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Post by MxT13 on Jan 4, 2011 14:41:16 GMT -5
The Rockies' breakout star was just extended to a 7 year, $80 million dollar deal which pairs him with Tulo in Colorado's long-term plans. Anyone else think he's undeserving of that deal after essentially just two years in the majors? And, following up on that point, anyone else think he's a little overrated? Here's his home/away splits from 2010--tough to read, here it is cleaner: sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=28658:------AB R H 2B HR RBI SO AVG. OBP. SLG. OPS Home 300 70 114 19 26 76 54 .380 .425 .737 1.162 Away 287 41 83 15 8 41 81 .289 .322 .453 .775 It seems like he's a product of Coors Field, which is fine, until pitchers figure out his hot and cold zones. I just think this guy's another one of those players who has a few good years and starts to fizzle out by the 3rd or 4th year of their contract. Travis Hafner, anyone?
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Post by BlackOps on Jan 4, 2011 22:01:20 GMT -5
meh, whenever a Rockies player comes up this is always the argument. It is true that guys who play at Coors get a bigger boost than anyone else, but every player is better at home.
This contract isn't about what Gonzalez is now. The Rockies are making this deal to buy out arbitration years and get a team-friendly deal. Believe it or not, this is a cheap deal. A similar player this season got the same amount of years, but with 46 extra million in his pocket. Werth is 6 years older, too.
Gonzalez is nothing like Hafner. He has the physical ability to age with grace. Speed is the skillset that lasts long. Gonzalez is a plus defender, runs the bases well, hits with power.. the only skill he doesn't possess is the ability to walk.
I will admit Gonzalez is overrated. He'll never have the kind of season at home that he did in 2010, but he's going to get better (maybe not statistically, but as an actual measure of skill). He was a highly, highly ranked prospect for a reason.
Josh Hamilton's 2010 splits: -----AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Home 264 56 103 25 2 22 57 21 3 45 5 0 .390 .438 .750 1.188 Away 254 39 83 15 1 10 43 22 2 50 3 1 .327 .382 .512 .894
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Post by MxT13 on Jan 4, 2011 22:50:44 GMT -5
Josh Hamilton's 2010 splits: -----AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Home 264 56 103 25 2 22 57 21 3 45 5 0 .390 .438 .750 1.188 Away 254 39 83 15 1 10 43 22 2 50 3 1 .327 .382 .512 .894 Touché. But I will say that Hamilton's BB/SO ratio balance between home and away more resembles a complete hitter. CarGo's (btw, do you like that nickname?) line either tells me he's swinging for the fences and not making it in other parks, or he's just not used to his surroundings in away stadiums yet. I'll buy that Gonzalez is MUCH more of a total player than Hafner, I was just comparing the impatience of giving a young player a long term deal. You're right, it does make sense from an arbitration standpoint. But it sounds more to me like insurance in case he does fizzle out. Here's his year-by-year salary throughout his career: mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/colorado-rockies.htmlThe way his pay scale has been layed out thus far, his salary through arbitration would have caught up to what he's currently making in the extension in year 3 or year 4, making him slightly over paid for the next two years. However, the Rockies would be getting him at a discount every year after that.
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Post by BlackOps on Jan 5, 2011 0:21:59 GMT -5
I hate the nickname CarGo. It just... there's no enthusiasm with it. A-Rod, H-Ram, K-Rod, names like that bring me down. But CarGo is in its own category... I'm think Luggage or Baggage might be a cool nickname because of his large lower body mass. He's a thick guy. You're right about his BB/K ratios. That's Gonzalez' only weakness as a hitter. Their career walk and K rates (Hamilton: 8.3 BB%, 20.7 K% Gonzalez: 6.4 BB%, 24.5 K%) are very similar, and I think Hamilton is probably the best comparable batter in baseball to Gonzalez. They both hit the ball hard, hitting a lot of line drives, so striking out a lot doesn't hurt their batting average. It's just that Hamilton does it a lot better than Gonzalez. The scary thing about CarGo (there. I did it.) is that despite being a similar profile hitter to Hamilton right now, he's also 4 years younger. Four extra years to learn how to read pitches and improve plate discipline. Also, while he plays in Coors, his numbers will be inflated. A lot. He hits the ball so hard there and strikes out so little compared to how he does on the road, he basically becomes Babe Ruth at home. Ohio State is about to lose and I'm about to lose it as well, so I'll finish up my post quick. The reason Gonzalez' BB/K ratios are so much better at home is because fastballs are less effective at Coors. It's actually the fastball movement that changes there most, not curveballs. This is probably the best baseball-related thing I read in 2010. You'll notice how many more offspeed pitches Rockies pitchers throw compared to the opposing pitchers (40.1% fastballs for opposing pitchers in Coors, 33.6% for Rockies pitchers). Seems like they know something.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on Jan 10, 2011 10:46:56 GMT -5
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