Denorfia/Stairs Redux

I’m not letting this go.

Thus far, Chris Denorfia is hitting .480/.519/.760 in Triple-A. He also has three stolen bases already as the Beavers’ full-time leadoff man.

Meanwhile, Matt Stairs is 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and he continues to be used purely as a pinch-hitter.

Also, Will Venable (.225/.295/.239 against lefties in 2009) continues to face southpaws. On the occasions he sits, Tony Gwynn (.215/.267/.234 against lefties in 2009) starts; lefty-masher Scott Hairston can only cover for one at a time.

So we have:

Two lefty-hitting outfielders who can’t hit lefties
One righty-hitting outfielder who crushes lefties
Another righty-hitting outfielder who raked in spring training and continues to rake in Triple-A
Another lefty who can’t field, is coming off a sub-.200 average season and has an approach poorly suited for Petco

And the response is to let Gwynn or Venable stay in against lefties, keep Stairs around, and leave Denorfia in Triple-A?

Chris Denorfia needs to be on the roster. Period. It makes too much sense for it not to happen. He fills a need on the roster, and the Padres have an expendable player in Stairs who isn’t contributing much to the team.