tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post7581988642983929772..comments2023-05-27T08:20:02.829-07:00Comments on Remember '51 - An often biased look at baseball and the SF Giants: A Look at Fred Lewis' Transformation as a Hitter in TorontoKevin O'Brienhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00114732419318117049noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-46582915402375231892010-06-18T11:44:40.799-07:002010-06-18T11:44:40.799-07:00BESM: I hear the Cito jokes a lot and I find them ...BESM: I hear the Cito jokes a lot and I find them pretty witty. However, I do wonder if he is any worse than Bochy. At this point, I think they're about even, with Gaston having an edge maybe just because he managed the Jays to two titles (though, those Jays teams were loaded).Kevin O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00114732419318117049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-8156801741291751442010-06-18T11:43:25.820-07:002010-06-18T11:43:25.820-07:00OGC: He wasn't an elite prospect, but he was s...OGC: He wasn't an elite prospect, but he was still a good one. He was a Top-50 prospect according to Baseball American prior to the 2005 season, which means that there was some expectation for him in the minors. Then again, he wasn't incredible in the minors. He struck out a lot, but he showed good speed and plate patience, which is what he showed in the Majors prior to his bunion.<br /><br />Lewis did get some playing time early on in 2009, but he played well to begin the year, he just hid a bad stretch in May and Bochy just gave up, even though he had proven in 2008 that he could be a very solid player. I guess giving Nate playing time was good, but Randy Winn over Lewis? Offensively, there was no contest there.<br /><br />I agree with you on the fact that I don't think he's a leadoff hitter right now with the Jays. He swings at too many pitches outside the strike zone and he isn't drawing walks as much as he used to. However, he is hitting the ball with some power, which is something he struggled with in 2009. In terms of being static, I believe the number differentials in Toronto show that he can change. Whether or not his more aggressive approach is a good thing though is to be determined.<br /><br />As sad as I was to see him go, I do believe that Andres Torres has been a better alternative and I'm glad the Giants stuck with Torres in retrospect over Lewis. Torres is better defensively, better at stealing bases and has been more patient at the plate this year. That being said, the problem with the Lewis situation is that the Giants got rid of him for players who weren't as valuable (like Eugenio Velez for example). To me, that was the real travesty of the whole Lewis situation.Kevin O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00114732419318117049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-75484619793929835162010-06-18T10:13:30.787-07:002010-06-18T10:13:30.787-07:00"...Manager noticed too, he sat out the first..."...Manager noticed too, he sat out the first two games of the Padres series."<br /><br />As a Jays fan, I take issue with that statement... I know for a FACT that our manager doesn't "notice" ANYTHING. He probably just forgot Lewis was on the team for a few days and wondered why Rickey Henderson wasn't in the dugout lately... That kid Henderson is a good leadoff guy. <br /><br />(This post is in honour of the good people at www.twitter.com/fakecitogaston - with whom I am not affiliated in any way)Brandon E.M. Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08547842515157668543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-8298483540541498052010-06-18T02:52:45.326-07:002010-06-18T02:52:45.326-07:00I think that it is that the bunions are getting wo...I think that it is that the bunions are getting worse - he still has one on his other foot and it will also need to be operated on like the other one. That's probably affecting his speed.<br /><br />I think Lewis should be thankful to the Giants. He never really did that much in the minors, he was never a hot shot prospect - he only got notice because of the paucity of good prospects. He was always underperforming.<br /><br />But when he did well playing in place of Dave Roberts, the Giants decided to keep playing him in LF even when Roberts came off the DL. And gave Lewis the starting job the next season.<br /><br />I disagree with your view of Lewis's 2009 season. Bochy kept him in there for a long time before he took him out for good. As of May 31, he played in 47 of 49 games, starting 43 of them. And he got regular starts until June 11th.<br /><br />Now every Lewis fan at that time cried bloody murder for that move because his OBP was still .355. What nobody realized was that Lewis did all of that the first two-three weeks of April. From April 19 to June 11, two months almost, he hit .214/.292/.345/.637. <br /><br />He was killing our offense for two months, Bochy had no choice but to start playing Schierholtz and see what he could do. He got hot and Lewis didn't see regular time again. Bochy have him to basically mid-June to figure things out and he didn't.<br /><br />And he's doing it now at Toronto. He was white hot early on, and everyone loves him, but until he got that 4 hit game, from May 12 to June 15, he hit .252/.302/.421/.722. That don't really fly at lead off. Manager noticed too, he sat out the first two games of the Padres series.<br /><br />His problem is that he is static, he doesn't learn. That is how players hit their prime years and continue to do better into their 30's, they learn and make up for their physical losses with their brains. <br /><br />He won't. He has been playing OF, and loving it he says, since he was a little kid. Most players would have gotten better at their defense, learned how to read the balls off the bat, but what you see here is what he was doing 5-10 years ago. And he's 29 YO now.<br /><br />Unless he learns something drastic like Torres did about hitting, he's only going to get worse over time.<br /><br />And I like him. I wanted the Giants to keep him and let go of Torres (because I thought what he was doing was flukey; now it is clear that he learned how to hit when he was 30, which is probably as unique a situation as there is for any hitter). I wanted him around to pick up the offense when/if Bowker or Schierholtz falters, or DeRosa gets worse. Luckily we didn't have him or we might not have picked up Burrell.obsessivegiantscompulsivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11362706004246875823noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-86473263437976095822010-06-18T00:05:54.183-07:002010-06-18T00:05:54.183-07:00Thanks man! Hope you're excited for this one c...Thanks man! Hope you're excited for this one coming up. I know I am. Also, I can address your two points.<br /><br />1.) Lewis as a baserunner hasn't been the same it seems since his bunion surgery at the end of 2008. His 2008 SB numbers are great (he had 21 SB and was caught seven times). Last year, he only had eight stolen bases and got caught four times. I don't know if he is still hurt, managers have less confidence in him or if he just has gotten worse with his instincts, but Lewis doesn't seem to maximize his speed on the basepaths as much as you would like.<br /><br />2.) That's always been the problem with Lewis. Not a great arm and bad instincts. So far, he's gotten away with it because of above-average athleticism, but it seems to have caught up to him this year if you look at his UZR numbers.<br /><br />Lastly, I don't disagree with your comment. He's an emotional guy, and I could definitely see him have an extra chip on his shoulder looking to get back at us. In all honesty, I can't blame him. The SF Chronicle Beat Writer (who's an idiot by the way) absolutely burned him in Spring Training and the organization treated him like crap. He deserves to stick it to us after what he went through.Kevin O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00114732419318117049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5723610406379824887.post-31665207357321542882010-06-17T22:27:56.299-07:002010-06-17T22:27:56.299-07:00Kevin,
Nice post.
We are glad to have Fred here. ...Kevin,<br />Nice post. <br />We are glad to have Fred here. He is leading off for us and hitting pretty good. I believe he lead the Majors in doubles for the month of May but am not 100% on that. May explain the jump in slugging percentage.<br /><br />Couple of things I have noticed:<br />1) For a fast guy, he serve doesn't run very much on the bases. That may be the skippers fault more than anything else.<br />2) His D is serviceable. Arm is below average and he seems to throw to the wrong base on the cut offs to much for my liking. But he does get to a few balls I thought he couldn't.<br /><br />I don't know how teams were trying to get him out while he was with you guys but I guarantee the scouting report for the weekend will be to bust him in on the inner half.<br /><br />I think he tries extra hard to burn you. Look for him to be pissed and swing out of his shoes a couple of times. <br /><br />And look for the orange shades on the weekend.The Man With The Golden Armhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11193601268748890956noreply@blogger.com