now that you mention him, what the heck happened to Mark Teahen?
Printable View
now that you mention him, what the heck happened to Mark Teahen?
He just isn't a very good hitter. Not completely awful, but not near good enough to be a regular MLB corner OF. He'll make a nice 4th OF and is capable of playing 3B and 1B as well....not an awful bat off the bench..but he just seems to get in his own way at the plate. His swing looked so great in 2006 and he showed a great eye...but something happened and now he just half swings at close pitches and seems to just have a million things going through his head at the plate.....I'd say he is what he is at this point. A mediocre bat for a corner OF, but a nice player to have off the bench I suppose.Quote:
Originally Posted by haveacigar
:rolleyes: Yeah, I was looking for some analysis a little deeper than a stat sheet.Quote:
Originally Posted by filihok
Well that's what I can't figure out. He had a really solid slugging and a decent OBP in 06, and then the slugging just disappeared in 07. I get the OBP drop in 08, what with trying to press at the plate and as a result striking out a bunch. It's just weird to see a guy have such a drop in production in his mid 20s.Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
It's all in his head. Watching him swing at the plate, especially for most of the middle and end of the year, was just so rough...he just seemed to decide so late whether to swing or not...and he became the king of the groundout to 2B. When he does swing free and easy, it's a real nice swing and he has a lot of natural power (and is an amazing, amazing baserunner...two inside the park HRs last year and is outstanding taking an extra base)...but he just seems to lose it after three games and just looks like a high school hitter seeing a 95 mph fastball for the first time. He seems like the type of hitter who could just "get it" one day and turn into a legitimate great hitter...but it's getting pretty late for him....I don't count on it, but I wouldn't completely disregard him either I guess. He'll get plenty of ABs off the bench I imagine..perhaps not starting will be the motivation he needs.Quote:
Originally Posted by haveacigar
Could maybe be a guy who has some holes in his swing that pitchers have learned to exploit more and more as they get more opportunities to find his weaknesses.Quote:
Originally Posted by haveacigar
I don't think it's that b/c he doesn't really seem to get beat on any particular pitches...he'll smash a pitch in every location when he's "on" for a couple games....but then he'll just half swing at every pitch for the next week...there just seems to be no pattern to it. You can't watch him and say "oh, he's a sucker for the down and away pitch" or "he can't handle the inside heat," it's more along the lines of "wow, he doesn't even want to swing the bat, he is overthinking things bigtime...." and then he just swings weakly and that's it. It's pathetic to watch him hit sometimes....given his powerful frame. He really should be a 25 HR guy every year..but he just seems to fight himself. Very unusual case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Blast
Sounds like it's just a complete lack of any confidence in what he's doing.Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
I'm sure that's a significant part of it....sucks to see talent go to waste.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Blast
reminds me of Morgan Ensberg. sucks to see guys just fall apart like that for no reason.
Maybe you like this stat sheet betterQuote:
Originally Posted by haveacigar
http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx...11&position=OF
I'm still in my baby steps at understanding all this stuff but what I see is:
He's getting a lot few fastballs than he did in 2005/2006 and
He's swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone
This is true, which may indicate that he doesn't hit breaking pitches well.Quote:
Originally Posted by filihok
In 2007, that was true. In 2008, though, he was at 26.3%, compared to 26.4% in his breakout 2006, so out-of-zone pitches aren't his problem.Quote:
He's swinging at more pitches outside the strike zone
It's probably right to say that his problem is with sliders and curveballs. Increased amount of both in both 2007 and 2008 (with an equal decrease in fastballs), correlates with his production.
Pretty much the case. This is typically trotted out in tandem with the "unused boxes of cash" argument when the Yankees bid a free-agent into the stratosphere and everyone else sits on their hands.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arctic Blast
This is the quote, from Trey Hillman:Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
At best, it indicates that is he under some level of consideration for the starting job...and Willie Bloomquist should not be anything more than a 25th man on a roster, a super-defensive-sub/pinch-runner.Quote:
"When you put everyone's evaluations together, from our scouts to our coaches who have had experience watching him day in and day out or from the other side of the field, I think sometimes guys just need the right situation or the right chemistry of the club that they're on to go from being a utility guy to an everyday player."
Well, if a reporter asks you the question "will Bloomquist be a starter next year" what do you expect them to say?? Are they going to say no and then list the reasons why the player sucks? I think you're reading far, far, far too much into some quotes. They are just giving diplomatic answers to get through an interview. They said Hideo Nomo would be in the hunt for a starting rotation spot too.....of course there was no chance in hell that would happen. Bloomquist won't be a starter unless there are injuries. Who cares what quotes they give to a reporter...Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
...and it's not even a quote of him saying they are considering starting Bloomquist, it's you trying to interpret one sentence of what Hillman said..whose to say he didn't say a bunch of other stuff that just didn't make it in the article that indicated they like Callaspo more. This is all a gigantic stretch...which is not surprising given we're talking about the Royals.
So to recap, in the past couple days...the Royals have been ripped for giving dedicating 1.2% of their team payroll to a utility infielder, for their manager giving one quote in JANUARY about how there will be competition in spring training and not just openly killing any chances that Bloomquist could be a starter, and for avoiding arbitration on a 25 year old pitcher with a one year deal for very little money. Yeah..my "people hate the Royals act" is so delusional..this kind of thing happens with all the teams, right? Now I'll go talk in the threads here about the Rockies and the Marlins tiny transactions....wait, I can't find them. Oh well, let's go see what backup players the Reds are going with this year...wait, there aren't threads about those??? Well golly gee, I guess I'm just a crazy person.
You've claimed that this "Everybody hates the Royals" thing doesn't include me, but I'm the one making these "complaints", but one thing you have to understand that it has absolutely nothing to do with the Royals for me. I rip bad deals regardless of the team. Go back shortly and see how I "ripped" the Phillies for the Raul Ibanez signing. Last year I "ripped" the Tigers for extending Dontrelle Willis's contract. Those are just two off the top of my head. On the contrary, I was fine with the Coco Crisp deal, and I can't find any threads on here about it, but I wasn't adamantly against the Gil Meche signing, either, agreeing mostly with Keith Law on that signing.Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
I won't make threads for minor moves, but I'll comment on anything that I have a thought on that somebody posts. If I don't like a signing, I'll say so, regardless of team.
This particular "ripping", by RedSoxRockies, was made by a 14 year old kid overreacting.Quote:
and for avoiding arbitration on a 25 year old pitcher with a one year deal for very little money. Yeah..my "people hate the Royals act" is so delusional..this kind of thing happens with all the teams, right?
Hey, at least Bloomquist's Transaction Oracle entry is more forgiving than the one for Farnsworth and Ramirez. :p And the one for Mike Jacobs has no snark at all.
Joe Posnanski (a Royal fan) on the signing, sort of. It's more of a long rambling about "Bloomquist-types" and "Dunn-types."
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
Well, all I know is pretty much transaction the Royals have made this year has had thorougly discussed here (and pretty much everywhere) and made out to be the end of the world. Now you're discussing the meanings of some quotes that the manager gave to a reporter in January, when the reporter was writing an article about Willie Bloomquist.
Seriously, what is he supposed to say "No, Bloomy has no chance to start, he sucks, we are giving Callaspo the job no matter what, so I don't really care if they show up to ST in shape and ready to compete or not...we've already decided what is going to happen." OF course they are going to say something along the lines of "it creates competition in ST" just like everyone says in January..but when the Royals say it..boom, criticism. Unnecessary and ridiculous.
How often do utility players that can't hit get full articles on MLB.com about their chances to start, and how often do reporters ask the manager about such a player's chances to start? Not very often, as far as I can tell. But, it doesn't matter. We'll see how he's handled.
I'd also say that you aren't looking very deep if you think the Royals are the only team whose moves are discussed and criticized in the "blogosphere." Most MLB moves are "thoroughly discussed", regardless of team, somewhere on the Internet. Baseball Think Factory, which I linked above with the Transaction Oracle entries, discusses basically everything baseball-related. I also think you're going over the top with your reactions to the criticisms. Nobody's discussing the moves as "end of the world", or even remotely close to that exaggeration. People think it's a bad move. That's it.
Where's the part where they, or anybody, discusses how the Royals are projected to get better for the 4th year in a row, while at the same time putting more money into every single aspect of the organization and improving the farm system dramatically from what it was even three seasons ago? When do we get to that part...oh wait a second, that's pretty much been written by....well nobody.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
(Of course I know that there is probably some person, some blog out there that may have mentioned this....I have not looked at literally every page of the internet...but compared to the criticism we have gotten for the past three seasons......it's non-existent.)
Those entries discuss the moves purely in and of themselves, as they do with every other move. They're not meant to be evaluations of a team's overall outlook.
Well, in about ten seconds I was able to find this article about Aaron Boone, and in it you can possibly gather that they are considering going with him as their starting 3B..or at least seeing significant playing time at the position. A 36 year old with a 77 OPS+ last year. Tough to find that article. I'm sure there are plenty of articles written about these players, probably every time they are signed something gets written about them.
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/a...=.jsp&c_id=hou
Nowhere have I said we are the only team that gets criticized. I said we get criticized for pretty much every single move we ever make, literally. Of course there is a little exaggeration in there, but it's got a pretty solid foundation too.
Well, if somebody had posted an Aaron Boone thread here, I'd have criticized that as well. The move, itself, wasn't bad. 1 year, cheap, corner player. A platoon of Geoff Blum and Aaron Boone at third base is downright atrocious and ridiculous, though.Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
EXACTLY MY POINT. That move doesn't get shredded (or the thought of them using him in that way). With the Royals, it gets ripped everytime. Literally. Yes, other teams get criticized some. The Royals get ripped for pretty much every single move they make. That is how it goes. I know you think I am just grossly exaggerating it, but I am not. I listened while people talked about how the Royals were ruining the pitching market by signing Gil Meche to such a big deal. I have listened to it all for years and years and years. It was deserved during the Baird era where he signed guys like Reggie Sanders and Jose Lima and Scott Elarton and Joe Mays. That's worth "sky is falling" criticism. Bloomquist as as utility infielder is not...especially considering the extremely obvious progress the organization has made in literally every single aspect possible. Literally. There can be no denying that....Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
..and before you post a link about some random blogger making fun of Aaron Boone..I am sure there is somebody that has criticized the move..but clearly not on the level of a Royals move being criticized.
Well, as I said, I'll comment, on this forum, on anything that's posted that I have an opinion on. When filihok posted this thread, I don't think it was his intention to blast the Royals to shreds because he hates the signing and wants to criticize everything the Royals do, nor is he part of some huge anti-Royal conspiracy.
No, despite rumors, I am not a part of any conspiracy, organization, etc.
If the Dodgers had signed Bloomquist to the same deal, THEN you would have seen some blasting to shreds. As the Royals did it I simply made some question marks to see if somebody else with a different perspective could shed some light on it and make it make sense to me.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...ma-the-mariner
Quote:
Brewers sign Craig Counsell (1/1 mil)
When the Royals signed Willie Bloomquist for two years and three million, general manager Dayton Moore described Bloomquist as a “Craig Counsell” type. Naturally, the actual Counsell would sign for one year and for a third of the money.
Royals bashing never goes away. I notice he doesn't want to actually talk about the players when trying to take a shot at the Royals.Quote:
Originally Posted by filihok
Bloomquist's last three seasons: .320, .321, and .377 OBP. Counsell last three seasons: .327, .323, and .355. Looks like Bloomquist can hit just as well as Counsell, maybe better if you think Bloomquist is in his prime while Counsell is declining b/c he is almost 40. Bloomquist can play more positions.
Bloomquist is not a good player, but I'll just fine with him over Counsell. Palying him .5 million more per year...pretty nitpicky to get upset over that.
...but why try to talk actual facts. Bloomquist sucks, Greinke isn't an effective starting pitcher, whole team sucks, Dayton Moore has done nothing to improve the team since he took over, everything sucks.
WTF?? 5 plus pages about Willie Bloomquist going to the Royals? For starters, I didn't know Bloomquist was still in the league, and secondly...I didn't know the Royals still had a team. :p:D
I have to laugh and, as much as it pains me to say this...totally agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by dickay
Teahen to man 2nd for the Royals this year
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...ahens-big-move
And the Royals bash:
Quote:
This is the first sign of “innovative” thinking the Royals have shown this off-season, but frankly, the chances of success aren’t too high.
If Teahen can perform adequately at second in the field, it's a great decision.
Teahen will be getting "a look" at 2B this spring...but it's very unlikely he'll be the starter or anything. I'd say it's more of an attempt to up any possible trade value he may have...or just to groom him for a super-sub role. Nice idea I guess..but I don't expect much to come from it.
If he can handle the defensive role adequately, I would say he is their best option there. Not that that means they'll actually give the idea of him starting at the keystone much credence, but they probably should (again, if he can handle it defensively).Quote:
Originally Posted by KowboyKoop
Certainly...but I like Callaspo as a starter too..but he has poor range defensively. Good OBP last year and throughout his time in the minors. I just don't think Teahen will be able to be a good defensive 2B...but it's an interesting idea..I just don't expect it to work.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
Here, this article likes your Royals. Projects them to be over .500
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...store-for-2009
Quote:
The Royals finally stopped relying on a weak farm system this winter. Dayton Moore opened up the checkbook to improve the team for once. This time, the Royals recognized a lack of offensive catalysts, and an abundance of talent in the bullpen.
They evened this out by sending reliever Leo Nunez to the Florida Marlins for slugging first baseman Mike Jacobs, and by sending set-up man Ramon Ramirez to Boston for speedy center fielder Coco Crisp, who can serve as a run-creating leadoff hitter, sparing Alberto Callaspo or Mike Aviles being forced into the leadoff spot.
To lessen the blow of losing two of the livest arms in their bullpen discounting Joakim Soria, the Royals added veteran set-up man Kyle Farnsworth, who can help mentor the young pitchers and decently bridge to Joakim Soria.
Offseason Grade: B
I stopped reading when I saw he gave the ChiSox offseason an A-.
Instant credibility loss.