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Monday, September 11, 2006 |
Back To AAA, Howie: White Sox 3, Angels 2
E-nough. Just, enough. I am sick and fargin' tired of watching Howie Kendrick swing and miss at ball three; he's been hitting .136 since August 27. At some point, this is where the rubber meets the road. Call it a slump, if you like, but he looks like a damn rookie up there, and all too freaking useless. Three strikeouts, including the game-ender. What a wreck.
It's not just him, of course; Mike Napoli, also a rookie, also with feet of clay, struck out in his only two at bats. The Angels can't coax much out of their offense, but that was by design. The homilies about pitching and defense only work when the pitching holds up; it reminds me all too much of the 2003 Dodgers who had brilliant pitching at both ends of the staff, but couldn't score a run to save their lives. It didn't help that the Angels hit into three double plays, but so go the vagaries of the game. With an Oakland loss, the Angels fail — for the second time in three games — to capitalize. Double(d off) or nothing, anyone?
Comments:
So, Rob, who plays second for the Halos next year? Howie, A.K., M. Izturis, Figgins, A. Soriano, or someone else? More important, who should play there next year?
Funny, after watching H.K for several weeks, I have more confidence in his ability to field the position of second base than I do in his ability to hit major league pitching. The kid has a poor feel for the strike zone and I'm not sure that's something that can be learned; a hitter either has it or he doesn't . . .
One other question. We're seven years into Bill Stoneman's tenure and he has yet to draft and develop a SINGLE bonafide EVERYDAY player. Yes, he's drafted and developed some decent starting pitchers -- E. Santana, J. Saunders, and Jered Weaver. But it strikes me as odd, not to say alarming, that a g.m. who prides himself on player development has done such a poor job of drafting everyday players. Heck, even teams with "weak" farm systems -- the Yankees, for example -- occassionally come up with good everyday players (in the case of the Yankees, R. Cano and Melky Cabrera). If Arte decides to release Stoneman, the main reason could be Stoneman's failure to develop good, young position players.
Funny, after watching H.K for several weeks, I have more confidence in his ability to field the position of second base than I do in his ability to hit major league pitching. The kid has a poor feel for the strike zone and I'm not sure that's something that can be learned; a hitter either has it or he doesn't . . .
One other question. We're seven years into Bill Stoneman's tenure and he has yet to draft and develop a SINGLE bonafide EVERYDAY player. Yes, he's drafted and developed some decent starting pitchers -- E. Santana, J. Saunders, and Jered Weaver. But it strikes me as odd, not to say alarming, that a g.m. who prides himself on player development has done such a poor job of drafting everyday players. Heck, even teams with "weak" farm systems -- the Yankees, for example -- occassionally come up with good everyday players (in the case of the Yankees, R. Cano and Melky Cabrera). If Arte decides to release Stoneman, the main reason could be Stoneman's failure to develop good, young position players.
# posted by 
: 9/12/2006 07:48:00 AM
: 9/12/2006 07:48:00 AM
Hey genius, how can you send Howie Kendrick to Triple-A when the Triple-A season is over?
# posted by : 9/12/2006 07:54:00 AM
: 9/12/2006 07:54:00 AM
Howie Kendrick may be one of the best hitters the Angels ever brought up for a shot. Let the kid learn this year, so he can be an all-star next year. He's got an amazing swing and a great feel for the game. And back to AAA? C'mon...
# posted by : 9/12/2006 08:04:00 AM
: 9/12/2006 08:04:00 AM
Anonymous 1: it's still early; the Dodgers gave up on Paul Konerko after less than a year. Let's see what Howie can do in the show after spending some time at his natural position, second base; after all, Jackie Robinson's debut wasn't impressive, either.
Anonymous 2, that was called "irony". Or are you so dense as to not realize that I follow the minors closely?
Anonymous 3: I'm overstating the case, of course, but I'm starting to get very skeptical that anybody who doesn't learn how to take a walk in the minors is going to be found out in the majors as inadquately selective.
Anonymous 2, that was called "irony". Or are you so dense as to not realize that I follow the minors closely?
Anonymous 3: I'm overstating the case, of course, but I'm starting to get very skeptical that anybody who doesn't learn how to take a walk in the minors is going to be found out in the majors as inadquately selective.
I kind of agree, Thomas, but then it's also true his present slump is only a few weeks old; ALL these pitchers are new to him. (But then, so were the pitchers at AAA ... and at AA ... and he did much better there...)
Howie's not always red hot. At Salt Lake, before his most recent call-up, he was 7 for 31 for the month of July, hitting a modest .227 with an ops of .587, so he does go into slumps just like every other hitter. But I will agree that his approach at the plate leaves alot to be desired.
http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=435062&tm=SalPCL&bp=b
http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=435062&tm=SalPCL&bp=b
# posted by : 9/12/2006 04:05:00 PM
: 9/12/2006 04:05:00 PM
Sure, but wasn't that right after his demotion and the whole "hey, he can't hit breaking stuff" revelation?
So I gather that you would rather have Quinlan and Erstad take over for the remainder of the season. I would rather watch Howie slump than be subjected to the mediocrity of a Qstad platoon.
# posted by : 9/12/2006 04:24:00 PM
: 9/12/2006 04:24:00 PM
I guess it depends on whether you think Howie Kendrick is the first baseman of the Angels' future. :-) No, seriously, your point is well-taken, but it's getting really frustrating watching him swing and miss at sliders in the dirt. I have this great fear he's going to turn into the Angels' answer to Adrian Beltre...
Actually, Howie's first stint with the Angels lasted from late April to mid-May.
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerGameLog?categoryId=399607
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/playerGameLog?categoryId=399607
# posted by : 9/12/2006 04:46:00 PM
: 9/12/2006 04:46:00 PMNewer› ‹Older
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