Purple Row on Pablo Sandoval
Purple Row has a nice, in-depth writeup on Pablito. Don't be too hard on them for using "Frisco." If there were something we could call Denver -- 'Ver-Town, say -- that would annoy native Coloradoans, we'd certainly do it.
And I apologize for the Jeff Francouer comparison, but I remember when people would argue that Francouer's low walk rate wasn't a huge deal because he was a "natural hitter." Yeah, that hasn't turned out so well. I love Sandoval -- other than Lincecum and Cain, he's going to be the most exciting part of the team -- but I'm not expecting crazy things for him right away. So when you see me write things like that, just know that I'm predicting a learning curve, not doom.
almost 3 years ago
Grant Brisbee
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I live here in Colorado now
And I constantly refer to it as ‘Not-California.’
Proud supporter of the Fightin' Hydrants.
by Little Napoleon on Feb 24, 2009 10:37 AM PST reply actions
When I lived in CO...
…I liked to call Denver the “Plain City of the Queens”.
Adoptive father to the All-Father. Does that make me the All-Grandfather?
by EliminateMe on Feb 24, 2009 11:05 AM PST up reply actions
A big difference between Sandoval and Francoeur is contact. When Sandoval swings, he makes contact; Frenchy not so much. Granted, we have a limited sample to work with with Sandoval’s MLB numbers, but the difference between him and Francoeur is pretty striking.
O-Swing% is how often they swing at balls. Z-Swing% is how often they swing at strikes. O-Contact and Z-Contact are how often they make contact with balls and strikes. Sandoval swings at more pitches, but he makes a ton more contact.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
I are not STATS inclined yet, I can deal with stats but not STATS. What if you just compare their first partial years, do any correlations come up that Francoeur did a lot better that first year and then declined? I’d hate to see Pablo on a similar career path like that.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
If you compare their first years, the discrepancies are even greater. Francoeur made contact 44.6% of the time when swinging at balls, Sandoval was at 79.4%. For strikes, it was 81.6 to 92.9. Francoeur has gotten better at making contact and swung at less pitches over the years, but it hasn’t translated to more success. You can’t really expect Sandoval to make more contact, he would be near the top in those categories if he qualified.
I honestly don’t know what any of this means going forward, but so far Sandoval just doesn’t swing and miss much.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
Coloradorks?
Coloradolts?
Coloradumbasses?
Coloradimwits?
Proud adopted parent of future big league slugger Thomas Neal
by nostocksjustbonds on Feb 24, 2009 11:08 AM PST reply actions
Hey be nice now
I didn’t realize Frisco was a delicate name. The more widely used synonyms the better, as far as I’m concerned. You can call us omelette-heads if you want
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Feb 25, 2009 2:05 PM PST up reply actions
Know Your Foe
That was a good concept/post. I hope Poseidon’s Fist stops by at least to read my thanks
(as I cannot post it over there without the mandatory waiting period).
They say some players get out of bed hitting; Pablo Sandoval doesn't wait that long
Took me a day to respond to this,
but I don’t have a waiting period to join.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
I did have a waiting period.
Thanks for the compliments. It’s a fun and interesting column to write. I have a public email address if anyone wants to contact me directly without going through Purple Row. To vent, criticize, whatever…
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Feb 25, 2009 2:04 PM PST up reply actions
LD% is another place where the Francouer comparison doesn’t hold water. Jeff has consistently been around 19 to 20. Pablo had a 25 LD rate in his major league at-bats (I couldn’t find minor league LD% anywhere)
by Lars The Wanderer on Feb 24, 2009 11:16 AM PST reply actions
Not so good in the minors. I’m curious how reliable those LD numbers are, though.
When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized God doesn’t work that way, so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. - Emo Philips
Neglectful father of David Quinowski
wow he hit some BOMBS in that HR derby
…methinks he’ll be getting some balls wet wet
"I didn't know (after seeing a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch) whether to shit or go blind." - Former Giants Outfielder Harvey Kuenn on Willie Mays
you saying wilson wont be exciting? maybe its a jeff brantley sort of exciting, but thats still pretty damned exciting…exciting, exciting
[Brayen] of sabean, your semi- conscious potato trip across "to gold winches" democratic pavement will bring Communist pride to the orange and black democratic perfection. your [randay] of Johnson – spy for the Russian Mafia. warn yourselves they warn themselves! you will purchase smirnoff the vodka
by Headhunter Rollins on Feb 24, 2009 11:27 AM PST reply actions
Please tuck this away for Gameday threads. I know we will need it :-)
"Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don't move."-Leroy "Satchel" Paige
My adopted son Matt Downs . Utility Infielder with a Bat !
I’m still amazed at the sandoval story. the fact that in 1 year sandoval went from an unknown to scaring the NL West half to death is amazing and awesome.
Todd Jennings: If he's on the DL, he can't suck as much, right?
by Speedforthewin on Feb 24, 2009 11:38 AM PST reply actions
Back to 1986
Sergio Romo will gladly hand you a bench to sit on / GIANTSPACE™ / Adopted brother of the AnVil
by SoFa King Mike on Feb 25, 2009 3:27 PM PST up reply actions
I was scared of Matt Williams once upon a time
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Feb 25, 2009 6:05 PM PST up reply actions
What?
You posted another main page article today instead of just mailing it in? Wow Grant, I expected less from you.
The Basil Fawlty Moderating Strategy:
"We could run a nice blog here if we didn't have all these members getting in the way."
Grant, I Have A Small Issue With The Following Quote From You.
I’m a little worried that he’ll follow a Jeff Francouer career path, though: No walks, high average, and medium power before the league figures him out…Pitchers will get Sandoval to swing at a slider one foot off the plate, and he’ll hit it for a double.
As a switch hitter Pablo Sandoval (unlike Jeff Francouer) is never going to see a slider one foot off the plate or more as such a pitch is going to make him jump to avoid being hit. Sliders are always going to be breaking into Pablo not away from him. He does not have to worry about a breaking pitch diving away too far to for him to reach.
Which only makes it suck more.
Never has a poster been more correct in the history of the internet. Ever! - ResDog on yours truly
That was exactly my point.
My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.
by howtheyscored on Feb 24, 2009 10:19 PM PST up reply actions
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