Tuesday, September 21, 2004
STRANGE DAYS
Last night provided what was in many ways a strange and wonderful game, full of odd plays, bad calls, heated arguments, chases, escapes, true love ...
... holding it back were the Halo injuries: Vlad getting cracked in the noggin was scary, but seems to have turned out okay, but the injury to Adam Kennedy has the possibility of being much more severe. He goes in for an MRI today, and the fact that he's wrapped up in a soft cast and on crutches is less than inspiring.
Kennedy's injury was a silently frightening moment; you could just tell from his visage and body language that something had gone wrong, and my attempts to heal him by talking to my TV ("You are fine. You will get up and walk and everything will be okay.") were futile.
If Kennedy is inded out for two weeks, this puts Legs Figgins at second and Dallas McPherson at third. This is a bit of a defensive dropoff at both positions, but the offensive impact is an open question. Kennedy and Figgins have had similar offensive seasons (with .275 and .277 EqAs, respectively), and McPherson's Major League Equivalencies are about 10 points lower.
McPherson did look very good at the bat last night. He was patient, and his short swing led to the ball exploding off his bat. Just watching him last night, it was hard to imagine that this is the guy who could strike out 150 times, which is why you don't judge players on one game, but ... you can tell that he has the tools and the makeup, and even if he "just" ends up being the Troy Glaus of the 2002 regular season, that's not a bad player.
He also demonstrated some good rough defensive ability, with his one real mistake being the offline throw that didn't really pull Alfredo Amezaga off the bag (and the notion that a third base umpire would have a better view of a play at second than the guy standing there and staring at the base is a completely new one to me, by the way); he did bounce a throw that The Punter dug out with no problem. He's been working with Alfredo Griffin and has already started learning (second item), and continued exposure should only further help him. If Kennedy is down, this could be a very interesting two-week audition for the young man ...
Last night provided what was in many ways a strange and wonderful game, full of odd plays, bad calls, heated arguments, chases, escapes, true love ...
... holding it back were the Halo injuries: Vlad getting cracked in the noggin was scary, but seems to have turned out okay, but the injury to Adam Kennedy has the possibility of being much more severe. He goes in for an MRI today, and the fact that he's wrapped up in a soft cast and on crutches is less than inspiring.
Kennedy's injury was a silently frightening moment; you could just tell from his visage and body language that something had gone wrong, and my attempts to heal him by talking to my TV ("You are fine. You will get up and walk and everything will be okay.") were futile.
If Kennedy is inded out for two weeks, this puts Legs Figgins at second and Dallas McPherson at third. This is a bit of a defensive dropoff at both positions, but the offensive impact is an open question. Kennedy and Figgins have had similar offensive seasons (with .275 and .277 EqAs, respectively), and McPherson's Major League Equivalencies are about 10 points lower.
McPherson did look very good at the bat last night. He was patient, and his short swing led to the ball exploding off his bat. Just watching him last night, it was hard to imagine that this is the guy who could strike out 150 times, which is why you don't judge players on one game, but ... you can tell that he has the tools and the makeup, and even if he "just" ends up being the Troy Glaus of the 2002 regular season, that's not a bad player.
He also demonstrated some good rough defensive ability, with his one real mistake being the offline throw that didn't really pull Alfredo Amezaga off the bag (and the notion that a third base umpire would have a better view of a play at second than the guy standing there and staring at the base is a completely new one to me, by the way); he did bounce a throw that The Punter dug out with no problem. He's been working with Alfredo Griffin and has already started learning (second item), and continued exposure should only further help him. If Kennedy is down, this could be a very interesting two-week audition for the young man ...
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