The Pirates have so much going for them...amazing ballpark, smart fans with history, lots of fun young talent...but their ownership has been totally corrupted by MLB's revenue sharing situation. It's sad to see.
Jose Abreu has a weird swing. He doesn’t seem to release the bat. It looks like his left arm does the dreaded golf chicken wing after the bat is through the zone, rather that release or roll over after the zone. It’s very strange, I’ve never seen anything like it.
I trust Diaz to hit over the long term if he keeps getting at bats. So far the the top guys in the rotation haven't let him catch for them yet - but that may change if he keeps hitting and throwing guys out. His throwing mechanics look pretty good.
I think you nailed it. I've been trying to figure out what I'm seeing since he came over. It reminds me of Spieth when he has his issues but somehow it works for Abreu. Its also as if he decelerates at some point but he can't be hitting the ball 400ft by stopping his swing, it is odd
For as supposedly god-awful as we've heard his defense is he's looked pretty dang good so far. He gets out and up pretty darn quick and he's throws have been fairly accurate.
He's better at everything behind the plate than I was led to believe (and the receiving from the few games I saw at AAA last year). Especially his athleticism, arm and release, which is much more important now. It's gonna take a bit of time to get all the pitchers totally comfortable with him and vice/versa.
His swing is weird, when you see it, you think he is going to be a guy that hits .200 with no power and a REALLY slow bat.... yet he has almost always hit as a professional, and his bat speed can be deceptive. There have been a few times where it has looked like he lost a bit and then he makes adjustments and he is catching up to high level fastballs. I know he said a couple years ago with the White Sox that he finally learned how to read the laces on a ball after playing baseball for 25 years and then he lost a little of his eye sight and cannot take advantage of it.
Pretty accurate observations. His swing is just weird to me too, but we'll see how he does over the course of 162. I hope he can continue to contribute.
He has always had a good arm when his mechanics are down and he is a decent athlete - he has just lost interest catching in the past. Having said that, he has looked really strong and interested behind the plate thus far, and with enough at bats, I trust he will hit because he has hit every where he has ever played. The only concern I have heard from scouts is that sometimes he is so eager he hits the wrong pitches. Not a bad return for Myles Straw though.
The Astros/Rangers series thread hasn’t been started yet, but I wanted to get a head start to say, “Let’s sweep these ****ing jokers.” Thanks in advance for your cooperation.
I want him to hit and all, and he should, but it's always been a question about him being consistent behind the plate (and before the game wrt the pitchers). So the more I see of that, the happier I get.
