Curtis Granderson Sucks Again

[Centerfield]

I don't know if any of you guys have noticed (by the lack of hate-filled threads, I would guess you haven't) but Curtis Granderson sucks again. .205 batting average, no stolen bases. After an outlier year in 2015, Curtis has reverted back to the low .700's in OPS, just like he was in the two years prior.

Sure, it was mid-May last year when Curtis took off and turned his season around. It was, if I remember, on the same day that I started a certain thread about him. And sure, even in his down year in 2014, he had good months in May and June.

But that absolutely positively will not happen again. No chance. There is zero chance that Curtis Granderson will hit 2 HR's off Strasburg tonight and propel himself into the fringes of MVP discussion by year's end.

Not gonna happen.

[batmagadanleadoff]

He's 35 years old. He should be declining. And if you think last year was an outlier, as you write, then he should be worse than he was in 2014.

[smg58]

He's got a really high ISO (.219) and a really low BABIP (.230). The singles will come, and his other numbers look fine.

[Centerfield]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: He's 35 years old. He should be declining. And if you think last year was an outlier, as you write, then he should be worse than he was in 2014.

Sorry. Should have been more clear. I'm trying to reverse-jinx myself and propel Curtis into a hot streak.

I do think 2015 will be an outlier though. I'm hoping he ends up in the high .700's, with about 23-25 HR's and a good OBP.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Come on, man, there's some low BABIP, a still-decent walk rate, and some other peripheral stuff that you're overlooking, probably. He's an above average right fielder or whatnot.

(Is this what I said last year? I think it was. Here's a Fangraphs link.)

[Guest d'Kong76]

Last year's CGS thread here!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Oh yeah.

I STILL think he smells good.

[Edgy MD]

I don't think we should use "good year" and "outlier" interchangeably

Or even a great year. An outlier is something else.

[Centerfield]

You know, reading through that old thread again, it looks like we all thought he was unlucky last year, and we are thinking the same thing this year. I understand that the low BABIP suggests bad luck. But is it really?

I mean, if he hits the ball to the same side of the field every time (which it seems he does) and it's the same side that all the fielders are standing on (which it almost is) then shouldn't we expect that his BABIP would be lower than pure chance would suggest?

I don't know the answer. Just thinking out loud.

[Edgy MD]

That logic has merit, which is why I advocate like a nut for bunting against the shift.

But extending the logic asks us to look at the reality that the shift is everywhere, and being used routinely throughout the league. Its effects are felt through the entire data set of league wide performance, so if his BABiP is lower than the mean, there's some reason to hope that should correct itself.

Some. I still think they should come up with a strategy to counter the shift besides trying to hit through it (or over it). First among 15th in the league in home runs, but 12th in batting average are numbers that generally represents a good team. But it's hardly ideal.

It's a problem that certainly goes beyond Granderson.

[Ceetar]

Centerfield wrote: You know, reading through that old thread again, it looks like we all thought he was unlucky last year, and we are thinking the same thing this year. I understand that the low BABIP suggests bad luck. But is it really? I mean, if he hits the ball to the same side of the field every time (which it seems he does) and it's the same side that all the fielders are standing on (which it almost is) then shouldn't we expect that his BABIP would be lower than pure chance would suggest? I don't know the answer. Just thinking out loud.

Not really. Shifting hasn't really affected BABIP too much from what I understand.

also his career is .299 and they've definitely been shifting against him for a while, so it's not likely that that number is artificially inflated.

[Centerfield]

I'm all for bunting against the shift.

But how about taking the ball the other way? Even just by trying to go the other way maybe you get them to reposition a bit.

I don't know. I'm sure it's harder than it looks.

I can't even hit a golf ball that's sitting still the direction I want it to go.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I would think that if they're shifting dramatically like they've been, most pitches will be on the inner part of the plate, and it's gotta be pretty hard to hit that the opposite way. But if the shift is on, and you see an outside pitch, you have to be ready to poke it the other way. I'm pretty sure I've seen Lucas Duda do this a couple of times, but the opportunity has to be there.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I would think that if they're shifting dramatically like they've been, most pitches will be on the inner part of the plate, and it's gotta be pretty hard to hit that the opposite way. But if the shift is on, and you see an outside pitch, you have to be ready to poke it the other way. I'm pretty sure I've seen Lucas Duda do this a couple of times, but the opportunity has to be there.

Actually most of the pitches to Duda are middle and middle-down just off the outside of the plate.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Centerfield wrote: I'm all for bunting against the shift. But how about taking the ball the other way? Even just by trying to go the other way maybe you get them to reposition a bit. I don't know. I'm sure it's harder than it looks. I can't even hit a golf ball that's sitting still the direction I want it to go.

Part of the shift -- I suspect, a larger part than is readily apparent to Joe Sixpack in the stands or on TV -- is how they pitch to you. Shirley if you take all the effort to position guys with precision you'd also make sure your pitcher is in on the scheme.

[Edgy MD]

Sure but the Dudas and the Goldschmidts and the Kingmen of the world tend to reach out and pull the outside pitch too. Anything over the plate. Just... not so authoritatively as the inside stuff.

Duda still gets pitched away to a large part, I think. The shift is about taking away the singles and doubles, but if you couple it with pitching him inside regularly, he's going to more than make up for that with KABOOM!KABOOM!KABOOM!

[Ceetar]

Where they pitch Duda:



Where Duda's power is (.ISO)

[Ceetar]

And since this isn't Duda's thread: Grandy:

[Edgy MD]

Where they pitch Duda:

From the catcher's POV, it says. So in short, this means, "Down and away," correct?

[Ceetar]

Yeah. I'm kinda surprised at Granderson's power up and away out of the strikezone. Small sample I guess (14 pitches)

[Frayed Knot]

This has got to qualify of one of the more odd stat trends of the year:

Granderson in 1st innings: .396/.467/.830
Grandy in all other innings: .185/.285/.366
I have no idea what to make of all that except that it fits in well with his pitiful RiSP numbers [.116/.278/.186] otherwise known as 5 for 43

Now obviously hitting leadoff most of the time is a big factor in his lack of RBIs, but only a season where more than 1/3 of his hits (21 of 57) and nearly half his HRs (6 of 13) come in the first AB of the game can create the absurd stat where the runner he's driven in more than 60% of the time is himself, but that's how you get just 21 RBIs on 13 HRs.
In fact he has all of 11 hits (75 ABs) this season with runner(s) on base (not just scoring position runners, ANY runner) seven of them singles.