Carlos Gonzalez to make A's roster?
by Syphon on Mar 27, 2008 12:10 PM PDT
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PrintAccording to this article:
http://www.laverdad.com/detallenew.asp?idcat=5&idnot=70601
In this article Gonzalez says that Billy Beane told him, before the trip to Japan, that he will be the everyday CF.
"They are very happy and I feel well for that reason, since he was something that we were hoping for a long time". Surely It is the first time in its race that will be part of róster of 25. "He is something that I cannot explain, but as always I say it, most difficult it will be to maintain to me". González is already super safe that its debut will be the next Tuesday and is right sufficient thus to think it. "they said to Me that it was going to play in the central garden". The left-handed toletero must demonstrate the weekend that totally is recovered of the injury in its right leg, the same one that it prevented him to travel to Tokyo for the inaugural day. "they requested to Me that it played Saturday and Sunday in parties of Smaller Leagues, but that will be of only proceeding because I am enough good of the leg. I do not have any type of pain. I am one hundred recovered percent ". Occupied Between the practices, games of Leagues Smaller and adjustments of the trip towards Oakland, to Carlos González it did not give chance to see the games him of its equipment in Japan. "I saw only the news. It was important to obtain a victory there ". To the marabino patrol craft it does not bother to him to have lost that historical series in Japan. "They are things that happen. It was not for me to be in Japan and now I am concentrated in my debut the next week. That is my priority so far ". On the expectations that have been generated from their arrival to Oakland, it preferred not to speak much. "much has praised Me, but I do not think about that."
We shall see.
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Add some poppies
Perhaps the Oakland grounds crew should add some California Poppies (the state flower) in the Coliseum's "Central Garden".
There can be only one
There is only one Poppy. I would never dream of pluralizing you.
I'd guess Sweeney
Sweeney is a lefty (like Gonzalez) and is also five years younger than Denorfia. Unless they think Denorfia still needs more ABs to get his timing back after not playing for a year, it makes more sense to have Sweeney play every day in Sacto, while Denorfia serves as the primary CF backup here and gets some starts against LHP.
They also need to make two other moves to make room for the starting pitchers who were inactive in Japan. I'd assume Fiorentino gets sent down as well, as he'd still be the 6th or 7th outfielder. And they'll probably finally make some kind of move with DJ, although I certainly wouldn't shed a tear if they just dumped Emil Brown instead.
"Tomorrow it may rain." - Leo Durocher
It's not the "hitters" part that's the problem
It's the "people who can go out and catch balls that are hit" part.
Although right now it's not clear that DJ falls into either category.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Signs point to Brown as an average fielder
UZR likes him a lot in the corners, RZR has him a tic below average if I read it right, Dewan seems to have him a bit below average as best I can tell, PMR likes him as a tic above average. Tango's Fans hate him, but that seems to be mostly because he is prone to spectacular errors.
The A's colors are green and gold.
It's both
Brown has never really been a good hitter - he was ok in 2005-2006, but last year his line was an abysmal .257/.300/.347 and for his career it's .262/.329/.401. That's passable for a backup outfielder if he plays good defense, which was his reputation, but if he's lost a step, then he's pretty much useless.
"Tomorrow it may rain." - Leo Durocher
He's clearly a better outfielder than DJ...
and he's not useless as long as he's a useful platoon bat, which he appears to be at present.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
I think it's sort of silly to use
his 97-01 numbers. The question is whether last year was true decline (aging or whatever else), or whether we should expect something along the lines of an average of the last three years. I also don't think it's fair to say that he wasn't "good" in 2005-06. That's not a lot of time, but it's not a little either.
The A's colors are green and gold.
His OPS+
was113 in 2005, 109 in 2006. As a corner OF, that is average, maybe a tick above average. So, a guy who at his "peak", was about an average hitter for his position.
None of the projection systems, PECOTA, CHONE, ZiPS, even Marcel, which is merely a weighted average system expect a bounceback to 2006-2007 levels. Even James, usually optimistic, is pessimistic on Brown.
PECOTA: 256-316-386, CHONE: 731 OPS, ZiPS: 698, James: 701, Marcel: 745.
They are essentially projecting that Brown return to about career levels, 730 OPS, 90 OPS+.
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
Babelfish strikes again!
Here are some excerpts in more intelligible English.
Late is better than never. This year, Carlos Gonzalez will live his most anticipated dream since signing as a professional with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He'll make his MLB debut in the 3rd game of the season.
Before taking the team to Japan, team manager Billy Beane gave me the news (but kept it secret).
He makes the 25-man roster for the first time.
Now Gonzalez is very sure that he'll make his debut next Tuesday and has sufficient reason to believe this is the case. "They told me I was going to play center field."
He has to show that he's fully recovered from his recent injury.
"They asked me to play Saturday and Sunday in minor league games, but that's just red tape because my leg feels fine. I'm 100% recovered."
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
OK
but what on earth is that about Marabino Patrol Craft?
Sounds like a Venezuelan Summer League franchise...
BTW, if anyone from the A's is reading this, starting Gonzalez in the majors is a really, really bad idea. Either he's going to struggle, or the team is going to lose a year of his service time, or worst case scenario, both.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Put the best team on the field..
CarGon would really have to struggle to be worse than Denorfia and Sweeny.
When will then be now? Soon.
Coming from a guy with a CarGon avatar. :)
Denorfia, I think, is going to be a lot better than you seem to think. Let him shake off the rust. He didn't play for a year.
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
You change your underwear once a week?
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
Judging from what happened last time
someone observed who he had in his avatar, he changes his underwear only when someone points out what kind of underwear he's wearing.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
It's a bad translation.
He patrols center field and is from Maracaibo.
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
CarGon: Marabino Patrol Craft
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
Damn it.
Tampa Bay is brazenly screwing with Longoria to avoid starting his arb/FA clocks - when I say brazenly I mean he's a top prospect who is clearly ready for the major leagues, and they have absolutely no one they can plausibly pretend is blocking him or who could conceivably outplay him in the short term. They're doing it purely to keep dollars in their pockets and out of his. If I were Longoria, I'd be pissed and I'd make damn sure I played absolute hardball in all future negotiations - no hometown discounts, no good guy discounts, no sweetheart arb buyout contract, maybe fire my agent and hire Boras.
But the A's have plenty of not only plausible but valid reasons not to start Gonzalez off in the majors. He's only had a taste of AAA, he's played little CF so far, they have a bunch of other outfielders they could stand to get a better look at. Getting to keep him for an extra year before he hits FA status, and paying him a bit less per year in the interim, would be a nice side benefit.
I wouldn't play it this way.
My feelings exactly
I'm certainly not in favor of hosing obviously ready players-- but 10 games in AAA and a nice spring training does not equal "obviously ready" to me.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
IMO
if they, ie Beane, coaches, etc, believe that the Patrol Craft's development is best served by having him patrolling CF in MLB, then he should be patrolling CF in MLB.
For top prospects, IMO, what is paramount should be how good they can become, not screwing around with service time.
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
That's "CG", not "CF"
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
I find it very hard to believe
that there will be any appreciable difference in his development by playing the first two months in the garden rather than briars, and I further find it very hard to believe that even if there is such a difference that Beane, coaches, etc. actually know which option would be better.
The A's colors are green and gold.
Since this is Beane and the A's
and not Dave Littlefield and the Pirates, I am willing to believe that they are able to properly assess where it would be best for him to play.
As for whether there a 2 month period has any appreciable difference in developement, IMO that really depends on the individual player. In your opinion, would the Marlins have been better served by holding Hanley Ramirez back in the minors? His numbers, his performance, prior to being played in MLB certainly did not scream "start me in MLB NOW".
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
I'm not sure that this sort of thing
is Beane & co.'s wheelhouse. I don't assume that they're any better or worse than average in the mostly non-analytical decisions.
As for Hanley Ramirez, even if we assume that he needed to be in MLB to focus or turn it on as has been suggested, I doubt that his numbers last year would have been much different if he had started in the minors the year before, and I really doubt that his expected numbers this year would be any different. I certainly think you're right that it depends on the individual player, but I just think it's incredibly difficult to know which players are which, whereas the service time thing is a concrete, certain benefit unless playing in the minors too long throws off his entire career.
The A's colors are green and gold.
I don't necessarily assume that Beane is better
than average. Being average is enough in the case of a top prospect like the Patrol Craft.
As for Hanley, well, what if the Marlins had put him in AA, and he continued to post mediocre numbers? Does he get promoted? After all, if he continues to put up mediocre numbers, then one would think that he is not ready. If Hanley had put up a mediocre season in AA, say OPS around league average of the league he would be in, you would then have expected him to put up a 147 OPS+ in MLB in the following year?
Yes, it's incredibly difficult to know which players are which. That does not mean that does is no effect. So, service time is easier to measure. So screw around with the middling prospects, those who project to be about average in their primes, and save money on them. The value of guys like that, say Kevin Youkilis, are that they are cheap and OK. Being cheap is a significant part of their value.
But, if the Patrol Craft, and any other top prospect, developes according to the hopes and dreams of his team, he is going to get expensive anyways.
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
The thing is, guys like Youkilis
can be expected to get sent down sooner or later anyway.
Frankly, I expected that of Buck, too-- he was sort of an injury fill-in who just happened to light it up and essentially win a starting job. But the expectation was that he'd go back to AAA once the primary outfielders got healthy.
Gonzalez is a guy who at least has the potential to get called up once and stick in the majors from then on.
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Mixed feelings
This is a really stupid idea, but I'd rather watch (from an entertainment standpoint) the Marabino Patrol Craft (even struggling) than Sweeney/Denorfia/Brown.
Really dumb, though. The service time is bad by itself, and I highly doubt that he'll outhit Brown or Denorfia.
The A's colors are green and gold.
On the other hand, if they're going with some quaint
"assemble the best 25 guys" plan, it's pretty hard to argue with Gonzalez over Sweeney.
The A's colors are green and gold.
if they're really going with The Quaint Plan ...
... then I'm even more unsure about their motivations in signing Emil.
As reassuring as Bud's words were, the dulcet tone of his voice and his dashing appearance really sealed the deal for me. ~ GreenNGoldSooner @('.')@
On my third hand
Even though I think that Denorfia and Brown are likely to outhit the Patrol Craft this year, if we think it's possible to contend this year with Halo injuries, then it might be best to go for some upside, which Denorfia and Sweeney have none of.
The A's colors are green and gold.
If you're trying to contend, don't you want steady performance rather than upside?
I'm not following you here.
If Denorfia is going to OPS 760 this year and next, while MPC is going to OPS 720 this year and 800 next year, and you're trying to contend this year, don't you want Denorfia playing?
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
Depends.
If you are a 88-95 wins team trying to contend, you probably want guaranteed Proven Veteraness(TM), with little variance.
If you are an 83-85 wins team trying to content, you probably need some upside.
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
if he's on the roster, then he must be one of the best 25 guys available
As reassuring as Bud's words were, the dulcet tone of his voice and his dashing appearance really sealed the deal for me. ~ GreenNGoldSooner @('.')@
Hell, just leave him in the dugout after the bay bridge preseason meetings.
by theblackpearl on Mar 27, 2008 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
that was good
that was real good.
Or we could stick him in a bag and tie a rock to it and toss him in the bay
I'm Torn
Part of me is excited to watch Gonzalez play and see if he can handle MLB pitching.
The other part is worried that he is going to be overmatched and that his development will be stunted by trying to tread water.
While he was hitting well this Spring also remember that at the time of his injury his OBP was actually lower than his AVG. If he needs to work on his plate discipline the majors may not be the best place to do it.
His OBP was lower than his AVG?
That would be quite a feat... can you have negative walks?
Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.
EXTRAFANTABUFREAKINTASTIC
That he is one hundred recovered percent. Because I feel so much better with Me in center than Sweeney or Denorfia. He has so much potential.
You don't know Jack!
Just wait'll you guys get a load of the armament on that vessel.
Saw one laser-guided missile from deep in the swamp during ST.
Not sure why he has been profiled as a corner guy. Does anyone have a handle on the Patrol Craft's horsepower and max knots?
The meaning of life is not so much 'found,' as it is 'made.' --Opus
I like the move.....
Keep Brown, Gonzales, Deno and Buck. When a Right handed pitcher is on the mound go with Buck in Right, Gonzo in Center and Cust in Left. When a Lefty takes the hill play Buck in Right, Deno in center and Brown in Left. I dont think the time in AAA will hurt Sweeney, he hasnt proven that he belongs in the bigs anymore then any other outfielder on the A's.
by asfaninpismobeach on Mar 27, 2008 6:11 PM PDT reply actions
I've seen him play a lot on winter league
The guy has a hell of an arm, he is quick, can play either RF or CF with pretty good defense, and has great power. But, almost no plate discipline, can't hit lefties, and he is to in love with the long ball. He put MVP numbers 2 seasons ago, he was second or third in the actual winter league mvp voting. Last season, he was hurt most of the time, and when he played, he was pressing too hard, always trying to get the ball out of the park, or striking out. Also he held out on the first week, because he wanted more money, sure he deserved it but he only had one season as a stellar player.
Tell you the truth, even with al his talent, i think Gerardo Parra has a chance to be a better player, he is most polished now, and a much better defender.
I don't think he is ready yet, and i don't think he will ever have a decent OBP, if he doesn't hit 30 bombs a year, he'll be a bust.
also Cargon
Sounds similar to Cagon, which is either pussy in spanish, or a person who shits his pants all the time.
just call me cagonkeyball
As reassuring as Bud's words were, the dulcet tone of his voice and his dashing appearance really sealed the deal for me. ~ GreenNGoldSooner @('.')@
is this "the genuine article"?
Has anyone verified this article? It seems that it is being accepted as truth even though its source is far away from Oaktown, MLB, and a grasp at a reasonably lucid translation. This could be some kind of hoax/rumor instead of hard and fast news. The wording in the article seems at times to be deliberately funny...
Also, if the guy can't hit lefthanded pitching, wouldn't it make sense for him to learn this skill in the minors? If he is to be the "anointed one", the first one to get the big bucks, as many seem to think, he probably shouldn't be a platoon player...and he won't learn to hit lefties by watching from the bench while Denorfia bats against the lefties.
This whole move seems very un-Beane-like.He seems to usually prefer questions he already knows the answers to.
To throw this kid with only a few games of AAA experience out there on opening night to learn a new position (and perhaps learn to work a count) may be a bit ummmm.....impulsive.
Another thing--when does the "service-time clock" start ticking, and what are the rules about how many games he can appear in and still not yet be "on the clock"?
You speak Spanish?
Is the wording deliberately funny in the original Spanish, or is it "funny" in the translation?
If it is merely the translation, I suggest you run any article, your post to use an example, through any of these automated translations systems, like Google, Babelfish, AltaVista, etc. The translations are always "funny".
ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524
It's a real article, that's for sure.
The wording in Spanish is clear and plain.
Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.
Patrol Craft is patrullero
which is one of the spanish names for outfielders, the other is jardinero, which means gardener.
'course, especially if he's fast, we could always call him "Swift Boat"
As reassuring as Bud's words were, the dulcet tone of his voice and his dashing appearance really sealed the deal for me. ~ GreenNGoldSooner @('.')@
the link to the La Verdad interview didn't work
so I went to the newspaper's link (the paper is based in Maracaibo, VZ), but still couldn't find the article with the interview. However, I did find an article about all Venezuelan players who are set to play in MLB this season. The writer claims that Carlos González has his spot assured.
Had I found the interview I would have made a real translation, in the interests of avoiding possible misunderstandings...then again, reporters frequently misquote interviewees or quote them out of context...
Hmm
it was working yesterday. The link is the same the site must have moved it or take it down.
When will then be now? Soon.
key bit
"Seguro no me pega mucho ya que estoy muy emocionado. Antes de marcharse el equipo a Japón el gerente del equipo Billy Beane me dio la noticia, pero la tenía en secreto".
?Porque es el patrullero exponiendo los secretos del fanatico de futbol?
The A's colors are green and gold.
My Spanish is rusty, but I think that says,
"A lot of pegs are much emaciated. Ants march with equipment to Japan gentlemen, to equip Billy Beane with a notice of secret tins of Pero."
Again, my Spanish is rusty so please take this translation with a grain of crack.
I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal
what a coincidence! My Rusty is Spanish!
As reassuring as Bud's words were, the dulcet tone of his voice and his dashing appearance really sealed the deal for me. ~ GreenNGoldSooner @('.')@
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