Rowand

On Mon, 5 May 2008 13:41:09 -0700 (PDT), "DLew022@gmail.com"
<DLew022.DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:

>Man, say what you will about Sabean's mishaps but I'm LOVING Aaron
>Rowand. Just imagine if we had some true power players around him?
>Plus his "gamer" attitude is kick ass! He's my favorite non-pitching
>Giants player.
>
>dlew

I had my doubts when Sabean signed him, but those doubts have been
banished completely. It took him a while to warm up, but it seems like
his attitude is infectious and some of the other players are taking to
it as well. Great move by Sabean (hard to say admit) and no a bad
deal moving rookies into the lineup.
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<DLew022.TakeThisOut@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:779280e9-8414-4ae5-b4b5-bfbbed8abab4@k1g2000prb.googlegroups.com...
> Man, say what you will about Sabean's mishaps but I'm LOVING Aaron
> Rowand. Just imagine if we had some true power players around him?
> Plus his "gamer" attitude is kick ass! He's my favorite non-pitching
> Giants player.

I thought he'd be a good hitter all along. People looking at his stats
would say last year might have been a fluke, but he's been actually hitting
well in 2006 too, except that he ran into a wall (literally) and went on the
DL and wasn't the same after he came back. His 2006 stats could've been
much better, but his big problem is he keeps getting himself hurt.
Yesterday he dove home and landed on his injured ribs, which was gutty, but
stupid. His long term health is much more valuable to the team than scoring
1 run or making one diving catch. If only his brain matches up with his
physical skills...
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"elizabeth" <efrantes.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0d7e20a6-bf52-47d4-b0ab-0487f85a60b4@v26g2000prm.googlegroups.com...
On May 5, 1:41 pm, "DLew...@gmail.com" <DLew....DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
> Man, say what you will about Sabean's mishaps but I'm LOVING Aaron
> Rowand. Just imagine if we had some true power players around him?
> Plus his "gamer" attitude is kick ass! He's my favorite non-pitching
> Giants player.
>
> dlew

Well, even Sabean can't be wrong all the time.

This guy can hit average to mediocre pitching very well. He can sometimes
hit a good pitchers mistake pitches. But vs. really good pitchers he looks
really bad. Overall it seems we finally have a centerfielder that can field
a bit, and hit a bit. Darren Lewis could field, no hit. Butler could
field, be a pest, but not much of a threat, at least we get some offense out
of a decent fielding centerfielder. Of course any team that had Willie
Mays, will have a hard time ever finding someone who can play center like he
did, and hit like he did.
 >> Stay informed about: Rowand 

"Awesome Lincecum" <Lincecum.DeleteThis@sf.giants> wrote in

> I thought he'd be a good hitter all along. People looking at his
> stats would say last year might have been a fluke, but he's been
> actually hitting well in 2006 too, except that he ran into a wall
> (literally) and went on the DL and wasn't the same after he came back.
> His 2006 stats could've been much better, but his big problem is he
> keeps getting himself hurt. Yesterday he dove home and landed on his
> injured ribs, which was gutty, but stupid. His long term health is
> much more valuable to the team than scoring 1 run or making one diving
> catch. If only his brain matches up with his physical skills...

I tend not to think it's brains; it's just that that's his game. I
can't prove it, but the more I watch baseball the more I think that
there's very little these guys can do by the time they get to the majors
to change. It looks to us like Rowand could just make better decisions
and stay healthier, or Marvin Benard could just lay off the high heat,
but I think that if they started doing those things that their whole
game would deteriorate.

True, they can learn over time...but for hitting and fielding, I think
improvements are extremely difficult; it's not just a case of making
obvious changes.

JHB
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"Jonathan Bernstein" <jhb.TakeThisOut@socrates.berkeley.edu> wrote in message
news:Xns9A966AA5B80C3jhbsocratesberkeleye@207.115.33.102...
> "Awesome Lincecum" <Lincecum.TakeThisOut@sf.giants> wrote in
>
> > I thought he'd be a good hitter all along. People looking at his
> > stats would say last year might have been a fluke, but he's been
> > actually hitting well in 2006 too, except that he ran into a wall
> > (literally) and went on the DL and wasn't the same after he came back.
> > His 2006 stats could've been much better, but his big problem is he
> > keeps getting himself hurt. Yesterday he dove home and landed on his
> > injured ribs, which was gutty, but stupid. His long term health is
> > much more valuable to the team than scoring 1 run or making one diving
> > catch. If only his brain matches up with his physical skills...
>
> I tend not to think it's brains; it's just that that's his game. I
> can't prove it, but the more I watch baseball the more I think that
> there's very little these guys can do by the time they get to the majors
> to change. It looks to us like Rowand could just make better decisions
> and stay healthier, or Marvin Benard could just lay off the high heat,
> but I think that if they started doing those things that their whole
> game would deteriorate.
>
> True, they can learn over time...but for hitting and fielding, I think
> improvements are extremely difficult; it's not just a case of making
> obvious changes.

Well, I think that's true for hitting, and it's true for fielding as far as
hand-eye coordination goes, i.e., the ability to actually catching the ball.
If you're not good in those things by the time you get to the majors,
there's not much room for improvement. But things like learning to respect
the wall a little bit, not landing ribs first when you dive, especially when
your ribs are already injured, I think these are things that you can learn
to avoid if you work at it, which might lengthen your career. I'm guessing
Rowand enjoys his agrressive style and simply refuses to change, not
realizing that one can play aggressively and be smart too.
 >> Stay informed about: Rowand 

"Awesome Lincecum" <Lincecum.RemoveThis@sf.giants> wrote in
news:68bv69F2s7sd8U1@mid.individual.net:

> Well, I think that's true for hitting, and it's true for fielding as
> far as hand-eye coordination goes, i.e., the ability to actually
> catching the ball. If you're not good in those things by the time you
> get to the majors, there's not much room for improvement. But things
> like learning to respect the wall a little bit, not landing ribs first
> when you dive, especially when your ribs are already injured, I think
> these are things that you can learn to avoid if you work at it, which
> might lengthen your career. I'm guessing Rowand enjoys his agrressive
> style and simply refuses to change, not realizing that one can play
> aggressively and be smart too.

We may not disagree by a lot. You said that that kind of stuff are
"things that you can learn...if you work at it." I guess I'd buy that
to some extent, but only if "work at it" is taken seriously. That is,
it's not something that you can just wake up one day and decide to play
differently. If one can change, it probably takes a fair amount of
work. And, of course, there are a lot of immediate incentives the other
way -- the press, and fans, love a guy who dives for the ball and
challenges walls and overall displays lots of visible hustle.

JHB
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"Jonathan Bernstein" <jhb.TakeThisOut@socrates.berkeley.edu> wrote in message
news:Xns9A96E7B0D2034jhbsocratesberkeleye@207.115.33.102...
> "Awesome Lincecum" <Lincecum.TakeThisOut@sf.giants> wrote in
> news:68bv69F2s7sd8U1@mid.individual.net:
>
>> Well, I think that's true for hitting, and it's true for fielding as
>> far as hand-eye coordination goes, i.e., the ability to actually
>> catching the ball. If you're not good in those things by the time you
>> get to the majors, there's not much room for improvement. But things
>> like learning to respect the wall a little bit, not landing ribs first
>> when you dive, especially when your ribs are already injured, I think
>> these are things that you can learn to avoid if you work at it, which
>> might lengthen your career. I'm guessing Rowand enjoys his agrressive
>> style and simply refuses to change, not realizing that one can play
>> aggressively and be smart too.
>
> We may not disagree by a lot. You said that that kind of stuff are
> "things that you can learn...if you work at it." I guess I'd buy that
> to some extent, but only if "work at it" is taken seriously. That is,
> it's not something that you can just wake up one day and decide to play
> differently. If one can change, it probably takes a fair amount of
> work. And, of course, there are a lot of immediate incentives the other
> way -- the press, and fans, love a guy who dives for the ball and
> challenges walls and overall displays lots of visible hustle.
>
> JHB

Almost all these guys have great physical skills, the big difference is the
brains. Bond's wasn't only talented, he was (is) a very smart hitter.
Feliz is a freakin dummy at the plate. He has a lot of talent, but still
has not developed a great approach to bring consistency and a decent obp.
>
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Dr. Wayne Simon wrote:

> Almost all these guys have great physical skills, the big difference is the
> brains. Bond's wasn't only talented, he was (is) a very smart hitter.
> Feliz is a freakin dummy at the plate. He has a lot of talent, but still
> has not developed a great approach to bring consistency and a decent obp.

I don't know if I'd say "the big difference is the brains". I think brains and
brawn are both extremely important. If you took Bonds' brain and dropped it in
Feliz' body, you would not have had a HOF player -- possibly not an All-Star
player. Two of the reasons Feliz sucks copmared to Barry are his eye at the
plate and his bat speed -- both physical qualities.
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Jamal Bernhard <noone DeleteThis @nowhere.net> wrote in
news:LQmUj.493$8i5.126@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com:

> Dr. Wayne Simon wrote:
>
>> Almost all these guys have great physical skills, the big difference
>> is the brains. Bond's wasn't only talented, he was (is) a very smart
>> hitter. Feliz is a freakin dummy at the plate. He has a lot of
>> talent, but still has not developed a great approach to bring
>> consistency and a decent obp.
>
> I don't know if I'd say "the big difference is the brains". I think
> brains and brawn are both extremely important. If you took Bonds'
> brain and dropped it in Feliz' body, you would not have had a HOF
> player -- possibly not an All-Star player. Two of the reasons Feliz
> sucks copmared to Barry are his eye at the plate and his bat speed --
> both physical qualities.

Exactly; it's impossible to say, IMO, to what extent Feliz's poor
approach at the plate is a function of mental or physical qualities, but
to the extent they are seperable I'd vote for physical in most cases.

JHB
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