His defense is absolutely fucking ghastly. Trying to cut down Taguchi at the plate last night was inexcusable. By not getting the sure out at first, the Phils got at least 1 additional run. That’s just one example of his horrid, inexcusably bad defense.

On the one hand, it’s not like it really matters; this team ain’t goin’ nowhere. On the other, it’s frustrating to watch someone make those kinds of mistakes at the major league level.

At this point I wouldn’t be disappointed if he was sent to Fresno. He was promoted aggressively basically from the get-go with the Giants. Watching him mess up on an epic scale in San Francisco makes me feel really bad for him.

I don’t think Velez is a major league player at all. Not in fielding, not in hitting, not even in baserunning. He’s a 1-tool player who can’t even use that tool against left-handers.

Fresno.

I still really like him, although it has become abundantly obvious that he isn’t ready for the bigs and that essentially skipping him over AAA was a bad idea. I’d send him back down to Fresno for the year, let him regain his confidence, work on his defense at 2B, make him a september callup and start over again next year in Spring Training.

I miss Kevin Frandsen

This isn’t the dead-ball era. 223/.263/.348 is not a “serviceable hitter,” and his defense is almost as bad as Durham’s. He’s not a major league playert, and he’s not even a AAA one. He might be someday, but for now, Connecticut, please.

Most of us knew about his bad defense. Most of us understood that he wasn’t a great hitter. Most of us probably even expected mistakes.

But what he has shown us has been downright spectacularly bad. Sure, he’s not a bust. But he’s still been a disappointment.

That said, he’s still youngish. He might still be a serviceable player some time in the future.

Fast Young Guy Newbie Syndrome (pronounced “Figgins”): The mistaken belief that youth and speed makes up for shortcomings in fundamentals.

Mayor said:
Sorry, but you can’t fix stupid (thanks, Ron White) If it were only that his defense isn’t "THAT bad," I would have no problem with his continued employment, even on our (for lack of a better term) "major league" squad. But it’s not mere physical errors/limitations. It’s the one thing that, I believe, can’t be fixed, and that’s the mental part of the game, the sheer basic knowledge of WHAT TO DO in the 5 circumstances that might be coming your way if the batter connects on this next pitch. He simply doesn’t grasp the game, and if the first 15 years of playing the game didn’t teach him the basic dance steps of when to throw & where & when not to do either one & when to throw your body on a ball to prevent it going to the outfield, then it’s unlikely that he can pick it up.

Look, the game’s not rocket science. It can be completely mastered by some thoughtful observation. I said all this stuff about… about… dammit, who got the nickname Magellan around here? Anyway, that guy.

Some mechanical techniques can be fixed; guys improve at batting until approximately 30 years old (just as women hit their sexual prime—coincidence?); and there is definitely something to the idea of "seasoning"…. but you can’t fix stupid. Eugene must go.

Tyrannoman replies:

Stupid is the wrong word. I have no idea if Eugeno is stupid or not, and I doubt you do either. He does not have baseball instincts, and I agree, if he hasn’t learned them by now he may not learn them at all. The Giants’ do have a couple of coaches who should be able to help him a lot, including Carney Lansford who was a very "smart" player. Perhaps he would benefit from a move to 3B, where the position is a little less complicated than 2B. Move Castillo to 2B, and let Velez play 3B. There, it’s pretty much catch the ball and throw to the correct bag. He wouldn’t have to worry as much about turining the DP, or popups between outfielders and infielders (usually handled by the SS).

by tyrannoman on May 8, 2008 8:05 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mayor replies:

Well, ‘stupid’ was short-hand for ‘not knowing even basic stuff that he should have long since known.’ If you don’t like the word, I’ll withdraw it and say that he is incomprehensibly unknowledgeable about the game or his job.

But I reject your recharacterization of it as a lack of "baseball instincts." First, I don’t believe there is such a thing—one either learns the game or one doesn’t; it is fully observable and transparent, and one ultimately either gets it or one doesn’t. And it sounds to me like when people underrate certain ballplayers as "natural" talents, rather than giving them credit for working and studying and mastering the game.

The boneheaded things I have seen Eugene do are out of NOT KNOWING, and of NOT KNOWING HOW TO THINK, not out of NOT SENSING. Baseball is a closed universe of possibilities, with repeated patterns, and events that are susceptible to narrowing down to a handful of possiblities in the very near future (i.e., the few most likely outcomes of the next pitch, or the few most likely possibilities of what happens if I throw the ball here or there, or hold it, etc.)

And while avoiding the word "stupid," I’ll repeat my observation that players who don’t know more than Eugene does by the time they hit the majors, they generally don’t learn it. We can differ over whether that’s a sign of intelligence or not, but I think not knowing much about the game despite playing it for 15 years shows a lack of intelligence. You’re welcome to your own opinion about that.

by Mayor of 311 on May 9, 2008 10:02 AM PDT

His defense is bad, bad, bad. That throw to home on Friday is a good example of a AAA player learning rookie mistakes in the big leagues.

That said, he seems to be on base more than he’s not and he’s fast as all get out. I’d much rather see some kids out there working there asses off than see a bunch of veterans mailing it in.

Eugenio has played poorly, but he’s still a rookie. I can’t believe how quickly fans have given up on him. No wonder Sabean was always signing 35 year old has beens!!

Sharksrog brought this up in another thread but I think it fits in here too.

I like Velez. He’s exciting and I thought he would bring some positive change to this team. Watching the missteps and mistakes and mis-cues and other words beginning with mis- actually hurts me a little. Because I believe in this guy and I want him to succeed.

Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s okay to pick up a guy whom you just plain like and champion his cause for success. It’s what being a fan is. Now, I’m surely not going to post a sobbing LEAVE EUGENIO ALONE video on Youtube, nor will I write an anti-Velez h8rz manifesto in any of my sports writings.

Is it bad? Yes. It’s bad that he’s playing so poorly and it’s bad that I still want to support him. He’s like my retarded baby. I can’t just throw him out in the dumpster. Besides, I’d rather watch him than Durham, whom I am completely and thoroughly over.