I think it is always fair to ask questions and to wonder about what might be going on with a player, manager, and GM. However, we do get quite a few statements on this wonderful board of ours laced with strong opinions. That's what makes talkin Reds baseball so much fun. I like the Stubbs pick warts and all. He is young enough and eager enough to learn and make adjustments. It will be awesome to see both Bruce and Stubbs come up through the system.
Getting hit is a walk.Originally Posted by Ibleedblue
It's not the asking the question that irks some of us; it's those who think they already know the answer.If he is adjusting and starting to hit now, great. But it's fair to ask the question.
"In baseball, you don't know nothin'"...Yogi Berra
Stubbs hit his first HR last night, and he did it in style by swatting a big fly with the bases juiced. Congrats on the grand salami Drew!
BTW - Stubbs has been destroying the ball for the past week. Can we get off his back yet, or does 'small sample size' suddenly become relevent when the results are positive?
Last edited by Steve4192; 07-23-2006 at 09:15 AM.
Hook, I think a lot of people are still pretty disappointed in him. I mean if you compare what Evan Longoria is doing to what Drew Stubbs is doing, as they were the 1st two college hitters taken, Stubbs looks bad. Yeah, there is a small sample size, but Longoria is killing the ball and Stubbs is struggling in rookie ball as a 21 year old.
I mean Longoria is now in High-A with 7 HR in 77 at bats and is hitting .377 and has on OPS of 1.176. Stubbs is having problems OPSing .800. Have we given up on him yet? No, but he needs to start hitting. He is starting to, which is good, but lets see it for more than a week before I want to say the results are positive. He did go 1-5 last night with 3 strikeouts when almost everyone else on his team had multihit games.
This is what mean. The guy hit a grand slam last night and has had three 3-hit games this week, yet we still hear about what he didn't do. When Adam Dunn strikes out and puts up a low BA, most fans accept it as part of the total package that Dunn brings to the table. When Drew Stubbs does it, it is a sign that he was a horrid draft pick and will never amount to anything.
Regarding Evan Longoria, frankly, I don't give a flying hoot what Longoria is doing. Not every guy who becomes a quality MLB hitter puts up an 1176 OPS in his first exposure to pro ball, and not every guy who puts up an 1176 OPS in his first exposure to pro ball becomes a quality MLB hitter. Travis Lee destroyed the California league and the PCL immediately after being drafted, but he has never become anything close to a serviceable MLB hitter.
Adam Dunn is doing those things at the MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL. Drew Stubbs doesnt bring the power that Dunn does, and is doing it in ROOKIE BALL. As for what Dunn did as a 21 year old, well you go look it up for yourself. That was a horrible comparison.
As for Longoria, I used it as an example of another college hitter taken in the top 10, who is actually a year younger than Stubbs and is absolutely raking. Yeah, its no guarentee that Longoria does anything in the future. It does bode a little better for him though considering he is younger, at a higher level and killing the ball, where as Stubbs is a year older, 2 levels lower and struggling.
I think a lot of people did not like this pick when it was made therefore some opinions are sure to be tilted against Stubbs no matter what he does. He has not looked great so far and has been outplayed by other members of the team (Parker and Heisey). But 21 is not ancient by any means and just a couple of days ago his batting average was at around .240 or so. Looks like he is making some adjustments so lets see where he is at the end of the year.
Honestly, outside of Heisey, no one is really crushing the ball in Billings. Only one player (Heisey) has a 900+ OPS and only two others (Rojo, Valaika) have cracked the 850 OPS barrier. For some reason (talent?), no one is having the monster hitting year that Billings has become notorious for producing.
Last edited by Steve4192; 07-23-2006 at 04:22 PM.
Valaika has shown some good pop tied with Heisey with 5hr's.
His batting average is far less worrisome than his .393 SLG. Hitting his first HR was good, and I'll buy that he might've just started off slowly due to the layoff between the college season ending and going to Billings for the rookie league -- but I want to see this kid start to show some pop with thet wood bat before I start thinking highly of his chances to be anything other than a slightly above replacement-level outfielder. Hes got good defensive instincts, which is helpful -- now we'll see if the stick develops into something that makes him worth playing.
Having said that, I plan to shut up about Stubbs and re-evaluate where he is at when the season finishes.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
You guys do realize he has a little more than a hundred professional at bats?
I don't know how long you have been following the development of baseball players, but the internet has pushed an absurd amount of pressure on some of these guys. In the past nobody would look at a minor leaguer until after the year or at certain intervals. Now players get thrown in the garbage because of 50 minor league at bats.
This is the time. The real Reds organization is back.
I did say I was going to re-evaluate at the end of the season.
Nobody is throwing Stubbs into the garbage -- more accurately, Stubbs was labeled as a bad pick from Day 1 (based on college play and pre-draft scouting reports) and has done absolutely nothing in his time in the rookie leagues to shed that image.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
Who labeled him a bad pick? People obsessed with ops?
Stubbs brings a ton of things to the table, too bad people are obsessed with ops right off the bat.
This is the time. The real Reds organization is back.
Scouts labeled him as a bad pick. Fans labeled him as a bad pick. There were HUGE concerns about his ability to hit both with a wooden bat or hit professional pitching thanks to the huge hole in his swing.
Stubbs has good tools. He has speed, he has a good glove and a good arm. He however has and still does have HUGE questions as to whether he canor will ever hit.
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