ESPN.com – MLB – Batting Sortables
Part of the Braves’ problem is that they aren’t drawing a whole lot of them. Marcus is 24th in the NL in walks per PA, Andruw is 29th, Furcal 42nd. Those are the only qualifiers, but the only non-qualifiers ahead of Marcus are Chipper, KJ, and McCann. (Plus Marte, but he’s in AAA today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?) LaRoche and Estrada are worse than Furcal. It’s disturbing.
Who needs walks, we have Andruw!
The main reason we don’t walk is because we have a standing swing away philosophy on 3-0, which leads to a ton of 3-0 pitches being grounded to the 2B(don’t know why it’s always the 2B, it just is for some reason).
This line is in the “notes” section at the end of the AP story:
The Braves improved to 2-40 when trailing after eight innings.
Rather sardonic use of the word “improved,” I would say.
I used to hear over and over especially at ESPN, and especially a couple of the baseball columnists about how the OBP is a very important factor, and how the Yankees have recognized this since Torre became the manager…But, basically Bobby and whomever the batting coach is or has been, the Braves Way isn’t to emphasise going the value of an on-base walk, if swinging away offers a higher reward, which it almost always does.
Wasn’t there something mentioned about a trade for B-Giles?
There doesn’t seem to be any news online concerning a B-Giles trade. Given two rookie outfielders in the corners and a surplus of talent in the braves system I suppose it might be a possibility, but so far it seems that someone jumped the gun.
Brian Giles This Season
.299/10 hr/54 rbi/9 sb
The B-Giles rumor is official. It’s posted at B-Prospectus. I think he’d be a great addition. What would you give up for him? The Padres will most likely want pitching
Langerhans/Colon/Sosa?
If part of the Braves’ problem is that they aren’t drawing walks you have to look at their hitting coach. Terry Pendleton only walked 486 times in 15 seasons.
Furcal is on pace for as many walks as TP had in his MVP season. His .318 OBP this year is right in line with Pendleton’s career .319 OBP. Rafael had 73 BB his rookie season, (Pre-Pendleton) 34 this season.
LaRoche walked 61 times his last year in the minors 483 ABs. He has 48 BBs in 599 big league ABs.
KJ had 233 BBs in 542 minor league games and 25 in the first 34 big league games. None in his last 13. All he hears is be agressive and that’s just not his style. No wonder he’s lost at the plate right now.
Estrada has never drew many walks and never will. McCann has a chance to be much better.
Chipper is an on-base machine. But his dad is his hitting coach.
I don’t know who has helped Andruw become more selective this year but it would be safe to bet it’s not TP.
The biggest problem right now is we are getting nothing in terms of getting on base OR offense from the 2 & 3 holes: KJ & Marcus.
Furcal is actually doing his job and getting on base but Marcus fingernails-on-a-chalkboard approach to hitting of hacking is driving me up a friggin’ wall. I was staring at a laptop screen last night watching the game (since those of us IN D.C. are utterly screwed in trying to see the Braves & Nats play a game in Atlanta) & everytime Marcus came up, I didn’t have to hit the refresh button because the out was so quick. I was able to relax my fingers!
Also, Kelly Johnson has gone back into one of his wretched slumps. When we were on fire, it coincided with when Kelly was hot.
This is the problem with rookies and this is why Brian Giles helps this team on so many different levels…a smart, veteran power hitter. However, if the Braves face the Padres in the post season, the trade becomes that much more interesting.
Speaking of the BP rumor mill, it will be a free feature for the rest of the month.
I’d like to have Brian Giles, but he would definitely cost a major league pitcher, wouldn’t he? They were going to take Ponson for Nevin, but Giles and Nevin aren’t the same. If he were healthy, I imagine Thomson would do it. I don’t imagine that Horacio or Sosa would.
Brian Giles for Sosa would be a steal.
Brian Giles for Thomson would be a loss. Thomson has been an elite pitcher since about the all-star break last year, and he’s cheap. He’s worth more than Brian Giles.
I’d be for Langerhans and Sosa for Brian Giles. I’m not sure how that works financially, though.
And about the walks – I don’t blame TP. I blame Brian Jordan. I know it’s his fault. It just has to be. Mr. f’n Aggressive in the clubhouse telling everybody that’s the way they need to be. I hope they give him a front office job that keeps him away from the clubhouse and dugout… far away.
I heard we may go after Rondel White. I think Kelly Johnson is too patient at the plate. He takes too many pitches early in the count and gets in a whole and has to protect the plate. By then Furcal is out or stolen second, and Giles coems up looking for a fastball, but isn’t getting anything but sliders.
I’d like to see what McCann, Julio, or even Langerhans could do hitting 2 or 3
I agree completely, Joey. I wouldn’t be in favor of that either. Just what I figure it would take. I hope they keep him this year and pick up his option for next.
OK. I officially hate Johnny Estrada. According to mlb.com, even though he will not start any of the games against the Natspos, he “thought about serving his three-game suspension this week, but he wants Major League Baseball to hear why he got into the heated shouting match with umpire Doug Eddings.”
So here we have the perfect opportunity with a starter on the DL who doesn’t need to be replaced until 3 more games pass AND Estrada can’t really play for a few days. Yet this jackass wants to hold out for what is really no good reason. He has a damn phone, doesn’t he? Pick it up and call somebody, dumbass. If all you want to do is tell them what happened, then ERIC GREGGing tell them what happened and get over yourself.
According to the Washington Post, we already have Brian Giles, haha. “Luis Ayala hit Brian Giles with a pitch to load the bases.” This was about four sentences after they mentioned that the 9th inning should have been worse except that Schneider “threw out Chipper Jones trying to steal second.” Really? His feet must be better. The Nats game writeups always read like a soap opera.
If you’ll recall, I’ve wanted Brian Giles for some time now, and while I don’t think we can get him this year, since the Padres are, at least for the moment, division leaders (which may not last; is their record still above .500?), I think we have an excellent shot of landing him next year as an FA, maybe even at a discount, as long as JS dangles Marcus as bait. Brian is 34, so we shouldn’t give him a long-term deal, maybe a year or two, but he would fill the yearly void we seem to develop in RF when one “superstar” after another departs.
Don’t kid yourself, though, the Padres won’t trade him now except for a king’s ransom. He’s the only guy on their team who can hit.
I saw the Rondell White rumor too. At first I was discouraged, but after looking at his stats it wouldn’t be too bad. He is .317/.368/.515/.882 against LHP for his career. Don’t know about his defense. This is the first rumor I’ve seen that seems likely. JS has said he wanted a right-handed bat, it won’t take too much to get him, and he’s from Georgia. It wouldn’t be an “F—n’ A” trade, but it would help (depending on who we gave up).
creynolds, Estrada is a player representative and I bet he is under instruction by the players association to appeal his case. This has to be a political thing which JS or BC wouldn’t get involved in the decision process.
In respect of the trading rumor on Brain Giles, why would the Padres trade him? He would like to get rid of Nevin, but I don’t think they hate Giles. In fact, they gave up Jason Bay and Oliver Perez to get Giles. The Padres will not give up Brain Giles unless they get similar in return…say KJ and Sosa/Colon/Rameriz. If the Padres is willing to take Dan Kolb, it may not be a bad deal after all…
What I meant is the Padres don’t like Nevin (they will put him on the bench anyway), but they do like Brain Giles.
I understand that, but I can still hate him. I hate the whole suspension/appeal process, anyway. So it’s not at all hard for me to take this extra step.
I thought Rondell White was a good idea, too. Problem is he has a very week arm, and now he has some shoulder injury. If healthy, he would certainly be passable in left as a platoon player, but it doesn’t appear that he can do much more than DH at this point. Last I heard, he might require offseason surgery… which at least suggests that there isn’t much expectation of him being able to play in the field anytime soon.
What about Alou? Do you think the Giants would be willing to deal him?
Rumor of the day: Rondell White to Atlanta, but the only problem is he is currently the DH in Detroit because of a bad shoulder.
http://www.freep.com/sports/tigers/tigers27e_20050727.htm
sorry didnt see the previous post.. I dont think Alou will come to Atlanta and for the money I dont think I would want him in Atlanta. Could the Twins be looking to deal either Ford or Jones before the deadline…
Ah, didn’t know about the White injury. Bad idea then. I don’t get why the Padres would trade B. Giles when they are leading their division. (Of course, they are tied for 8th best record in the NL, so they’re not that good). I also doubt the Braves could pay him or be willing to give up the players it will take to get him. And I still would prefer that we pick up a good reliever.
Isn’t Alou almost 40? And isn’t he an infamous clubhouse cancer? That wouldn’t be a very good move, in my opinion.
The Padres will not trade “Brain” Giles. They would need to fall completely out of the NL West race before the deadline, and since that’s 4 days away, it won’t happen. I don’t know if they can stick him on waivers because of his no-trade clause, but if Brian Giles winds up on waivers someone will claim him so fast you can’t even blink. In short, we can’t get him this year. Next year? Why not? He’s a little expensive, but he might be willing to take a small pay cut, and if JS gets Marcus on the phone jawing his ear off (which he’s very good at) the day the season ends, we could have a very good shot. I’m not satisfied with our OF situation at all, because I don’t think it’ll work in the playoffs, and I wish we could fix it this year, but I really don’t see that happening. Of course, we’ve gone into postseason with veteran OFs before and nothing has happened, so why not try rookies?
Oh, yeah, and possible explanation for Marcus’s walk totals (although weren’t we just bashing him a while ago for having a bad K/BB ratio?):
He’s short. Short people have smaller strike zones. At least they’re supposed to.
I think the deal is that it’s really hard to do the “prospects for a veteran” trade now. If you want to make a splash this year, you pretty much have to be willing to deal off your major league roster. Anybody who has anybody to give (certainly as far as starting pitching goes) is at least of the belief that they are close to contending. Clubs like KC and Cincy that either are or should be in full rebuilding mode don’t have starting pitchers to trade. If San Diego needs one (and they do), something will have to give. IF they’re stuck with Nevin, they could conceivably trade an outfielder and replace him with Nady. Doesn’t make it necessarily a good idea, but certainly not a bad thing for them to be open to. But they’re down a catcher now, and may need Nevin behind the plate (potentially scary thought for Padres fans).
Atlanta’s a highly unlikely destination, but the idea of them trading Giles doesn’t necessarily seem so far-fetched. Beyond the Nevin/Catcher thing, I think it would depend largely on what they thought their chances of re-signing him would be. I’d have to think they were pretty good. If the Giles boys are going to be together, I’d be more inclined to bet on that happening in San Diego than in Atlanta.
So, if the Braves aren’t looking at Rondell White, why are they apparently scouting Detroit? Dmitri Young was playing in the outfield last night, but that seems crazy. I think he either has another year on his contract or an option that is about to vest. Do they have any relievers worth getting excited about beyond Farnsworth (who seems unlikely to be dealt)?
I keep forgetting to tag this on, so here goes yet another post from a guy who obviously doesn’t have enough work today:
ALL of BP is free until 8/3.
You know how annoying the “50 States in 50 Days” segment is? It’s so annoying that I put it on mute and became enraged by the close captioning.
AND I CAN’T TURN IT OFF! I’ve already tried all the audio settings. It just stays there.
Oregon is BORING!
Jenny, I actually did a mini-study on what external factors contribute to one’s walk rate, and there was no statistically significant link between height and walk rate. However, there was a link between weight and walk rate, so maybe Marcus is a little chunkier than he used to be 🙂
By the way, I’ve agreed to guest-blog for JC while he’s at the beach. Stop by Sabernomics over the next week or so and see what John Wright and I can come up with while he’s gone. Feel free to heckle at your leisure.
I’m pumped about tonight’s game! The last three innings were great last night. It was like in ’91 when the Dodgers were in town and the fans were hitting big Strawberries with tomahawks in the stands.
Oh great. Now your AJ gloating gets it’s own forum?!
Just kidding… looking forward to checking it out and, yes, possibly heckling you. Provided that you don’t try to defend Bernero, you will probably be fairly safe.
espn reported that the braves are interested in dealing kolb. ok, which one of the espn writers is “captain obvious”. who would take him even though he has shown some improvement.
I bet we could trick the Yankees into taking him. Maybe we could get a three way deal with another team.
Weight and walk rate? I think I read that somewhere, and it makes no sense to me. I took AP Statistics this year and I thought a lot of it was BS. “Statistically significant” can be altered based on what confidence level you use.
I guess it should make sense, though, because while I have seen high pitches called balls for Marcus that were strikes for Chipper or LaRoche, I’ve also seen low pitches called strikes for Marcus that would be at the shins of those same 2 players. So perhaps it evens out. Where it doesn’t even out, though, is on the outside of the zone. Umps usually give a baseball length or two off the outside edge of the plate, and this, at least to me, looks stupid for short players because they can’t reach the ball unless they practically step on home plate. It’s not fair to make umps take arm length into account, but if you can’t hit a pitch, why should it be a strike? I know, I know, someone will tell me that there are plenty of nasty breaking pitches and jammed fastballs that you couldn’t hit, but at least your bat can physically make contact with the ball if you can figure it out.
I’m just rambling. Sorry!
Unfortunately I missed last nights game, but what was more frustrating than that was the fact that ESPN was not showing any highlights for baseball until after midnight. It was either the 50/50 crap or NFL signings. Last time I checked it is still baseball season, get the NFL crap off TV. I dont personally care about Alex Smith, show me the Braves..
Oh yeah, the did happen to show Randy Johnson’s performance maybe a billion times
I wish SportsCenter was only 30 min. and they just showed the same one back to back. I could nderstand an hour in like October with football and baseball going on, but in July? That is hwy we have “50 States in 50 Days” and “Coors Light 6 pack” I guess they decided that they could dedicate 30 min of the show to Red Sox and Yankees. I bet there has been more time spent on highlights of the D-Rays than the entire National League (because the Yanks and Sox play Tampa Bay once a week.)
the braves dont need an Of…we’ve got 4 good ones and another aging one who can play sometimes…..i dont want another one..cuz that means less pt for kelly,ryan,jeff…and i dont want to see that happen..we need a closer..thats it…
Why didn’t Preston Wilson play last night?
“I actually did a mini-study on what external factors contribute to one’s walk rate, and there was no statistically significant link between height and walk rate. However, there was a link between weight and walk rate, so maybe Marcus is a little chunkier than he used to be”
I’m pretty certain this is a secondary (or even tertiary) effect:
3) Strength is positively correlated with weight (specifically with muscle mass).
2) Hitting for power is positively correlated with strength.
1) Walk rate is positively correlated with hitting for power.
In other words, big strong guys tend to hit lots of homers. Guys that hit lots of homers tend to get walked a lot. Therefore, big strong guys tend to get walked a lot.
Also, if you aren’t very mobile you have to be a pretty good hitter to get playing time. “Fat” guys are rarely in the majors for their glove, whereas some of the glove men playing SS could be blown away by a strong wind.
So it makes perfect sense that walk rate and weight are positively correlated. A similar trivia point (with similar explanations) is that striking out and scoring runs are positively correlated at the team level. As always, correlation does not imply causation.
“Robinson wanted another left-handed hitter — Church — to face John Smoltz.” (From the Nats website).
There you go, Smitty.
From the “game notes”. I have no idea who writes the “game notes”.
I think the only trade the Braves would make at this point would be for an outfielder and I dont see that happening. I believe Bobby has the bullpen the way he wants it at this point. Reitsma has definitely suprised me as a closer, but who knows!!!
surprised not suprised
Allow me to further clarify a few points:
“Statistically significant” can be altered based on what confidence level you use.
The t-statistic for the estimator was very high – you could use a 99.999% confidence level and it’s still statistically significant. Good enough for me, at least.
In other words, big strong guys tend to hit lots of homers. Guys that hit lots of homers tend to get walked a lot. Therefore, big strong guys tend to get walked a lot.
While I agree with this, I included more than just height and weight in the regression – also included were isolated power, strikeout rate, age, age squared, etc. So, fat guys walked more even if we control for the fact that they hit for more power and strike out more.
As always, correlation does not imply causation.
Certainly not. I did not imply, and don’t mean to imply, that Marcus should pound a few milkshakes to get his walk rate up. All I meant was that the data show that fat players as a group walk more, even when we adjust for other behaviors that fat players tend to have. This I find interesting.
The study would be more robust if the Lahman database had a yearly flag for player weight – I don’t know what Andruw is in the DB as weighing, but it’s probably no longer accurate 🙂
Anyway, to be even more of a self-promoting whore than I already have been, check Sabernomics next week for more analysis like this.
The braves could also move for a first baseman.
Also, gaining a closer would allow Reitsma to move into a setup role. It’s better to have two lights-out guys at the end of the game than one.
Reitsma’s being overused. A setup role would probably mean a work reduction, especially when a couple of lefties come up in the 8th (which is Australian for beer).
LF, RF, 1st, RP … there are a lot of places the Braves could improve, if only they could add salary.
“Other behaviors that fat players tend to have?” Like what? Taking up too much space in economy class? Ordering 4 double cheeseburgers in one go-round? Ha!
Sorry for the fat-bashing. But the door was wide open 😉
Reading between the lines, maybe LaRoche is going to be traded – for Brian Giles! They’ve tried to move Nevin (and now have him catching) and Nady, the current 1b, can play OF capably. If Chipper’s agreed to move to 1b for the good of the team, this could make sense for all involved.
I finally am going to comment on the “Chipper to first” thread. Anyone who has played first knows that the stretching that a first baseman has to do puts a lot of strain on the muscles of your legs. When a person has a knee or arm injury, then first base is a good option. But with muscle problems, like those Chipper has had, first base can often cause more problems. Chipper is best to be left at third. The long term issue for the Braves, though, is who is going to be their thirdbaseman of the future … Marte or Chipper. If it is Chipper, you trade Marte … if it is Marte … well, you fill in the blanks.
Totally off-topic: We just got rooming assignments for college and my new roommate is from SINGAPORE! How cool is that?
hmmm, i’ll take giles for laroche…..
Yahoo has a news item (brief) that the Yankees are going to pick up Nomo. Let’s see … wouldn’t that make the combined age of their pitchers over 500 years?
It’s good to see that the Phillies will face Clemons tonight and is it possible that the Rockies can sweep the Mets. Its also good to see that the Mets will face Houston next..
Are you people nuts? Brian Giles is getting up there, but he’s a terrific player, worth just about anybody in the system, and a lot more than second-tier players like Sosa or LaRoche. His numbers look pedestrian only because of the extreme park he’s playing in. He’s the best right fielder in the league.
If we can make a move a Giles it needs to be done immediately.. If Giles is available people will be scrambling for him
Giles isn’t available. The “rumor” came from the confusion over the Nats announcers calling Marcus Giles “Brian.” If we wanted him now, it would probably cost something absurd like Marte, Davies, and Kelly Johnson. Not gonna happen.
I would give them Marte for Brian Giles… in a heartbeat
Are you people nuts? Brian Giles is getting up there, but he’s a terrific player, worth just about anybody in the system, and a lot more than second-tier players like Sosa or LaRoche. His numbers look pedestrian only because of the extreme park he’s playing in. He’s the best right fielder in the league.
I agree, Giles would certainly bne worth it. But I doubt he’s available.
As for people getting mad at Estrada for appealing, back off. I would do the exact same thing. He knows the umpire was in the wrong and he’s going to take his oppurtunity to make the league office know to. There are times to fight and times to lay down, this is a time to fight. It’s a matter of principle.
You guys…WHY WHY WHY would the Padres trade Giles now? They are leading their division and the deadline is 4 days away! Not long enough for them to fall out of it and decide to start selling. He is their best hitter, and they aren’t going to trade him! And you can bet your house that if they do decide to trade him to us after July 31 he won’t make it past waivers. We’ll have to wait until the offseason. I really want him to come, but it won’t happen during the season.
B. Giles is 34, a free agent to be, and if the Braves give up LaRoche plus a pitcher or 2, the Padres may do it – they obviously perceive a need for pitching, and the rest of their roster and the attempted Nevin deal makes more sense if they are looking to add a 1b. If they’re going to lose Giles at the end of the season anyway, I could see it.
Back off? Yes, sir. This is me, sir, backing off, sir.
However, he should be fighting the umpire’s actions, not his suspension… which he deserved. I’m having trouble believing there is no way to do that other than appeal his suspension and force difficult roster decisions.
I’d take Giles (but I think Abreu is the best RF) – but not for Marte. Giles is older and expensive, and if he’s a free agent after this year the Braves won’t be able to keep him.
I wouldn’t assume that trading a major league regular means a team is “selling”. It may be the case, but the days where it had to be the case are gone. I’m not saying the trading Giles makes sense for them, but given their need for pitching and the fact that there aren’t many starters out there available for prospects (unless you wanna give up the farm for Mark Redmond) it is not unreasonable for them to be mildly open to the idea. I don’t see how the Braves match up, though. And I really don’t see any deal being worth it to them.
You think Florida is giving up if they trade Burnett? You think LA was giving up last year when they traded Lo Duca? Was Boston giving up when they traded Nomar? no, no and no.
ESPNews is a 1/2 hour sportscenter.
Also, Reitsma was pitching lights out this time last year too. Then he absolutely broke down against the Stros. I do not trust this man with anything more than a setup role, despite how well he’s throwing right now.
No way B-Giles is on the team. At least not until this offseason.
Jenny, your roommy will be cool for a little while. She may not bathe or speak English, which will suck. But she could be great. Roommates are luck of the draw sort of things. As long as they do dishes and somewhat pick-up their stuff, they can be cool.
Maybe we could trade Giles for Giles?
Padres are using Xavier Nady at first. THat was the reason for the annulled Nevin deal…
Braves have called up Brayan Pena.
http://presspass.mlb.com/pp_viewer.asp?d=24502
are you guys blind?….why do i still see shit about needing a 1B?
LaRoche is young and talented and is already a gamer(the best we have)….am i the only one who see’s this?…can we not be happy about a guy who could easily hit 270,hit 30 hr’s and bat in 100…and he does this sharing time with franco….what do you guys want?..be happy with what we got..which is pretty damn good….
Jared, you are right! Who drove in two of our three runs last night? He took a pitcher, that we hadn’t touched all night, waaaaay down town. I think he has to rank second on the team in big hits this season. He made two great play at first last night that saved at least one run.
We should trade him though and put a guy with a bum wheel over there who has never played first.
I think LaRoche should be hitting third. Flip him and Giles.
I’m with Jared, I see no need to dump LaRoche. It will probably happen anyway to vacate a spot for Chipper, which I understand, but if it wasn’t for Adam, we would have lost that game last night. He’s a solid player.
Giles for Giles? And stick who at 2B? Orr? Nothing against that guy but his talent pales in comparison to the Mighty Midget’s. Marcus is in a slump right now and I’m just as frustrated at him as the next guy, but let’s not be spastic. And the team would be WAY more boring if Marcus left. Not that it matters to anybody but me 🙂
It makes a GREAT headline, though.
I sensed some sarcasm in the giles for giles bit.
I think I’m in the closer or bust boat. How many times have I heard in recent history, we only needg one big bat at the deadline and we’ll be on our way toward the WS. In the playoffs you win because guys get hot at the right time. I’d rather give the young guys all the chances in the world to get hot in the playoffs. The one thing I think that has been proven is that if you have a guy who can close big ballgames, then you’re a step ahead.
I’ve said it all along. Trading LaRoche would be a bad idea. Also, trading Marcus is absurd. That is why neither of them will be dealt. Nor will any of our veterans who have been here over the years.
Brian Giles being brought in would be nice, but will not happen. Think about it. They are right in a pennant race. Why the hell would they deal their stud rightfielder. Thats insane.
As for getting down on Estrada, Giles, LaRoche, some people need to realize that major league baseball players slump. If you think these guys won’t bounce back, your on pot. All three of those mentioned are good and either in their prime or just about to get to it. Yes, we are deep with up and coming talent, but we are not the Devil Rays. We need not have an entire lineup of hot prospects with lots of potential. We are going for a title and we need the Vets in their as we have the past 13 years.
As I’ve stressed the past few weeks, I think we will deal for a not-so-big name reliever. That’ll be it.
The B Giles rumor didn’t come from the Nats’ media mixing the two Giles’ up, it came from an insinuation by Will Carroll in his rumor mill blog yesterday afternoon. That’s all it is right now though, insinuation. He did say earlier, though, that JS is looking for the final piece of a deal…so who knows?
What about people who are both on pot AND think those guys will improve? I’m just saying it’s possible.
I’m smoking the stickiest of ickies right now, as a matter of fact.
I won’t get into any specifics, but that Klondike Bar I just ate was deeeeeeeeeeeelishus! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Oh, and I do think those guys will bounce back… well, except for Estrada, who has an excuse now with his back problems (and would never be on pot).
can we not be happy about a guy who could easily hit 270,hit 30 hr’s and bat in 100…and he does this sharing time with franco….what do you guys want?..be happy with what we got..which is pretty damn good….
1) LaRoche will not hit .270/30/100 this year or, I’d be willing to wager, any year.
2) LaRoche has a .319 OBP while only facing right handed pitching. For a firstbaseman, that is putridly awful.
3) Andy Marte is going to be roughly five times the player Adam will be and we need a corner spot for him. Like the Pads are finding with Phil Nevin, Chipper is now untradable, making Adam the odd man out.
LaRoche needs to go while he is still cheap enough to be desirable to someone. If not now than first thing this offseason.
the only way i see that happening is because
1.he shares time with franco
2.he gets hurt
3.he goes into a huge slump
and he hasnt been in any big slumps really….
why do you think he has no chance of ever putting up those numbers…whats your gripe about this guy?
why do you think he has no chance of ever putting up those numbers…whats your gripe about this guy?
It’s nothing personal of course but here is why I’m on the ‘Trade LaRoche’ side of things.
There is nothing in his performance history to suggest he’s capable of hitting well enough to be a plus corner infielder. His minor league numbers are lukewarm. This season Bobby has shielded him from lefties and he’s responded with a .319 OBP. If he were playing every day that might well be under .300. A generous projection would say he could be an average firstbaseman for a few years.
That would be ok, because average players certainly have value too, except that Adam is essentially blocking Andy Marte who shows every indication of being that championship caliber corner infielder we need.
If Andy were raptured away tomorrow, I would probably jump on to the ‘Keep LaRoche’ side of things. It’s not that Adam is a bad player, it’s just that he is sort of in the way and could be cashed in for help for other areas of the roster.
Chipper is going to have to move, and he can’t realistically be traded to an AL team to DH. So he’s going to have to play first, next year or the year after that. LaRoche is too slow to play an outfield corner, at least in Turner Field.
Jared, Ive been with you all the way. What good would trading LaRoche do for the team.
I guess everyone wants Chipper to go over to first stretch out his bad hamstrings for a few plays. Then he could get hurt again then we would be left with Franco, a 67 year old man to cover 1st for us. Not a good trade if you ask me, but if LaRoche was an everyday player he has the power and ability to put up 25 to 30Hr’s a season and he will bat around .270 to .275.
thanks csg
mac..chipper is a brave for life..come on now…how odd would he be anywhere else?…he,andruw and smoltz..never leaving…god i hope not
nyb…i like your argument..its a strong one..but i dunno..he’s got alot to like about him…and since i’ve only seen marte play a little bit for us..i can’t really say how much better he’ll be…i just like adam’s ability to always get a hit when we need it..he’s batting well over 300 with runners in scoring pos and two outs..that stat really sticks out to me…he’s our best 1b since Mcgriff in my mind…
I was going to say that wasn’t much of a compliment, but then I remembered I’d forgotten about The Big Cat (when healthy). I’m assuming that you did as well.
damn you’re right i did…oops..best since the big cat…