Vlad Guerrero

by raven191 on Jun 11, 2009 7:14 AM PDT Comment 24 comments

Yes It is I again posting another Vlad Guerrero speil...

Here is my take on Guerrero and this year performance..

Vlad has had stretches in years past (2008 included) where he has had a poor 2 month of production..In years gone by, they were not noticed because he was doing this in June and July when he had got off 2 a hot start so the decline was not noticed as much..Last year and this year he has been doing it at the start so people are questioning his abilities and if he is able to still do what he can.

As we just seen tonight in the 9th,Vlad still has a great ability to smash a ball and hit it hard.. He even showed a glimpse of his Expos days by legging out a triple.. This is what Vlad needs to do 2 get back into things..He needs to learn patience at the plate.. I am not sure if he can hit those pitches that he use to for power anymore..I don't know if he can drive those low pitches 420 feet anymore..He needs to become patient and wait for a mistake in the zone and he can hit it hard..

This year he has become an easy K victim many times by being to antsy at the plate.He has fouled off many pitches that he was usually able to hit in the past.

I am glad he is cleaning up for the team now. He no longer can do the things a 3 hitter should do (Bonds when he was moved after his big season) I see Torri being the 3 guy as long as he stays anywhere above .280..He can run,drive in runners and get on base for Vlad.. Vlad doesn't have the athletic ability to be that 3 hitter anymore.

As for Vlad being the west coast David Oritz,let us wait till he has played a few more games to write him off yet..He has the ability to get hot and stay hot for a long time..Who is to say he doesn't tear the cover off the ball in July and August ?? I know that he likely won't hit the 25 hr mark this year,but I think 15-20 is a reasonable goal,provided Vlad decides to have an approach at the plate and wait for pitches he can hit.. We don't need the free swining Vlad anymore,that is an easy out waiting to happen and pitchers know that now..

He is 7 HR away from 400 for his career..He needs to do this in an Angel uniform and it would be nice if he did it SOON ! I hope by mid July he has done this so he can move on.. I know Vlad has had long periods in between HR before (some over 30 gms).. I hope that he doesnt wait that long for this.

What do you guys think ?? I believe in Vlad still,and that he needs a little more time,and I think he is slowly getting more hits here and there...It would be great if those came with guys on base..I think his problem is he needs to change the approach,I know changing it after 12 years is tough to do,but he has to realize he is not the hitter he once was,but the hitter he is now is still great and dangerous..

This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

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I believe

but he is not our " star" anymore. He’ll be a solid producer though….

RIP Nick Adenhart 4/9/09

by vlad IS my man on Jun 11, 2009 7:39 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Trying to be optimistic.

It’s against my nature, but I just keep telling myself that for Vlad it’s still early May.

But at the same time, I’m still glad I was there to see the one he put in the bullpen this year.

"I've got more action than my man John Woo
And I've got mad hits like I was Rod Carew" - Shure Shot, The Beastie Boys

by Zoe Necrosis on Jun 11, 2009 8:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree with you.. He may need to be a key contributor along with Hunter,Rivera,Morales and Abreu and Figgins setting the table…
I still think if he can learn some plate discipline,that the power is not all gone..Mostly with him it is mental and he is still caught up in the old Vlad,the one that can hit those unhittable pitches..
As we saw last night,throwing a pitch over the middle of the plate to Vlad results in a 400 foot triple…

by raven191 on Jun 11, 2009 8:30 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He could be productive IF

he becomes patient at the plate. Unfortunately, I don’t see this happening. I see Vlad as being too stubborn to change.

You can see it with the way he runs the bases. He still thinks he’s a young man with a lot of speed. Which keeps getting him thrown out trying to leg out that extra base. He thinks he can still run well enough to play the field everyday, which he cannot.

So, he probably thinks he still has the same power and bat speed he always had, but he clearly doesn’t.

RIP Nick. We will miss you!

by KingF15h on Jun 11, 2009 9:40 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

A nice effort to nail that triple last night though.. You are right though,he must learn patience,and to wait for a mistake..If he proves he is willing to be patient,pitchers will have to throw him higher strikes that he should still be able to handle..
I wonder what his off season workout scheme is ??

by raven191 on Jun 11, 2009 10:11 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I think we're seeing the Last Days of the Vladian Empire

Free Sean Rodriguez

by HaloDutch on Jun 11, 2009 10:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He's done.

All those years playing on astro-turf have taken their toll. Power hitters need strong legs to drive the ball. Vlad’s legs are shot.

by mustard_man on Jun 11, 2009 10:50 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Meh

this whole post seems like ESPN keywords all thrown into one article trying to be cleverly disguised as an original opinion.

Its like reading obvious, common sense baseball thoughts outloud.

Yeah, hes old and isnt as good, can we get more original thought, some refreshing flow around here?

I brought sexy back, but they only gave me store credit....

by PhiSlamma on Jun 11, 2009 2:21 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry .. Just my thoughts clustered into one.. FYI, I do not go on ESPN ..
I’m trying to point out that he should be again given the benfit of the doubt for a little bit..\
As for the rest I won’t bother..

by raven191 on Jun 11, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Contract?

This is Vlad’s walk year. Do you keep him, trade him or let him walk for a pick.
Some sports writers think he’ll only bring value if traded for a pitcher.
If you offer him an extension, what offer do you make?
He’s making $15 Mil this year. Made 14.5 in 2008 & 13.5 in 2007
A) One year $10Mil base with incentives, plus an option year?
B) Two years for more than $10 Mil each.
C) See Ya!

by AngryFan on Jun 11, 2009 3:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

D: $5M for one year.

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Jun 11, 2009 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah,especially with the market the way it is,nobody will want to take the risk and offer more..
I see Holliday as getting the only big contract if he even does… Vlad will have to sign and prove himself once again (if he can)

by raven191 on Jun 11, 2009 6:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I say go 5m a year for three years

If 15M keeps him an Angel until the end of his career, then do it. More than just for nostalgia, I think Vlad has been more than a bat. He was the face of the franchise. And I don’t say we spend all our cash, but I think he should be kept around.

RIP Nick Adenhart 4/9/09

by Jay Cal on Jun 12, 2009 9:48 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Three years?

That would take him to 37…he is having a hard enough time getting warmed up at 34.

The most he can expect will be a one- or two-year deal, and maybe not even from the Angels. I love the guy, but the decay of his talent has been at an astonishingly rapid rate, and it makes sense that Olympic Park is getting its last revenge these days. He may well have a hot streak, but the fact remains pitchers are no longer pitching around him, there is no fear of pitching to Vlad. Compare that to just a couple of seasons ago, when he was undressing Texas pitchers in every single game.

I think he’ll go HoF and I think he’ll be the first player inducted with an Angels cap. But he won’t be earning any more fat paydays. The Angels didn’t bite at the initial questions last year about locking Vlad up past this season, when it would have been tempting to hold the press conference and sign him to another couple of years—a feel-good press event. He’s a loveable guy and great for the image of the team; I don’t think the front office believes he is worth investing eight figures, though.

by George Kaplan on Jun 13, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

3yr-$5M is not fat.

Plus he was injured this year. I think Vladdy can be a contributor next year and we should throw him a $15M cookie to stay an Angel for the next 3 years.

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Jun 13, 2009 10:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Fat? It's obese.

Think about what you’re promoting: Signing Vlad to an additional three years means the DH spot in the lineup is spoken for during those three seasons. That takes away the lineup flexibility Scioscia had in 2007, rotating Vlad, Hunter and Anderson through the DH spot, giving their legs a day off and helping to keep them fresh for the season. It means there would be no chance to move Napoli into a part-time DH spot and use his bat more than 80 games a season. It would make it more difficult to transition a guy like Burjos or Pettit into the OF if Rivera or Hunter wasn’t able to take the DH spot for a game.

Of course, if Vlad is on the DL during that time, then the options are wide open. Unfortunately, it would appear he will be spending more and more time on the DL. His injury was to his pectoral muscle, and that came from making a throw from RF—that’s the reason why he won’t play OF for the rest of the season. That is the sort of injury a player gets from poor conditioning or from a deterioration of his body. Along with the chronic problems with his knees and an ankle injury, the pectoral injury looks like another leaf falling from a tree in autumn, and it won’t be long before the tree is mostly bare.

There is no reason to believe that Vlad in 2011 or 2012 will be a distinct improvement over the player we watch now. The guy’s problem last year was supposed to be his knees, and that was corrected with off-season surgery. With his legs intact, he should be ripping HRs now. Instead, he is smoking line-drive singles and doubles, which makes him a much more highly paid version of Howie Kendrick in his prime.

The suggestion is that his bat speed has decreased, and since he never had anything resembling plate discipline, he is getting easier to strike out or induce to a ground out. He has one HR in 110 AB, which projects to 6 HR over the entire season. David Eckstein will do that much. It makes sense that Vlad will hit more than 6, but the point is that none of us in envisioning a Guerrero who hits 30 HR and drives in 100 RBI anymore. His slugging percentage has faded with each season since 2004, and now that pitchers aren’t walking him to get to the next batter, his OBP is far down from past seasons as well.

This is the guy you think would be an asset as one of only 25 roster spots in 2010, 2011, and 2012? This is the DH who will bring greatness to the Angel offense? Really?

by George Kaplan on Jun 14, 2009 9:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't answer until the season is over

If the season were to end right now though I would say no.

RIP Nick Adenhart

by stolenbases on Jun 11, 2009 8:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Trade Vlad at the trading deadline

Let Napoli DH and Mathis catch. Until MLB allows trades involving draft choices, I’m not interested in giving Bane any more compensatory draft picks to screw around with.

by mustard_man on Jun 14, 2009 7:45 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not diggin this years draft?

Play Wood already. Willits sucks.

by hauldog on Jun 14, 2009 1:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was "average"

My point is letting free agents walk to accumulate draft choices is not a strategy

by mustard_man on Jun 15, 2009 6:22 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Vlad can't hit a fastball

He is not going to be any better next year. I would not resign him for more than a year and not for any significant amount of money

Play Wood already. Willits sucks.

by hauldog on Jun 11, 2009 8:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree tha tit’s all mental. He’s over-reaching because he wants to prove he still has it. He just needs to make some adjustments. He IS showing a little better plate discipline in the past few games. He has gotten some good hits, too. I think he’ll be ok, but I was hoping for a big return like everyone else. I love the guy. I want him to retire as an Angel. I think he’s earned that. And I also think that if we le thim go he will work thru it and become a bane to us in future years. He’s not done.

by firebird81 on Jun 11, 2009 8:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs