Back on April 17th I posted a diary discussing the shortcomings of a certain leftfielder. I proposed that I track my findings for 2 weeks and see the results. The experiment was to see how many times GA either;
A-hit a weak grounder to second base;
B-struck out on a ball in the dirt.
I assigned 1 point for each occurance.
From April 17th -April 30th GA has played in 10 Games.
His Points total is -----11----
keep in mind he actually drove the ball a little bit, which took away some of the strike out points I had anticipated.
I did not count 1 hit to second that someone made an error on and didnt get him. I also didnt count another time where it was hit to second but the first baseman ran way over and nabbed it. I also could have easly counted another time when he hit the ball solidly to second and the 2nd baseman just made a good play. But the experiment was specific 'weak grounders to second'
Averaging 3 at bats per game X 10 games = 30 at bats (average) 11 points Thats a .367 average that is exactly 100 points higher than his average. There is a major hole in his swing and basic approach at the plate. I will say though that any pitcher who pitches GA accross the letters is a unprepared idiot, he is still on of the best hitters in the game at balls up. I will venture to day that in a normal 2 week span this number would be even higher, he did have a decent streak there for a while of driving the ball pretty solid.
I know this wasnt the most scientific experiment but if a doofus like me can figure this out than most of the other teams can. We thought that he had a few good productive years left in him but this might be the last year that his everyday services are needed.
Just my opinion