Peter Bourjos or Jon Jay?

Bourjos or Jay? This question seems to be one of the hotter topics I’ve seen come across my twitter feed in the last 24 hours within Cardinal Nation.

In my article the other day, I touched on why I firmly believe Peter Bourjos should be the 2015 starting center fielder. I received plenty of awesome feedback supporting both sides of the coin. Many of the Jon Jay supporting arguments ran along the lines of the “he’s proven,” “reliable,” works the counts,” and some funny ones like he was really good at getting hit by the ball. While all that is well and good, none of that screams out “I need him out there.” Jay had 468 plate appearances in 2014, walked 28 times, swiped 6 bags, caught 3, and crossed the plate 52 times. Bourjos had 294 plate appearances walked 20 times, stole successfully 9 times and caught 3, and scoring 32 times. With almost 200 less plate appearances Bourjos did almost the same thing and it was later discovered he had a bum hip.

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However, I know what the Jay supporters still have fresh in their minds… the 2014 postseason. He had some great plays in center and slapped the ball opposite field almost every at bat. I won’t lie, he got hot at the perfect time and looked clutch. After the playoff run was over I started thinking

John Mozeliak

would use him as a trade chip to address other needs. That was squashed with a  brand new 2 year deal Jay signed a couple of days ago. Now on the flip side John Jay is a perfect role model ball player and someone you want in the club house. Never once have you heard anything negative about him since his arrival and always showed up to work. Everything that was asked of him he completed without complaint like a true professional. Those traits are irreplaceable for a clubhouse and vital for a deep playoff run. I have kept faith in Mozeliak over the years. Even at the trade deadline last year when he traded away some amazing clubhouse guys like Allen Craig and Joe Kelly. I remember being in disbelief, but he was sending a clear message, “this is a business and moves need to be made.” Sure enough that move sparked an amazing run and we reached the NLCS. I believe another simple move could be a step in same direction. What do you think Cardinal fans?