ZigZagCardsFan wrote:Not sure why everyone's calling for Yadi to be dropped in the lineup. Ever since Jose Oquendo helped him with his stance in the playoffs, all he's done is hit.
We all know what he did in the playoffs, he hit over .400 in Spring Training and is off to a good start after going 2-for-4 yesterday.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt he'll be winning any Silver Sluggers but maybe, just maybe, this 24 year old can progress at the plate to a point where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot.
Come on now. That's way too optimistic. Simply put, Yadier Molina was one of the worst everyday players in baseball. He was bad. Brutal. Horrendous. You could argue he shouldn't even have started.
He has to progress a long way to even approach respectability... a #5 or #6 hitter? I think that would require a historic leap in production.
ZigZagCardsFan wrote:Yeah, who would ever think a 24 year old could actually progress with the bat.
Silly idea.
Progress with the bat?? I certainly expect him to. He's been one of the worst hitting starters in baseball the last few years, if not the worst. When he does improve, he'll still be a number 7 or 8 hitter. I think your getting a LIL carried away. He has a .634 career OPS. Even if somehow he increases his OPS 200 points from last years (highly unlikely) he'll still be just short of an .800 OPS. At best I think we could hope for a .750 OPS and that would be quite a breakout. Still far from being a "perfect" # 5 or 6 hitter.
And no I don't think he'll ever progress into a good #5 or 6 hitter. Bat speed is too slow, moves too slow to ever get any infield hits, and his minor league stats weren't all that much better than what he has done in the major leagues.
To be happy that Molina is our number 5 hitter right now is just nonsense.
ZigZagCardsFan wrote:Not sure why everyone's calling for Yadi to be dropped in the lineup. Ever since Jose Oquendo helped him with his stance in the playoffs, all he's done is hit.
We all know what he did in the playoffs, he hit over .400 in Spring Training and is off to a good start after going 2-for-4 yesterday.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt he'll be winning any Silver Sluggers but maybe, just maybe, this 24 year old can progress at the plate to a point where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot.
Maybe he'll progress where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot??
Where am I? Maybe I should head over to CT for sane baseball discussion.
Do you honestly think Yadi batting 5th vs 6th, 7th, or 8th makes any major difference? I certainly don't. Most number crunching on the subject shows it really doesn't effect the offense that much... even over the course of a year.
The fact that Tags and Wilson will be seeing a major about of playing time this year is what we should be concerned about.
To be happy that Molina is our number 5 hitter right now is just nonsense.
Again, I didn't not make a statement bsaed on certainty. My point is simply that there's no need to move Molina out of that spot as long as he continues to hit, which he's done ever since Oquendo helped him maintain a consistent, working batting stance.
ZigZagCardsFan wrote:Not sure why everyone's calling for Yadi to be dropped in the lineup. Ever since Jose Oquendo helped him with his stance in the playoffs, all he's done is hit.
We all know what he did in the playoffs, he hit over .400 in Spring Training and is off to a good start after going 2-for-4 yesterday.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt he'll be winning any Silver Sluggers but maybe, just maybe, this 24 year old can progress at the plate to a point where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot.
Maybe he'll progress where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot??
Where am I? Maybe I should head over to CT for sane baseball discussion.
Do you honestly think Yadi batting 5th vs 6th, 7th, or 8th makes any major difference? I certainly don't. Most number crunching on the subject shows it really doesn't effect the offense that much... even over the course of a year.
The fact that Tags and Wilson will be seeing a major about of playing time this year is what we should be concerned about.
Do I honestly think where he bats in the lineup would make a major difference??? No.
But thats a COMPLETELY different subject. IMO
The fact is it does make SOME difference and Yadi is not the guy you want at #5.
ZigZagCardsFan wrote:Not sure why everyone's calling for Yadi to be dropped in the lineup. Ever since Jose Oquendo helped him with his stance in the playoffs, all he's done is hit.
We all know what he did in the playoffs, he hit over .400 in Spring Training and is off to a good start after going 2-for-4 yesterday.
Don't get me wrong, I doubt he'll be winning any Silver Sluggers but maybe, just maybe, this 24 year old can progress at the plate to a point where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot.
Maybe he'll progress where he'll be perfect in the 5 or 6 spot??
Where am I? Maybe I should head over to CT for sane baseball discussion.
Do you honestly think Yadi batting 5th vs 6th, 7th, or 8th makes any major difference? I certainly don't. Most number crunching on the subject shows it really doesn't effect the offense that much... even over the course of a year.
The fact that Tags and Wilson will be seeing a major about of playing time this year is what we should be concerned about.
Do I honestly think where he bats in the lineup would make a major difference??? No.
But thats a COMPLETELY different subject. IMO
The fact is it does make SOME difference and Yadi is not the guy you want at #5.
Why? If lineup order makes only a negligible difference in runs scored over the course of a year, why should anyone really care if Yadi is batting a couple of spots before his "realistic" place in the order? Out of principal?
To be happy that Molina is our number 5 hitter right now is just nonsense.
Again, I didn't not make a statement bsaed on certainty. My point is simply that there's no need to move Molina out of that spot as long as he continues to hit, which he's done ever since Oquendo helped him maintain a consistent, working batting stance.
Thats fair enough.
Thats a completely different statement than before, but whatever.
How so? My previous statement made note that he's young and still has room to grow as a hitter, possibly even enough to make him a perfect 5 or 6 hitter.
He still continues to hit ever since he's made the adjustments that led to his postseason success which has carried over through Spring Training.
