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Tony Pena Jr. has taken 14 walks and has a .392 OBP in the Dominican League. The denizens of hell must have been caught singing, "Let it Snow," because it is probably a damn blizzard down there because of that OBP.

about 3 years ago DarthYoshi 17 comments 0 recs |

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Doesn't Tony know

you can’t walk your way off the island!

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by Matt Klaassen on Dec 4, 2008 9:49 PM EST reply actions

I guess thats encouraging

emotionally, i’m about, oh, I dunno, three months from rooting for TPJ as an underdog type

maybe he’s even worth a 25-man roster slot as a late-inning defensive ace

well… if we had a creative manager, which we don’t

by Freneau on Dec 5, 2008 2:23 AM EST reply actions

isn't that the way he is used?

he almost always came in at the end of the game with avilanche moving to 2B.

Founder of the Johnny Giavotella fan club.

by doublestix on Dec 5, 2008 3:53 AM EST up reply actions

oddly

I’m more and more beginning to think that that’s a backwards way of doing it — pinch-hitting a better hitter while behind might be a better way of dealing with leverage than saving a defensive stud for maybe one or two chances late in the game that he has a slim margin of doing better than the other guy.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by Matt Klaassen on Dec 5, 2008 11:29 AM EST up reply actions

Do they play with only 3 infielders?

It seems like all the offensive numbers are high and the pitching numbers are bad.

by BrRoyal on Dec 5, 2008 7:17 AM EST reply actions

What's the general consensus...

on the relative level of play for the Dominican League? Somewhere between AA and AAA? At the level of some AAA leagues? Maybe the PCL, given the apparently high offensive numbers across the board?

by Sweep_the_Leg on Dec 5, 2008 10:23 AM EST up reply actions

Off the top of my head, I would guess more like between A and AA

There are some legitimate major leaguers in that league, but more minor leaguers and some guys who aren’t even decent minor leaguers. And you don’t know if the major leaguers are even giving 100%. I actually think that the level of play (and reliability and meaning of the stats) is more like spring training. That is to say that the stats are essentially meaningless.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by Scott McKinney on Dec 5, 2008 1:11 PM EST up reply actions

As one would expect when a player like TPJ...

can put up a .392 OBP.

by Sweep_the_Leg on Dec 5, 2008 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

Now TPJ is probably an exception

I think he’s really turning a corner. He’s figured something out. I read a rumor that Seitzer went down to the DR to have a chat with him a few weeks ago. Coincidence? I think not.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by Scott McKinney on Dec 5, 2008 3:11 PM EST up reply actions

Did Kevin Fly

Or walk?

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Dec 5, 2008 5:58 PM EST up reply actions

What would it take offensively

For TPJ to be useful?

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Dec 5, 2008 9:50 AM EST reply actions

for the opposing defense to leave the field when he's at bat

by DarthYoshi on Dec 5, 2008 10:13 AM EST up reply actions

Pretty close

I would say, given his other tools (or lack thereof), you’d have to get a .350 OBP out of the guy if you were actually going to start him occasionally. Which is about 100 points higher than his lifetime average. Which means that we’d have to see what DarthYoshi’s talking about during the games he played.

by Sweep_the_Leg on Dec 5, 2008 10:17 AM EST up reply actions

Including the Pitcher

Teeball!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111111111111111111

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Dec 5, 2008 11:59 AM EST up reply actions

at least then he'd have an excuse for never taking a walk

by DarthYoshi on Dec 5, 2008 12:44 PM EST up reply actions

depends on how good he really is defensively

if he really is +20 runs, then he could hit like he did in 2007, maybe a little worse, and be decent. But he didn’t seem to be a + 20 defender this past season.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by Matt Klaassen on Dec 5, 2008 11:30 AM EST up reply actions

The Only Way

Keeping TPJ on the big team makes sense is as a starting SS or as the UI and German goes away. If he hits like 2007 TPJ, that’s still a stretch. Defensively, my eyes told me he’s not even a + defender; better than German, and spectacular at times, but very inconsistent.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Dec 5, 2008 12:04 PM EST reply actions