Comments on: There Goes a Really Slow Man

By: parlo

parlo — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:26:19 +0000

#38@LynchMob: "You spend a good part of your life gripping a baseball, and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around" JIM BOUTON Also: I responded to your post on the previous thread about SA. I just noticed it about 20 minutes ago

By: Paul R

Paul R — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:22:05 +0000

36: Interesting that Fuson doesn’t se Kulbacki moving up a level this year. At 22, he’s not age-inappropriate for High-A, but he would certainly not be too young for AA ball.

By: Ben B.

Ben B. — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:13:26 +0000

#35@Schlom: Gerut's had 226 PA in the past 3 years. We still really have no idea what to expect. If he plays at this level next year, he's a solid starting centerfielder/good platoon outfielder. If he regains some of his power from earlier in his career as he gets further away from his injury, he's a good starting center fielder. If he plays to your preseason expectations, he's one of the worst players in the league. 226 PA is not nearly enough data to determine which path he'll follow. Sure, he doesn't have as much upside as Hairston, but his upside still has him starting on the 2009 Padres.

By: LynchMob

LynchMob — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:48:15 +0000

If you like good writing about sappy/pseudo-romantic baseball-related experiences, check this out …

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=947

… it made me wish I was there … and I *hate* the Yankees

By: parlo

parlo — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:12:14 +0000

#34@LynchMob: That is a great article. Not just the story itself, it is well written too. I try to check the NYT on a daily basis, but it ends up being more like 3-4 days a week. Thanks again

By: LynchMob

LynchMob — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:52:44 +0000

#9@LynchMob: A good look at Kulbacki …

http://www.dailynews-record.com/sports_details.php?AID=29998&CHID=3

… which talks a lot about the mental game … which I think / hope is a component of KG’s struggles this season …

By: Schlom

Schlom — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:35:50 +0000

Add me to the list of people wondering why Gerut got the start last night. Why do you bench the hottest hitter in the NL during July, especially considering he just had 3 days off. Don’t they know what to expect out of Gerut? He’s a decent to good fielder (although Hairston grades better in Range Factor, BP’s stats, and Win Shares), has no power but gets on base, and outside of this year’s 46 plate appearances, hasn’t hit left-handers at all. He could be the left-handed hitting part of a platoon on a good team certainly. On the down side, he turns 31 in September and has major injury concerns. For a good team, his best role (especially if they keep Brian Giles) is as a 4th outfielder. I think everyone would agree (not only the fans but the Front Office) that’s a pretty accurate assessment of his talent. So why does that profile generate the first start of the 2nd half? The only explanation that I can come up with is that Padres are coming around to why way of thinking — I’ll give you a hint, the initials are S.S.

By: LynchMob

LynchMob — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:23:20 +0000

I’m not a Dave Winfield fan … if it were up to me, his #31 would be the 2nd one down off the OF wall … ie. I still feel the sting of his free agency departure to the Yankees … but, as this story says, we all “do get older” …

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/sports/baseball/18araton.html?_r=3&ref=baseball&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=login

(note: you can get into nytimes.com via user = “neverbotherme” and password = “please” (compliments of bugmenot.com))

I’m going to send an email to the BP guys suggesting Dave Winfield as a speaker for next year’s event …

By: JMAR

JMAR — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:46:37 +0000

If the offseason were to start today, we would have three in-house options in CF: Gerut, Hairston, and Venable. Mike Cameron would be an interesting free-agent, but it doesn’t seem like he left on a good note and likely wouldn’t return. I don’t believe there are any other interesting, affordable options available via free agency and the team does not really have the resources to make a trade for a CF upgrade. Thus, we are left with the in-house options. Who gets the job?

Hairston: I’m not sure I’ve seen Hairston make a bad play all year in CF. He’s also shown good range and has made a few spectacular catches. Offensively, he’s a guy who has 25-30 HR potential and an ability to carry the team for days at a time. Similar to Khalil Greene, pre-2008. However, like Greene, he appears to be a streaky hitter that might frustrate the heck out of Padre fans at times. He’ll still be 28 at the beginning of next season.

Gerut: Another guy who’s been very solid in the outfield, with pretty good range and also an ability to make great catches. I’m not sure he can ever hit 22 HR’s again, as he did his rookie season, but he should be a solid .280 hitter with 10 HR’s and 10-15 SB’s. He’ll be 31 at the start of 2009.

Venable: If neither Hairston or Gerut end the season on a high note, Venable might be the favorite going into next season. He’s hit over .300 in every month this year and has shown some power potetntial and supposedly has proven that he can handle CF. Like the other two, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to steal a ton of bases but he’s athletic and will add speed to a very slow lineup. He’ll be 26 at the start of next season.

With all that said, I think Hairston should be given every chance to be the guy, starting right now, since he has the most offensive upside of the three. If he fails, Venable should be put in the mix. And if he isn’t the guy, then we all know what Gerut can do. Nothing special, but solid and consistent.

By: JP

JP — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:42:06 +0000

The host of this blog understandably desires to cut down on redundancy so on my end I will close by saying that to this point Gerut hasn’t performed “very well” but certainly well enough (and has showed enough ability) to justify a roster spot for the rest of the year and probably on to next on the big league level –this to me is a very nice accomplishment and testimony to the hard work and big heart of Jody Gerut.