GDT 5/23 STRIDER: I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger
- Thread starter Hulavol
- Start date
Its hard to take people seriously that thought Freeman/Olson were in the same universe. Freeman is going to be a stud for hte life of his contract and Olson may be a net negative in a couple of years.
bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
good grief, that is a wider gap than I thought. I never bought the FF would be bad in a few years hype, but I also felt Olson would be fairly comparable as he aged behind FF.. I always wanted FF back.. even at the price he signed for.
The bungling of Freeman will have cost this franchise at least 1 world series.
DirkPiggler
Well-known member
Doubtful.
Let's see how this comparison looks when Freddie is 36 and 37. Freeman may indeed defy Mother Nature and perform up to the level he's being paid for well past his prime, but it's still not a smart bet to assume that will happen.
What does Olson look like in a two years as his swing speed slows and he starts whiffing even more?
I think the trendlines we have seen the last two years would make a reasonable person assume that Olson becomes a negative before Freeman does.
UNCBlue012
Well-known member
I hate losing for obvious reasons, but also because y'all just like to say **** and be combative.
bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
We all hate losing and we do tend to go into negative nacy mode.. but there are huge concerns regarding this team. some we all knew and some people denied.
The Olson swing has me concerned and it began at the beginning of the season when he was K'ing at 40%. He hasn't improved on that much and we are a ~1/3 of the way through.
The Olson swing has me concerned and it began at the beginning of the season when he was K'ing at 40%. He hasn't improved on that much and we are a ~1/3 of the way through.
This is just comedic gold
And the post above about LH Ozzie - if you watch him in person, his swing is so pervertedly bad you don’t realize it on TV. It looks like a little leaguer who is just learning the game.
Why does he want to continue to do this ? Any thoughts ? Is that maybe if he figures it out over the next five years that he will become a God by the time his contract is up? Only thing I can think of
And the post above about LH Ozzie - if you watch him in person, his swing is so pervertedly bad you don’t realize it on TV. It looks like a little leaguer who is just learning the game.
Why does he want to continue to do this ? Any thoughts ? Is that maybe if he figures it out over the next five years that he will become a God by the time his contract is up? Only thing I can think of
bravesfanMatt
Steve Harvey'd
We only need to worry about the 1st and second innings.. after that, it is hold on and hope our bullpen doesn't walk away the lead.
msstate7
Well-known member
True
50PoundHead
Hessmania Forever
It may or not be a smart bet, but I think the difference between Freeman and Olson is that Freeman appears to be better suited to changing his approach if need be while it appears Olson cannot. No one can be sure about that proposition.
I was a big Freeman fan and I still enjoy watching him hit simply because his base fundamentals rank among the best in the game, but it is what it is and I thought Olson was a reasonable replacement. My problem is with the extension they gave to Olson. The same people who defend the move saying "We don't know what Freeman will look like when he's 36 or 37" (which is true), but the Braves will be paying Olson until he's 35.
A while back in a different thread, I labelled Olson as "Adam Dunn who can field" and that's a good player. Just have to wonder about longevity and if there's a fall-off, how fast and significant the fall-off will be.
UNCBlue012
Well-known member
Also, speaking of Strider, he's had such an odd year. Yes, he's been good, very good. Hell, he's been kind of unlucky and his xERA shows he's pitched better than the numbers indicate.
But also, why isn't he constantly hitting 98-100 like his pitching coach has on-the-record advised he does? He's not injured, and very literally all of his troubles come when he's throwing 95-97.5 and not when he's hitting 98-99. He threw a ton of the mid-90s pitches in innings 1-5 yesterday and pitched pretty well given the team's flubs, but he absolutely dominated when he kicked it up a notch in the sixth.
I'm guessing he's preserving his arm but it seems so seamless for him to just hit that next level.
But also, why isn't he constantly hitting 98-100 like his pitching coach has on-the-record advised he does? He's not injured, and very literally all of his troubles come when he's throwing 95-97.5 and not when he's hitting 98-99. He threw a ton of the mid-90s pitches in innings 1-5 yesterday and pitched pretty well given the team's flubs, but he absolutely dominated when he kicked it up a notch in the sixth.
I'm guessing he's preserving his arm but it seems so seamless for him to just hit that next level.
VirginiaBrave
Well-known member
Certainly, the Freddie situation is clearly the second worst franchise move since moving to Atlanta in 1966. It's only behind Barker for Butler, Jacoby, and Behenna in my book. I just can't see why the Braves were so unwilling to bend in the middle of a legit contention window.
PawPawMaxwell
Called Up to the Major Leagues
does any fan site poster really know what/who said during the negotiations with FF? IMO FF's commitment to family, remember Charlie is getting ready for school for a much longer period of time than the LA or Atlanta contract. The Orange County mansion, aging parents and Charlie convince me that FF really wanted to be "Home" in LA area.
I suspect some people switch hit because they don't like the idea of someone throwing directly at them. It's easier to get out of the way of an errant throw for a switch hitter.