Jake's Arbitrary Spring Training Preview - NL West
Moderator: Giants
- Dodgers
- Site Admin
- Posts: 5783
- Joined: Fri May 30, 2003 1:00 am
- Location: Fort Lauderdale
- Name: Shawn Walsh
Okay, I've seen Ichiro in BP as well. We're not talking home runs. We're talking top of the section home runs in Kaufman. He has the raw power. I'm pretty sure I read an article somewhere that he feels it's a disgrace to baseball if he doesn't try for a hit (ie take a walk) his best (hit a homer) or something along those lines.
I thought it might be, but being an M's fan... who knows.Mariners wrote:RedSox wrote:Because he hit one in a Spring training game? You're joking... right?
Yes, Bren. Obviously I was joking.....you did see where I rated Ichiro above, right?
Just thought it was ironic and quite humorous that Ichiro broke out his first ST HR the day after those comments were made.
Shawn. i'd buy that, maybe, if ichiro showed ANY propensity towards power in his game at all, but he doesn't. He doesn't even hit a lot of doubles, you know he's legging out a LOT of those. What he does, he does well, but he's a very limited player when it comes to power (and drawing walks).
- Yankees
- Posts: 4540
- Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2003 1:00 am
- Location: Fulshear, TX
- Name: Brett Zalaski
- Contact:
And the winner of the "best back-handed compliment that still totally belittles how good the player actually is" award goes to - Bren Dillon. No surprise there.That doesn't make him a bad player, just means he's not a power hitter. get over it.
I'm sure if you asked the Mariners if they wanted .280 and 30 homers, or .350 and 10 homers from Ichiro they'd take the 70 point bump in BA.
It's kind of short-sighted to think that a man that has that type of bat control, and that type of propensity for home run power in BP couldn't relay that to game situations. There is no one in baseball that swings with the pitch (location and type of pitch) better then Ichiro, and he and Tony Gwynn are the two best we've seen in this lifetime.
I find it unfortunate that for the home run obsessed culture thats manifested itself in baseball, those people really can't enjoy that truly one-a-generation-of-player talent that Ichiro is. Like Ichiro, Tony Gwynn was a guy who never walked much - their propensity for "hitting it where they ain't" was just that much better then anyone we've seen.
Listen, I'm a guy who loves OBP and walks - but there's something to be said for consistently getting base-hits too.
I like Ichiro's game a lot as well, he's a singular player to say the least. But he simply doesn't have game power. I think it's because of that Homer obsessed culture that you and Nate are getting in a tiff about me and JP saying he doesn't have it. You seem to think we're saying he's a bad player, neither of us have said that. It's just a matter of being objective about his strengths and his limits.
- Cardinals
- Posts: 8041
- Joined: Sat May 18, 2002 1:00 am
- Location: Manch Vegas, CT
- Name: John Paul Starkey
Ichiro isn't a power hitter.
Adam Dunn isn't a contact hitter.
Chris Young isn't a contact hitter (yet)
Albert Pujols doesn't have speed.
David Ortiz doesn't field well.
Am I belittling these guys? No. they are what they are. very good/elite players at what THEY do. You guys must have your tampons glued to your vaginal walls if you can't realize that.
Adam Dunn isn't a contact hitter.
Chris Young isn't a contact hitter (yet)
Albert Pujols doesn't have speed.
David Ortiz doesn't field well.
Am I belittling these guys? No. they are what they are. very good/elite players at what THEY do. You guys must have your tampons glued to your vaginal walls if you can't realize that.
12, 14, 15, 17, 22