Should Infante play every day
by JurrjensFan on Jun 10, 2009 11:36 PM EDT
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PrintAnother poll here. I am a huge fan of Omar Infante, and he has been doing really well when healthy. And as we all know, Johnson is struggling and, in my opinion, is better suited for a bench role. I think either Infante or Prado should be our everyday second baseman. Not only because they are both better than Johnson, but also because they are right-handed hitters, which we need in our lineup. So, who should it be?
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Yes , 1000 Times YES
Oh yes, finally someone who agrees with me, the time has come to let Infante play. Infante should start and we should keep Diory and Prado as our backups. I agree but Johnson shouldn’t be a bench player at his price tag. Trade him away with Frenchy and lets move on from both of them.
by Holty_Panthers_Fan on Jun 10, 2009 11:44 PM EDT reply actions
+1 if ...
You substitute “bench” for “beat.”
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
KJ
is a lot better than his numbers reveal. He’s easily the unluckiest guy on the Braves, makes really good contact but they’re either right at people or the guy on the other end makes a web gem, it’s actually quite sad.
by BravesRaleigh on Jun 11, 2009 12:54 AM EDT up reply actions
exactly
theres a reason in his 7 seasons hes never stuck as a starting position player. im sure if he was good for 140, someone would’ve given him the job.
just think, we could’ve had Orlando Hudson for pennies. The dodgers signed him for what…3 million? All off-season i said KJ wouldnt cut it, and boy am i looking like im right.
AB: Jeff Francoeur
Pitching: Any pitcher in MLB
Runners: Escobar at 3rd, Chipper at 2nd, McCann at 1st.
Pitch 1: In play, out(s)
by Scott Coleman on Jun 11, 2009 2:18 AM EDT up reply actions
$3.4 million guaranteed for Hudson...
But all the way up to $8 million if he stays healthy. The Braves would put themselves in a REAL shitty position rooting for a guy to get hurt with a contract like that.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 11, 2009 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions
There’s a reason Infante has been a bench player his whole career, I don’t think the Braves found something that the Tigers just couldn’t see. Infante is about as pure a bench player as you’ll ever see and probably one of the best. He’s great at coming off the bench and playing average to above average defense at about every position when we need it and he can fill in for the regular starters really well because he’s so fresh. If he tried playing every day, his numbers would drop because he’d probably get way too exhausted. The only reason you see him doing so well is because he doesn’t have to play every single inning of every single day. He’s fresh.
This
"Actually, Justin was right."
by bigjoe on May 15, 2009 9:04 AM PDT
by justincredubil02 on Jun 11, 2009 12:00 AM EDT up reply actions
I disagree. KJ is good enough as our 2B. What you see lately is KJ getting unlucky i cant remember what game it was this week but he was making contact on every AB and they were just getting hit right at people. he will turn it around.
Infante is a nice guy to have off the bench because of his versatility but i dont trust that he would produce the same way if he played everyday.
Look at Prado the dude had like a .300 average then he started playing everyday and it dropped quick.
it’s strange how kelly’s average is as low or lower than FYF’s and this is the first time that anyone has questioned whether he should be benched as far as i remember. I guess most of us still want to see him turn it around. he’s about as unemotional as GA, and about as fun to watch hit. and I used to really be a fan of his. not sure what is going on. i wouldn’t be surprised if he is #2, right behind francouer, at swinging at the first pitch.
Yes, but he does other things.
Francoeur has his average and NOTHING else.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 11, 2009 1:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Not really...
Frenchy plays right field, where you’re expected to produce mainly offensively, whereas second base is typically considered more of a straight defensive position, so people don’t tend to get mad at a weaker second baseman as they would at a slumping right fielder. Plus, KJ’s walks are higher, strikeouts are lower, more homers, and he makes great contact. He’s quite unlucky. You’re only looking at average, which is by far a horrible way to judge how they’re doing.
by BravesRaleigh on Jun 11, 2009 2:28 AM EDT up reply actions
Omar Infante career BB rate: 6%
Jeff Francoer career BB rate: 5%
A bit too close for comfort. Infante does a good job of making solid contact, at least over the last three seasons, but his career OBP is a meager .308, and he doesn’t have the type of walk rate that makes him valuable while he’s slumping.
i agree, it's a headscratcher.
kelly has worked so hard and progressed so much as a second baseman, it’s troubling to see him struggle so much at the plate at times, which would make anyone rethink sending him out there every night during the darkest of his stretches. but i reiterate, the guy has improved so much, i think it would be a shame to cast him off at this point, if for no other reason than to avoid seeing him develop his skills to the maximum a few years down the line and really punish us every time we face him. that really hurts.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 11, 2009 1:10 AM EDT reply actions
Kelly Johnson for second base.
Now if we were to move Infante to the outfield, I’d be all for that. Might as well try something since RF can’t get any worse.
I’m glad that I’m the only smartass who voted for Prado
I didn’t even really take this poll seriously since Infante will still be out after the all-star break. Who knows what might happen by then?
Infante was on a roll when he got nailed. Seems like that’s the only reason people would be high on the idea of him being an everyday player right now. I’d be curious if these same people would want Infante out there every day if he were to struggle in that role to the extent that kelly does at times.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 11, 2009 2:09 AM EDT up reply actions
The timing is just really weird. I mean, guy has been out three weeks, and I can’t find a single report about what’s going on with him since May 22. Generally, when a guy has been out for three weeks, he’s, like, doing something noteworthy with his rehab, or else his timetable is really long.
Might as well make a poll asking who Hudson’s going to replace in the rotation. There’s a fair chance he’ll beat Infante back to Atlanta.
Last year...
It took four weeks for the cast to come off, and that was the first we heard about that.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 11, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions
That’s so funny……..zomg hao kewl arr yuuu?!
by BravesRaleigh on Jun 11, 2009 2:23 AM EDT up reply actions
We discuss this now?
when Infante wont be back for atleast a month? Lets see where we are first. A month ago, did any of you honestly think we would have Nate McLouth roaming centerfield?
AB: Jeff Francoeur
Pitching: Any pitcher in MLB
Runners: Escobar at 3rd, Chipper at 2nd, McCann at 1st.
Pitch 1: In play, out(s)
It's either that...
Or put Hudson in the bullpen. Whichever one goes to the ’pen could also do spot start duty.
Kelly Johnson WAS a good hitter. He used to be one of my favorite Braves, but ever since he worked with Terry Pendleton, he’s become more Francoeur like. He swings at alot more pitches outside the zone. The guy used to be Mr. Walk and now can’t even sniff one. It’s really a shame what has happened to him because of a real shitty hitting coach. His OBP has been in a steady decline ever since. FIRE TP!
Hmm...
I was going to chastise you for what I felt to be inaccurate, but Kelly’s actually got the same amount of walks as Jeff (4) in the last three weeks. AAH!
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 11, 2009 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Thank you
I thought I was the only Braves fan who thought that Terry Pendleton has messed up more guys than he has helped.
I’m glad to know I’m not alone.
"I've never complained about it. I'm thankful to have a jersey." Mark DeRosa, 22 Aug 2007
I don’t see why we’re so quick to run Kelly Johnson out of town when his career slash line stands at 269/350/436.
He’s suffering from several problems.
1. He’s swinging more and at worse pitches. His Out of zone swinging % was 18% in 2007 and has jumped to 26% and 24% in 08/09. He’s making a bit more contact on those balls, but he’s missing more of them overall. That’s not fueling a rise in his strikeout rate as he’s reduced it from 22.5% to 17.5% since 2007, but he’s getting himself behind in the count and making it harder for himself to walk. That’s what has dropped his walk rate from a crazy good 13% in 07 to just 7% this year.
The bad thing is swing % and contact rate stabilize quickly; after ~100 PAs so this isn’t something that’s going to regress, most likely.
2. He’s hitting less ground balls and more fly balls, especially of the infield fly variety. Anyone who’s watched the Braves can attest to this. His 2007 rates were 19% line drives, 43% ground balls, 38% fly balls. His 2009 rates are 22% LD, 35% GB, 43% FB. Ground balls are more likely to become hits, with the trade-off that they’re not going to become home runs. Line drives are extremely likely to be hits. His infield fly rate has doubled from 5% in 07 to over 10% in 09 and infield flies are basically assured outs without the chance to become a HR.
He’s also hitting less HRs on each fly ball since 2007; 10% HR/FB down to 7.7% this season. Hitting extra base hits hasn’t really been his problem this year though as he’s hitting them at the same rate as previous years. His problem has been hitting singles as he’s hitting them in 14% of his at-bats this year as compared to 18% the last two years. That’s probably a direct result of his drop in ground balls hit since 2007 as ground balls are almost always either an out or a single.
I’ll note that batted ball rates stabilize less quickly; line drives at 150 PAs, ground balls at 200 PAs, and fly balls at 250 PAs. HR/FB stabilizes at 300 PAs, and infield fly rates stabilize at 500 PAs. This might not be indicative completely of his true talent, but he’s at 210 PAs, so we can at least start to draw conclusions.
His .270 BABIP is something I’ve looked at all season as the source of his problems. In an article for Statspeak, Matt Swartz introduced a model using batted ball types to estimate expected BABIP. In mid May, his model showed that Kelly should have a BABIP of .320. I’ve included a link at the end as it’s a great resource. His actual BABIP was around .250, though in a small sample. His batted ball rates were 41% FB, 39% GB, 20% LD. Through only ~100 PAs, those aren’t stable predictors of future performance and since then his LD% and FB% have increased and his GB% has decreased.
I think we should see some regression in his BABIP towards his careers norms, but the decrease in walks is here to stay and that limits his value. He’s still much better than Prado and Infante, who have been exposed in regular action and work very well as back-ups and spot starters.
http://statspeak.net/2009/02/babip-projection-batted-ball-types-and-interaction-terms.html
by 17843 on Jun 11, 2009 11:34 AM EDT reply actions 5 recs
THIS
+1, rec’d, hell, give me an address and I’ll send you a fruit basket.
That ladies and gents is a post. Well thought out, concise, stats to back up statements. Awesome.
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that trade with chicago sure was a steal along with omar we got a good season from ohman.
by Heyward is the next crime dog on Jun 11, 2009 3:29 PM EDT reply actions
Heat up time
KJ Stats will prove his second half numbers start to heat up. Last year during August through September it seemed like he tore the cover off. I remember he had several two homer games. With his stats I do not like to see him at the top of the order and with the addition of Mac2 he won’t have to be there…maybe in the two hole….if he bats 6/7 till he starts to kick in the afterburners then a plug into the two spot to spell KK a lower rest spot that would be fine with me…..Again, splitting the series with the Pirates is not where we need to be now…I can only attribute this to a team still trying to “jell” after the addition of a new player…FYF must feel the presure to perform…Wow now he don’t only volunteer to bunt but stealing bases..???? If he keeps this up he may raise his game to….one step above Sux level!
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