Quote:
Originally Posted by HalKing
I knew little to nothing about Phipps prior to this season. I had seen the outrageous numbers he was putting up in Carolina about midway through the season so I knew he had to be on the list of guys ticketed for Louisville when a body was needed. When he did get the call he was nothing but impressive both offensively and defensively. With a lot of minor league guys you really have to go on just "what have you done for me lately" type of thinking. The argument that a lot of you are using against Phipps would be the same argument you could use against Mesoraco. He had several disappointing seasons prior to 2010. The Reds could have "cut bait" with him too. I think that has been proven that it would have been a mistake. I'm not saying Phipps is going to be a MLB star but he is probably deserving of that 40 man roster spot. Would anyone really rather see a Fred Lewis type free agent has been on the roster instead?
On a complete side note to anyone else that has seen Phipps in person play, is it just me or physically does this guy look like Alfonso Soriano or what? Even his approach in the batters box with the high leg kick looks like Soriano. His defense in the outfield beats all hell out of Alfonso though.
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No, you couldn't really use the same argument with Mesoraco. Mesoraco had disappointing seasons, but when he broke out two years ago (though I actually believe he broke out three years ago, but it was hidden because he played in the Florida State League, which hid a big uptick in his power), his numbers really increased because he began to hit the ball over the fence a whole lot more than before, while also making slight improvements elsewhere. Phipps didn't start doing that at all. He simply began adding extra singles while maintaining an iffy strikeout rate and a low walk rate.