On Aug 15, 9:51 am, Kevin McClave <kmccl....RemoveThis@SPAM666twcny.rr.com>
wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:42:22 -0400, "Chuck" <chuckw....RemoveThis@bellsouth.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >"Zuke" <m....RemoveThis@privacy.net> wrote in message
> >news:Pine.OSX.4.64.0808121131501.13293@ucfs1.ucfs-public.net...
> >> On Mon, 11 Aug 2008, spr272....RemoveThis@netzero.net wrote:
>
> >>> I only see three starting position players on there curent roster that
> >>> should be there next season. phillips, bruce, votto. nobody else on
> >>> the roster other than the pitching staff should be starting on a major
> >>> league team. the reds need five new posistion players and pitching
> >>> help. from that perspective it will take many years for the reds to be
> >>> competative.
>
> >> I don't think it would be a bad idea to keep Keppinger if they
> >> can bat him 6th or 7th and play a competent third.
>
> >> Encarnocion out in the outfield or spelling Votto at first base
> >> would not be bad.
>
> >> The main players Jocketty has to come up with is a centerfielder
> >> and a catcher
>
> >Dickerson looked good tonight and he has speed , something dunner didn't
> >have.
>
> Not intending to pick on you, Chuck, but it strikes me that your comment
> was exactly the problem with fans', mediots' and AL GMs who shall remain
> nameless perception of Dunn: focusing on the things he couldn't do
> rather than the extremely valuable things he did do well.
Stolen with pride:
Here's the opening of James' essay "The Ken Phelps All-Star Team"
from the 1987 Baseball Abstract:
"See, on the one hand you've got the Henry Cottos, and on the o
ther hand, you've got your Ken Phelpses. If Henry Cotto is a major l
eague ballplayer, I'm an airplane. Cotto is one of those guys who
runs well and throws pretty decent, and one year he hit .270-
something
(in less than 150 at-bats, in Wrigley Field, with a secondary average
of .164), so you get guys like Don Zimmer who will rave about this
great
young prospect and keep trading for him, so he'll get about eight
chances
to play in the major leagues before they figure out he can't hit.
At first when he doesn't hit they'll say he just needs more playing
time,
and then they'll say he needs to stop wiggling his elbows while the
pitcher
is in motion, and then they'll say he needs to point his lead foot
and
learn to keep his weight back, and then they'll say he needs to be
more
aggressive at the plate, and then they'll say he needs to go back to
wiggling his elbows. They always figure that if you can run and throw
they'll teach you to hit. Of course they can't teach anybody to hit,
but
they always think they can, so they keep trying.
Then on the other hand you've got your Ken Phelpses. Ken Phelps
has
been a major league ballplayer since at least 1980, when he hit .294
with
128 walks and a slugging percentage close to .600 at AAA Omaha, a
tough
park for a hitter. Through 1985 he had 567 at-bats in the major
leagues—one season's worth—with 40 home runs and 92 RBI. The Mariners
still didn't want to let him play. See, the problem was that Chuck
Cottier,
in his day, was a Henry Cotto, a guy who could run and throw, but
couldn't play baseball. Most major league managers were those kind of
guys.
Ken Phelps, on the other hand, can't run particularly well (though he
isn't exceptionally slow, either) and doesn't throw well, and if
you're
that kind of player and want to play major league ball you'd better
go
7-for-20 in your first week in the majors, or they'll decide it's time
to
take another look at Henry Cotto. Ken Phelps in his first two shots at
major
league pitching went 3-for-26. Despite his limitations, the man is a
major
league player."
Or to put it another way. If you list all of the baseball skills
Phelps came out positive in only two area (power and plate discipline)
while Cotto was a positive in almost everything but those two
areas. In spite of which Phelps was a valuable player and
Cotto a scrub.
>> Stay informed about: next season 
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