Category: Player Analysis 2016 (Not 1982)

My enduring memory of Matt Kemp is this game, May 29, 2006. I was in the stands, I had never heard of him before, and it was literally just his second game in the majors, and he absolutely destroyed us: batting fifth and playing left field, he went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, … Continue reading “Matt Kemp”

Ed. note: With the news that Jeff Francoeur will be on the Opening Day roster for the 2016 Braves, it seemed apposite to republish Mac’s classic summation of his 2008 season. The sheer badness of Jeff Francoeur 2008 cannot be shown in the statistics. Oh, the statistics are bad, very bad. He hit .239, 25 … Continue reading “Jeff Francoeur”

I despised the trade that brought him here, but Erick Aybar is now our starting shortstop, and here’s the thing: he’s a pretty good player. Almost certainly a better player than AAG, the guy we got the last time we traded our starting shortstop and insisted upon getting a major league shortstop in return. (For … Continue reading “Erick Aybar”

When people talk about players statheads love, Ender Inciarte is the kind of guy they mean. Not a lot of power but a decent enough hitter with a very good glove, a pretty low profile as a prospect, but a well-rounded guy who’s at least decent at everything and the thing he’s quite good at … Continue reading “Ender Inciarte”

My favorite anecdote about Dans isn’t really about Dans, but about an early opinion of Dans from a man whose opinions I respect more than pretty much anyone else’s when it comes to baseball things. Backstory: As I think everyone now knows, Dans went to Marietta High — “Dansby” is his mother’s maiden name; his … Continue reading “Dansby Swanson”