Do you think that if Lane (for instance) could have had the chance to start figuring out major league pitching at 23 or 24 years old instead of 27 or 28, it could have made a difference? I think he spent too many years seeing AAA pitching and it affected his mindset and swing habits once he got to the bigs....especially when he raked at AAA. The pitching is obviously much better in the pros, and he never got steady enough time in the bigs to figure it out. His stats show he ended up being crappy, but think he was done a disservice staying at AAA for so long.
Meh. Lane was a free swinger, very undisciplined, and that's what they were working on with him in AAA, because they *knew* ML pitchers would abuse him for that. And abuse him they did.
where were they gonna play lane? the starting lineup in 2004 astros outfield was Biggio, Berkman and Hidalgo. Knowing that they weren't gonna give up a franchise icon like Biggio...who were you gonna sit? Hidalgo was coming off a year where he batted .309 with 28 HR's...Berkman's bat wasn't going anywhere. they ultimately traded for a guy named carlos beltran that year. By letting Lane play in the minors they let him see more at bats. By the next season, Lane was the starting RF. But the 2 years or so prior to that involved players that weren't gonna be brushed aside for a Jason Lane.
I was just using Lane as an example since he was the poster child for being road-blocked. If his upside was such that he was considered a true prospect but they had no where to play him, they should have traded him. By the time he was starting in RF, he was 27 or 28 years old IIRC. Instead they let him continue at AAA during his so-called prime prospect years. It was all a waste when they could have gotten something in return for him. I understand about him getting ABs & such, but I thought he'd proven everything he could at AAA.
I won't argue that they could have traded him, but again one of the big things he proved at AAA (and confirmed in the bigs) was that he had poor plate discipline. Dude was a free-swingin' strikeout machine.
and they were working with him for that same issue. They even started him at AAA his breakout rookie season, but he forced their hand by mashing while whoever we had (IIRC) stunk the place up. Oh yeah, we had Jason Lane in CF and Luke Scott in RF with Orlando Palmeiro coming in off the bench.
I doubt it. There is nothing that suggests that extra years of AAA experience makes someone a worse player.
I disagree. I think that when he finally got to the Show, he was pressing to prove he belonged, especially not knowing if he was going to stick around or not. It'd be like Terrence Williams staying the D-league for several years. When you are better than the competition, it becomes easy...then when you are brought back up your skills have declined because you haven't really had to compete for several years. In hindsight, it's easy to say Lane was a AAAA player...I get that. But he showed flashes that he could have been better if he'd been given the time to figure things out. Just my opinion.
I wouldn't say he was "pressing" at all. He hit 26 bombs his rookie campaign before the "book" got out on him: free swinger. Don't throw him strikes. He never did anything in the Majors different from AAA: swing at freaking *everything*, hit with some really nice pop, and strike out a ton.
As msn pointed out, his best year was his first year. If he was pressing then, he should have kept on pressing. Daryle Ward was the same way. Once people discovered the holes in their swings, they became scrubs.
Fair enough. The adjustment to the pitching is HUGE in the second year. I'm excited (or nervous) to see how CJ handles it this year.
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/2011011316435550/ Crazy, Yankees are paying 27-28 mil for 2 relief pitchers....that's almost Florida's payroll
fantastic bullpen too bad they'll never have a lead to protect after the Sox murder their starters!!! :grin:
So I was watching the Ken Burns' Tenth Inning Baseball Part II last night with my son...who as you all know because I never stop talking about my kids (sorry) is a HUGE Astros fan (gee, i wonder how that happened). It was the part centered around the Red Sox championship in 2004...and how it such a big deal to people because so many people waited their lives to see it happen...and how many people had passed on before it happened. It talked about cemeteries all across New England being covered in Red Sox pennants and signs....and it showed a poster laying next to a graveside that read: "Dad, they did it! Rest easy." I looked over and my 10 year old boy was crying...and of course that kinda set me off...and he said, "Man, I don't wanna have to do that. They need to win before you die." :grin: Pichers and catchers report soon!!!
