Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Hey, Manny

ENOUGH WITH ROBERT FICK!!!!!

Unless Chris Snelling is hurt -- and we'll find out soon -- Fick should NOT be starting in the outfield. Fick is on the team to be a crappy pinch-hitter and to serve as the emergency catcher so that you can pinch hit for Brian Schneider at will, which you're unwilling to do.

Again, he hasn't had a slugging average above .400 since 2003. His career high OBP was .340. He's not an outfielder, even if the stupid one-per-team rules made him an All-Star once.

  • It's not even a matchup thing, as Fick is .308/ .308/ .308 (4 singles in 13 ABs) against Lieber.

    • posted by Chris Needham at 6:19 PM

    15 Comments:

    • Fick had 9 RBI's in 130 AB last year.......That would be 45 RBI's for over well 500 ABs.

      This is just another sad statement about just how cheap the NATS are. Forbes Mag had them clearing $20 Million profit last year with a real payrole.

      How much profit is Learner putting into his pocket this year? At what cost if Fick is what they are willing to go to war with with the game on the line.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 7:49 PM  

    • Fick had a clutch GWRBI vs. Philly last season.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 8:47 PM  

    • you go to a baseball game with the team you have, not the team you wish you had.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 8:57 PM  

    • I think the point anonymous was making was if Learner would spend some cash we would "go to a baseball game" with better players and a better chance to win.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 9:37 PM  

    • Anonymous 7:49 PM:

      Shut up. If you paid attention, you'd know the Lerners have vowed not to take a dime of personal profit out of the team for 10 years.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 10:21 PM  

    • Thanks for commenting, Ted!

      That 10 year line is a bunch of BS.

      Kasten, Ted, and just about every family member they could shoehorn into the front office (check the link at nationals.com) aren't working for free. Even if they're not directly taking profit from the team, they're personally profiting.

      And besides, the real profit in owning a team doesn't come from the year-to-year operation of the club, but from the ungodly return on their original investment when they sell the team.

      By Blogger Chris Needham, at 4/25/2007 10:34 PM  

    • Anonymous said: "Shut up."

      I thought blogs came into existence so people could opine.

      As to the Lerners, they are testing how much "Capitol Punishment" Washingtonians will willingly endure in order to show gratitude (pledge allegiance) for their generosity, civic spirit and new ball park (latter courtesy of D.C. taxpayers).

      Anyone have any idea as to the local TV ratings for the MASN coverage? When I hear the announcers pleading for e-mails, it makes me wonder if I'm the only one watching.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/25/2007 10:43 PM  

    • Why is Fick still on the team? If I have to endure watching a consistently bad player, it could at least be a consistently bad YOUNG player who has a chance to get better. Anyone think Larry Broadway would be worse in the outfield or as a hitter than Fick?

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/26/2007 7:35 AM  

    • I'm sure every one of us masochists watching the game must have been in a total state of shock when Fick actually made that great catch. Before that play the guy looked like a redneckish beer leaguer out there.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/26/2007 9:34 AM  

    • I was resigned to Fick. I have been trained to lower my expectations for the Nats, then lower them again, so that we can have a decent team by 2012. Fick seemed an ideal fit for the lowered expectations process, since he doesn't seem to do much of anything very well.

      However, Fick lost me in a game on April 20 when he bunted into a double play in extra innings. He didn't bother to run the play out, thinking the throw was going to first.

      Fick said he got brain lock. But what caused the brain lock? Deciding whether you need to run or not? There is no downside to running. You always are better off. So running is the default thing to do.

      Manny got after Church for not running, but maybe Manny fears going after a vet for the same lack of effort?

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/26/2007 9:47 AM  

    • Chris,

      You are too kind to Fick. He should not be on this team. And don't get me started about Schneider (and his too hoppers to second), DeAngelo (and whatever he does), and Dmitri (and his inability to pick a ball in the dirt).

      Why not give Kasto, Flores, and Broadway a chance. They will be bad, but they will learn. These older guys are not learning and they don't care. So much for veteran leadership. Who on this team will call somebody out about this sloppy play?

      By Blogger C'ville Nat, at 4/26/2007 10:11 AM  

    • cville - don't lump dmitri in with fick and deangelo. dmitri has been adequate defensively (which is far more than most of us expected) and has shown he can still rake, which is exactly why he is in this lineup.

      also, remember this bench is currently bad b/c of injuries. instead of seeing fick and jimenez nightly, we would be seeing dmitri, belliard and snelling come off the bench for PHs, which would be a significant upgrade over the benches in prior years.

      By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 4/26/2007 10:49 AM  

    • Bill,

      I am too lazy to look at the stats and the other underlying facts, but I disagree, respectfully.

      Dmitri misses about one ball er game. I has count many runs and stressed the pitchers unnecessarily, and frankly, his hitting stats are not that impressive.

      I say again, I don't think his cost is worth the limited benefit.

      But, if anyone has the stats to prove me wrong, please post them

      By Blogger C'ville Nat, at 4/26/2007 11:19 AM  

    • cville- here's young's updated offensive stats:

      .260 BA, .391 OBP (probably leads team but i'm not adding up all of them), 14 BBs (leads team), 3 HR (tied for team lead), 11 RBI (one off team lead), 11 runs scored (one off team lead).

      the team BA is a pathetic .239. young has produced 27% of our HRs, 15% of our runs scored and 16% of our RBIs, and is first or second on the team in OBP, HR, RBI and runs scored.

      yeah, take him out of the lineup for a "slick glove man" (which loosely translates as someone who can't hit his weight) like travis lee and see how much better this team would fare!

      By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 4/27/2007 10:20 AM  

    • With the obvious caveat that I am not close enough to the team to have any idea of what I am talking about...

      Don't dump Fick! He is our favorite player! My four year old pretends to be him during our backyard whiffle ball games. He started crying when I told him the Nats might dump Fick!

      From what I understand from the Post, Fick is going through what seems to be a very difficult time with his family, and clearly isn't hitting as well as he needs to in his limited at bats.

      But he seems to be a great guy in the clubhouse and has the kind of positive attitude that can keep a 100-loss year from absolutely killing this team from the inside.

      I'd be curious to know how much he fined himself in the kangeroo court for his braincramp last week.

      Regardless, in a team made up of kids who should still be in the minors and marginal veterans, I think a good clubhouse guy that can play 4 field positions is worth a roster slot on the '07 Nats.

      Now, if he doesn't produce in his limited at bats over the next six weeks or butchers the field I'd be happy to reassess his value later this summer.

      By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/27/2007 3:39 PM  

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