First Draft:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Second Draft:

Welcome back to the countdown!

We’re 24 days away from Opening Day (and it’s late in the day) so let’s get to it as we revisit an old friend…

Lyle Overbay.

Not that I did “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” back when the blog first started, but Lyle Stefan Overbay’s last year in Milwaukee was was 2005. We launched the Brewer Nation blog on MLBlogs.com in January of 2006. Our paths haven’t really truly crossed except for a brief span of time before the 2013 season when Overbay’s services were available and it was suggested that Milwaukee might be a fit. That never materialized, but that’s about all the coverage I’ve done of Overbay. As you can see from my first draft though, it’s not like I don’t know who he is.

Or maybe I should say, who he was.

Back in 2004, when he was setting the Brewers’ single-season doubles record, and in 2005 when a solid season was posted again, Overbay was a fan favorite who brought solid glove work and a good stick to the field every day. The problem is, that was 10 years ago and Overbay isn’t that guy anymore. And as fun as it would be to chant “OOOO!” at full throat in Miller Park, reliving a solid contributor, it’d be for the sake of pure nostalgia at this point. Overbay can no longer produce at a high enough level to warrant the kind of playing time he’d get even in a hard platoon which Mark Reynolds at first base.

Last year, against right-handed pitching, Overbay slashed .258/.317/.432. That’s not great, though it’s better than most of what the Brewers got at first base in 2013. As for facing left-handed pitching, Overbay slashed .190/.232/.284 which is flat out awful.

The main reason that Overbay is involved in the first base position battle is his defense. He’s still a solid glove man at first and his 6’2″ frame doesn’t regress.

Look, let’s cut to the case. Overbay isn’t likely to head north with the team. Between Juan Francisco’s age and potential and Overbay’s offensive outage, there doesn’t look to be any room to carry three first baseman types.

Time will tell, and he hasn’t been reassigned to the minor league side yet  (after all, he signed a MiLB contract), but it’s pretty damning to his chances given the situation and state of affaris.

I almost didn’t bother to write this quick profile, but he is in camp so I may as well.

Do I think he’ll still be in camp two weeks from now?  That’s a different story altogether.

But Overbay has a chance. That’s all you can ask for.

—

Miss anyone along the way? Catch up on the Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers profiles to this point:

• #25 Hunter Morris
• #26 Kyle Lohse
• #27 Carlos Gomez
• #29 Jim Henderson
• #30 Tyler Thornburg
• #32 Tom Gorzelanny
• #38 Wily Peralta
• #40 Johnny Hellweg
• #41 Marco Estrada
• #45 Alfredo Figaro
• #46 Hiram Burgos
• #47 Rob Wooten
• #49 Yovani Gallardo
• #50 José De La Torre
• #51 Wei-Chung Wang
• #52 Jimmy Nelson
• #53 Brandon Kintzler
• #54 Michael Blazek
• #58 Ariel Peña
• #59 Zach Duke
• #60 Kevin Shackelford
• #61 Jason Rogers
• #63 Brooks Hall
• #64 Mike Fiers
• #65 Irving Falu
• #66 Robinzon Diaz
• BONUS COLUMN: #77 David Goforth, #76 Kevin Mattison, #75 Mitch Haniger, #74 Michael Olmstead, #73 Kentrail Davis, #72 Cameron Garfield, #71 Adam Weisenburger, #70 Dustin Molleken, #67 Eugenio Velez