Braves Acquire Russell, Bonifacio

[Hulavol]

Just curious.....if you guys have the lineup, why not go ahead and post a quick game thread so we can discuss it (and bitch, etc)?...

 

[AerchAngel]

We have a moran as a manager.

 

[jpack1]

We have a moran as a manager.

This is the main reason will continually underachieve. How many big games has Fredi ever won in his career? His teams are usually maddening from lack of hustle and poor fundamentals and they come up on the short side of important games constantly.

 

[yeezus]

Way more is a bit of a strong statement... even so, 20.1% is a high strikeout number... just slightly less than Chris Johnson isn't saying much, dude. Again, for a leadoff type guy, he strikes out a lot. This year has been an anomalously low % for Bona when looking at the rest of his career.

This year Johnson is striking out way more. Overall, Johnson's best is worse than Bonifacio's worst. Johnson wasn't really a "high K" guy until this year. I wouldn't call that comparable. And Bonifacio still isn't a high strikeout hitter. It depends on what you call "high." Justin is high. Johnson is high this year. BJ is high. Jordan and I are always high. Bonifacio isn't close to those guys at his worst K rate.

 

[Braves1976]

This is the main reason will continually underachieve. How many big games has Fredi ever won in his career? His teams are usually maddening from lack of hustle and poor fundamentals and they come up on the short side of important games constantly.

He also puts our players in position to fail too often too, IMO. Bonifacio will probably be wasted in the 8th spot, maybe not even hit as well since he's use to batting higher and leadoff seems to be where he has the best numbers. Then Fredi may do him like others on the bench and sit him too long too where he goes totally cold. There is a long list of players he's done that way. Bobby was the opposite in that he made sure his bench was used enough to stay sharp. I am not saying I want those Bobby Sunday specials again but a middle ground would be nice!

 

[jpack1]

I bet Frank Wren is like why in the hell did I go out and get Bono if my idiot manager is going to bat him 8th.

 

[Braves1976]

I bet Frank Wren is like why in the hell did I go out and get Bono if my idiot manager is going to bat him 8th.

Fredi: "I am batting him 8th because he can steal second when our pitcher fails to bunt him up." I'm joking, that is not a real quote. It's just the best defense I could think of for batting him 8th vs a lefty he owns.

 

[zbhargrove]

This year Johnson is striking out way more. Overall, Johnson's best is worse than Bonifacio's worst. Johnson wasn't really a "high K" guy until this year. I wouldn't call that comparable. And Bonifacio still isn't a high strikeout hitter. It depends on what you call "high." Justin is high. Johnson is high this year. BJ is high. Jordan and I are always high. Bonifacio isn't close to those guys at his worst K rate.

For a lead off hitter, I feel like he's high. Appreciated the you and JS comment, lol

 

[buck75]

Hope Emilio goes 4 for 4. Hopefully he will lead off against LHPs soon.

 

[Dalyn]

We have a moran as a manager.

 

[Heyward]

This is the main reason will continually underachieve. How many big games has Fredi ever won in his career? His teams are usually maddening from lack of hustle and poor fundamentals and they come up on the short side of important games constantly.

Thats not why we will.

We have an easy lineup to pitch to in a playoff series if we make it there, the rotation is good, bullpen as well.

But dont have the stars to carry a team in the playoffs, thats why.

 

[zitothebrave]

For one, he continues to maintain a high BABIP, even in 2012 when he had a .239 average. This suggests that it may be a skill set, rather than just dumb luck. Similar to Johnson, who also has a high K rate, yet maintains a solid average without much power. But Kubitza also draws a walk much better than CJ ever did and plays much better defense and has some base running ability.

Secondly, the increase in K rate was essentially, one season, 2013, unless you count his partial rookie ball season. This season it is back down to the same rate it was in 2012, again suggesting improvement from last yr. Plenty of players have gone on to have good careers with high k rates in the minors, though admittedly most of the players tend to have more power than Kubitza.

It may be a skillset. It may be lots of dumb luck and some good for him scoring too. We don't really know and I personally don't like guys who's only asset is BABIP for a reason, because you have guys hwo have seasons like CJ this year.

As far as K rate goes, most guys who I listed who had K rates semi-similar to Kubitza had insane power. Ryan Howard being maybe the best example of that. The walk/K thing concerns me though. How does someone walk that much and strike out that much in the minors without being a swing through your heels type. He's either just sitting on pitches or he swings through too many pitches. Neither seem ideal for me to be honest. I'd have to watch him some more than just highlights to get a real feel for him, but he doesn't leave me warm and fuzzy like TLS.