How worried should we be?

[11larkin11]

I know that most believe Ross will do worse this year, but hes batting .174 this spring. Is this something we really should be concerned about, or will he be OK?

[GridironGrace]

wouldnt worry to much at this point.....how many AB's has he gotten so far? I dunno, but id worry a lil bit if it continues on up into mid april.. but he'll be fine im sure

[edabbs44]

There are a few Reds that could be coming down to Earth in '07. Ross is piloting that ship.

The good news is that this offense will not be that dependent on his bat. It's not like we're talking about Dunn stinking it up.

The bad news is that Ross' mitt won't cover a bad hitting performance.

[jmac]

While he can "come down to earth"...what he did last year was on 200+ ab's .
Now this year with more ab's plus the all important GABP factor, it wouldnt surprise me to see him put up similar #'s.
I think the GABP factor will help him and gonzalez.

[sonny]

Well, at least we have a safety net in Chad Moeller:thumbdown

[KronoRed]

Well, at least we have a safety net in Chad Moeller:thumbdown

That net is old and frayed in about 500 locations :help:

[jmcclain19]

Everyone makes a big fuss about Adam Dunn being a TTO guy (Three True Outcomes being a walk, a strikeout or a homer) but Ross is right there with him.

Dunn in 2006 - 683PA, 40HR, 112BB, 194K - 346 of 683= TTO% of 50.6
Ross in 2006 - 296PA, 21HR, 37BB, 75K - 133 of 296= TTO% of 44.9

I don't know exactly what that means - but I find it interesting.

And I wouldn't worry about Ross not hitting. No 1- this is his first year being the "Big Dog" and maybe that's weighing on him - the catchers in ST tend to be a tight nit group and maybe playing the alpha male is weighing on him a bit. And the Reds have 10 million guys competing for a few spots and I'm sure he's working around helping each one trying to make the team as well.

Perhaps its a little of both.

[CINCYREDS#1]

hes fine

[KronoRed]

Spring training stats are next to useless.

See Womack, Tony of the last 2 springs.

[redsupport]

remember that statement spring training stats are useless, that would wipe out about 10,000 posts on wunderkind hamilton

[flyer85]

I know that most believe Ross will do worse this year, but hes batting .174 this spring. Is this something we really should be concerned about, or will he be OK?depends on what your expecting.

If your expecting more than 20 HRs and and a 240 average you may well end up disappointed. I for one would not be surprised to see Larue have the better season.

[flyer85]

There are a few Reds that could be coming down to Earth in '07. Ross is piloting that ship.... and Hatty is navigating.

[PuffyPig]

remember that statement spring training stats are useless, that would wipe out about 10,000 posts on wunderkind hamilton

I think the reason posters get excited about Hamilton doing well is because of his enormous talent.

There's a world of difference between a chronic underachiever getting hot for a few weeks in March than when a real talent does it. The question remains as to which one Hamilton is.

[RedEye]

I think the reason posters get excited about Hamilton doing well is because of his enormous talent.

There's a world of difference between a chronic underachiever getting hot for a few weeks in March than when a real talent does it. The question remains as to which one Hamilton is.

In any case, it's hard to call Hammy a "chronic underachiever." He hasn't played enough yet to underachieve IMO... unless you want to call constant drug use underachieving--although that's underachieving in life, not on the baseball field.

[Superdude]

Everyone seems to expect him to fall off the face of the earth, but I think he'll be okay. I wouldn't be surprised to see his average dip a little bit, but he draws walks and should easily repeat 20+ homers considering he did it last year in 247 at bats.

[Jerry Narron]

I'm not worried at all. David is continually working in the batting cages each and every day.

[Ltlabner]

The bad news is that Ross' mitt won't cover a bad hitting performance.

Um, haven't you blasted Gonzo in the past for being all glove and no stick, yet here you'd be ok if Ross's glove would make up for his stick?

I'm confused.

[Dracodave]

Um, haven't you blasted Gonzo in the past for being all glove and no stick, yet here you'd be ok if Ross's glove would make up for his stick?

I'm confused.

Ross plays a Beanie Baby behind the plate. Any sign of danger, ie getting ran over to make a play, he "drops" or "fails" to catch the ball.

I remember several times last year he did this alone.

[Ltlabner]

Ross plays a Beanie Baby behind the plate. Any sign of danger, ie getting ran over to make a play, he "drops" or "fails" to catch the ball.

I remember several times last year he did this alone.

Oh, I know that he dropped the ball several times during crucial plays. I was just pointing out what appears to be a glaring inconsistancy from Edabbs (unless I am misunderstanding something, which is always a possibility).

[Falls City Beer]

Ross plays a Beanie Baby behind the plate. Any sign of danger, ie getting ran over to make a play, he "drops" or "fails" to catch the ball.

I remember several times last year he did this alone.

Ross is a pathetic receiver. In fact, he doesn't even have the Eddie Taubensee advantage of being a huge target/enormous plate-coverage device. David Ross is the opposite of athletic, too.

Me, I would have gambled on Larue's stick bouncing back a little bit; plus having his athleticism behind the dish could allow him to maintain some value. If Ross's hitting fails, he's useless.

[Dracodave]

Oh, I know that he dropped the ball several times during crucial plays. I was just pointing out what appears to be a glaring inconsistancy from Edabbs (unless I am misunderstanding something, which is always a possibility).


That was my misunderstanding, but I'm glad you agree with me. Sorry if you thought I was attacking you or anything!

I do believe he might Gonzalez saves runs defensively. He's a ++ defender. Ross needs to create runs, cause he can not prevent them

Gonzo = All Glove, no bat. But thats okay.
Ross = All....well, If he has a bat..he needs to keep showing it..

[edabbs44]

Um, haven't you blasted Gonzo in the past for being all glove and no stick, yet here you'd be ok if Ross's glove would make up for his stick?

I'm confused.

Maybe "cover" is the wrong word...maybe I should have said "lessen the negative impact of his poor hitting"?

The biggest difference, however, is that Ross isn't on the books for 3 years and $14 million. That's what I was getting at. 2 years, $4.5 million is a lot easier to stomach if he was a good defender behind the plate with a bad bat.