Author Topic: apologies to LaRoche  (Read 19524 times)

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Offline mimontero88

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #350: August 07, 2012, 04:35:43 PM »
To those of you who would like to keep Morse and get rid of LaRoche who is your lefty bat in the middle of the lineup?  Both the free agent and trade market is awful there.

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #351: August 07, 2012, 04:37:24 PM »
Harper, but you need at least one more respectable LH bat besides him.  This is one of the reasons the team is giving Espinosa every chance in the world to continue switch hitting.

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #352: August 07, 2012, 04:41:13 PM »
To those of you who would like to keep Morse and get rid of LaRoche who is your lefty bat in the middle of the lineup?  Both the free agent and trade market is awful there.

we have a right fielder with a career .259/.351/.440 line against righties that's not fall off a cliff far off of LaRoche's .274/.348/.494

Offline Hogie

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #353: August 07, 2012, 06:02:00 PM »
I wonder if Justin Upton will be on the block in the offseason...

Offline comish4lif

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #354: August 07, 2012, 07:04:36 PM »
You may be right about him not wanting to pick up his end of the option - here is the list of free agents - LaRoche could be one of the top options available.

(http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/04/2013-mlb-free-agents.html)

First basemen
Lance Berkman (36)
Russell Branyan (37)
Jason Giambi (42)
Brad Hawpe (34)
Eric Hinske (35)
Aubrey Huff (36) - $10MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Casey Kotchman (30)
Adam LaRoche (33) - $10MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout
Carlos Lee (37)
James Loney (29)
Xavier Nady (34)
Mike Napoli (31)
Lyle Overbay (36)
Carlos Pena (35)
Ty Wigginton (35) - $4MM club option with a $500K buyout
Other than LaRoche and Napoli, who i think signed a long term deal in Texas, that is a pretty weak list. I don't want any of those guys more than LaRoche.

Edit: Napoli signed a 1 year deal to stay in Texas.

Offline mimontero88

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #355: August 07, 2012, 07:35:35 PM »
we have a right fielder with a career .259/.351/.440 line against righties that's not fall off a cliff far off of LaRoche's .274/.348/.494

You want to put a .791 OPS player in the middle of the lineup as the lefty power bat?  Thinking not.

And anyone in the middle of the order would face lefties and righties so the splits are irrelevant.

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #356: August 07, 2012, 08:05:37 PM »
So we breed a power lefty bat (presumably for balance against righties), but splits aren't relevant? :lmao:

Offline JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #357: August 07, 2012, 10:58:25 PM »
You want to put a .791 OPS player in the middle of the lineup as the lefty power bat?  Thinking not.

And anyone in the middle of the order would face lefties and righties so the splits are irrelevant.

Well, I think you can project additional power from Harper.  got a hunch he;ll end up as a middle of the order hitter. 

Offline PC

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #358: September 04, 2012, 11:03:01 PM »
Harold Reynold's NL MVP pick.

Offline CapsnNats

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #359: September 04, 2012, 11:13:52 PM »
Harold Reynold's NL MVP pick.

Yeah, he's been saying that for a few weeks. Glad to hear he's getting some love.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #360: September 05, 2012, 12:26:43 AM »
I remember arguing with someone that Gaby Sanchez would have been a better option at 1B than LaRoche before the season.

Offline NatsAllThe Way

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LaRoche needs some love....
« Reply #361: September 05, 2012, 07:28:36 AM »
I mean, come on....   his hitting stats are unreal this year, and his defence is off the charts.  Was anyone else expecting these kinds of numbers from LaRoche?  I know I wasn't, but I sure ain't complaining.   8)

Look at his offensive stats, almost identical to Beltran (except for stolen bases)  :P

                                         AB         R     H     2B  3B  HR  RBI  SB  CS SO     BB    AVG     OBP   SLG     OPS
RF Carlos Beltran   STL     470      71   125   23   1   28   86   13 5   105    51   .266    .338   .498    .836
1B Adam LaRoche  WSH   474      62   126   27   1   27   87   1   1   117    56   .266    .338   .498    .836

I think he's one of the key reasons we're 7.5 games ahead with less than a month to go.

Offline Mathguy

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #362: September 05, 2012, 07:48:24 AM »
I'm not sure LaRoche is even the Nats MVP.  But he was certainly critical in the spring when the Nats weren't hitting

Harold Reynold's NL MVP pick.


Offline comish4lif

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #363: September 05, 2012, 09:51:27 AM »
I mean, come on....   his hitting stats are unreal this year, and his defence is off the charts.  Was anyone else expecting these kinds of numbers from LaRoche?  I know I wasn't, but I sure ain't complaining.   8)

Look at his offensive stats, almost identical to Beltran (except for stolen bases)  :P

                                         AB         R     H     2B  3B  HR  RBI  SB  CS SO     BB    AVG     OBP   SLG     OPS
RF Carlos Beltran   STL     470      71   125   23   1   28   86   13 5   105    51   .266    .338   .498    .836
1B Adam LaRoche  WSH   474      62   126   27   1   27   87   1   1   117    56   .266    .338   .498    .836

I think he's one of the key reasons we're 7.5 games ahead with less than a month to go.

I was expecting something similar. His 2005-2010 season average is 25 HR 87 RBI and 36 2Bs.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/larocad01.shtml#2005-2010-sum:batting_standard

Offline mimontero88

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #364: September 05, 2012, 10:29:39 AM »
So we breed a power lefty bat (presumably for balance against righties), but splits aren't relevant? :lmao:

Correct.  I don't care how good someone is at hitting righties.  If they can't hit lefties at least decently they don't belong in the middle of the order.  Period.

Offline RL04

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #365: September 05, 2012, 01:44:55 PM »
As I've posted in GD threads a couple of times ... I still have no idea where LaR gets his power from.

He's not a very big guy (by professional athlete standards).   He doesn't have bulging neck, arm or shoulder muscles (read: 'roids).

And he swings partly with one arm.  (FP even mentioned that last night.)

Yet many of his HRs are in the upper deck.


How do you think he does it?
I don't know!
What makes him so good?

Offline nobleisthyname

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #366: September 05, 2012, 03:39:24 PM »
Isn't a lot of power derived from bat speed? That's why Harper's supposed to have plus plus power I believe. What's LaRoche's like?

Offline Tyler Durden

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #367: September 05, 2012, 03:44:09 PM »
Lots of guys with smooth swings hit homers.  Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano come to mind.

Offline wpa2629

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #368: September 05, 2012, 04:11:12 PM »
Lots of guys with smooth swings hit homers.  Adrian Gonzalez and Robinson Cano come to mind.

Dead-on Balls Accurate

It's an Industry Term

Offline NJ Ave

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #369: September 05, 2012, 04:18:18 PM »
Rafael Palmeiro as well. He was kind of a slight guy, despite the Vitamin shots.

Offline welch

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #370: September 05, 2012, 05:54:18 PM »
I mean, come on....   his hitting stats are unreal this year, and his defence is off the charts.  Was anyone else expecting these kinds of numbers from LaRoche?  I know I wasn't, but I sure ain't complaining.   8)

Look at his offensive stats, almost identical to Beltran (except for stolen bases)  :P

                                         AB         R     H     2B  3B  HR  RBI  SB  CS SO     BB    AVG     OBP   SLG     OPS
RF Carlos Beltran   STL     470      71   125   23   1   28   86   13 5   105    51   .266    .338   .498    .836
1B Adam LaRoche  WSH   474      62   126   27   1   27   87   1   1   117    56   .266    .338   .498    .836

I think he's one of the key reasons we're 7.5 games ahead with less than a month to go.

I expected a poor season, with lingering shoulder problems, and was prepared to see Morse at 1B.

Wow. The hitting. wow.

But consider the fielding: LaRoche is a good infielder who happens to throw left-handed. Like Keith Hernandez, Don Mattingly, or Tino Martinez (since my only live baseball for 30 years was Mets and Yankees...). My gut says that on average, LaRoche gets an extra out or two each game just from saving bad throws or making good throws to second...plays that the typical awkward-OF-turned-1B does not make. It is downright fun to watch the Nats infield handle a bunt.

Offline wpa2629

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #371: September 05, 2012, 08:32:06 PM »
Nationals PR ‏@NationalsPR
Adam LaRoche is 7-for-7 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI and a walk in his last 7 at bats. #Nationals


:thumbs:

Offline RL04

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #372: September 06, 2012, 05:02:40 PM »
Dead-on Balls Accurate

It's an Industry Term

Ya know something, now that I think about it, I think you're spot-on.
Analogy - I remember the first time I went to a professional golf tournament (Kemper Open) and saw pro golfers for the first time up-close.
Most of them swung very easy and a lot of them were not very big guys or had big muscles ... Tom Kite ... Hale Irwin ... Ben Crenshaw, etc.
But when they hit it, there was a loud crack! and the ball would whistle through the air.
They would always hit the ball right in the sweet spot of the clubface every time.
I guess Adam LaR is the baseball equivalent of the pro golfer.
He hits it in the sweet spot.
Makes perfect sense.
Thanks.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #373: September 06, 2012, 05:05:29 PM »
LaRoche's bat speed is probably faster than it looks. It's because he's smooooooooothhh and doesn't look like he's going to explode everytime he swings like Harper.

Offline Vega

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Re: apologies to LaRoche
« Reply #374: September 06, 2012, 05:31:29 PM »
Adam Dunn has a smooth swing too and he hits tons of homers.