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Not sure if you realize but Youk entered the majors as a 3b and played all 65 games at 3b his rookie season. since then: 8 mlb seasons= 223 games at 3b. just saying
he almost certainly wont end up being worth THAT much money, but he most definitely will be a very key contributor to this team making a run back to the WS. Young's lack of range cost them several times through the playoffs, especially a few times in the WS.
Not sure if you realize but Youk entered the majors as a 3b and played all 65 games at 3b his rookie season. since then: 8 mlb seasons= 223 games at 3b. just saying
8 mlb seasons = 1296 games
lol 223 games
but yeah, the red sox had "their natural starting 3B already" so they didn't overpay ridiculously for Beltre.
almost 1 month down...1 to go
Like i said, keep hitting the ball hard and good things will happen..hitting the ball "very hard". He's batting ing .118, how "hard" he's hitting the ball doesn't change that.
...so far so good.
Last edited by yavozerb; 04-18-2011 at 09:27 PM.
Good to see Davis come back and pick up where he left off last time he was called up.
I think this guy's days as a Ranger are numbered on one hand
Just cannot give the man any credit can you?.....Beltre and Young have carried this team for about a week now and you still are a hater, oh well...Never new hitting .280 with power was , now your sounding pretty desperate..
I think if Beltre keeps hitting for power and driving in runs like he has, you can forgive the BA a little bit. But not too much. And a .288 OBP is pathetic for any regular position player, much less one who gets paid like Beltre. 1 walk in the first 16 games? I know he's a free swinger and he doesn't necessarily strike out a lot, but he's got to show the ability to take some pitches. That will not only help his OBP but his BA as well.
He's been really good defensively and has provided good power with his bat. So as of now, I think the Rangers and Rangers fans should be happy with his acquisition... for now. But as for him and Young carrying the team for about a week, not sure if you want to use that for your argument. The Rangers have lost 4 of their last 6 over the last week. What does it say about Beltre's impact if he's hitting well and they're losing but when he wasn't hitting well they were winning? Pick and choose your arguments and your evidence better.
Fair point. But the last two games aside, Beltre hasn't really been "carrying" the team either. The thing that has been his saving grace is that when he has hit, it has been for power, hitting homers, and driving in runs. But even with the last two games, if you look at his season, you have to be careful not to get overly excited about his bat.
Not only 1 walk, but only 1 3 ball count all season (edit: 4 full counts, 1 3-0 and 3-1 count) my mistake
RISP: batting .200
7-9 innings: batting .158
when the game is "late & close": batting .167
I think his power, driving in runs, and his defense has been enough to give him time to see if he can continue that type of output. But it hasn't all been good. He hasn't been clutch and he doesn't take walks. Doesn't matter if the pitcher is throwing balls or strikes, he's going in there swinging. Not necessarily a bad thing. But the .266 BA and the .288 OBP definitely needs to improve.
I usually enjoy your basketball takes but you sound like a Beltre hater with these statements (like mono) and am simply waiting for him to fail..1st off the rangers in the last 9 games are 5-4 and during that time Beltre has the following stats: 14-36, 4hr, and 12rbi's,4 doubles, and 4 k's. Now you are telling me he has not been one the best hitters (if not the best) for the rangers over that period? I gurantee you with these numbers he was a big part in those 5 wins and the 4 losses were much closer thanks to his hitting. Beltre's career obp is around .320, so if you really want to find something to complain about then yes you are correct, he needs to raise this number a little but beltre is a contact hitter and always has been. Baseball is up and down since the season is so long, so to hear people about Beltre when he is there best player right now is pretty funny and cannot wait till he is in a slump to see what is said..
Beltre looking good to me. No complaints. His defense has been awesome. His offense has been just as good. This lineup is looking sick. Wait till Josh gets going. I feel sorry for opposing pitchers later on in the season.
I don't have a stake in the Rangers. I'm not for or against Beltre. If anything, I'm just presenting a fairly objective opinion. I even said Rangers fans should be happy with Beltre so far. I pointed out a few things that may or may not be telling. His OBP, his clutch hitting. And I used the entire season, not just the "last week" or the "last 9 games" to make my point. You can try to skew it if you want to. It does no good for me because I could not care less either way. Beltre's defense and power have been his saving graces for what hasn't been as good a season as you want to make it seem like. Compare his RISP and clutch hitting to Michael Young. You'll see a huge difference.
Beltre is a good player. Anyone suggesting he sucks is dumb. But you are going crazy over a couple good games when for most of the season, he hasn't been all that great. You wanted to go back "9 games" conveniently after an 0-for-4 game and to include his 3 hit game against Baltimore. Heck most of that production in the "last 9 games" came from the last two games and the cut off games 9 games ago. The middle 6 games, he was 6-for-23, 1 HR, 2 RBIs. As we all know, we can all skew stats to make an argument.
His bat has been great the last two games. And his defense will be there all season long. As I said before, you have to hope he starts taking better ABs, taking pitches, earning walks, and hitting better in the clutch, because I doubt he's going to hit 50 homeruns and drive in 160 runs this year. If he can keep up that pace and do that, then everything I said about clutch hitting and taking walks and improving his BA and OBP is moot.
Do you think he'll go for 50 HR and 160 RBI this year?
I expect 25-30 hr's and 100+ rbi's this season from Beltre and I do not expect anything differently from his career .320 obp. I have seen all but 2 games this season and Beltre has been much better than "not that great" as you pointed out. He has pretty much closed off the entire lft side of the infield with Andrus and his bat has been above average. Not sure if you can follow him as closely as I have been but if you have not then to call his play "not great" is pretty meaningless cause most ranger fans will tell you he has been a big part for this good start for the rangers..
His "above average" bat has been based on 3 games and 1 other AB (his grandslam) in game 2. Only 3 games he's had more than 1 hit. Those same 3 games plus the grandslam game are the only games he had more than 1 RBI in a game. He started the season 3-for-29. His clutch hitting, RISP hitting, and OBP are bad for the caliber of player he is being paid to be.
He has only drove in 100+ runs twice in his career, both contract years. Take those contract years out, and he's a career .264 hitter and probably around a .310 OBP guy. Expecting him to hit 25 HRs is reasonable. In Arlington and if the guys ahead of him get on base, he could get 100 RBI but I wouldn't put money on it.
You jumped out of your seat over the grandslam. Then he proceeded to go 1-for-his-next-21. Now after two admittedly great hitting games, you're back to your "I told you so" talk. I'm just cautioning you. He's not going to hit for power all season long like that, not at this pace. As I said already, if he does, forget and disregard everything I said. But he better work on a few things because the power is saving him right now from otherwise a less than what you call "great" season at the plate.
This is baseball, streaks and slumps are part of the game in this long season...I bet more than 75% players in mlb will have a stretch of ab's 1-21 or worse in a season. I will keep being a Betre supporter as long as he plays well and will be the 1st to call out the guy the moment he does not play well. It sounds like you will always find something wrong with him (obp, really) even when he is playing well and thats ok...
But you weren't the 1st to call him out after his 3-for-29 start. You only chimed in when he hit that grandslam, and now after the last two games.
16 games in the season. All of his production are from 4 of the 16 games.
4 big games: 9 for 18, 4 HR, 14 RBI
the other 12 games: 8 for 46, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Sure baseball us a rollercoaster of ups and downs. Sure there are hot streaks and slumps. Everyone understands that. Yet you seem to only want to talk about Beltre when he's going well. You didn't criticize his start. You didn't talk about Beltre hitting .107 7 games into the season. You aren't talking about his lack of clutch hitting or his inability to draw a walk.
1st to call him out? based on your posts in this thread, seems pretty unlikely.
Mind you, the first post I made today, I specifically said Rangers fans should be happy with Beltre so far. I've pointed out things to look for as possible issues going forward.
hmmm, of course I was praising Beltre on his grandslam due to it being a huge hit to win a game at the time and I did admit he was hitting at that time .140, but I also stated he would be hitting .280 by the end of april which looks like it will be true cause that is what good baseball players do. They follow slumps with hot streaks and all along even during the cold streak his outs were solid hit balls just simply at fielders. You never answered my question if you have seen any games this season for the rangers? If you had then would have also seen that beltre was going to go on a tear since he was hitting the ball so well early even though they were outs. This is not basketball where you average pts every game..In a 4 game stretch if a player can go 8 for 16 then go cold for 12 games which leads to 10 for 48 stretch then the player still will average > .280for that 16 games. Not sure if you realize but if an mlb player can get hot fior 4 games every 16 game stretch that player will probably be an all-star by yrs end...
I watched all three games the Rangers played against Detroit. I watched another one against the Yankees on ESPN. Other than that, no, I haven't watched the Rangers this season. I would agree with your inference that stats don't tell the entire story. I don't know how many of his outs are "hard hit line drives right at fielders." In the Detroit series, he wasn't really much of a threat. Don't remember him much at all really.
But hey I'll say it again, When I first posted yesterday, I specifically stated that Rangers fans should be happy so far. And I've said it multiple times already that all I'm doing is pointing at things that should caution your excitement. A hot power hitter will eventually go through a slump. When that happens, can that hitter be patient enough to take a walk instead of continuing to swing for the fences? When that hitter shorter his swing? Can that hitter give himself up with a sacrifice flyball to get the RBI instead of trying to get a base hit to do the job? That's something you absolutely should look at with Beltre.
But like I said, if he continues to rake like he has so far, forget all the criticisms and concerns I've mentioned. If he puts up 45+ HRs and 120+ RBI at the end of the season, I won't criticize him if he hits .250 or lower and has a OBP of only around .300. The power and run production would trump those things. But if you're not concerned about his clutch hitting and OBP, then I think you're already in the mindset that he's going to put up monster power and run numbers for the season. My guess it's naive to believe that.
So I answered your question. You can answer my following question. When he started 3-for-29 for the season, what were you thinking about Beltre? What did you think when his BA dipped to .107? Did you think he'd be fine? Were you disappointed at all? Or did you truly believe he'd come around and start hitting for power the way he has? As much as you seem to think some people are just being haters, you seem only to want to say something when he's had a good game or had a big hit.
Here is my post in early april....So yes I knew he would be ok cause he has proven in the past to be a legit mlb hitter.., beltre was at.240 following the grand slam and 2 hitless games dropped more to .118 (17 ab's)..Not too worried about BA with Beltre and expect him to be around .250 by months end. Not sure what hole you came from since I rarely see you post about the rangers but you can go back now.
Fair enough. So then I'd have to ask is a .250 to .265 BA ok with you as long as he hits 25 HR and drives in around 90 RBI for that salary? Because that's also what he's proven to be unless it's a contract season.
Anything less than .250 I would be disappointed with Beltre and since he hits in the heart of the lineup 25+ hr is great (would be happy with 20+) and 100 rbi's is a must...
Since you know Beltre so well you could know his lifetime BA is .275, so setting the bar down at .250 with the hr power and his rbi count up I would take it...
And since you know so little about baseball economics, I'll forgive you for being igorant to the fact that giving a guy with the career hitting ability of Beltre a contract like that is outrageous.
that. he's not getting paid to be a .250 hitter. un- ing-acceptable. get the outta here with that weak .
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