tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post8596700548928064505..comments2024-02-15T05:42:18.307-05:00Comments on Nats Insider: Losing patience, LaRoche keeps searchingMark Zuckermanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13525315258889435961noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-59671320374316025492013-04-29T13:28:36.823-04:002013-04-29T13:28:36.823-04:00Agreed with your post @1:27 all the way, Ghost.Agreed with your post @1:27 all the way, Ghost.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-63781050181820915262013-04-29T13:27:29.322-04:002013-04-29T13:27:29.322-04:00Ugh, I feel like I'm LaRoche at the plate righ...Ugh, I feel like I'm LaRoche at the plate right now! ;)<br /><br />"I have no idea how [it will end up] for LaRoche at the plate"Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-5666159226624207362013-04-29T13:27:19.605-04:002013-04-29T13:27:19.605-04:00I'm done on the subject for today. LaRoche isn...I'm done on the subject for today. LaRoche isn't the only one scuffling. Davey has many great things and a few tough ones. It was good to see the Nats take 3 of 4 from the Reds given the issues with the infield.Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-29911834481626293302013-04-29T13:26:50.406-04:002013-04-29T13:26:50.406-04:00PS - I'm a "glass has water in it" k...PS - I'm a "glass has water in it" kinda guy. I have no idea how for LaRoche at the plate, I just know his D is solid right now and as long as that's the case, I'm happy to see him in the game.<br /><br />If the rest of the infield and the line up returns to 2012 form, my calculus might change.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-18385887469270041562013-04-29T13:24:19.804-04:002013-04-29T13:24:19.804-04:00Well, at least in terms of power...Well, at least in terms of power...Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-562528509046808492013-04-29T13:24:04.295-04:002013-04-29T13:24:04.295-04:00Comparison to Dunn bodes well for next season thou...Comparison to Dunn bodes well for next season though ;).Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-6125101821598262212013-04-29T13:19:18.066-04:002013-04-29T13:19:18.066-04:00Ghost, your first position was "[Jeter] also ...Ghost, your first position was "[Jeter] also sat 8 games in April 2011. How many has LaRoche sat?"<br />Now it is "the Yankees made a decision to rehab him on the field." Those are not consistent positions to take, unless Jeter sat down at SS. His range was bad, but it wasn't <i>that</i> bad.<br /><br />You are correct when you say that we can all come up with 100's of comparisons. Yep. They're all over the map, too. That's my point - there is a logical case to be made for playing LaRoche (this is who he has been his whole career), and there is a logical case to be made for sitting him down. Although not one based on "he's killing the Nats!" - that's not the question. The question is whether he will come around or not. <br /><br />You think Feel Wood's comparison to Adam Dunn is the closest because you are (with regards to LaRoche's production going forward from now) a pessimist. Davey is an optimist. I can understand both positions, and Davey's vote is the one with the hammer. So, for now, LaRoche plays.John C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00177992237175546115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-78868543719187244572013-04-29T13:16:24.485-04:002013-04-29T13:16:24.485-04:00John C. yes, of course Davey wants to do the best ...John C. yes, of course Davey wants to do the best by the team but I believe he has gone about it the wrong way and it started yesterday with playing LaRoche. I have been saying this for several days now and not reacting out of hindsight. "Davey has reason to believe that by continuing to play LaRoche he is acting in the best interests of the Nationals. He may or may not be right - we have to wait and see for that"Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-84918647292550947762013-04-29T13:13:40.543-04:002013-04-29T13:13:40.543-04:00"I don't care about long foul balls unles..."I don't care about long foul balls unless they were near misses. He hasn't even shown near misses."<br /><br />Sure he has, especially early on. Regardless, though, even if it's 50 feet wide of fair, strong contact is strong contact. The salient point being, if it's injury holding him back, he wouldn't be able to put power into it regardless of direction.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-89245431754018098412013-04-29T13:09:44.383-04:002013-04-29T13:09:44.383-04:00And yes, LaRoche is certainly hurting the team rig...And yes, LaRoche is certainly hurting the team right now. Last week a veteran pitcher (Adam Wainwright) blatantly pitched around Harper (and admitted as much after the game) to get to LaRoche - <i>putting the tying runs on base and moving a runner into scoring position</i>. LaRoche struck out. When Zim was struggling Harper was walked to get to Zim; Zim hit a double, which pretty much ended that. That's one reason that LaRoche got dropped in the batting order.<br /><br />The fact that LaRoche has hurt the team so far is undeniable, but does not resolve the question of whether to bench him <i>going forward</i>. It is one data point among many. The fact (as Boswell points out today) that LaRoche has a history of terrible slumps even in his best season is also a data point. The optimist thinks LaRoche will come around, the pessimist assumes that LaRoche won't, that this is who he is now. Neither is a foolish or impossible viewpoint.John C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00177992237175546115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-39136280203359785652013-04-29T13:02:48.791-04:002013-04-29T13:02:48.791-04:00John C., I disagree with your games played as I we...John C., I disagree with your games played as I went through full games played. Jeter was injured and they made a decision to rehab him on the field. That was the Yankees decision but he still was getting hits albeit with very little power.<br /><br />It's just not anywhere near the comparison to LaRoche is all I am saying. We can come up with 100's of comparisons to slumping players. <br /><br />The closest was Feelwood's comparison to Adam Dunn in 2011 and we all know how that ended up.Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-45938569212437944512013-04-29T12:59:56.022-04:002013-04-29T12:59:56.022-04:00And yes, Adam LaRoche is Adam LaRoche (yay for tau...And yes, Adam LaRoche is Adam LaRoche (yay for tautology!). But that also means that 2013 Adam LaRoche is not 2011 Adam Dunn either.<br /><br />I have no idea how Adam LaRoche 2013 is going to end up - but then again, no one does. Davey has reason to believe that by continuing to play LaRoche he is acting in the best interests of the Nationals. He may or may not be right - we have to wait and see for that - but it's not a stupid decision.John C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00177992237175546115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-1398076278473739302013-04-29T12:58:16.123-04:002013-04-29T12:58:16.123-04:00Eric, I'm not calling for blood either. LaRoch...Eric, I'm not calling for blood either. LaRoche has to get better, right?<br /><br />I don't care about long foul balls unless they were near misses. He hasn't even shown near misses.<br /><br />The Nats have 3 pitchers that are hitting better than LaRoche. We saw a professional approach by Haren on Saturday.<br /><br />LaRoche had Werth and Harper on 1st and 2nd on Saturday and needed to move them up and Davey put an ill-advised double-steal or hit & run on and LaRoche swung through it and Harper was thrown out at 3rd. There were zero outs! Davey is trying to do whatever he can to get LaRoche going and <b>it's cost the team much more than the simple statistics.</b><br /><br />That's not even to mention all of his doubleplays which he's at a 22% GIDP ratio which is only the situations with a man on 1st with less than 2 outs. Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-67276275753846160002013-04-29T12:55:49.228-04:002013-04-29T12:55:49.228-04:00Ghost, you are missing the forest for trees. Yes, ...Ghost, you are missing the forest for trees. Yes, Jeter hit .250 for the month of April (my figures were for April 23rd). Any one day figure is prone to be cherry-picked, which is why I pointed out that the slump lingered through July 4th. But the important part is that Jeter was terrible. The reason that Jeter's BABIP was poor is that he wasn't making solid contact - in the entire month of April Jeter had 2 XBH (both doubles) in 103 plate apperances. He didn't hit his third XBH (again a double) until May 7. He looked as old and slow (he was also 0-2 in stolen base attempts) on offense as he does on defense - and since Jeter was older then (36, turned 37 that June) than LaRoche is now, fan sites teemed with "DUMP HIM NOW" comments. Yes, El Capitan (fans are a fickle bunch). Day after day after day Jeter was asked about the slump, and Girardi was asked about benching Jeter. Girardi hung with Jeter, and was rewarded both in 2011 and 2012. That's my point.<br /><br />And you are simply wrong about Jeter sitting out in April 2011. As of April 30, 2011, the Yankees had played 24 games, finishing 15-9. Jeter not only started and played in 23 of those games, he finished all but one of them as well.John C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00177992237175546115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-61079210817247615382013-04-29T12:31:22.938-04:002013-04-29T12:31:22.938-04:00Nah, he's hit some very long foul balls many t...Nah, he's hit some very long foul balls many times this season, iirc. Maybe I don't.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm not calling for blood yet. Sad? Maybe.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-51531990939156454272013-04-29T12:28:12.878-04:002013-04-29T12:28:12.878-04:00Eric said...
"He has had weak contact"
...<i>Eric said... <br />"He has had weak contact"<br /><br />He's had some weak hits, yes, but he's also CRUSHED the ball foul a number of times. <br /><br />April 29, 2013 12:19 PM </i><br /><br />I truly hope you mean that as a joke. If he CRUSHED it fair and it was caught, then it would mean something. LaRoche swung so late on those foul balls and they were not crushed. They went 375 feet foul, you were just wishing they stayed fair.<br /><br />Sad.Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-17336819717239385892013-04-29T12:25:32.068-04:002013-04-29T12:25:32.068-04:00John C., Jeter on April 30 2011 was batting .250 w...John C., Jeter on April 30 2011 was batting .250 with a .311 OBP.<br /><br />Yes, Jeter was struggling in 2011 due to injuries but you say "in late April he was barely hitting (.221)" and it's just not worth any comparable comparison and again, he ended batting .250 for the month and on April 27th was batting .262. He also sat 8 games in April 2011. How many has LaRoche sat?<br /><br />Adam LaRoche is Adam LaRoche. Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-6468373285429821752013-04-29T12:20:27.816-04:002013-04-29T12:20:27.816-04:00LaRoche isn't hurt, beyond some possible back ...LaRoche isn't hurt, beyond some possible back spasms that would only keep him out of the lineup a day or two anyway. And Davey didn't offer him the choice of play or not yesterday, he asked him what would be the best way to get out of his slump. LaRoche said he needs to play through it. Now he needs to keep up his end of the bargain. He doesn't just need a breakout day, he needs a breakout week. If that doesn't happen soon, Davey will probably follow through with his threat last year to platoon LaRoche. And once he does that, LaRoche will eventually need to bust out of his slump against right handers, or he will end up on the bench. But it's going to be a long, drawn out process. It may take most of the season.<br /><br />Make no mistake, this is who Adam LaRoche is. This is what you all screamed all winter that the Nats just had to do - sign LaRoche. You got it, now you have to live with it. LaRoche starts slow. But when players get older, even their slow starts can have slow starts. But take heart, next year will be his walk year again. It will be 2012 all over. Until then, as Joey Eischen would say, you can suck on it and you can like it.<br /><br />Back to lurking...The Real Feel Wood. Accept no substitutes.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13147290573966561009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-86305987531599680832013-04-29T12:19:03.727-04:002013-04-29T12:19:03.727-04:00"He has had weak contact"
He's had ..."He has had weak contact"<br /><br />He's had some weak hits, yes, but he's also CRUSHED the ball foul a number of times.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-53910800724076711342013-04-29T12:15:08.106-04:002013-04-29T12:15:08.106-04:00John C, your Jeter comparison was fine if it was a...John C, your Jeter comparison was fine if it was apples to apples. He didn't have the same K rate, he had poor BABIP.<br /><br />This is unique and mutually exclusive to anything else in LaRoche's career. He has had weak contact, late swings, swing/miss, and a 50% K rate.<br /><br />Even players in slumps (if that is what it is) need to sometimes take a day-off, clear their heads and get on it another day.<br /><br />Davey made a horrible decision not to sit LaRoche against the lefty yesterday. I'm disappointed that Tyler Moore who is batting .364 as a starter (small sample size) wasn't given the opportunity.Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-3226543825662134182013-04-29T12:08:04.480-04:002013-04-29T12:08:04.480-04:00I keep thinking back to the impact of a player tha...I keep thinking back to the impact of a player that is almost an automatic out. Espinosa batted 7th in the playoffs. He went 1-15 with 7 K's which is a 47% K rate.<br /><br />The impact of 3 more hits by Espinosa that weren't outs are the "coulda" to the hypothetical of a slumping player on the outcome of a game result.<br /><br />With LaRoche stranding runners on base by astounding proportion, do you at least move him back to the 7 or 8 in the lineup to try to minimize the potential impact if ALR continues to struggle? Ghost Of Steve M.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05745394350047225996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-9255559110284905612013-04-29T12:03:25.438-04:002013-04-29T12:03:25.438-04:00If you sit a guy during his slump, you "lock ...If you sit a guy during his slump, you "lock in" that production and miss any positive correction to the career numbers. If Rendon had stayed healthy and raked last year, you can bet that there would have been a strong movement among posters, many of them the same that want LaRoche benched for Tyler Moore, that would have wanted Zimmerman benched for Anthony Rendon. Which would have deprived the Nats of the amazing second half that Zimmerman put up. In 2011 In 2011, at the age of 36 (he turned 37 in June), Derek Jeter got off to a brutally bad start; in late April he was barely hitting (.221) with no power at all (.235 slugging %). The drumbeat to move him out was <i>loud</i>. Jeter got better, but as late as July 4th he was only hitting .254/.320/.320. But he got hot in July, and in August OPS'd .906. By the end of the season his numbers were close (.297/.355/.388) to his late career normal range – better than his 2010 season but not as good as 2012. Not only would the Yankees have lost that late season resurgence in 2011 if they had benched Jeter, they would have lost his renaissance season in 2012).<br /><br />The flip side, as noted by an earlier commenter, is Adam Dunn in 2011. And <i>none of us</i> knows which profile LaRoche will follow. I'm glad its not my decision to make.<br />John C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00177992237175546115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-25141410223762945612013-04-29T12:02:12.615-04:002013-04-29T12:02:12.615-04:00I don't trust the Nats medical staff at all, b...I don't trust the Nats medical staff at all, but I agree that staying in a Holiday Inn Express last night does not qualify any of us to diagnose an injury to ALR as the reason for his slump. Surely Davey and Rizzo would notice if he's hurt and question him closely about that.Section 222https://www.blogger.com/profile/17106128453333996193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-40102499352301441042013-04-29T11:35:28.530-04:002013-04-29T11:35:28.530-04:00Agreed on all fronts JD. Not to mention, and as Da...Agreed on all fronts JD. Not to mention, and as Davey pointed out, LaRoche made some critical plays at first that kept the game from getting way out of hand. Would've been nice if he pulled a Haren (of all people ;)) and single-handedly won the game for us. But, sigh, he didn't.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678357994045101892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3442809928829881676.post-56307156938036953392013-04-29T11:25:39.183-04:002013-04-29T11:25:39.183-04:00'Yes, his timing is off, his mind is off, but ...'Yes, his timing is off, his mind is off, but Davey has a whole team to worry about. You don't give a player a choice in that situation to play or not play.'<br /><br /> You do if it's critical to get him going because that helps the whole team. I didn't see the game but according to Nats Lady he had some loud fouls so you never know, he may be taking small steps in the right direction.<br /><br /> As far as injuries I refuse to speculate on something I know nothing about, I trust the Nats brain trust and medical staff to make the right decision in that regard.JDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10464376699196421043noreply@blogger.com