Posted on 04/05/2019 8:57:22 AM PDT by C19fan
The last time we checked in on Chris Davis around these parts, things weren’t going so hot. He was about halfway through what turned out to be one of the worst seasons in baseball history.
In 470 at-bats for the Baltimore Orioles, Davis hit .168, the lowest average since 1900 for a player who qualified for the batting title. Based on the advanced metric wins above replacement, or WAR, he was worth about three wins less than a typical Triple-A call-up.
But it’s a brand new year. The stats reset. The turn of the calendar to another spring marks a renewal, a time to flush away all the disappointment from 2018 and look forward to brighter days in the summer ahead.
Unfortunately, Chris Davis still can’t see the bottom of his troubles.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
That’s because he’s no longer on the juice.
Yankees are paying Jacoby Ellsbury $21.4M per year and he hasn’t stepped on a field in almost 2 seasons. He makes almost as much as Giancarlo Stanton and 31 times more than Aaron Judge.
Ouch.
Of his 0 for 17 so far he has struck out 11 times.
Chilly Davis
Does that include pitchers?
The AA Bowie Baysox just down Route 301 have a warmed bench seat waiting for him.
Pitchers don’t get enough at bats to qualify for the batting title.
Ya, I heard he has a big contract, so the Orioles can’t realistically release him, send him to the minors, etc.
Fortunately many of those strike-outs were against Yankee pitchers—otherwise the Yankees would have had a slower start this year. ;-)
I think you’re right. During the debate about PEDs in baseball there was a running myth that PEDs could make a player stronger, but couldn’t turn a .250 hitter into a .300 hitter. That may be true about steroids, but apparently one of the effects of human growth hormones is that they help improve the user’s eyesight and reflexes.
Sounds like the MLB version of "too big to fail".
At .168 cutting him loose and eating his salary might actually be the best move. Plenty of low-wage minor leaguers or guys off the waiver wire who can hit higher than that.
The Orioles are in rebuilding mode, aren’t they? In that case, eating the contract and moving on could be a good move.
The Os paid Chris Davis so they couldn’t or wouldn’t pay Manny Machado or Jonathan Schoop. Now they are stuck with Davis through 2021, Way to go Os management!
Chris Davis (not to be confused with Khris Davis of the As), aka The Swish Machine. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt this season, but he'll have to win the Triple Crown to justify his contract and atone for last year.
Ellsbury has been hurt though. One of the problems with these huge multi-year deals - guys get injured.
Ellsbury was injury-prone long before he signed with the Yankees. It’s baffling that they’d make a stupid move like that.
A baseball writer named Diamond. That’s pretty funny!
Jacoby has always had hip problems. That is why the Sox let him walk.
Baseball is littered with terrible contractual moves. The Angels are stuck with Albert Pujols for another three seasons and he is already a weak shadow of his former self. They may still be paying Josh Hamilton too I don’t know. Those massive contacts given to Harper - Machado - Trout - Arenado.... we’ll see about them down the line. And pitchers... the most fragile position on a team... insane to give a pitcher anything over three years. But it’s whatever the market will bear. Many teams have followed the As example of Moneyball wrt statistical analysis. But not many have adopted the As economic model.
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