Can I get a Thome extension?

[BearSox]

The crux of your argument seems to be that, despite putting up an impressive 2/3 of a season two years ago by displaying 20+ HR power and earning the starting 3B job back in April, Josh Fields is probably not going to start for the Sox again because his hitting mechanics are flawed. On the other hand, Jayson Nix, who you ague has much better hitting mechanics, obviously has a much better chance of becoming a major-league starter, despite the fact that Nix has never actually done anything remotely impressive with his bat in the bigs (career .613 OPS).

 

Is that what you're trying to argue, or am I missing something?

I'm saying Nix has a better shot because he has shown good fundamentals. I really don't care what Fields did in his first time around the league, he has much worse than flawed hitting mechanics, and if he hasn't already learned a good, fundamentally sound swing, why should we expect him developing one any time soon with the same hitting coaches?

[NorthSideSox72]

I'm saying Nix has a better shot because he has shown good fundamentals. I really don't care what Fields did in his first time around the league, he has much worse than flawed hitting mechanics, and if he hasn't already learned a good, fundamentally sound swing, why should we expect him developing one any time soon with the same hitting coaches?

You seem to interperet "fundamentals" to mean having a less flawed swing. Kind of a narrow definition.

 

Fields has a better shot at being a productive full time major leaguer than Nix does, IMO. His track record indicates this. And for that matter, Fields' major flaw is highly fixable (the swing hitch), so that flaw is in fact a reason to believe he's probably going to have more success than Nix, who seems to be at his maximum output. Nix is a better defensive player of course, and at multiple positions, which is very helpful. But I think Fields is a small swing change away from being a guy who can hit .250-.260 with 30+ jacks, which Nix will never come close to.

 

I like Nix as a utility guy, and I have my doubts about Fields, but I'd put 2:1 odds in favor of Fields having a more prolific career as a starter than Nix.

 

[lostfan]

You seem to interperet "fundamentals" to mean having a less flawed swing. Kind of a narrow definition.

 

Fields has a better shot at being a productive full time major leaguer than Nix does, IMO. His track record indicates this. And for that matter, Fields' major flaw is highly fixable (the swing hitch), so that flaw is in fact a reason to believe he's probably going to have more success than Nix, who seems to be at his maximum output. Nix is a better defensive player of course, and at multiple positions, which is very helpful. But I think Fields is a small swing change away from being a guy who can hit .250-.260 with 30+ jacks, which Nix will never come close to.

 

I like Nix as a utility guy, and I have my doubts about Fields, but I'd put 2:1 odds in favor of Fields having a more prolific career as a starter than Nix.

Nix doesn't have much of a track record to speak of, except a couple of years of solid minor league play after 3 or so really disappointing years that skew his overall numbers down pretty hard.

[NorthSideSox72]

Nix doesn't have much of a track record to speak of, except a couple of years of solid minor league play after 3 or so really disappointing years that skew his overall numbers down pretty hard.

And those sorts of trends do make it difficult to know for sure what is going on. If you look at just that, but then his struggles offensively at the major league level, you have to wonder if he is just a late bloomer who needs time to pick things up, or what. But I've also seen him play now, and that combined with his numbers, I think the likelihood of him being a major league starter is slim, barring happenstance and injury to people above him.

 

[WCSox]

I'm saying Nix has a better shot because he has shown good fundamentals. I really don't care what Fields did in his first time around the league, he has much worse than flawed hitting mechanics, and if he hasn't already learned a good, fundamentally sound swing, why should we expect him developing one any time soon with the same hitting coaches?

 

Many successful players have had less-than-perfect hitting mechanics, while many busts have had very good mechanics. This is why Bud Selig doesn't give out a Batting Mechanics Title at the end of every season.

 

Results are all that matter. Fields has them at the major league level, while Nix has not. Boldly claiming that Nix has a much better chance of being an every-day player because of his better hitting mechanics (despite a glaring lack of results) is silly, and reeks of personal bias.

 

I really don't care what Fields did in his first time around the league

 

Yes, because all of those pesky home runs and doubles ruin your argument. Let's just ignore those.

Edited July 27, 2009 by WCSox

[lostfan]

Ichiro has funny-looking mechanics. Boy he must suck.

[WCSox]

Ichiro has funny-looking mechanics. Boy he must suck.

 

Gary Sheffield was a massive bust as well.