4-4 tonight, up to .294
Why is our second best hitter in the 8 spot/
- Thread starter Dback Jon
- Start date
BC867
Long time Phoenician!
I think because he is one of the few hitters in the league who can produce while not seeing good pitches batting in front of the pitcher.
The downside is that, with that skill, he'd help the team more being on base ahead of the heart of the order . . . if we had a heart of the order.
Lineup seemed to work just fine last night.
:ducksforcover:
:ducksforcover:
BC867
Long time Phoenician!
Is it coincidental that Johnson was moved from #2 to lower in the order?
I don't think so.
He was the last position player to get a hit.
Seemed to work well.
OP
OP
Up until last night, Mr. .210 was hitting second, while Parra was hitting 8th - order reversed.
Black Jesus
No Talent Ass-Clown
This should be our lineup:
Bloomquist/Roberts (Whoever is hotter)
Parra
Upton
Montero
Goldschmidt
Roberts/Bloomquist
Kelly Johnson
Chris Young
Bloomquist/Roberts (Whoever is hotter)
Parra
Upton
Montero
Goldschmidt
Roberts/Bloomquist
Kelly Johnson
Chris Young
OP
OP
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
CY is actually a better "bad-ball" hitter than Johnson at this point... I can't believe just how awful Johnson is right now. When he swings, the best we can hope for is a foul tip, otherwise, it's all swing and misses...
But I like Black Jesus's lineup....
I think it is awesome that this lineup has so many holes, but the record is still what it is. Baseball is nuts sometimes.
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
It really is mulli... Timing is really everything in sports, and particularly in Baseball. At times, our pitching has been horrendous (like now), but, then our offense picks up (like last night). Or, our offense has been down (most of the season), but our pitching has been stellar (Kennedy, Hudson, Saunders, Collmenter, Hernandez, Patterson and Putz).
The only legit major league offensive threat on this team is Upton, though, Parra is really showing he has quite a future ahead of him!
Goldy still has so much to learn and while he shows great poise and presence, the jury is still out on him. Same for Cowgill.
Miggy is a great presence at the plate for a catcher! And he's actually throwing some guys out now too!
After that, we have nothing but a few nice utility guys in Roberts and Blomquist, a couple of huge suck-arses who provide very little value in CY and Johnson, and a bench with players that would most likely not be on most other major league rosters in Burroughs, Blanco and Ransom.
Meanwhile, our pitching has been far more good than bad throughout the season. Kennedy has had an amazing season and should finish in the top 5 for Cy Young voting. Hudson, until his recent face-plant, was also having an incredible season. Saunders has been a huge surprise for the most part, and Collmenter also added some great starts.
Our pen has really been tremendous... You really can't say enough about Hernandez. He has been lights out. Putz has done his job since coming back from the DL. Patterson has been very good. Micah Owings has also shown he belongs in the bigs and in the pen. Even Shaw has been more good than bad.
I've been saying this for far too long now. Particularly given that we play in the west. If we can get better and more consistent offensive production from any of the following positions (First Base, Third Base, Centerfield), we would be in first place by now.
did you know Chris Young is top ten amongst MLB CF in OPS?
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.j...evel=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting
http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.j...evel=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting
OP
OP
Great catch
CY is NOT the team's problem. Corner production is. CY's OPS, combined with run saving defense, makes him a top 10 CF in the league.
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
Yea... I know. A few here often remind me of that stat. His career OPS is right about the same as where he sits for this season. His career OBP is .318! Which seems to me to be extremely, pathetically low for a CF. As is his career batting average of .245!
My hunch is that his OPS this season was largely impacted by his slugging % during the first quarter of the season or so. Since then, it seems to me that he has been on a slow and steady ride down. And should the trend continue, he will easily fall from "the top 10 CF's in OPS".
Post-Allstar his OPS is 45th, but he still far from the weak link in lineup.
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
That's what I thought...
And... he is a serious weak link in the lineup. Particularly in light of the fact that he's the 3rd highest paid player on the team. Ouch....
Who cares what he is paid right now. Not me. Not with the team having such a low payroll anyway.That's what I thought...
I can a problem with him being more than a 5th or 6th place hitter. Maybe belongs 7th, but he seems he significantly more productive that the team's 2b, 3b, 1b, right?
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
Who cares what he is paid right now. Not me. Not with the team having such a low payroll anyway.
I can a problem with him being more than a 5th or 6th place hitter. Maybe belongs 7th, but he seems he significantly more productive that the team's 2b, 3b, 1b, right?
Hmmm.... regarding his pay - I think it's even more of an issue on a team that has such a low payroll. Dollars are a commodity on this team, therefore, this is very little, like ZERO, margin for error. It's more imperative that the use of those rare dollars return maximum value. The dollars need to be channeled in the most productive fashion. CY being the 3rd highest paid player on the team sucks up a lot of those dollars without the requisite return.
He has definitely been more productive than our 1b and 2b. But, as for 3b - I'll take Roberts .802 OPS, .260 batting average and .355 OBP over CY any day!
If they are so cash-strapped, mayhaps they shouldn't be owners anymore. I am already a fan of one team in AZ that claims to be cash-strapped from time to time. Sad that the amount of adverts at Chase Field doesn't help them stay out of the bottom ten of payrolls.Hmmm.... regarding his pay - I think it's even more of an issue on a team that has such a low payroll. Dollars are a commodity on this team, therefore, this is very little, like ZERO, margin for error. It's more imperative that the use of those rare dollars return maximum value. The dollars need to be channeled in the most productive fashion. CY being the 3rd highest paid player on the team sucks up a lot of those dollars without the requisite return.
He has definitely been more productive than our 1b and 2b. But, as for 3b - I'll take Roberts .802 OPS, .260 batting average and .355 OBP over CY any day!
Oh yeah, I forgot Roberts. Thanks for indulging me, 82. you watch them more than I do.
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
If they are so cash-strapped, mayhaps they shouldn't be owners anymore. I am already a fan of one team in AZ that claims to be cash-strapped from time to time. Sad that the amount of adverts at Chase Field doesn't help them stay out of the bottom ten of payrolls.
Oh yeah, I forgot Roberts. Thanks for indulging me, 82. you watch them more than I do.
It's frustrating Mulli... Where I'm from orginally, I never had to contend with teams lacking cash. In part it was because of the geographics (New York City), and in part because ownership were just plain wealthy!
Here in Phoenix, the demographics are not set up in a way that makes it very tough for pro sports owners to be profitable.
It is what it is... The Cards are generating a steady, growing following. The attendance in Flag this year has been off the charts!
Baseball and Hockey here are just very tough sells... Baseball across the country is lagging and really gets by in it's centuries old legacy where generational fan-bases are locked in.
Hockey is not a shocker. Dbacks need to invest more in the product on the field. Don't expect the fans to flock after the crapfest of last year (s).
82CardsGrad
7 x 70
Agreed. I think what is happening with the Cards is a pretty solid indicator of what could happen here in the Valley, IF, ownership invests more heavily and the W's then follow.
For the Cards, it all really came together when Mike Bidwill appeared to take on more of a meaningful presence and daddy seemed to take more of a backseat. The stadium was built. Whiz came on the scence and then poof - we're in the Super Bowl and seconds away from victory! Followed that up with another post-season visit. Interestingly, the Cards crapped the bed last season and yet, camp this year has seen record-breaking attendance.
I think the D-Backs can do the same, or at least come close, in terms of generting this type of support - if they spend more, but more importantly, WIN more. At least I hope so!!
BC867
Long time Phoenician!
My gripe with Young, and now with Johnson big-time, is their insistence on trying to hit every ball into the air. They are so predictably inflexible.
I think it is more of an attitude problem than a skills problem.
Major League pitchers pick up on that quickly and even mediocre ones can make them look foolish.
Moving Young to leadoff was a mistake. Then moving him to cleanup was a mistake. Batting Johnson 2nd for so long was more of the same.
I am afraid that, despite how aggressive Kirk Gibson is, his downside is encouraging hitting the ball in the air. How many times have we seen Young and Johnson hit harmless popups for non-productive outs with runners on base? Too many.
I cringe every time I hear that Ford commercial which says something like, "Ford likes homeruns", and will donate money every time we hit one. Why not line drives to left-center and right-center?
I know, it's not as glamorous. But then, they are not managing the team. Just using their wealth to be the voice of true fans.
I think it is more of an attitude problem than a skills problem.
Major League pitchers pick up on that quickly and even mediocre ones can make them look foolish.
Moving Young to leadoff was a mistake. Then moving him to cleanup was a mistake. Batting Johnson 2nd for so long was more of the same.
I am afraid that, despite how aggressive Kirk Gibson is, his downside is encouraging hitting the ball in the air. How many times have we seen Young and Johnson hit harmless popups for non-productive outs with runners on base? Too many.
I cringe every time I hear that Ford commercial which says something like, "Ford likes homeruns", and will donate money every time we hit one. Why not line drives to left-center and right-center?
I know, it's not as glamorous. But then, they are not managing the team. Just using their wealth to be the voice of true fans.
They haven't been able to because ownership has still been paying for the 2001 championship team. All those salaries were deferred. I believe all the deferred salaries come off the books at the end of this year.
To me, again, the process of spending money is more about keeping the home-grown stars rather than buying a bunch of free agents. If you're that close, go out and get yourself one or two, but don't get yourself in the same position as Colangelo put this team. They lost something like $21 million the year they won it all.
If you watch Chris Young's swing on film, it's actually pretty flat. Technically, it looks fine to me. You don't have to swing up to hit a pop up. It just has to hit the top of your bat. If you've transitioned power from your back leg to your front leg too early, you're not going to square up a pitch and get good wood. More than likely it's going to hit the top of the bat. You don't have to miss by much to hit some terrific pop flies with a very normal swing.
That's Young's problem, IMO. It's pretty easy to get him wound up for the heat. If he hasn't put himself out by the third or fourth pitch, come over the plate with something off-speed and he'll usually do the work for you. You can only teach pitch recognition so much. A player has to come part of the way with a natural ability to feel the tempo and rhythm of a pitcher. I don't think Young has that.
