Posted March 8, 200718 yr OK, I know there is pleanty of talk concerning a closer and CF, and rightfuly so. One thing I have heard very little on is Willingham. Last year at this time he was trying to pick up the art of catching, seeemd to be progressing well. Then with one week left in ST, soemone says "we need your bat in the line up, go play left feild." Some of us were a bit anxioius about that move and worried about his defensive abilities. His bat produced and his defense was adequate. It looks like this ST he is concentrating on LF without competition!?! How does everyone see him this year? Will his defense be adequate (or better)? I think his bat will improve: .295, 33, 100. He will continue to be a SOLID contributor without a lot of 'flash' or attention form the media. Your thoughts?
March 8, 200718 yr Given more time, his D will only improve. Glad to see him focusing on it this spring and rightfully so, becoming merely average in left will bode very well for us.
March 8, 200718 yr with miggy they are the two "sure things" in the lineup I think Hanley is also a sure thing
March 8, 200718 yr with miggy they are the two "sure things" in the lineup I think Hanley is also a sure thing No love for Uggla?
March 8, 200718 yr with miggy they are the two "sure things" in the lineup I think Hanley is also a sure thing No love for Uggla? he is definitely not a sure thing
March 8, 200718 yr with miggy they are the two "sure things" in the lineup I think Hanley is also a sure thing No love for Uggla? he is definitely not a sure thing   Yeah. We are all really really really hoping that Uggla has a 2006 year in 2007 but, we're also really hoping that pitchers don't "figure him out" and we start wondering what Pokey is doing these days.  I would agree that HanRam, Hammer (offensively) and Cabs are our 3 sure things.
March 8, 200718 yr His defense probably can't get worse, if it does they'll have to ban woman and children from the first 3 rows in the left field terrace box seats...so we'll hopefully see an improvement on defense. His offense is good. Hopefully it will improve and get even better. I'm optimistic.
March 9, 200718 yr with miggy they are the two "sure things" in the lineup I think Hanley is also a sure thing No love for Uggla? he is definitely not a sure thing yep, I think hanley isnt a sure thing to keep his stats or improve though like willingham and miggy are.  Uggla I agree with Ramp no way. Look at his second half
March 9, 200718 yr He hit 291 in August alongside with 5 hrs and 18 rbis, and ended up hitting 251 in September with 5 hrs and 11 rbis only because he slumped during the second half of the month, not the entire second half. Other than that he was solid and one of the most consistent hitters in the line up. I'll give you that he is unproven, but so is Hammer so idk why we would give him the benefit of the doubt and not Uggla. Don't get me wrong, I love both players and I hope that they have monster years, but I think Uggla might prove a lot of people wrong. Lets just hope i am right.
March 9, 200718 yr Hammer gets the benefit because he has been doing this for year(albeit in the minors). This was by far Uggla's best season ever.
March 9, 200718 yr Author His defense probably can't get worse, if it does they'll have to ban woman and children from the first 3 rows in the left field terrace box seats...so we'll hopefully see an improvement on defense. His offense is good. Hopefully it will improve and get even better. I'm optimistic.  I do not keep up with the stats, was Hammer really 'that' bad on defense? Your comment makes him sound like a real liability out there in left. Am I reading you wrong?
March 9, 200718 yr Last year was also Hanley's best season. From what I remember, he was always considered a 'potential' guy after performing well in the low minors, but never had any recent stellar seasons until last year. I guess I'm the only one who wouldn't consider him a lock for a repeat performance.
March 9, 200718 yr Last year was also Hanley's best season. From what I remember, he was always considered a 'potential' guy after performing well in the low minors, but never had any recent stellar seasons until last year. I guess I'm the only one who wouldn't consider him a lock for a repeat performance. Yes, it was also Hanley's best year but you may want to consider that before last year Hanley was basically a baby in baseball terms and Uggla was not. Uggla may be a late bloomer, a one year wonder or sopmewhere in between. I'll pick somewhere in between. 07 OPS Predictions: Hammer: .925 - .975 Hanley: .825 - .875 Uggla: .725 - .800
March 9, 200718 yr His defense probably can't get worse, if it does they'll have to ban woman and children from the first 3 rows in the left field terrace box seats...so we'll hopefully see an improvement on defense. His offense is good. Hopefully it will improve and get even better. I'm optimistic.  I do not keep up with the stats, was Hammer really 'that' bad on defense? Your comment makes him sound like a real liability out there in left. Am I reading you wrong? at times Josh was pretty bad out in LF, but he improved throughout the year
March 9, 200718 yr Saying uggla and jacobs may decline is just the safest negative prediction that can be made. Uggla was not a super prospect like hanley was still had a tremendous year. I dont know about Uggla, but Jacobs I think will improve. We need to remember that he had that ankle problem for half the year.
March 13, 200718 yr Author His bat has turned COLD!!! If memory serves me correctly, this time last year was when the fish were discovering his bat and the need to find him some where, other than C, to play?!?!
March 13, 200718 yr His bat has turned COLD!!! If memory serves me correctly, this time last year was when the fish were discovering his bat and the need to find him some where, other than C, to play?!?! its spring training, hammer will be fine
March 14, 200718 yr His defense probably can't get worse, if it does they'll have to ban woman and children from the first 3 rows in the left field terrace box seats...so we'll hopefully see an improvement on defense. His offense is good. Hopefully it will improve and get even better. I'm optimistic.  I do not keep up with the stats, was Hammer really 'that' bad on defense? Your comment makes him sound like a real liability out there in left. Am I reading you wrong? at times Josh was pretty bad out in LF, but he improved throughout the year  He played infield (mostly shortstop) all through high school and college ball. I was anxious when they put him at catcher that he may not get a good shot in the majors. Even though I knew his range and speed were not going to set the major league on fire I figured he would end up at first base (and still do at some point in his career). Anyway, he is a hard worker and will learn, but the outfield is still got to be a big adjustment for him.
March 14, 200718 yr His bat has turned COLD!!! If memory serves me correctly, this time last year was when the fish were discovering his bat and the need to find him some where, other than C, to play?!?! its spring training, hammer will be fine some of us knew about his bat almost more than 3 years ago. :shifty
March 14, 200718 yr His bat has turned COLD!!! If memory serves me correctly, this time last year was when the fish were discovering his bat and the need to find him some where, other than C, to play?!?! its spring training, hammer will be fine some of us knew about his bat almost more than 3 years ago. :shifty yessir :whistle
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