This offense has not even been streaky it's been bad way more then good. So what I want to know is over the offseason can Wren do anything so our offense is at least as good as it was last year? Removing BJ from the offense won't work because no one will take him off our hands so he's going to be here.
IDK maybe the Marlins will trade us Stanton for someone like Northcraft yeah? lol
The "Uggla Model" potentially applies to center and third. What I mean by that is there are internal candidates that will soon give us the option of removing a player with a big contract from the lineup and in the process improving the team.Originally Posted by jcc03004
Braves1976 (07-27-2014)
I think you needs guy you can rely on. Right now that is really only FF, except vs the Marlins.
We would need to have someone in the Heyward, J Upton, Simmons, Gattis, La Stella step up. Heyward is going well now, but we need him to be a consistent force and to add some more power. JUp obviously is streaky. Simmons stepping up to the next level would be a big help. Gattis demonstrating he can be the hitter he was pre injury for the rest of the year and beyond. La Stella growing into some more doubles power.
I think you have to have 3 guys you can count on to be a consistent offense. With a 4 guy who is close when one of your top 3 is out or has the slump all players have.
We could really use one more high OBP guy. I guess your only spots are CF and 3B and we all know the issues. That is why we all love Peraza. IF, and we don't know he could, he could be a high OBP and steal machine it would change this offense.
I really fail to see how Justin "isn't stepping up." He's arguably our best hitter, including Freddie.
This all or nothing offense really looks bad when we aren't hitting for power when we do hit.
It's just a really bad mix made worse by the underperformance of B.J. Upton. Freeman, Justin Upton, and Heyward make a solid trio, but after that, things get odd. La Stellla is what he is and that's a pretty good complementary player, but for him to have optimum value, guys around him have to play better. Chris Johnson has been better this month, but I don't think he's much of anything to get excited about. I like, but don't love, Gattis. I don't think Andrelton Simmons is ever going to be what I would call a good hitter (he surely isn't consistent).
I've said all along that this team isn't that toolsy when it comes to offense. Tools aren't everything, but I think they are more important than the level at which they are valued in the modern mindset.
The offense has really suffered lately because Freeman has been terrible, and its not just vs the Marlins. Its pretty much negated the improvement in Justin. Those two just haven't been hot together.
Screw the offseason, we need to do something to salvage this year. I suggest going back to last year's model; Heyward in CF hitting first. Bj a 4th OF'r.
Best offensive player in April? Justin. May? Justin. June? Gattis. Justin had his first and only rough month. Best this month? Justin. Seems like he is stepping up fine.
JohnAdcox (07-25-2014)
The Justin hate is pretty pathetic. He's currently one of the 20 best offensive players in baseball.
If you want to find what's wrong with our offense this year, it's Chris Johnson, Bossman, and Uggla. Simmons we know we shouldn't expect much from.
Fredi needs to cut bait with his "hot" offense. Sure Bossman is hitting slightly better in his small sample at leadoff. But his slightly better is still the second worst hitter on the team, after Simmons at 2.
Our lineup should be (and I'm really tired of saying it) something along the lines of either
1. Jason
2. Justin
3. Freddie
4. Gattis
5. TLS
6. Johnson
7. Simmons
8. Lossman
or
1. Heyward
2. TLS
3. Justin
4. Freddie
5. Gattis
same last 3.
Not having our best hitters getting the most PA is a bad strategy.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
BremanFan88 (07-26-2014), Dalyn (07-25-2014), Heyward (07-26-2014), KB21 (07-26-2014), weso1 (07-25-2014)
Couldn't agree more. Fredi finally got TLS into the top 5, now he needs to get BJ out of the top 5. It won't make a huge difference, but it is such any easy fix it is ludicrous not to make it.
Yeah, this.
Justin is in the top 15 in the offensive categories that matter. We're getting exactly what we wanted from him—a RH power bat in the middle of the order. He's been no more inconsistent than Freddie has been. I swear, some folks don't even understand the base ball.
BremanFan88 (07-26-2014)
Freddie Garcia understand how to make pitch . That count ?
Julio3000 (07-25-2014)
I think we need to take the D-backs approach and go trade for some more hustle. It worked well for them.
thank you weso1!
With our obvious struggles on offense, how much longer can you keep a potential impact player in Paraza down in Mississippi?
This topic is not complete until we have the Fredi shrugging his shoulders gif and then followed up with this:
Fredi is being Fredi.
he's really young. SSS in higher minors. Where do you play him? Moving La Stella to LF?
And that's what's probably keeping him down, but his #s are off the charts too ignore.
Moving BJ to the bench would be a big help but I don't know if that's happening. We need someone to get on base and add some speed. Also, Justin is not a 2 hitter. La Stella should be in that spot for the next 5 years.
I'm curious what the front office's plan is for Peraza/La Stella. I wish we started testing him out in CF earlier so he could be an option this year. There's no doubt in my mind that if La Stella struggled then Peraza would at least be talked about in August/September.
I think the question maybe next year (and for sure in 2016) is Peraza v. La Stella. La Stella's a nice player, but he's not an impact guy. Peraza is a potential impact guy. I wouldn't be surprised if they try Peraza at another position (I don't think La Stella can play another position because they probably would have tried him somewhere else already). Just my thoughts.
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