Uggla-How Long a Leash?

nsacpi said:
In the OP I said he needed to be at about a .700 OPS by mid-May. It is now May 1 and his OPS is .561 OPS. He isn't walking, which has been his saving grace in recent years. To my eye, he looks a bit better at the plate than he did last year. But the performance just ain't there. My guess is he only has 2 or 3 weeks to turn it around. The way things work with the Braves Fredi won't be the one making that decision. It will be taken out of his hands.
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I suspect you are right on the money, Nick. Nor should it be Fredi's call. Frank has made some tough decisions through the years, mostly having to do with his big money signings. As much of a magician as he's been at the hard stuff, you'd think the easy stuff - burning $40m or so on free agents - would be gravy. In fairness to Frank, I would have made most of them. He's just had buzzard's luck. But there's no reason to chase the rest of Uggla's money. If you can make a deal, great, but it's time to pull the plug.

On the plus side, if LaStella is anywhere near what we're projecting on here, you could take him and Simmons, bat them 1-2 and double the team's offensive output for the rest of the season, leading us to 100+ wins and a deep playoff run. Then no one would give a damn that the Uggla signing didn't work out.
 
zitothebrave said:
You said his floor is Neil Walker. Woudl you like me to take Walker's worst season?

.273/.334/.408. Again sooooooo far from what I said.

ALso to compare the 2 as prospects.

Walker struck out 15.6% of the time, walked 6.4% of the time (though in his defense with the latter, he did improve as he moved up since he was a HS draftee you can give him some slack) with a .167 iso

TLS struck out 8.6% of the time walked 10.9% of the time and has a .155 iso.

Again in defense of Walker, he was younger and therefor less polished at the start of his career. But TLS is a freak. Since his rookie season in Rome, he's never struck out more than he walked (28K to 26 BB that year) so you're looking at a kid who'll likely walk a lot and not K a lot. Unlike say Simmons, he doesn't have an uppercut swing so he should have a low BABIP to counter his low K rate.

TLS is gonna hit. His concerns are health and defense.
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TLS really needs to be in the majors since his worse season would put him roughly in the top 8 of all major league 2B.
 
Along those same lines - you can have some all-or-nothing guys in your lineup, but they can't all be that way. You don't have enough critical mass to carry you through the times where Big Lumber slumbers. (Heh) You need a few guys who make contact and get on base. The way this team is constructed, LaStella fits much better than Uggla.
 
zitothebrave said:
What do you think would be his worst ignoring terrible luck.
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I love TLS, but have no idea. Just find if funny to say a 25 year old minor league, B to B- prospect's floor, is one of the top offensive players at his position in baseball.
 
TLS doesn't need to post a .350+ OBP or be one of the top 10 guys at 2B to improve the team. All he needs to be is NOT the worst player in MLB and he will be a HUGE upgrade over Uggla, who is literally providing nothing positive for the team.

A change needs to be made, now.

I would jump for joy if Fredi penciled in a guy with a .250/.320/.400 line (representing a 150+ point OPS jump from Uggla) into the lineup at 2B. There's no reason TLS couldn't produce that line, especially if he is protected from some of the toughest LHers by using Pastor as a soft platoon partner.
 
nsacpi said:
Stella is either hugely overrated or hugely underrated. There is no middle ground.
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Honestly there is a middle ground. I've been semi-realistic in my expectations. His ability is to be so much better. If you look at guys in baseball who walk around 10% and K around 10% you see a collection of guys like Scutaro, Aoki, V-Mart, Jose Reyes, Hannigan, Pujols, Pedroia, and Kinsler. The worst hitter of that group is Hannigan who's totally anemic in power (.091 iso) that TLS should beat, and he's still an OK hitter.
 
Enscheff said:
TLS doesn't need to post a .350+ OBP or be one of the top 10 guys at 2B to improve the team. All he needs to be is NOT the worst player in MLB and he will be a HUGE upgrade over Uggla, who is literally providing nothing positive for the team.

A change needs to be made, now.
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I don't disagree. I just wouldn't expect a ton out of TLS, at least right away. Ok average, little pop, questionable defense. (which is probably still better than Uggla)
 
zitothebrave said:
Honestly there is a middle ground. I've been semi-realistic in my expectations. His ability is to be so much better. If you look at guys in baseball who walk around 10% and K around 10% you see a collection of guys like Scutaro, Aoki, V-Mart, Jose Reyes, Hannigan, Pujols, Pedroia, and Kinsler. The worst hitter of that group is Hannigan who's totally anemic in power (.091 iso) that TLS should beat, and he's still an OK hitter.
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Even for hitters of that type you have to project some increase in the K rate and decrease in the walk rate in going form the minors to the majors. Maybe 12% K and 8% BB in his first year or two.

Uggla has been so bad that any of Stella, Pastornicky and Pena would be an improvement.
 
Wren is going to have to make the move (similar to when he traded for Bourn). Fredi obviously isn't going to.
 
gilesfan said:
I love TLS, but have no idea. Just find if funny to say a 25 year old minor league, B to B- prospect's floor, is one of the top offensive players at his position in baseball.
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Well considering the talent at his position, it isn't like he'd have to be a world beater out there. A .330 OBP and a .400 SLG (both achievable, imo) would put him right at top 10 offensively for 2B this yr in OPS.
 
After getting swept by the Marlins, shellacked in the first 2 games in fact, there are other issues at the moment than just the Uggla Watch.
 
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