Mitchrapp said:

But I'm not talking about Alex's last 13 games. On the season, against RHP, he's above .400. JD, below .300.

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yet JD has still had a larger positive impact on the offense. Avila is an average catcher IMO...maybe slightly above average. Some rip on him for his terrible BA and others rave about his good OBP. IMO walks are fine if you can hit....and Avila can't hit.

gotime909 said:

So the regression every year doesn't concern you?

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Is is regression or is it the shift?

tomdalton22 said:

yet JD has still had a larger positive impact on the offense. Avila is an average catcher IMO...maybe slightly above average. Some rip on him for his terrible BA and others rave about his good OBP. IMO walks are fine if you can hit....and Avila can't hit.

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Positive impact? Last week and a half he's hitting .069. with a .103 slugging. How is that an impact?

Thumb said:

Is is regression or is it the shift?

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Are we making excuses for Alex's offense now? Who cares if it's from the shift? Does that change the fact that his numbers have gotten worse every year since 2011? I don't see it any different than if pitchers figure out a batter can't hit a breaking ball.

Mitchrapp said:

Positive impact? Last week and a half he's hitting .069. with a .103 slugging. How is that an impact?

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There's a difference between a slump and just being a bad hitter.

Miggy had a 11 game stretch this year that he hit .222 with a .278 slugging.

Now if in a month from now JD is still struggling then we have a problem.

Mitchrapp said:

Positive impact? Last week and a half he's hitting .069. with a .103 slugging. How is that an impact?

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I said for the year...not last week & 1/2.

The prior 10 games to this terrible slump he hit .316 with 5 doubles, 2 HR & 6 RBI.

On the SEASON Avila has 3 extra base hits & 8 RBI

gotime909 said:

Are we making excuses for Alex's offense now? Who cares if it's from the shift? Does that change the fact that his numbers have gotten worse every year since 2011? I don't see it any different than if pitchers figure out a batter can't hit a breaking ball.

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First off, his statistics against RHP over the last 3 years are all within the acceptable deviation. No player, and I mean none, puts up the exact same numbers from year to year. Variables change. Which pitcher a player sees. While the numbers are less than the year before, from 2012 - 2014 those numbers are within 76 points and all three years are above league average against RHP.

And hitting into the shift is an "explanation" on how the numbers are affected. It isn't an "excuse". You cannot take a person who has spent his lifetime doing one thing and then have them do something else right away.

Take Kinsler. Of all his Home Runs since 2011 (81), only two were to RF and six were to CF. That leaves 73 (90.1%) that were to LF. Of those, 48 (65.8%) were pulled. Is Kinsler all of a sudden going to start hitting HRs to the opposite field? If you are a pitcher, and you know Kinsler gets his Home Runs from pulling the ball, would you throw anything inside?

Now that isn't just his HRs. It also includes all balls in the air. Predominately, he is a pull hitter. If a team employs a dramatic shift, then he has no excuse!

gotime909 said:

Are we making excuses for Alex's offense now? Who cares if it's from the shift? Does that change the fact that his numbers have gotten worse every year since 2011? I don't see it any different than if pitchers figure out a batter can't hit a breaking ball.

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I'm not making excuses. Unlike thickheaded people, I don't consider his offense "an abortion". I understand he's not going to hit like Miggy, and I also understand that most Catchers are not offensive monsters. I'm able to look at his stats and say "he gets on base" which is the first rule of standing at home plate, find a way to get on base.

Other people will only look at his batting average and strikeouts, then throw the baby out with the bathwater, and not because they don't know any better, but because of personal grudges they wont accept real evidence to the contrary.

gotime909 said:

There's a difference between a slump and just being a bad hitter.

Miggy had a 11 game stretch this year that he hit .222 with a .278 slugging.

Now if in a month from now JD is still struggling then we have a problem.

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Never once did I call him a bad hitter.

tomdalton22 said:

I said for the year...not last week & 1/2.

The prior 10 games to this terrible slump he hit .316 with 5 doubles, 2 HR & 6 RBI.

On the SEASON Avila has 3 extra base hits & 8 RBI

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But the conversation was because I mentioned JD as doing nothing lately..then Avila, as always was mentioned - which was about OBP. I never compared the two..a .400 OBP against RHP regardless extra base hits is good.

Just curious why Go mentions Avila all the time but doesn't mention anyone else who's struggling..like JD and Nick.

Mitchrapp said:

But the conversation was because I mentioned JD as doing nothing lately..then Avila, as always was mentioned - which was about OBP. I never compared the two..a .400 OBP against RHP regardless extra base hits is good.

Just curious why Go mentions Avila all the time but doesn't mention anyone else who's struggling..like JD and Nick.

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I guess I came into the conversation a little late.

At the end of the day we have too many players struggling to ht right now..

Mitchrapp said:

But the conversation was because I mentioned JD as doing nothing lately..then Avila, as always was mentioned - which was about OBP. I never compared the two..a .400 OBP against RHP regardless extra base hits is good.

Just curious why Go mentions Avila all the time but doesn't mention anyone else who's struggling..like JD and Nick.

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I don't always rip on Alex. In fact, my first posts in this thread had nothing to do with his offense. My #1 concern with him is that he can't stay healthy.

Also, I'm not gonna rip a guy for a horrible two week stretch. Especially a guy that has been great since he's been here. As far a Nick, he's a 2nd year player so I'm still holding out hope that he turns a corner. But patience is running thin with him.

Mitchrapp said:

At the end of the day we have too many players struggling to ht right now..

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This

Mitchrapp said:

At the end of the day we have too many players struggling to ht right now..

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even Miggy. Swinging on the first pitch with Kinsler on 2nd. Terrible AB

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/spor...-treatment-plan-still-plans-to-return-in-2015
Avila will avoid surgery, opting instead for treatment plan; still plans to return in 2015.