Position Player Grades
by jonoz13
on Jun 30, 2008 7:32 PM EDT
Here are my first half grades for the Buccos. These grades are based on pre-season expectations and in season performance.
Catchers
Ryan Doumit A-
Has been outstanding offensively, and his defense is improving. He would be an all-star candidate if not for injury. Speaking of injuries, hopefully he will stay healthy.
Raul Chavez C+
Has played well defensively, and he hit his first homerun in three years. A little more O would be nice.
Ronny Paulino F
Bad D, bad with the stick, and he appears to have lost the confidence of the pitching staff. He's now playing in Indy.
Infield
Adam LaRoche D
Paul Maholm has a better on base percentage .303 to .299. Only has 7 homeruns.
Freddy Sanchez D+
He is not the same player he was the last two seasons. Is the shoulder to blame? At .233 maybe he should batting 8th and not 2nd.
Jack Wilson B+
How much did we miss him when he was injured? Has played nice D, hopefully we will see a little more pop from him in the second half (0 homeruns).
Jose Bautista B-
Started off slow, but has been hitting the ball hard of late. Defense has been spotty .958 fielding percentage.
Doug Mientkiewicz B
He has been a solid bench player, and contributed some key hits off the bench. His presence has been good for the club.
Luis Rivas C
Luis played some dreadful defense during Jack's absence, and he started off slow offensively. He has played better of late, had a two homerun game.
Chris Gomez B
He's hitting .318, what else can you ask of a utility infielder? Well, you probably could ask him to field better then .959.
Outfield
Xavier Nady A-
He's on pace for 20 homeruns and almost 100 RBI's, but he has cooled off some after his hot start. Spent time on the DL again.
Nate McClouth A
Excellent first half, though he has slumped a bit lately. Easily can be called the MVP of the first half. He has contributed timely offense and superior defense.
Jason Bay A-
He has answered the questions surrounding him coming into the season. Bay has stayed healthy, and productive. He's getting better as the season progresses.
Jason Michaels B
Jason has had some big hits, and his aquisition has helped solidify the bench. Having him will probably make it easier it trade Bay and/or Nady.
Nyjer Morgan F
His .143 batting average landed him in Indy. It's hard to believe he had a chance to start in Spring Training.
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Rankings
For the record I haven’t seen as many Pirates games as I would have liked to this season but here are my rankings none the less:
Catchers:
Doumit His defense and injuries (can’t really blame him for this but I’m going to anyways) drop him a bit but amazing defensively: A-
Chavez – He has been a fine backup catcher in my opinion, the only reason I wince when he is in the lineup is because he isn’t providing the offense of Doumit: B
Paulino Agree with what has previously been said: F
Infield:
LaRoche Improving slightly now but utterly worthless up until now: D-
Freddy I like Freddy and I’m going to hope that injuries have something to do with his poor season: C-
Jack We really missed him: B+
Bautista improving but his shit defense annoys me: C
Doug: Good bench player, nothing to really complain about: B
-Rivas: I’ve just never been at all impressed with him, even though he has had some good games here and there: C
-Gomez: like Doug for me: B
Outfield:
Nady: cooled a bit as of late so I’m dropping him a little: A-
Nate: A (no explanation needed)
Bay: Started out slow but has improved a lot: A- (not an A because Nate is the only player that deserves an A in my mind)
Michaels: see Gomez or Doug: B
Morgan: why is he still here?: F
So basically I added nothing new from the original poster. Enjoy.
by Chester J Lampwick on Jun 30, 2008 10:35 PM EDT 0 recs
Freddy Sanchez
Is the shoulder to blame?
Of course it is. I don`t care about the official story. You can be almost assured that toward the end of the season we will find out that Freddy needs some surgery that was put off because it would have cost him a big chunk of the season to recover. I bet Dr. James Andrews told him to either play through the pain and discomfort, or go under the knife from the beginning of the season. Freddy has chosen to play thus far. We`ll see if this is still the case come September when he can get things corrected with plenty of time to recover for spring training. If I`m wrong, I`ll show up later and admit it.
by patthatt on Jul 1, 2008 8:46 AM EDT 0 recs
Can't quibble much
But injury or no injury, Freddy gets an F for the first half. I think he has the lowest VORP in the NL. I’d also give LaRoche an F. His numbers are simply failing for a major league first baseman. I’d give Doumit, even with the missed time, an A for his Piazzaesque first half. I hope the missed weeks help keep him fresh as the losing season grinds into August and September.
by bolton on Jul 1, 2008 3:41 PM EDT 0 recs
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