Laynce Nix Probably Also Not Answer to Shortstop Issue

For a guy who wants to nail down a deal for a shortstop, namely Jimm Rollins, Ruben Amaro sure does keep signing backup outfielders.  Whose names aren’t even Jimmy Rollins.  So nobody knows what’s going on.  Which is just how Ruben likes it.  So, if we’re all completely clueless as to what is happening, then we should probably be excited, because that means whatever Ruben is doing is going exactly according to plan.

What I’m trying to tell you is, Laynce Nix has left the Washington Nationals behind to start a new life in Philadelphia.  In what no one is calling a “Reverse Jayson Werth Helix,” Nix will join a bench crowded with gathering 30+ year olds like Jim Thome and Ty Wigginton.  The bench seems to be the first aspect of the current Phillies era to become an unrecognizable slew of gents that everyone has to warm up to.  Except for Thome who is, as always, beloved.

But as for Nix, he’s more than definitely an ingredient in whatever cocktail the front office is shaking up for the whole “OMFG There’s No One Playing First Base” problem that could rear it’s ugly head during Ryan Howard’s recovery.  At 31 and lefthanded, he could be of use.  And unlike current bench guy Ross Gload, Nix has both of his hips and has use dthem to hit reasonably well in the capacity he was given in D.C.  He also played in the most games in a season for his entire career in 2011 (124), so the Nationals obviously saw a use for him and capitalized on it by shoving him into harm’s way whenever possible.

The Nats had tried to get Laynce back into bed with some kind of shady, back-ass-wards deal fo some kind.  You know what they’re like down there.  But the guy has never actually had, you know… a deal offered to him before a season started, choosing instead to whimsically wonder into various training camps, a bat and glove over his shoulder, having just hopped off a boxcar from Des Moines.  Instead of “nothing,” the Phillies offered him a two year deal, and, well, that’s basically crack to a guy in Laynce’s position.

And so, the bench crowd gets a little thicker, while Jimmy Rollins’ fate hang precariously in the balance.  I’m sure Laynce will do some crazy thing to gain the adoration of us fans, but at the moment, we have more important things to develop tumors about.