Brian Anderson; What I saw this weekend

[Hangar18]

Watched the game friday nite, and his first AB, he lined a drive to CF, Griffey bobbled the ball (but still had control of the situation) when Anderson, who was rounding First, saw the bobble and Turned the Jets on and motored to 2nd. The play was close, and I was astounded at that burst of speed from Anderson,

and the fact he USED HIS INSTINCTS as part of his game ................. I was really impressed, and for the first time, I can see now why the SOX are very high on him.

 

I really liked what I saw of him this weekend and hope hes finally turning the corner ......

[beck72]

Watched the game friday nite, and his first AB, he lined a drive to CF, Griffey bobbled the ball (but still had control of the situation) when Anderson, who was rounding First, saw the bobble and Turned the Jets on and motored to 2nd. The play was close, and I was astounded at that burst of speed from Anderson,

and the fact he USED HIS INSTINCTS as part of his game ................. I was really impressed, and for the first time, I can see now why the SOX are very high on him.

 

I really liked what I saw of him this weekend and hope hes finally turning the corner ......

I think most people have seen glimpses of what Anderson can do. The only question is whether he'd need more seasoning hitting wise in AAA after his poor start. He's the long term answer in CF, with his defense, speed and power [and ability to hit near .300 sometime down the road]. Hopefully he hits and remains the short term answer in CF as well because his defense would be hard to replace via trade

[southsider2k5]

Of all of the things we have questioned about Brian, I think his baseball instincts and IQ are not one of them. He really seems to get the game. You never see him making a play he should not make. Brian has even gotten much smarter about showing off his arm, and makes sure he hits the cut off man when he is supposed to. BA is a smart kid, and once his bat comes around, people are going to LOVE this guy.

[CanOfCorn]

Except for occasionally cutting in front of the corner outfielders to make a catch, especially when they are flat-footed, I couldn't agree more.

[southsider2k5]

Except for occasionally cutting in front of the corner outfielders to make a catch, especially when they are flat-footed, I couldn't agree more.

 

Its the CFs ball if he calls it. Its just like if the SS calls it on the IF its his ball... those two guys are in charge of their areas, so if Anderson calls a ball, Dye/Pods should be the ones backing off of it.

[CanOfCorn]

Its the CFs ball if he calls it. Its just like if the SS calls it on the IF its his ball... those two guys are in charge of their areas, so if Anderson calls a ball, Dye/Pods should be the ones backing off of it.

 

I agree, but there was a play this weekend where Pods was calling it, he was under it and set, and Anderson cut in front of him. I understand it's the CF's ball, but he also has to understand that it's a lot easier for a corner OF to catch it if he's set then if he's running.

[Hangar18]

Of all of the things we have questioned about Brian, I think his baseball instincts and IQ are not one of them. He really seems to get the game. You never see him making a play he should not make. Brian has even gotten much smarter about showing off his arm, and makes sure he hits the cut off man when he is supposed to. BA is a smart kid, and once his bat comes around, people are going to LOVE this guy.

 

 

I saw a glimmer this weekend, and YES, the sneak-peek hes given us, Im going to like this guy a ton

[southsider2k5]

I agree, but there was a play this weekend where Pods was calling it, he was under it and set, and Anderson cut in front of him. I understand it's the CF's ball, but he also has to understand that it's a lot easier for a corner OF to catch it if he's set then if he's running.

 

yeah, I remember that play too, and at that point, you are right, BA should have just let it go. BA just wants to get EVERY ball that is hit to the OF, and I think it is awesome.

[chitownsportsfan]

BA has much more "natural" talent than Aron Rowand. He's a superb athlete, and has good baseball instincts as well.

 

I almost feel like a good comp is Mike Cameron. In his prime, that guy was one of the best CF'ers in baseball. He hit for power, a decent average, and held down CF with amazing range and a solid arm.

 

Please feel free to rip me, as I'm mostly talking out of my ass here.

[whitesoxfan101]

He's extremely talented and already very good at almost every aspect of the major league game except hitting. This story is definitely not a surprise, and to see his hitting begin to come around is a great sign here.

[Hangar18]

BA has much more "natural" talent than Aron Rowand. He's a superb athlete, and has good baseball instincts as well.

 

I almost feel like a good comp is Mike Cameron. In his prime, that guy was one of the best CF'ers in baseball. He hit for power, a decent average, and held down CF with amazing range and a solid arm.

 

Please feel free to rip me, as I'm mostly talking out of my ass here.

 

 

Not at all. That one play, that I described here, had me WOW'ing about BAnderson the rest of the nite.

Were talking about game-changing ability, the SOX scouts obviously saw this in him and he is raw, but man, I hope he continues to develop. Im ready to get the guys jersey, heh heh

[chitownsportsfan]

Not at all. That one play, that I described here, had me WOW'ing about BAnderson the rest of the nite.

Were talking about game-changing ability, the SOX scouts obviously saw this in him and he is raw, but man, I hope he continues to develop. Im ready to get the guys jersey, heh heh

 

Yea, I just checked out Cameron's stats again, and the thing that stands out is that while he hit for a low average, he hit for power and got OB at a .340 clip for his career. He finished his career with an OPS+ of 106, which isn't too shabby for a great defensive CF.

 

Cameron's "prime", from ages 26-30, was very solid, if BA can produce similiar numbers while playing a great CF, I will be very happy.

[LVSoxFan]

I am all for Anderson; I have no qualms. His batting will come around. His "D" is game-saving. Enough for me.

 

Keep the kid in there, I say.

[RockRaines]

I agree, but there was a play this weekend where Pods was calling it, he was under it and set, and Anderson cut in front of him. I understand it's the CF's ball, but he also has to understand that it's a lot easier for a corner OF to catch it if he's set then if he's running.

Think: Bad News Bears.

[Controlled Chaos]

I agree, but there was a play this weekend where Pods was calling it, he was under it and set, and Anderson cut in front of him. I understand it's the CF's ball, but he also has to understand that it's a lot easier for a corner OF to catch it if he's set then if he's running.

There were also a couple plays where pablo called for it and Brian let him take em just to see Pablo miss em both. Brian would have had em both standing up. If it's a gapper and you hear Brian call it get the hell out of the way.

[henry wiggins]

I agree, but there was a play this weekend where Pods was calling it, he was under it and set, and Anderson cut in front of him. I understand it's the CF's ball, but he also has to understand that it's a lot easier for a corner OF to catch it if he's set then if he's running.

 

Seems to me that this goes to the psychology of playing the position, and that's where BA has to grow into the job a little bit. The CF is the boss of the outfield, but this CF is also a pretty new rookie. Ozzie talks about the bullpen pitchers settling into their "roles" and probably the outfielders have some of that to do too.

 

I saw the play where BA cut in front of Pods, and Pods would have caught the ball. But BA seemed like he was locked onto it and maybe, I dunno, he didn't even hear Pods yell "I got it" (which you could see on TV Pods did do). BA goes balls-out in CF. With maturity will come the ability to manage and orchestrate the outfield better.

 

I've liked Anderson from day one, and I love the thought of him in center field for the next 10 years. He's got star potential.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

If BA can reach .250 his jersey will be ordered by me

[southsider2k5]

To be honest, I think the turning point for his season will be the 3 run homer he hit against Cleveland when the Sox were down 10-2 on Sunday nite baseball. It might have seemed meaningless when he hit it, but that AB seemed to have awoken his bat. Hopefully he keeps this up, along with Juan at the bottom of the order. Getting the 8-9 guys going would be HUGE.

[SHAFTR]

He has reached base in 6 straight games.

[WCSox]

To be honest, I think the turning point for his season will be the 3 run homer he hit against Cleveland when the Sox were down 10-2 on Sunday nite baseball. It might have seemed meaningless when he hit it, but that AB seemed to have awoken his bat. Hopefully he keeps this up, along with Juan at the bottom of the order. Getting the 8-9 guys going would be HUGE.

 

That may have been a turning point for the entire team. They were getting embarrassed on a nationally-televised game and fought like hell to come back in the bottom of the 9th. Even though they came up short, it was still impressive as hell and showed a ton of character on part of the team... especially BA.

[beautox]

Quick Question do you consider Brian a 5 tool player? I do, he hasn't lived up to his potential yet but he will.

[henry wiggins]

To be honest, I think the turning point for his season will be the 3 run homer he hit against Cleveland when the Sox were down 10-2 on Sunday nite baseball.

 

I was at that game, and I told the friend I was with that BA was going to get two hits that night. My friend laughed his head off, even after Anderson singled in his first turn at bat --until the bottom of the 9th. I did the laughing then.

 

That game was a turning point --it was a very different BA from previous weeks. And that was right after his amazing catch (on Friday night) and Ozzie's announcement that Anderson would not be going down to AAA but would be the regular center-fielder. HUGE shot of confidence for BA that weekend, and he's been better ever since.

[Heads22]

Quick Question do you consider Brian a 5 tool player? I do, he hasn't lived up to his potential yet but he will.

 

 

If you're going by these five tools:

 

1) hitting for average, 2) hitting for power, 3) running speed, 4) arm strength and 5) fielding ability

 

He's got the last 3 down. He's not ungodly fast, but he's fast enough. There's absoultely no questioning the fielding ability, and he hasn't had much of an opportunity to showcase his arm.

[elrockinMT]

Brian Anderson has a lot of talent, but this most likely isn't his year. He shows some great fielding and then makes rookie mistakes. He shows some clutch hitting on rare ocassions, but strikes out way too much. In fact, looking at his K's to AB ratio, if he were to play a whole season in the starting lineup and get around 500 AB's he would be on track to K about 180-190 times. Maybe next year will be different for him. But, with the hitters we have the team can afford to carry Brian, but if he doesn't show more I don't know if the second half will see him with the team or at Charlotte.

[Kalapse]

Brian Anderson has a lot of talent, but this most likely isn't his year. He shows some great fielding and then makes rookie mistakes. He shows some clutch hitting on rare ocassions, but strikes out way too much. In fact, looking at his K's to AB ratio, if he were to play a whole season in the starting lineup and get around 500 AB's he would be on track to K about 180-190 times. Maybe next year will be different for him. But, with the hitters we have the team can afford to carry Brian, but if he doesn't show more I don't know if the second half will see him with the team or at Charlotte.

Brian has just about solidified his spot on the roster as the starting CF, he's putting together some great at bats and playing the best defensive CF of any player in baseball (atleast according to BP). Iguchi is on pace to strikeout about 150+ times as well but no one questions it, he's not a struggling rookie or anything but I havn't heard a peep out of anyone about the very high amount of strikeouts he's racked up this year. Brian is still taking walks, keeping his OBP respectable considering his average. He'll be here all year, 'bout time you get used to him.