respectively, against lefties. That means that righty Craig Wilson probably isn't going to see the light of day against lefties. Against righties? Forget about it.
Is Tracy's claim defensible? No way. There is no situation in which Wilson should ever sit on the bench with a lefty in the game, and few in which Wilson should sit with a righty in the game. This is nonsense. Either it's PR-driven, in which case it's horrible PR (since even most casual fans now know that Wilson should be starting), or it's stupidity.
For now, though, I'll enjoy the fine game Wilson had last night, knowing I may not get many chances to enjoy his hitting in the future. I'll say this about Casey's return: last night's lineup was a lot better than some of the ones that Tracy has used in Casey's absence. I hardly think highly of Casey, but it really is nice to replace the Burnitz out machine (his recent hot streak won't last) with a guy who can apparently still hit a little. Obviously, subbing Wilson for Burnitz completely negates any improvement Casey provides, but it was nice while it lasted.