As we continue our post-party cleanup, here are a couple notes on some hitters who didn't ... you know, hit.
First,
Paul Konerko wants to be in better shape:
"That's the first time I can say [my body wore down] after 14 professional seasons. So
when I go into the off-season, I'm not really worried about my swing or
that kind of stuff. I'm more concerned about when it comes to the
injury and body stuff that happens."
"I want to get in better shape and control the things I can control because I'm getting older (32), and it snuck up on me."
And if you can weed more dogpiling on Orlando Cabrera,
there's a bit about Nick Swisher:
After the 6-2 loss to the Rays, general manager Ken Williams stopped at
Swisher's locker, gave him a hug and said, ''Come back next year and
start all over again.''
The Cheat filters out the extracurricular stuff for
a nice summary of Orlando Cabrera's Sox career.
That said, let's take a quick look at how much you should trust my preseason projections when it comes to offense:
Brian Anderson
Brian Anderson
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
140
|
1
|
9 |
.248 |
.302 |
.378 |
.680 |
2008 Actual
|
181
|
8
|
26 |
.232 |
.272 |
.436 |
.708 |
How wrong was I?
The development of some power against lefties was a pleasant surprise, but his on-base skills took a hit.
Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Cabrera
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
610
|
10
|
61 |
.279 |
.329 |
.394 |
.723 |
2008 Actual
|
661
|
8
|
57 |
.281 |
.334 |
.371 |
.705 |
How wrong was I? I thought he'd be able to more or less
maintain his power numbers while moving to a smaller ballpark, but he
ended up with two fewer extra-base hits in 23 more at-bats. But I
think this is close enough to call good. That's two.
Joe Crede
Joe Crede
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
488
|
14
|
53 |
.249 |
.295 |
.439 |
.734 |
2008 Actual
|
335
|
17
|
55 |
.248 |
.314 |
.460 |
.774 |
How wrong was I? He Linebrinked me, playing well for the first
half and not extending an injury-aided decline longer than advised. He
was an All-Star, after all. That seems like a long time ago.
Jermaine Dye
Jermaine Dye
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
498
|
27
|
84 |
.265 |
.337 |
.511 |
.848 |
2008 Actual
|
590 | 34
|
96 |
.292 |
.344 |
.541 |
.885 |
How wrong was I? Just a flat-out underestimation across the
board -- health, power (he had 41 doubles!) and ability to hit for an
average. I'm getting colder.
Toby Hall
Toby Hall
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
145
|
4
|
17 |
.256 |
.302 |
.373 |
.675 |
| 2008 Actual |
127 | 2
|
7 |
.260 |
.304 |
.331 |
.635 |
How wrong was I? I thought he'd regain more power -- while he
hit two homers, he only had one more extra base hit (five) in 11 more
at-bats. I'm not going to give myself this one being off 42 points of
slugging.
Paul Konerko
Paul Konerko
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
520
|
29
|
90 |
.281 |
.361 |
.502 |
.863 |
| 2008 Actual |
438 | 22
|
62 |
.240 |
.344 |
.438 |
.782 |
How wrong was I? Pretty wrong.
Pablo Ozuna
Pablo Ozuna
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
165
|
0
|
7 |
.251 |
.295 |
.322 |
.617 |
| 2008 Actual |
64 | 0
|
6 |
.281 |
.313 |
.328 |
.641 |
How wrong was I? He actually played well enough for people to complain about him being cut. I figured he would 1) play worse and 2) hang around longer, so color me pleasantly surprised on both counts.
A.J. Pierzynski
A.J. Pierzynski
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
460
|
14
|
57 |
.269 |
.315 |
.419 |
.734 |
2008 Actual
|
534 | 13
|
60 |
.281 |
.312 |
.416 |
.728 |
How wrong was I? That's three correct projections. Got his
overall effectiveness, though I was bearish on his ability to hit for
doubles and bullish on his patience.
Carlos Quentin
Carlos Quentin
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
333
|
12
|
48 |
.266 |
.344 |
.451 |
.795 |
| 2008 Actual |
480 | 36
|
100 |
.288 |
.394 |
.571 |
.965 |
How wrong was I? I beat PECOTA.
Alexei Ramirez
Alexei Ramirez
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
388
|
6
|
45 |
.263 |
.307 |
.396 |
.703 |
| 2008 Actual |
480 | 21
|
77 |
.290 |
.317 |
.475 |
782 |
How wrong was I? PECOTA beat me. I was close on his on-base percentage, which is really a testament to his aggression at the plate.
Nick Swisher
Nick Swisher
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
522
|
36
|
101 |
.268 |
.390 |
.512 |
.902 |
| 2008 Actual |
497 | 24
|
69 |
.219 |
.332 |
.410 |
.742 |
2006 BW
|
565 | 15
|
44 |
.222 |
.306 |
.422 |
.728 |
How wrong was I? The third line is Brad Wilkerson's 2006 season. I give myself a half-point.
Jim Thome
Jim Thome
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
| 2008 JCM |
419
|
30
|
94 |
.272 |
.401 |
.539 |
.940 |
| 2008 Actual |
503 | 34
|
90 |
.245 |
.362 |
.503 |
.865 |
How wrong was I? I figured Swisher's presence would allow Thome more days off against lefties, which would soften his decline due to a platoon advantage. As it turned out, he managed to reverse course against southpaws while suffering some against righties. Oh well.
Juan Uribe
Juan Uribe
|
AB |
HR |
RBI
|
BA
|
OBP |
SLG |
OPS |
2008 JCM
|
402
|
15
|
44 |
.242 |
.287 |
.402 |
.689 |
| 2008 Actual |
324 | 7
|
40 |
.247 |
.296 |
.386 |
.682 |
How wrong was I? Like Pierzynski, Uribe traded a few homers for a good chunk of doubles. I'll take it, and now I can claim my projection system is "50 percent more accurate!"
*******************
Arizona Fall League roundup (it's back!):- Peoria 10, Scottsdale 7
- Gordon Beckham went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored in his first fall game.
- Aaron Poreda struck out two in a shutout inning, but also allowed two hits.
- Carlos Torres picked up the win despite allowing a run on two hits over 1 1/3 innings.
And action from Opening Day Tuesday:
- Peoria 9, Scottsdale 3
- Cole Armstrong made his only hit in five at-bats count -- a bases-clearing double.
- Derek Rodriguez struck out two and walked one in a scoreless inning.