|
BC
Apr 12, 2013 13:13:04 GMT -5
Post by klaiggeb on Apr 12, 2013 13:13:04 GMT -5
Yeah, it's still early, and yeah, there's a long way to go.
But from what I've seen so far, this Brandon Crawford has come a long, long... long way from where he was at the beginning of last year.
Many things have impressed me at the plate this year, not the least of which is his quickness TO the ball, with the bat.
Seondly, I have yet to see him look "over matched," which, last year, at times, we did.
I think it was Allen who first mentioned that Crawford has done what Belt, to date, has not; established himself as a major leaguer.
it would NOT surprise me to see him moved to the 7th spot in the order, and Torres/Blanco moved to 8th.
In the field, he's even slicker than he was last year, and, as Krukow and Kuiper continue to point out, he gets rid of the ball as quickly, or more quickly than most.
boly
|
|
|
BC
Apr 15, 2013 19:48:16 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 15, 2013 19:48:16 GMT -5
Boly -- I think it was Allen who first mentioned that Crawford has done what Belt, to date, has not; established himself as a major leaguer. Rog -- At the time Allen mentioned that, I would have to say Belt had established himself at least as much as Crawford. Both played very well at the end of 2012. I do think Crawford is the more consistent, although his fielding in 2012 wasn't that way. Boly -- it would NOT surprise me to see him moved to the 7th spot in the order, and Torres/Blanco moved to 8th. Rog -- If Torres and Blanco slump, you could be right. Bochy has already said that when Marco Scutaro isn't playing, Crawford will hit 2nd. Brandon has indeed looked quite good since fairly late last season. Boly -- In the field, he's even slicker than he was last year, and, as Krukow and Kuiper continue to point out, he gets rid of the ball as quickly, or more quickly than most. Rog -- I think Brandon is likely about as good as there is on balls he plays, but that there are other players who play more balls. Brandon is looking AWFULLY good this season though. Excellent in the field and very good at bat. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=1677#ixzz2QaBLHdTY
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 0:29:51 GMT -5
Post by Islandboagie on Apr 16, 2013 0:29:51 GMT -5
Boly -- I think it was Allen who first mentioned that Crawford has done what Belt, to date, has not; established himself as a major leaguer.
Rog -- At the time Allen mentioned that, I would have to say Belt had established himself at least as much as Crawford. Both played very well at the end of 2012. I do think Crawford is the more consistent, although his fielding in 2012 wasn't that way.
Boagie- I started by saying that but I think Allen and Don agreed. Rog and Randy disagreed.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 9:39:20 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 9:39:20 GMT -5
I understand what you're saying here, Boagie, and you make a good argument for your case.
I guess it came down to whether one believed Belt's August (.349) and September (.310) of last season were for real.
Certainly he has been horrible this season, even with the key hit Friday. But I do see a trio of potential silver linings:
. First, we have seen over his career that Belt is a hot-and-cold hitter, something like Nate Schierholtz (who has been excellent so far for the Cubs). It may be that Brandon had the misfortune of having his hot period in March and his cold spell in April. Was the hot spell in March because it was spring training, or was the hot spell in March because he was truly hot?
. Second, while Brandon's lack of walks is concerning, he has actually been striking out less often than last season.
. Third, Nate has had a history of horrible April's (.198) and May's (.217). His getting quite sick earlier this month may have added fuel to the fire.
Belt has been the type of hitter we have been hoping for in June (.963 OPS), August (.818) and September (.843), but he's been HORRIBLE in April (.568), May (.675) and July (.561).
If Brandon could step up the consistency a bit -- not necessarily even a lot -- he should be fine, since even when he slumps, he usually gets on base. (Not this April though)
Meanwhile, this season Crawford is doing a wonderful job of hitting and an even better job in the field. Crawford has played at close to an All-Star level, while Belt has played at about a single A level.
At the moment I would agree with you that Crawford is the more established, but prior to this season I thought it was about even. And I think it will be when this season ends, as well.
But a HUGE lead for Crawford so far this season. Just huge.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 12:32:02 GMT -5
Post by Islandboagie on Apr 16, 2013 12:32:02 GMT -5
It's a new season, and I hope Belt changes my opinion of his ability at the plate. As you point out, Belt had a very nice end to 2012, but even at that point I had a better feeling about Crawford's success. Mainly because Crawford has been slowly and consistently improving, whereas Belt has been up and down, and his down is absolutely terrible. Crawford has never been as lost as Belt has.
Your comparison between Belt and Schierholtz doesn't hold up with me. Nate has proven to be inconsistent year after year, while Belt is still new to the big league level. Also, Nate at his worst doesn't even come close to Belt at his worst. I'm fairly certain that when Belt is lost at the plate he would have trouble squaring up one of my pitches, and I'm not a good pitcher. Nate, even when he's having a typical hot and cold year, he ends up with good numbers. I'd be happy if Belt put up a Schierholtz-type year, with more at-bats of course.
This year I also knew the exact moment when Belt started to lose all that confidence he gained during his hot spring training, it was during a pre-season game with the A's. In his first at-bat in that game he looked out matched, ever since that point he's been getting worse and worse. He's been late on fastballs and been completely off balance on off speed pitches. Right now he looks about as bad as he's ever looked.
As far as Belt and Crawford go - Bases loaded, down by a run in the 9th, Give me Crawford. And that's not just because of Crawford's good start and Belt's bad start. In the post-season last year I can remember two big hits by Crawford (the triple off of Latos in game 5, and the 2 run single in the 5th game of the NLCS.) Other than the homerun in the first game of the World Series (when the score was 8-0) I can't remember anything Belt did. Those two hits prove to me that Crawford can make something happen when the game is on the line. Belt, while I root for him every at-bat, he just hasn't shown me that yet.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 12:35:35 GMT -5
Post by Islandboagie on Apr 16, 2013 12:35:35 GMT -5
Oh, and now that I've said something bad about Belt, he'll go 3-4 today with a homerun.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:25:53 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:25:53 GMT -5
Boagie -- Crawford has never been as lost as Belt has. Rog -- I would probably go along with you with regard to last season. But in 2011, Crawford had months of .172 and .182, hitting only .204 for the entire season. Even last April, he hit only .204. Oh, and this season he batted .000 in March. Of course, that is because there weren't any games. One thing about Belt is that he usually tends to get on base a bit even when he isn't hitting. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1677&page=1#10331#ixzz2QfgoBV00
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:28:34 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:28:34 GMT -5
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:32:37 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:32:37 GMT -5
Boagie -- Also, Nate at his worst doesn't even come close to Belt at his worst. Rog -- You probably have something there, Boagie -- or at least Nate doesn't look as bad as Brandon does in tough times. Still, as recently as last season, Nate hit just .182 with a .444 OPS in May, and he hit only .219 in August. As I mentioned, Belt at least tends to get on base a little when he slumps, while Nate has to rely on his average to reach base. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1677&page=1#ixzz2QfjGZST6
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:41:27 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:41:27 GMT -5
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:43:29 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:43:29 GMT -5
|
|
|
BC
Apr 16, 2013 18:46:44 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 16, 2013 18:46:44 GMT -5
|
|
|
BC
Apr 17, 2013 9:47:14 GMT -5
Post by Islandboagie on Apr 17, 2013 9:47:14 GMT -5
Boagie -- Oh, and now that I've said something bad about Belt, he'll go 3-4 today with a homerun.
Boagie: Ok so he went 3-4, but no homerun, he still stinks.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 17, 2013 18:06:22 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 17, 2013 18:06:22 GMT -5
Let's hope this is the start of something for Brandon.
So, let's examine the signs. You know how Mike Krukow says sometimes a hitter can walk his way out of a slump? That can be a sign he's beginning to control the strike zone better. Likewise, fewer strikeouts can indicate the swing is making more contact.
After just one strikeout in his first 10 games, Brandon now has 2 walks in his last 2 games. After 9 strikeouts in his first 9 games, he now has just 1 in his last 3 games. Brandon appears to be beginning to gain control of the strike zone, which usually leads to better hitting.
Now, let's look at another player who has been slumping -- Buster Posey. Frankly I thought Buster was beginning to break out of his slump when he singled to right in his 7th game of the season. When he went 3 for 5 with 2 extra base hits in his next game, I was almost sure of it.
I was wrong.
So let's see what his walks and strikeouts showed:
In his first 7 games, he struck out 6 times and walked just 2. In the 8th game -- in which he went 3 for 5 -- he neither walked nor struck out.
He wasn't in fact out of his slump, and has gone just 2 for 14 since. So is he coming out of his slump now? He may be. He's 2 for his last 5, seems to be getting off pulling the ball too much -- and has 3 walks and 3 strikeouts in his past 5 games.
The evidence certainly isn't conclusive, but I'd say both Buster and Brandon are breaking out a bit. Let's see how it works out.
Obviously this K/BB thing isn't perfect. But it can indeed be useful.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 17, 2013 19:19:13 GMT -5
Post by Islandboagie on Apr 17, 2013 19:19:13 GMT -5
Very informative, Rog. I like how you've created a correlation between strike zone awareness and slumps. However I don't think that's Posey's problem, not sure about Brandon. To me, Posey's timing is off. Posey has a very nice swing, but a very long swing, and it takes a while for him to get that timing down. I've said here before that I believe Posey starts off slow and locks it in mid-season. That's just my opinion.
Also, I don't think Posey was nearly as lost as Brandon. Posey can still put up a decent at-bat even while in a mini-slump, Belt is an easy out when he's not right, Posey has never been an easy out, even at his worst.
|
|
|
BC
Apr 18, 2013 20:14:10 GMT -5
Post by sharksrog on Apr 18, 2013 20:14:10 GMT -5
I think Brandon is especially prone to slumps, but all players have them from time to time. Buster may be more susceptible than we think. As an example, he had a .630 OPS in his first full month in the majors and was at just .680 last May. This year he is at only .634.
Anyway, I certainly haven't gotten either of them out of their slumps yet, although each has hit the ball hard at least once.
The guy who's really hitting the ball hard without many results is Gregor Blanco.
|
|