Personally, I think he swing is too unorthodox for the bigs. In a regular role, with intense scouting, it will be exposed over the long haul.Originally Posted by Griffey012
Personally, I think he swing is too unorthodox for the bigs. In a regular role, with intense scouting, it will be exposed over the long haul.
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
The back gets a lot of discussion, but my understanding is that its the shoulder that causes the loss of power and that its a chronic thing that will never fully recover. Rolen's power in the first half was a real surprise since the shoulder, by his own admission, ended his days as a power threat. I'm guessing we'll see the second half Rolen from here forward and that's OK. He's still a pretty good player. He's just not likely a guy for the middle of the order. He will still need a lot of rest because of the back I'd guess, but its not like 3B will be a weakness. Ideally, they acquire a LH Bat who can caddy Rolen, give Phillips a rest and hopefully play some SS when Cozart and Janish don't look like a good choice against a tough righty.
For me the issue isn't 3B as much as it is the middle of the order. Rolen and Gomes were weaknesses in the second half in the 4 and 5 holes but Rolen will still be an asset in the line-up somewhere less crucial. Bruce can fill one of those middle spots, the other needs to come from outside as either a replacement for Gomes or at least a platoon partner for him.
Last edited by mth123; 10-13-2010 at 06:35 AM.
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
But don't ALL young players go through that? I mean....either you adjust or you go home. That's the truism of a rookie.
If you have Francisco around to caddy for Rolen, Give Votto a day to rest now and then and fill out part of the left field job.....It seems to me you find out real quick if the guy belongs on a major league roster. Like Bruce a couple of years ago, he isn't gonna learn anything in the minors.
"Even a bad day at the ballpark beats the snot out of most other good days. I'll take my scorecard and pencil and beer and hot dog and rage at the dips and cheer at the highs, but I'm not ever going to stop loving this game and this team and nobody will ever take that away from me." Roy Tucker October 2010
One of the reasons Walt sent EE packing for Rolen was to shore up the D at third base. Not sure Jocketty would like to take that big step backwards. I believe his pitch selection issues may be exposed by major league pitching in an extended trial.
I think defense, rather than pitch selection, will be Francisco's problem. Plenty of guys have had nice major league careers with poor pitch selection. Francisco's got the power to make up for that. Whether he will or not, I can't say. Perhaps he's better suited as a trade piece rather than the 3B of the future. But 3B is a tough spot to fill as WOY stated earlier.
Seriously concerned. Rolen wasn't the same in the 2nd half and I do think, as others have said that that is due to health issues.
That said, I have no idea what they do to shore that up. They need to have a backup plan going into the season. I do wonder if Frazier is it. I do know that JF isn't the answer (and that's due to his defense, not offense).
His defense is very suspect. I think if he was a solid defender, you'd see more people willing to jump on the bandwagon. Still, he does strike out a lot and takes fewer walks than most would like to see. At a minimum, the guy is a big question mark.
I am not vowing for Juan as the full time 3rd baseman, simply to spell Rolen probably twice a week, 3 times at most. We were pretty successful with Miguel Cairo doing that this season, gettinga .763 ops with alright defense. Juan has the potential to give us better offense with a drop in defense.
I feel his shortcomings are alleviated a bit with it only being a part time role. I wouldn't condone him as the full time 3rd baseman.
From what I have seen this season of Juan at the plate, he didn't look overmatched and showed relatively decent pitch selection...it seemed he was typically taking good hacks, just barely off the pitches.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
Right. So before he gets exposed in the majors, use his for trade bait to someone who is in love w/ his minor league power #'s....and batting practice lore.
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
Unfortunately, Jim Bowden ain't around anymore
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
There a ton of major league players past and present that say Hello. Having holes in his swing is one thing, but because he has an unorthodox swing is no reason to justify that he won't hit MLB pitching.
"Today was the byproduct of us thinking we can come back from anything." - Joey Votto after blowing a 10-1 lead and holding on for the 12-11 win on 8/25/2010.
I guess I need a life. I'm sitting out on the deck playing around with the old guitar and the whole time I'm thinking about third base and exactly, precisiely, what this thread is discussing. I come in and check the latest and here it is!
I am concerned about Rolen. He fell of the table the last few weeks of the season. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe he got as many hits as errors committed in the playoffs, one. And...I think he struck out seven or eight times in the three games. Rolen was one of the few seasoned guys on the team at this point in the season. I'm a big Rolen fan so don't misinterpret this as a slam against the guy. He tanked, period.
I don't have much confidence in Franciso at this point, fielding or batting. He has improved with his glove but I don't see him as an everyday third baseman. He's all or nothing at the plate and that isn't good enough at this level with a team like the Reds. He is anyhting but consistent, hitting or fielding.
Good thread and discussion by the way.
Certainly doesn't justify, but certainly a concern. The good news....major league scouting and intelligence will sort it out soon enough.....I'd just rather see him traded for something of value while his perceived value is high.....becuase Rolen is under contract for two more years.
Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand
I know Scott Rolen won't last forever, but he was 5th among all regular 3Bs in OPS this season. Even if he slumps a bit the Reds still would have a top 10 3B.
Everybody on the team should have a capable backup, but my suggestion is enjoy Rolen for however long he lasts. The Reds have got a HOF quality player on the hot corner. The last time you could say that it was 1978.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Yep. I'm thrilled we have Scott Rolen.
It will be a sad day for me the day he moves on.
We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost effective ~ Kurt Vonnegut
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote