I seriously can't believe Springer doesn't make routine plays in RF. He's every bit as bad as Grossman was earlier in the year. I've also seen him swing through many a 92mph fastball in the middle of the plate. He looks like me after 8 beers on the "fast" machine at the batting cages. Say "f***it", swing from the heels, let it rip, make great contact 1 outta 4 hacks.
Holy shnikies! I didn't see this before I posted my last post; it's like we have the same name or brain or something.
Figured everybody would pile on him if he got off to a slow start... its partly deserved since he was making mistakes in the OF he shouldn't make, and swinging/missing on pitches that the average MLB player shouldn't miss. However, when its all said and done, after 100 PA, he's got a better BA and OBP than half the lineup (which is more of an indictment about how bad this lineup is performing as a whole, as opposed to how "good" Springer is doing). Its going to take time... let him make the adjustment... or let him sink into oblivion. (Edited due to stupidity)
Here ya go Major: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/news/20140513/jose-fernandez-miami-marlins-injury/?eref=sihp They're adding in the raised mound as a contributing factor, I hadn't thought of that before.
My bad... was looking at just the last 10 games and wasn't really thinking. Rest of the stats are fine.
Stupid Astros.com where I glanced at his stats briefly. Interesting that they have the projected PECOTA and extrapolated season numbers out there, based on his current performance... and it still has him hitting over 20 2B, over 20 HR's, and stealing over 20 bases.
Nick, I'm not "piling on." I really like the guy and want him to succeed. Just pointing out something that is a real legit cause for concern. Of course it's going to take time...but by the time you reach the major league level, that shouldn't be when you learn to shorten your swing with 2 strikes. Having said that, he had a tremendous at bat last night where he did shorten his swing on 2 strikes and got a hit by doing so.
meanwhile Jordan Lyles is 5-0 with a 2.66 ERA. While playing for the Rockies. Good thing Fowler is on that MVP pace...
He's gonna strike out a lot, he always has and always will. In the minors he was still able to get great results. He is starting to get results in the majors too sporting a .323/.400/.581 line over his last 8 games. Now he can't continue to strike out at this extreme rate, it is one of many things I expect him to improve on with time, but he is gonna K a lot. He is an Adam Dunn style all or nothing hitter, it's both his strength and weakness.
THis is crazy. Obviously a small sample size, but that's a lot of top picks getting early TJS. Last month I wrote about how pitchers are damaged even before they sign pro contracts and before they get the kind of kid glove treatment Redmond referenced. I found that high school pitchers drafted among the top 30 picks from 2010-12 were five times more likely to blow out their elbows than top 30 high school picks from 2002-09. And if Fernandez needs Tommy John surgery, the incidence will grow to six times more likely, with 38 percent of elite high school draft picks getting Tommy John surgery before age 22 (six of 16).
Found the article he references, very interesting read. The epidemic of elbow and arm injuries to pitchers will get worse, and there is almost nothing major league teams can do about it. That's because much of the damage to pitchers is occurring before they sign professional contracts. The greatest threat facing pitching in the major leagues is the American system of treating teenage pitchers, with its emphasis on velocity, travel tournaments and showcases. "Major League Baseball gets the blame for pitchers getting injured," said Glenn Fleisig, research director at the prestigious American Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Ala. "But the fact is these pitchers definitely have some damage in their arm when they get them." The qualifier of "American" is necessary, because the highly organized, highly competitive and highly profitable world of tournaments and showcases does not exist in Latin America. Consider, for instance, the high incidence of Tommy John surgeries already this season, in which the medical procedure to repair a blown out elbow ligament has become a major storyline of the baseball season. Matt Moore of the Rays is the 20th pitcher this year to undergo Tommy John surgery. But in a sport in which 24.2 percent of players on Opening Day rosters grew up in Latin America, only one of the 20 Tommy John patients came from there (Detroit reliever Bruce Rondon, of Venezuela). "Latin American pitchers are allowed to grow into their velocity," said one international scouting director. "It's a common story to sign a guy throwing 84, 85 [mph] who eventually winds up throwing in the 90s. Michael Pineda is one. You're looking for someone with a good, athletic body who can throw the ball around the plate and has a feel for spinning the ball. The velocity comes in time, with training and better nutrition and physical growth. Here? The statistics don't lie. We need to look elsewhere around the world to learn a better way. It's time." http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/ml...surgery-high-school-pitchers-jameson-taillon/
The surgery is actually better.... less complications, less variable rehab outcomes, and pitchers careers are no longer ending (and in many cases, they're being extended). I also don't see as many shoulder injuries as before, which can be attributed to looking out for better mechanics, and not over-stressing. We see tons of guys throwing 95+ now-a-days... without fear of what sort of damage it will do to the elbow in part due to how successful the surgery is. I think we have to get out of the mindset that TJ surgery = "damaged". Pitching has always been an un-natural/un-healthy/eventually they will get injured position. Regarding this procedure, I see it as a question of "when", not "if" for A lot of young hard-throwing pitchers, and they will all be expected to make a full recovery.
