Morse... from both sides now

[klaiggeb]

With apologies to Judy Collins for the title, but I looked up Morse' numbers vs RHP and LHP, and NOT COUNTING last year, when he wasn't healthy, here are his numbers:

vs LHP vs RHP

2010 (only 293 at bats) .295 .287

2011 .297 .304

2012 .290 .291

At the very least, he hits RHP as well as LHP.

It's really too close to call, but IF you're hitting .280+ vs pitchers who throw from YOUR side of the plate, THAT'S pretty darned impressive.

So, based upon his history, again, if he's healthy, he possess the ability to be the full time starter.

boly

[allenreed]

If we can get this guy healthy and right, we may have something. He's one of these guys that, when he's right, the park looks too small. Wrists are funny things though. Let's say I'm hesitantly optimistic.

[sharksrog]

Perhaps defense is weighted too heavily and/or isn't well enough quantified, but Morse's career WAR is just 4.0. Gregor Blanco has played a lot less than Morse, and his WAR is 6.6.

My fear is that the Giants will over-play Morse and wind up hurting themselves. It all depends on how Morse hits, of course. When he had the big .910 OPS in 2011, he was rated at 3.4 OPS.

I do think Blanco is underrated. Remember, the Giants seemed to easily overcome the loss of Melky Cabrera in August of 2012 by replacing him with Gregor.

My first choice to minimize Morse's defensive weaknesses would be to play Blanco most of the time against right-handed starters. My next choice would be to move Morse to first base and Brandon Belt to left field.

[rxmeister]

Blanco can take Morse's place around the sixth or seventh inning for defense. Defense is important, but I think WAR tends to overrate it. I mentioned that last year Blanco had a slightly highly WAR than Carlos Beltran. Seriously, how much weight can you give a stat that tells you Gregor Blanco was better than Carlos Beltran last year?

[allenreed]

If Morse can get back to 2011 levels, he should play most of the time. Blanco just seems to disappear for long, long stretches,

[sharksrog]

Mark -- Blanco can take Morse's place around the sixth or seventh inning for defense. Defense is important, but I think WAR tends to overrate it. I mentioned that last year Blanco had a slightly highly WAR than Carlos Beltran. Seriously, how much weight can you give a stat that tells you Gregor Blanco was better than Carlos Beltran last year?

Rog -- I think we can give it credence but need to take it at less than face value.

Morse has a 119 career OPS+, which is impressive. He hits righties nearly as well as lefties, which is likewise, although it slightly lessens his platoon value. Morse (good hit, no field, right-handed batter) does complement Blanco well (OK hit, excellent field, lefty hitter).

The Giants' thinking may be that a healthy, productive Morse will extend the lineup, and if he fails at either, having Blanco in left field could be plenty to hold on until the trade deadline.

As you point out, the Giants do have a nice complement where they can bring in Blanco for defensive purposes or pinch hit Morse for Blanco.

Initially I was excited about the signing. Now I'm kind of on the fence.

One positive about Morse is that he hit fairly well until his wrist injury cost him 40 days. After that, he was awful. After hitting 11 homers the first 2 1/2 months of the season, he hit just 2 the last two months.

I liked Morse a year ago, so perhaps without the injury I would still be liking him. Of course, it is only the injury that makes him affordable to the Giants. They've signed him to a one-year contract, so the risk is low.

I guess I'll go back in the direction of my original reaction and become cautiously optimistic.

One question I would like to ask of Boly is how concerned he is about the wrist. The surgery was arthroscopic.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=2140&page=1#17677#ixzz2nMs4Jwt6

[Islandboagie]

Blanco also hits lefties relatively well. Perhaps Morse can be used at first base against tough lefties. Just a thought.

[sharksrog]

So did I go back slightly around Allen on the positive side? He's now hesitantly optimistic, while I'm all the way up to cautiously.

I was all for the first Aubrey Huff signing, and certainly it worked out well for a year. This is a similar signing, also for a year. If this were more than a one-year signing, I would probably be against it. But as a one-year deal, put me back slightly on the positive side of the ledger.

As a right-handed hitter, his power shouldn't be limited to the extent it would be for a lefty hitter. I don't think he'll hit 31 homers again, but if his wrist is healthy, 20 seems quite reasonable. Over his career, one out of every six fly balls he has hit has gone out of the park. Somewhat surprisingly for a power hitter though, he's somewhat of a ground ball hitter.

At his best, Morse has hit for both average and power. At just .254 last season his Batting Average on Balls In Play last season was WAY below his .330 career mark. If he problems were caused in significant part by the wrist injury and he's now healthy, he could hit for power and average again.

I will say this. The more I look, the more I like.

But goodness, get him out of the game with the lead!

[rxmeister]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say if he's healthy he'll become the first right handed hitter to ever hit the ball into McCovey Cove. His opposite field power is that good.

[allenreed]

I was watching the highlights and noted that even when he didn't appear to hit the ball well, it still went out with plenty to spare.

[klaiggeb]

By all the reports that I could find, Morse didn't have a wrist INJURY last year, he had bone spurs... which were removed.

According to Bochy, they've already done a preliminary physical, with a major one still to come.

If they're okay with what they found... well, it's a chance worth taking.

I'd prefer MORSE to Hart and those knee problems.

boly

[sharksrog]

Mark -- I'm going to go out on a limb here and say if he's healthy he'll become the first right handed hitter to ever hit the ball into McCovey Cove. His opposite field power is that good.

Rog -- That's encouraging. If he can go to right that well, I'm surprised he strikes out as much as he does.

Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=2140&page=1#17687#ixzz2nTBbwYKh