August 29, 200719 yr I just think...and this is just my opinion...that De Aza is not a viable option for CF, long term. I hope he proves me wrong, I just dont see it. He is not going to be any kind of superstar, but he might be a .350 OBP left-handed bat with speed that can play CF pretty well. Unless the team goes outside the organization, we are years away from better than that. I still want to see this lineup: v. RHP Hermida Jacobs Ramirez Cabrera Uggla Willingham Treanor DeAza v. LHP Hermida Jacobs Ramirez Cabrera Uggla Willingham Ross Olivo (unless Willis is pitching)
August 29, 200719 yr Simmer down Festa. Theres a chance that Hayes will be the starting catcher next year. I admitted I was wrong about Hammer. Olivo did suck last year, at least relative to the contract he was awarded without arbitration while heading into this year. Unless De Aza remembers what its like to draw a walk, my hopes arent high. His inability to take walks and his batting average show, to me, that he is completely overmatched. I hope he gets better...just wouldnt bank on it.
August 29, 200719 yr I just think...and this is just my opinion...that De Aza is not a viable option for CF, long term. I hope he proves me wrong, I just dont see it. He is not going to be any kind of superstar, but he might be a .350 OBP left-handed bat with speed that can play CF pretty well. Unless the team goes outside the organization, we are years away from better than that. I still want to see this lineup: v. RHP Hermida Jacobs Ramirez Cabrera Uggla Willingham Treanor DeAza v. LHP Hermida Jacobs Ramirez Cabrera Uggla Willingham Ross Olivo (unless Willis is pitching) I'm as big a fan as any of crazy SABR lineups, but what benefit, at all, does Jacobs hitting second do? Surely you believe in the statistical revolution, Eric, and as such I'd think you'd value tangible OBP over the mystical "lineup protection" garbage. As in, just because Jacobs is batting in front of Miggy, doesn't mean his scouting report changes, nor does the overwhelming manner in which they pitch to him. Lineup protection is only good for, at best, 1 at bat per game in a close/late situation where the on-deck hitter makes it unjustifiable to walk the batter in the batter's box. As for De Aza, his career minor league OBP was .360. To ask a player like that to post fairly static numbers big league to minor leagues is unreasonable. I don't think there's much to credibly suggest he's a .350 OBP kind of player.
August 29, 200719 yr MIAMI -- Career RBI No. 2 for rookie Alejandro De Aza turned out to be a big one. Not to just completely point out an article inaccuracy, but.. Wasn't that his 5th RBI?
August 29, 200719 yr Jacobs hitting second? What the hell? He pulls his grounders, I think he'd benefit from the 2 hole.
August 29, 200719 yr As for De Aza, his career minor league OBP was .360. To ask a player like that to post fairly static numbers big league to minor leagues is unreasonable. I don't think there's much to credibly suggest he's a .350 OBP kind of player. His minor league numbers showed a good SO/BB rate, and he is 23, which means he is about to enter his better seasons. I also used the word 'might'. As for Jacobs batting second, it is the leftover slot, and he pulls his grounders, I've seen it by watching him play more than 100 times now.
August 29, 200719 yr I like Hermida leading off but Jacobs hitting behind him would be a double play machine.
August 29, 200719 yr what it seems like to me is that theyre pitching de aza differently now that he's been playing more often.... they got a scouting report on him and you can see they like to pitch him low and inside.... and he just cant hit that pitch. so he's going to have to make adjustments and figure it out... last night he was able to hit a pitch low and in for the game winning sac fly. just like uggla.... i've noticed most teams are feeding uggla steady diet of curve balls and if he cant adjust to them he wont be sucessful. but glad to see as of late uggla hitting those curves.... de aza has to atleast be able to foul off those low and inside pitches to force the pitcher to throw something down the plate to pitch for contact.... this is just my 2 cents from what i've seen on the games... im not saying it's completely accurate but it seems like it to me.
August 29, 200719 yr Someone above mentioned DeAza's 0-fer last night and yet it was the same DeAza who drove in the winning run. It just proves again there is such a thing as a productive out and McKeon is still right that when you put the ball in play (vs strikeouts and DeAza had struck out his three previous at bats) good things happen. There's such thing as a productive out, sure. In that specific situation. In the overwhelming majority of at bats, a k is the same as any out, and in some situations, it's more productive.
August 30, 200719 yr Someone above mentioned DeAza's 0-fer last night and yet it was the same DeAza who drove in the winning run. It just proves again there is such a thing as a productive out and McKeon is still right that when you put the ball in play (vs strikeouts and DeAza had struck out his three previous at bats) good things happen. There's such thing as a productive out, sure. In that specific situation. In the overwhelming majority of at bats, a k is the same as any out, and in some situations, it's more productive. Not only that, but what would have happened if De Aza had hit it to short? More free baseball. A good percentage of the time a ball in play could be a worse out than a double play. (I say that with no statistical backing, btw)
August 30, 200719 yr Jacobs hitting second? What the hell? He pulls his grounders, I think he'd benefit from the 2 hole. Sounds like a lot of 463 DPs to me. Maybe, but at least he'd draw a heavy shift. Besides, I don't like DeAza there, and nobody else on this team is particularly better suited to batting second. He's probably a 16 GDP guy when healthy, so it isn't good, but there is worse.
August 30, 200719 yr Author MIAMI -- Career RBI No. 2 for rookie Alejandro De Aza turned out to be a big one. Not to just completely point out an article inaccuracy, but.. Wasn't that his 5th RBI? Yeah, I noticed that too but I copied it from floridamarlins.com
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