I haven't really researched much on his defensive stats (not that anybody cares to see the numbers) so I'm just going off of what people say about him and the little I've seen of him. Like you suggest, he's probably above average defensively and even if he was super elite, it still wouldn't begin to compensate for how poor of a hitter he is for his position. It's fairly insane that he and Manzella have combined for 0 walks through 20 games. Even if you factor in Blum and Johnson, the left side of our infield has 1 walk total this season!
Well, in 2009, his OBP was above the NL average for leadoff hitters and his OPS was just below average: 2009 NL offensive numbers by position: http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/split.cgi?t=b&lg=NL&year=2009#lineu Bourn: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bournmi01.shtml#batting_standard His OPS was similar against lefties and righties which is a good sign: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=bournmi01&year=2009&t=b#plato He dramatically improved his ability to hit to all fields. He's tremendous on the basepaths. He's outstanding, defensively, which adds value to any player. He's started out 2010 with a bang. He still has some holes in his swing and could stand to improve his ability to draw walks against LHP. He also doesn't have much pop for an OFer or even a leadoff guy so I wouldn't mind seeing him show a little more power. It seems like he has it in him. As far as upside, I never thought he would make the strides that he made last season and he's only 27 with what appears to be good work ethic so there should still be a little room for improvement.
A lot of clutch pitching in pressure situations for Roy. Among his many great qualities, he has always had ice in his veins. That remains true even if I jinxed him and he cracks in the next inning or two. :grin:
I think Roy could do with a 1-2-3 inning here, can't work your way out of jams all night. Good post about Bourn Brooks, I am very excited about him.
How does Stubbs get to the 3rd base on that hit? Oh, Carlos Lee... He should've been charging that ball and been ready to make a throw. I'm not sure if he would've gotten him but it shouldn't have been that easy.
Roy obviously doesn't have his A-game today but he's done well to limit the damage. Maybe our offense can contribute to the cause. I know that's a lot to ask of them but still...
We're allowing Arroyo to look like a superhero with a bunch of weak ABs. Manzella, Roy and Bourn due up. Roy's at 88 pitches so I'm sure he'll bat. I don't expect any runs here.
What a ridiculous pitch to swing at by Lee. He has a good eye but seems to hate drawing walks. He should love to walk. It's what he does all the time after he hits the ball and in the field.
Why is Feliz hitting ahead of Pence? They might as well walk Lance here and just let Feliz swing himself out
Go to hell Feliz. Why is he hitting 5 and why is he even in the lineup ahead of Blum? Must be the worst 5 hitter in the league
It's just unforgivable that Roy has given up 1 run through 6.1 innings and we are losing to Bronson Arroyo!!!!
There we go Hunter! Shame he wasn't coming up when we were threatening. Every time we've had a chance to score it's been Feliz coming to the plate. I'm struggling to think of one good reason why Feliz batted ahead of Pence
