[ ] yes
[ ] no
[ ] maybe

Which he rejected (it was in the post) and that has nothing to do with whether or not they offer him arb, unless he accepts, which we know he didn’t.

Giants 2010 Needs:
Real Hitter/OBP-heavy Hitter/Power Hitter
Cheap players
1B/2B/OF

Nick Johnson is:
OBP-heavy (with a little pop)
First baseman
Coming off a 3/16.5 deal (and currently on the Marlins’ roster, so there’s just about zero chance they offer him arb or try to resign him), so we could probably get him for 1/6 or 2/10 given the economy & lack of interest in a 1B.

He may be slower and fatter, but he’s not playing the outfield, and I don’t expect him to steal a ton of bases, so I don’t care. His position+his OBP+his price=sold.

He stole 30 bases last year? In my mind I pictured him as a couple of cheesesteaks short of a Molina…Talk about a way off base ASSumption on my part….

That’s one of the most surprising stats I have seen this year….

And he did that immediately after trading for a quality center-fielder.

Yes please.

I agree.

But yes a injury risk high(er) upside at a corner infield spot I think is great idea for the way the 2010 club looks to built. Ilike it a lot better than over paying for a middle infielder taht is not among the best in the game now.

but we don’t need them

Beltre>Glaus, but who wants Beltre? He’s a great defensive 3B who can’t hit at all anymore, and that would force Pablo to first. That makes pretty much zero sense: we don’t upgrade our offense (and lose the ability to upgrade it by acquiring a 1B), and we don’t upgrade our defense much more than Ishikawa at first and Pablo at third.

He would be useful on Hoth, so why not other cold areas?

/shudder

That’s why Betancourt is going to the Himalayas. Frankly, many Giants and Royals would be joining him. And I never said BoBean should be brought back. I still haven’t figured out how bizarro-Neukom is going to solve that problem, but I am working on it.

(I’ve never quite understood what “the exception that proves the rule” really means, but it seemed to fit here.)

The fact that P/PA increased, and did so dramatically is indisputable. The numbers speak loudly. Did you know that, going into 2009, the Angels had a six-year track record of near-metronomic consistency in this area?

Angels Team P/PA
2003: 3.64
2004: 3.65
2005: 3.65
2006: 3.65
2007: 3.65
2008: 3.65
2009: 3.88

I mean, 3.88 is a remarkable and dramatic departure (I was going to check 2002, but I don’t think the Angels were in the league that year). So, it’s not like team P/PA (at least not the Angels’) is something that has fluctuated wildly from year to year. Clearly, the numbers changed, they changed dramatically, and clearly, the change being due to some anomaly is not indicated here.

Also, it’s not like you have 2 or 3 guys bumping up their numbers and skewing the team numbers. 10 of 11 regulars increased their P/PA, with 8 of those 10 posting substantial increases. Pointing at Guerrero as proof that nothing happened doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Guerrero, as someone in the other thread noted, is a known incorrigible when it comes to being a free swinger. He also was coming off 3.37 P/PA in 2008, an outlier year (for him).

So, looking at the numbers, it seems reasonable to suspect that there was a concerted effort going on to increase P/PA. Combine the numbers with what the manager, the hitting coach, the GM, and player after player all say—and say very clearly and specifically—and I think it’s a little strange to not believe that Abreu did not have impact and influence with the Angels this season.

From “WiHaloFan” in Halos Heaven:

Abreu’s team mates have never said he taught them how to take a walk, but instead to have a different approach when in the batter’s box. Here’s what they’ve said:

 * “Bobby has brought something different to this ballclub,” center fielder Torii Hunter says. “I won’t say it’s all patience. I’ll say it’s more about hitting pitches that are in the strike zone. When you hit a pitch in the strike zone, you have a better chance of getting a hit than when it’s out of the strike zone. I’ve learned from Bobby and that’s why I’m hitting .300 for the first time,” he admits.

 * Third baseman Chone Figgins puts it this way: “It’s not that I’m trying to take pitches. I’m just trying to eliminate putting a pitcher’s pitch in play. Instead of swinging at a 1-0 pitch that I can’t do much with, I’m taking it so maybe I can get to 2-0, a better situation for me. The big thing is, you have to become confident hitting behind in the count. You have to be willing to take that close 1-1 pitch to get to 2-1 and be confident you can hit with two strikes.”

 * “I think Bobby has had an influence on some guys more as a mentoring tool,” Scioscia said. “Plate discipline has been a big part of our guys getting into good counts and then being productive in those counts. I think Bobby has had an influence on that. I don’t think that there’s been any drastic change in some players we’re looking at as far as them looking at Bobby and saying I want to do what he’s doing. I do think some players have become enlightened maybe about not trying to do too much with a pitch or when you get in a hitter’s count don’t get so aggressive you give the count right back to the pitcher. It’s gotten us better looks at the plate than we’ve had in a long time.”

 * Hunter says when he’s in the on-deck circle and Abreu is hitting, “I’m going crazy. He’s staying alive, staying alive. You don’t want to go up there and swing at the first pitch after he just had a seven-pitch at-bat. It trickles down. It’s a domino effect. We all want an Abreu at-bat.”

 * “Abreu has helped me in many ways,” said Aybar, whose .312 average led the club. “He’s always showing me things, teaching me the right way.”

 * “I’ll go in the clubhouse and he’s studying video and talking baseball with Chone Figgins, Kendry Morales and Erick Aybar,” general manager Tony Reagins said. “That’s where he has a big impact. A lot of players after the game are so quick to leave. Bobby stays. He is very bright. He’s bilingual. He studies the game and has no problem passing information along.”

And Abreu himself never mentions going up to the plate looking to walk, but rather, looking for better pitches to hit. “The guys are doing good trying to understand that you need to wait for your pitch. When you’re hitting, you don’t have to be afraid of the count. The count doesn’t matter to me. Sometimes, I see the best pitch to hit with two strikes.”

Do you discount these quotes? Do you think, “Oh, they’re just dumb ball players—they don’t really understand the game”?

I think the change for the Angels began in Spring Training, when Scioscia and Hatcher put an emphasis on plate discipline (something I doubt we’ll ever see the likes of from the Giants, as long as the current brain-trust is in place). But Abreu’s influence shouldn’t be ignored either.