No Mick, Johnson is not Herb Washington. He is an excellent OF, has terrific speed and has had a high OBP last couple years. The SSS means absolutely nothing. I don’t care if he has power. There are other ways to contribute.
The point, however, is not that he is a major prospect or key cog. He’s not. We are talking about 25th or 26th man. The point is, he had a great spring .828 OPS.and it was 12 Ks in 52 PAs.). was led to believe he all but locked up a spot and then had the rug cut out from under him on the morning of opening day. And for who - Matt Beatty. A 30 year old that has no real position ( he plays 1B and LF). Neither well. Giving the Giants 5 potential 1B. The reason- he’s a better left handed hitter, or at least used to be, than Johnson (a switch hitter). Giants facing primarily RH pitching first week.
Zaidi can’t help himself on the Churn. It’s also, yet again, an indication of how it’s offensive matchups over everything. Defense? Forget it. Speed? Forget it. It also sends a terrible message to the farm system.
Whoever had the slot is, in all likelihood, going to AAA as soon as Haniger is ready. So, it was short term. Johnson earned the spot. But Zaidi is, at heart, a mathematician. I don’t know if he ever played baseball. He certainly didn’t past high school. It’s analytics all the time. Kapler simply follows along.
I heard a very interesting interview with Dave Righetti. Talked about how in his last couple year all he did was hand out baseballs. Everything was being run by “guys in suits” . All about analytics.
Joe Maddon had the same lament. At the end of his tenure, he wasn’t running the game. The suits were.
Analytics have taken over baseball. The result is a mind numbing sameness. Power plays. Nothing else does. The league understands the need for change. Which is part of the reason for the rule changes. I long to see the Bret Butlers and Ozzie Smiths again. Today they have no chance. After all, they had no power.
The point, however, is not that he is a major prospect or key cog. He’s not. We are talking about 25th or 26th man. The point is, he had a great spring .828 OPS.and it was 12 Ks in 52 PAs.). was led to believe he all but locked up a spot and then had the rug cut out from under him on the morning of opening day. And for who - Matt Beatty. A 30 year old that has no real position ( he plays 1B and LF). Neither well. Giving the Giants 5 potential 1B. The reason- he’s a better left handed hitter, or at least used to be, than Johnson (a switch hitter). Giants facing primarily RH pitching first week.
Zaidi can’t help himself on the Churn. It’s also, yet again, an indication of how it’s offensive matchups over everything. Defense? Forget it. Speed? Forget it. It also sends a terrible message to the farm system.
Whoever had the slot is, in all likelihood, going to AAA as soon as Haniger is ready. So, it was short term. Johnson earned the spot. But Zaidi is, at heart, a mathematician. I don’t know if he ever played baseball. He certainly didn’t past high school. It’s analytics all the time. Kapler simply follows along.
I heard a very interesting interview with Dave Righetti. Talked about how in his last couple year all he did was hand out baseballs. Everything was being run by “guys in suits” . All about analytics.
Joe Maddon had the same lament. At the end of his tenure, he wasn’t running the game. The suits were.
Analytics have taken over baseball. The result is a mind numbing sameness. Power plays. Nothing else does. The league understands the need for change. Which is part of the reason for the rule changes. I long to see the Bret Butlers and Ozzie Smiths again. Today they have no chance. After all, they had no power.