posted on Friday, March 28, 2008 1:38 AM by Jim

Brian Anderson

ESSENTIALS
2007 RECAP

Brian Anderson played the role of victim in three different ways in 2007.

First, he was the victim of circumstance.  The addition of Darin Erstad gave him virtually no chance of starting in center field despite management's claim to the contrary.  Anderson outplayed the Grinding Punter handily during spring training, and yet found himself riding the bench in April.  Plate appearances came few and far between, and he lost all momentum from Tucson before being demoted to Charlotte for good.

Secondly, he succumbed to the injury bug, missing just about the entire second half of the Triple-A season due to problems with his right shoulder, and then his left wrist.  The wrist injury prevented him from playing winter ball.

Last but not least, Anderson was a victim of his own ego.  It's never been explicitly stated what Anderson specifically did or did not do to entrench himself so firmly in Ozzie Guillen's doghouse, but it's generally accepted that his work ethic and attitude haven't been optimal.  If he didn't pout in Charlotte, his performance there (.753 OPS) probably fooled a lot of people.

GOOD SIGNS

1. Ozzie's positive.  Ozzie Guillen isn't in the position where he has to say good things about Anderson, especially since he started the season firmly at the bottom of the depth chart.  But Anderson hasn't only played extremely well this spring -- Ozzie is complementing his attitude adjustment as well, and the latter is more than half of this battle.

2. He's never played this well in spring.  Anderson played little league, high school and college ball in Tucson, so it shoudn't be surprised that he's comfortable there.  Even so, he's reached a new level this year:
  • 2005: .304/.370/.348 in 23 AB
  • 2006: .309/.360/.485 in 63 AB
  • 2007: .308/.393/.462 in 52 AB
  • 2008: .344/.440/.641 in 62 AB
3. He hasn't regressed defensively.  Anderson has impressed both with his judgment of flies and his arm, as he's racked up four assists this spring.  He's done so at all three outfield positions, which fills a need on this team.

BAD SIGNS

1.  He'll be played irregularly.  Over the tumultuous past two years, Anderson has insisted that he'll be a quality major-league ballplayer if he's given a position and left alone for several hundred at-bats.  He's not going to get that opportunity in Chicago this year unless he hits like a madman out of the gate, and while he said he's ready to accept a bench role, he's yet to proven he can hold one down.

2.  Low and outside.  Anderson's still seems to leave himself open to low and outside breaking pitches.  When the curves and sliders are breaking more away from Arizona's elevation and dry air, he'll probably find himself swinging and missing at a lot of those.

2008 OUTLOOK

It'll be a good season if...

...seldom is heard a discouraging word.

It's tough to see exactly where Anderson fits on this ballclub, especially since the club appears to prefer Jerry Owens.  Jermaine Dye's no-trade clause means he's not going anywhere and neither is Nick Swisher, so it's basically a race between Anderson and Carlos Quentin to see who meets their potential first.  Quentin appears to have the inside track if his minor-league performances are any indication.

So it could be another rough year for Anderson, bouncing between Chicago and Charlotte for another season.  The good news is that he's rebuilding his reputation, so if he can keep his sizable chin up and tough out any rough set of circumstances, he should be far more tradeable.  He seems to understand his situation now, and we'll see if that holds at the first sign of disappointment.

PROJECTIONS

Brian Anderson
 AB HR RBI
 BA
 OBP SLG OPS
2007 ZiPS
 494
 5
 44 .251 .313
 .395 .708
2007 PECOTA
 270
 8
 31 .241 .306 .397 .703
2007 JCM
 140
 1
 9 .248 .302 .378 .680

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