Comments on The Tao of Stieb: Don't rush to judgment on Travis Snider

I was just reading through the comments and I was ...

2009-10-10T12:19:09.884-04:00

I was just reading through the comments and I was going to say something exactly like what anon 12:04 said before he stole my thought. It's as simple as that--the Internet ruins everything. The more people that start populating a site, the more retards that fall through the cracks (see: DJF, and now here as well. You're next Drew!)

Travis Snider is going to be fine. He hits opposite field HRs y'all!

I wonder if the Internet was around for Delgado's ...

2009-10-10T12:04:17.371-04:00

I wonder if the Internet was around for Delgado's first season, what kind of posts we'd see about how he did that year..

For what it's worth, PECOTA had Snider around a .2...

2009-10-09T23:44:52.466-04:00

For what it's worth, PECOTA had Snider around a .276 to .284 EQA range for his age 23 to age 27 seasons, and projected him at a .268 EQA if he played this year. His actual EQA was .255 in 276 PAs, which seems close enough to me. And since he's just 21, I think there is a significant chance that he develops more and more power as he ages.

Chill children. Mrs. Sniders's rosy cheeked baby ...

2009-10-09T23:28:16.970-04:00

Chill children.

Mrs. Sniders's rosy cheeked baby boy Travis is gonna mash, with or whithout the esteemed Mr Gaston.

Anyone who is a major league regular who hits clos...

2009-10-09T21:02:47.732-04:00

Anyone who is a major league regular who hits close to 100 OPS+ at age 21 actually has a pretty good chance of being a Hall of Famer for a couple reasons: 1) he's in the majors at such a young age that he gets a big head start on counting stats, and 2) if he's this good already, he will likely be an absolute fucking monster from age 25-32. Snider's on his way.

People are already calling Snider a bust? He's 21 ...

2009-10-09T18:59:16.133-04:00

People are already calling Snider a bust? He's 21 people! He did quite well for his age at the MLB level.

As for the Big Puma comparison, is it strange for me to say that Snider reminds me more of Jim Thome? I find the way Snider plays very similarly to Thome IMO.

Yes, but a person who's is supposed to be a great ...

2009-10-09T16:42:51.945-04:00

Yes, but a person who's is supposed to be a great evaluator of talent sure made a lot of mistakes during the draft. I do concede Acks point in regards to dollars, as Kazmir was passed over for exactly that reason.

The thing that got me about Adams was that after the draft, Ricciadi identified his ceiling to be a player like to Walt Weiss. I couldn't understand at the time why you would use your first round pick on a player with such a limited ceiling. As well, this was a guy with no speed, no power and couldn't play defense, what exactly was exciting about him.

I'll end the JP negativity there, because I actually do think he is a capable GM that has a lot of bad luck, and unfair press. I think he will do well if given another chance.

Hindsight is just the hardest thing ever, isn't it...

2009-10-09T16:29:56.649-04:00

Hindsight is just the hardest thing ever, isn't it boys? Fuck.

No other GM ever made a mistake in the draft. Only JP.

The Jays were just fine at SS this year with Scuta...

2009-10-09T16:26:43.969-04:00

The Jays were just fine at SS this year with Scutaro. And who plays SS for the Red Sox? What's the Yanks contingency plan if Jeter goes down?

And you can't look at picks like that. You can't always take the best player. You take the guy you can sign, the guy ownership will give you the dollars to sign. And hope it doesn't turn into a clusterfuck like this year's draft.

My Personal favourite was taking Russ Adams just a...

2009-10-09T16:20:56.706-04:00

My Personal favourite was taking Russ Adams just ahead of Kazmir, Swisher and Hamels.

Especially when we see what a clusterfuck the Jays...

2009-10-09T16:19:38.741-04:00

Especially when we see what a clusterfuck the Jays SS position is and will continue to be because JP could not develop a SS in EIGHT years.

Especially when TT is raking and baking in the Mountains.

But of course JP dittoheads never get tired of mentioning the Hillenbrand for Accardo trade.

Romero/Tulowitzki is almost as worse as still hear...

2009-10-09T16:13:27.405-04:00

Romero/Tulowitzki is almost as worse as still hearing some fucking Jays fans mention Chris Carpenter. Almost.

Stedron, No reason to resort to name calling. Sp...

2009-10-09T16:00:42.281-04:00

Stedron,

No reason to resort to name calling. Speaking of Griffin, I sent him an email in response to his latest column about how the Jays should model themselves after the Twins. I pointed out the following Jays and Twins divisional records over the last two years:

Twins vs. AL East 23-44
Jays vs. AL Central 47-27

Is Peter D really Griffin? Do we really have to d...

2009-10-09T15:48:32.166-04:00

Is Peter D really Griffin? Do we really have to do the Romero/Tulowitzki dance?

8 years of Retardi and we have Hill and Lind to sh...

2009-10-09T15:28:35.460-04:00

8 years of Retardi and we have Hill and Lind to show for it.

Retardi may end up being responsible for the death of baseball in Toronto.

But the Dumb of Stieb and The Ack Crap and that fat ass Wilner look down on Jays fans cause we are too stupid to see what a genius JP was.

The irony was a real man like Dave Stieb was have grabbed JP by his nose and took a shit down his condescening throat a long time ago.

How does the Tao of Ohka, Thomson and Zambrano sound like for this blog?

Stieb, 99% of Ricciardi's moves were low risk ro...

2009-10-09T15:17:14.184-04:00

Stieb,

99% of Ricciardi's moves were low risk roster fillers.

I could go on with more players like his drafting 1st and 2nd round picks like Russ Adams, Curtis Thigpen, David Purcey, Josh Banks, Kevin Ahrens, David Cooper, Zach Jackson and even Rickey Romero taken 6th overall ahead of Tulowitzki, McCutchen, Maybin and Bruce will look pretty silly.

Don't get me wrong, I think JP has been unfairly criticized more than anyone, however, I'm not sold on the fact that he was a great evaluator of talent. If he was, his legacy would be more than Hill and Lind.

I will give him that a couple of pitchers may yet develop into quality guys. Particularly I like Cecil and Rzchechoslavakiagretzky. Romero, I would deal at this moment, because I don't think his value will ever be higher.

Well, if your player is open to coaching but doesn...

2009-10-09T15:08:01.545-04:00

Well, if your player is open to coaching but doesn't want to hear it in the middle of a game, why be so insistent on getting in his head?

Just leave him be! Leave Travis alone!

"A collective decision with yourself?" It takes a...

2009-10-09T15:06:38.776-04:00

"A collective decision with yourself?"

It takes a team to keep this ship going.

And he might have just been answering a reporter's...

2009-10-09T15:03:13.776-04:00

And he might have just been answering a reporter's question like "Why don't you try with Snider what you do with Lind?"

And Jamie Campbell said Travis told him he doesn't like being coached in the game. No Cito, Travis.

It might not work for Snider because he hasn't tri...

2009-10-09T15:00:52.063-04:00

It might not work for Snider because he hasn't tried it and being left to his own devices hasn't worked yet either. Patience is great, but Travis needs to be patient, too.

High strikeouts and few walks mean he needs to be ...

2009-10-09T14:44:32.188-04:00

High strikeouts and few walks mean he needs to be more selective...high strikeouts and high walks mean he cant hit the pitches he swings at. Which could be bad. But ya know...21 and all...

And I agree...listen to Cito. He's not a great manager overall IMHO, but man, he knows hitting.

Drew said it best, yo: Remember when people were ...

2009-10-09T14:43:55.275-04:00

Drew said it best, yo:

Remember when people were down on Lind at this time last year?

Listening to one of the final games of the year on...

2009-10-09T14:41:53.776-04:00

Listening to one of the final games of the year on the radio, Ashby very pointedly said that as a player, he hated getting batting tips during games, as it messed with his head and he was thinking too much during his AB's.

It works for Lind, and that's great, but it evidently does not for Snider. Cito taking subtle potshots at the kid in the media (I'll try to look up the quote, but it centered around Lind being great and "coachable" because he could actually talk to him during games....in direct contrast to earlier quotes he made about Snider not wanting tips during games....) is, in my opinion, ridiculous, and the sort of thing that contributes to "losing the clubhouse".

And stop looking at me, Ack.

2009-10-09T14:36:18.153-04:00

And stop looking at me, Ack.

Sigh, boys. I have no doubt Travis Snider will gr...

2009-10-09T14:35:18.548-04:00

Sigh, boys. I have no doubt Travis Snider will grow into a wonderful big league hitter. But he isn't there, yet. My comment quoted above was not a slight at Travis Snider's ability, but rather the idea that he should be left to his own devices right now. He might have flaws in his swing and if he gets into the habit of doing them, he could be wrecked for ever.