Andy Van Slyke on Duncan

stretch · Post by **stretch** » March 2 07, 12:35 pm

skmsw wrote:(sigh)

Way to win people over to your side.

Just some harmless commentary.

Take it or leave it as you like.

StL Dan · Post by **StL Dan** » March 2 07, 12:37 pm

Popeye_Card wrote:I don't know what Tony sees, or if he's just trying to be as supportive as possible for Duncan. What Van Slyke said was actually more complimentary than what I would have said.

I will consider it good if Duncan comes out of Spring Training as the 2nd worst defensive OF in baseball, moving him up one spot on the charts.

What Duncan lacks in the OF is something that I'm not sure Walker can teach. It's instinctual, and Duncan doesn't have it.

--P--

Come on, Popeye...."instinctual" is not even a flippin' word!

skmsw · Post by **skmsw** » March 2 07, 1:01 pm

Way to win people over to your side.

Way to get your point across!

Consider it left.

skmsw · Post by **skmsw** » March 2 07, 1:09 pm

Duncan has been playing baseball practically his entire life. He's been a pro for over 7 years.

His first year as a the pro's he made 35 errors at first base (in under 100 games, if I recall correctly), supposedly his "natural" position that he is now uncomfortable for having shifted away from. His time in the OF in Memphis last year would have earned him a Dewan +/- of about -63 over 150 games.

TLR believes that he will eventually be "average at worst."

A sincere question -- how much do people really expect him to change defensively? How much better than he is now will he get?

Jocephus · Post by **Jocephus** » March 2 07, 1:11 pm

i thiink he'll be like a fat, lesser-skilled mays

stldogget05 · Post by **stldogget05** » March 2 07, 1:13 pm

skmsw wrote: A sincere question -- how much do people really expect him to change defensively? How much better than he is now will he get?

Well one thing is he certainly can't get any worse. I don't think it's that far fetched that he ends up being just bad as opposed to gawd awful.

haltz · Post by **haltz** » March 2 07, 1:14 pm

skmsw wrote:His first year as a the pro's he made 35 errors at first base (in under 100 games, if I recall correctly), supposedly his "natural" position that he is now uncomfortable for having shifted away from. His time in the OF in Memphis last year would have earned him a Dewan +/- of about -63 over 150 games.

Do you know what this number was for his time in the bigs?

stretch · Post by **stretch** » March 2 07, 2:18 pm

skmsw wrote:
Way to win people over to your side.
Way to get your point across!

Consider it left.

raddy · Post by **raddy** » March 2 07, 2:23 pm

LaRussa and Van Slyke don't like each other and will probably won't agree on anything. It goes back to spring training when Van Slyke tried to come back as a bench player and he said LaRussa made him promises he didn't keep when Van Slyke got injured. I don't think Duncan will ever make a average OF.

The experiment Herzog made trying to make a Van Slyke a 3rd baseman was a good move --His trouble with LH pitching would have made him a platoon player in the OF at that time in St. Louis and he had too much talent of be a platoon player.

Same thing happened to Mike Shannon--had to have his bat in the lineup but he had to move to 3rd base to play every day--and as Shannon said he would try anything to play every day. Van Slyke wouldn't try. So he got traded.

maddash · Post by **maddash** » March 2 07, 2:34 pm

I think Scott Hatteberg is a good example of someone that did improve defensively through good coaching, experience and confidence. And if you've read Moneyball, confidence did happen to be a big factor in Hatteberg's improvement... at least that's how Scott tells the story.

This isn't to say that there's a certainty that Dunc will improve, but I think the the Hatteberg case does give a good indication of the possibility of improvement simply through good coaching and time.