Olivera traded for Kemp

57Brave said:
I thought from the first week this team needed someone hitting behind Freeman.
I get the analytic's that say it doesn't matter but what I see in the construction of this lineup flies in the face of that mind

Not only has Freeman benefiting from Kemp but also Garcia and Markakis
.....

I wouldn't take 3 Justin Uptons for Kemp.
He has been a pleasant surprise
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This is my thought. I thought have a way to really quantify my thoughts, but I don't understand how all of these guys hit the hot-stretch at almost the same time with Kemp coming around yet it's not directly related. I don't care really, I'm just glad half of our team is killing it!
 
UNCBlue012 said:
, but I don't understand how all of these guys hit the hot-stretch at almost the same time with Kemp coming around yet it's not directly related. I don't care really, I'm just glad half of our team is killing it!
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Those guys got hot before Kemp was even traded for, which is why you have people shaking their heads at the idea. When Freddie, Inciarte, Garcia, etc had all started hitting at the beginning of the second half before he was even in the lineup, you can't really say Kemp was a catalyst. Kemp is a solid hitter and helps the offense a fair bit, but he's not causing half the lineup to improve.
 
auyushu said:
Those guys got hot before Kemp was even traded for, which is why you have people shaking their heads at the idea. When Freddie, Inciarte, Garcia, etc had all started hitting at the beginning of the second half before he was even in the lineup, you can't really say Kemp was a catalyst. Kemp is a solid hitter and helps the offense a fair bit, but he's not causing half the lineup to improve.
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We keep talking in extremes. Its either all Kemp or he has nothing to do with it.

Kemp is not completely responsible, as you say... Nor has he made no difference at all, as some contend. He has made a difference in the lineup. Maybe this streak has been longer and more sustained because of his presence. I don't know how much of the difference is attributable to him, but to completely dismiss his role simply because some guys were hitting better before he was acquired is really taking an extreme point of view.
 
UNCBlue012 said:
This is my thought. I thought have a way to really quantify my thoughts, but I don't understand how all of these guys hit the hot-stretch at almost the same time with Kemp coming around yet it's not directly related. I don't care really, I'm just glad half of our team is killing it!
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Because there is statistical rationale for them improving that has nothing to do with Kemp. In fact, statistical projections would have projected them to improve, just based on career norms and things like BABIP.

Obviously no one would project Freeman to go on quite the tear he's been on, but everybody else has been pretty much in line with what you might expect.

If everyone on the team had already been performing at career levels and then all saw a similar surge beyond that at the same time, it may be easier to wrap your head around the idea of Kemp helping, even though statistical models have thus far shown that not to really matter. But the fact that guys had been performing below career levels is why their correction back to career norms isn't really surprising. It's just weird that they all were worse 1st half and better 2nd half together.
 
There gets to be a lot of slicing and dicing of the stats and consideration of what everyone else is doing, but I think the big difference that Kemp brings is that he's a legitimate bat in the line-up. He's been the everyday LF, which replaced the likes of Francoeur and allowed Peterson to go back to 2B on a full-time basis. That takes d'Arnaud and Beckham out of the line-up for the most part and we can argue about how good (or bad) Kemp is, but he's a clear step up from those players.
 
I don't go in for the protection argument, but there's no question that Kemp has improved the offense. Having Adonis and Ender on base more often in front of three run producers (Neck has been solid as the third) has made this a respectable offense.

And, in the context of some of last year's discussions, I'd venture to say that having several power threats in the lineup has improved things considerably.
 
has anyone considered the possibility that the return of jace peterson from the minors helped to ignite the offense
 
nsacpi said:
has anyone considered the possibility that the return of jace peterson from the minors helped to ignite the offense
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It's been an odd year for Jace. I couldn't figure out why they were moving him all over the place in spring training when we didn't have a better option at 2B. I don't know if that set him back or not, but he certainly appeared to be on the outside looking in in the Fredi Gonzalez Universe. I'm not really in Snitker's corner for the managerial post, but I think he has put guys in their best positions and left them there as opposed to tinkering too much. Getting Kemp and Swanson has certainly helped because it's produced a clear starter/substitute demarcation on the team.
 
50PoundHead said:
I don't think we could carry a 16-man pitching staff.
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I read something the other day that snit was the highest in pitching changes. Bad in slow hooks and other bad data regarding pitching staff management. I need to find it. But it was not a good article for him. Now some of that is due to garbage he had to work with. But he doesn't do well at handling a pitching staff. And I think for the braves that would be a huge importance.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
I read something the other day that snit was the highest in pitching changes. Bad in slow hooks and other bad data regarding pitching staff management. I need to find it. But it was not a good article for him. Now some of that is due to garbage he had to work with. But he doesn't do well at handling a pitching staff. And I think for the braves that would be a huge importance.
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I agree that he was very erratic early on and the injury to Vizcaino didn't help matters. He was relegated to shuffling AAAA guys in and out of the game. Things have settled down in the bullpen since he's been able to slot folks into roles (and Johnson has been solid), but he's still Fredi-esque when it comes to misreading "hook time." Krol has shown some progress, but he is still too inconsistent.
 
would a bench coach with a track record help ?

this team plays with an excitement I have never seen in a Braves team
 
thewupk said:
Kemp is now hitting 295/346/521 - 867 with the Braves. Maybe instead of Kemp making the team better the team has made Kemp better?
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Something has certainly clicked with Kemp since he came over. It was apparent in his first game with the Braves that his plate discipline was still intact. I didn't watch Kemp at all while he was in SD, but I have a hard time understanding how the guy I've watched for almost 2 months now in a Braves uniform could have possibly had a sub-.300 OBP in SD. I think we can be pretty sure he is still an .800+ OPS RHed power hitter.

The defense? Yeah, most people can clearly see how he is rated as a poor defender. Some folks see him make a play look hard that a competent OFer would have been camped under and think he is a good defender (same phenomenon with Garcia at 3B), but every metric and the eye test confirms he is still awful.
 
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