Please refresh my memory about Blalock...

by TedFord on Jul 27, 2008 1:19 PM CDT

I'm a little confused as to how we got to where we are today, namely looking for a club who'll part with prospects to get him. I consider him a serviceable 3B who may figure it out and someday be a stud. So, which of these reasons is it?

1. We are comfortable with Vasquez there for the foreseeable future.

2. We are frustrated by Blalock's hitting.

3. We are frustrated by his defense.

4. We are frustrated by his rash of injuries.

So is it one of the above or a combination of these?

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Comments

I think the only

problem with Blalock has to be his injuries, oh and the fact that he hired Scott “baseball anti christ” Boras this offseason. he would probably be here for a long time if it weren’t for those two things.

by blueballlefty on Jul 27, 2008 1:27 PM CDT reply actions

Injuries

yes but his was probably way too hyped up when he first got here. I mean stuff like next George Brett, etc was being thrown around. I remember when the big discussion was who was better, him or sean burroughs. I would also take number 3. He is just so plodding over there to me.

"There is nothing wrong with a good baseball argument, even if it gets a little personal now and then. If someone here get[s] their feelings hurt because of a blog post they really need to get a grip."

t ball

by booyahcaveman on Jul 27, 2008 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions

He was the #1 prospect in all the minors at one time

He was the person who forced Mark Teixeira to move to 1B to get playing time. He came up at the same age Davis has and put up good numbers early in his career. He was a legit prospect. The he got a rash of injuries that have been more frustrating than anything else. I mean seriously the rib thing and then this year when he was set to come back from a legit hamstring injury he gets carpal tunnel? Those are the things that just piss fans off. I could take it if he had had a knee injury while running the bases or a wrist injury sliding into a base. Its these rare things that seem to follow him around that just saps the energy to root for him.

As for his future here. He has a very reasonable option year next year and we don’t have any long term options in the minors at 3B right now. If in fact the organization plans to move Young to 3B when Andrus is ready then his timetable here fits perfectly. He is still young, younger than Teixeira who is a FA after this season, and when healthy can be a significant contributor to the middle of this lineup. I don’t want to see Hank go but I also don’t think he has a long term future here.

Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.

by bigsteve on Jul 27, 2008 1:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Reasonable Option?

Six million dollars is a hell of a lot of money given what Blalock’s produced in the last few years. Theoretically this team could get rid of him and look for a SS, 2B, or 3B to replace him. Young and Kinsler are both capable of moving left.

by Black Francis on Jul 29, 2008 8:48 AM CDT up reply actions

x

“he was probably”

t ball

by booyahcaveman on Jul 27, 2008 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions

He's had one good year

And every year since then, people have been saying “He’ll probably figure it out next year”.

by chief on Jul 27, 2008 1:31 PM CDT reply actions

+1

Ian Kinsler has finally earned the right to be the third of my co-favorite players.

by utlonghorn24 on Jul 27, 2008 2:14 PM CDT up reply actions

The main reason

that many want to see Blalock go is the defense on the left side of the infield. Young’s range is a little limited for a shortstop and Blalock’s range is also very limited. You could keep one if you combined them with a good defender, but together they leave a lot of holes for balls to get through. The idea to move Young to 3B and bring up Andrus (who has great range) at SS would improve the defense greatly and help the pitching. I suppose you could keep Blalock and trade Young, but Blalock is in the last year of a deal with an option for next year and Young is the FOTF, and with all of Blalock’s injuries that doesn’t likely at all.

by brentash on Jul 27, 2008 2:05 PM CDT reply actions

Two reasons

1) Bad defense
2) He’s a f.a. after next season (or after this season, if you don’t want to exercise the $6.2 million option on him)

I doubt he’s going to remain at third base more than just another season or two, personally. Sounds like he thinks his shoulder is shot, and he hasn’t had much range there for a while.

Remember when we thought it would be a great idea to move Blalock to 2B so Teixeira could play 3B and Hafner 1B?

What a disaster of a defensive infield that would have been…

by Adam J. Morris on Jul 27, 2008 2:16 PM CDT reply actions

And

Young at SS. Would have been interesting.

t ball

by booyahcaveman on Jul 27, 2008 2:43 PM CDT up reply actions

always been a big Blalock fan

but it just seems like he has changed his approach at the plate while never improving on his defense. I think the frustration comes from the expectations that he was going to be a cornerstone player and instead, it seems like he became selfish and fragile.

Warner Madrigal makes Ezequiel Astacio look downright handsome.

by tricer on Jul 27, 2008 2:25 PM CDT reply actions

It's all about #4 for me...

His defense concerns me as well, but the guy just can’t seem to stay healthy.

If the Rangers are going to move MY to 3rd when Andrus comes up they may as well get something for Hank now. He will be gone in a year (FA) anyway.

"The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."-Socrates

by slc ranger on Jul 27, 2008 2:52 PM CDT reply actions

I don't think

there is any sense of urgency to trade him. we don’t have a player at either 3B or SS that is banging on the big league door, so until Andrus is truly ready for the big leagues (and for me, that will not be until he has adjusted to AAA pitching and has cut down on the errors a bit) then I am content with the current set up.

That said, it does not seem unrealistic to project that Andrus can help this team by this time next year. Because of Blalock’s recent injury problem, a team would not necessarily place much value on having him for a year and a half as opposed to half a year, so we can probably get almost as much next summer when Andrus is ready.

by clark on Jul 27, 2008 3:26 PM CDT reply actions