Nevin Waking Up?

“…and patience is better than pride.” – Ecclesiastics 7:8b (NIV)

Part of me just loves it when a player I’ve derided comes around and has an impact game.

We didn’t get the win, but Nevin is showing signs of life.

In other news…

Eaton’s line from Tuesday night:

6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER. 3 BB. 6 SO, 0 HR, 106 pitches

Not a dominant outing, like the two Peavy’s spun in his most recent starts, but before the season a lot of people (myself included) thought Eaton and Klesko were the keys to the season.

So far this season Eaton has the following numbers:

5 G, 27.2 IP, 28 H, 1 HR, 10 BB, 21 SO, .257 BA, 2.93 ERA

No one will confuse those numbers with Cy Young’s but it is an encouraging first five games. The one number (which is not shown above) that is discouraging is Eaton’s pitches-per-inning. Eaton is throwing a career-high 18.5 pitches per inning.

Eaton’s focal-point partner for the 2005 season, Ryan Klesko, is also off to a quietly solid start.

So far this season Ryno is hitting .269/.410/.493 with 6 2B and 3 HR. If we assume this level of production for the season we could expect 39 2B and 18 HR. I dare say a lot of people will be disappointed if Klesko doesn’t hit 25+ HR. However, a .902 OPS is nothing to shake a stick at. Furthermore, Ryan is walking more often than he’s striking out. (15-12). I would like to Ryan get a few more hits and raise that .269 average, but I can’t complain.

Conversely Brian Lawrence is leaving lots of room for complaining…

B-Law’s line from Sunday:

2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 56 pitches

Sometimes analysis is quite simple… Brutal.

Unfortunately, B-Law isn’t the only one letting the team down. Look at the following numbers and guess the Friar:

.280/.385/.317
.213/.253/.400
.225/.367/.437
.281/.373/.298

Those lines belong to (in order) Loretta, Nevin, Giles, and Burroughs. I fully expect the first three to come around, but Burroughs is scaring me. A sub-.300 slugging rate? That’s unacceptable.

I read an account (in Baseball America in all likelihood) of the AAA All Star game a few years back. The writer was discussing the batting practice session before the home run derby. And Sean (who wasn’t a derby participant) was described as one of two hitters who consistently hit the ball harder than most of the other hitters in the cage. For whatever reason, since getting to San Diego, Sean has neglected to incorporate his lower half into his swing. He almost resembles a guy talking “soft-toss” batting practice tosses while honing his swing.

***

In other news I mentioned that I was at the Lake Elsinore game Monday night. We (my oft-mentioned friend Paul and I) had a good time. We sat about 5 rows behind home plate and got to watch the Lake Elsinore defense implode behind Jered Wells. Jered himself made one error (of judgment if not so regarded on the scorecard) and his fielders also let one fly ball hit the ground in what should have been an fairly easy out.

Wells line for the night:

1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO, 0 HR (I don’t have data on number of pitches)

Wells dived trying to glove-scoop the ball to first after not picking up the ball. Apparently Wells thought the ball was going to roll foul. When it didn’t he tried to make a last ditch effort to get an out. In doing so, Wells aggravated a previous injury. Neither the previous injury, nor the subsequent aggravation thereof, are believed to be serious.

The highlights of the night were watching George Kottaras, C, and Rancho Cucamunga’s double-play combo of Howie Kendrick and Brandon Wood. Al three are legit prospects. Wood in particular put on a show hitting a DEEP double into the left-field power alley that makes Petco’s right-field power alley wimpy.

Much like Wood, Kottaras always seemed to hit the ball hard. Whether he was fouling a ball into the stands, lining out, and smoking his own double, Kottaras made consistent, hard contact. It’s easy to see why people are so high on him.

***

In my last post I said I’d clarify my comments regarding Phil Nevin. I think Phil will come around. In 2001, when Phil hit 41 HR, he posted a .976 OPS, since then:

2002 – .757
2003 – .826
2004 – .860

So far this year Nevin has a .653 OPS. I don’t think Nevin will spend the entire season south of .700 (let alone .800). Nor do I think Phil will match his 2001 career-high. I could even see Phil regressing some from last to in-between the .860 he posted last year and the .826 in 2003.

Phil is getting older and his age and injury history don’t bode well for future production but he should be ok this year.

OK, so why did I talk about trading him or replacing him? Because I’m impulsive; hence, the Bible verse at the top of the page…

It’s late – I’m going to bed – I’ll talk about Bochy tomorrow.