Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Deal with Khalil

Coming into this offseason, we knew that we were going to need a shortstop with the departure of Cesar Izturis. I liked Cesar defensively, but at the plate you might as well mark an out on your scorecard for the ninth spot in the batting order. When we decided to trade for Khalil Greene, I couldnt have been more satisfied, especially with what we ended up giving up for him. A lot of people dont believe in our Front Office, but this will be the steal of the year when we look back on the 2009 season. I have always thought that Greene was one of the top offensive and defensive shortstops in the National League. Just watching him play that position with ease is enought to tell you what he is capable of and not to mention what he can do at the plate. He has a plus arm with above average range and he can make the plays in the hole with confidence. He has average to above average power for a short stop with a knack for driving in runs. In his first three full seasons with the Padres he average 15 home runs and 63 Rbi's, but the thing on him is that he strikes out too much and he cannot hit for average. It was apparent that his biggest weakness got the best of him in 2007. Although he put up ridiculous numbers in 2007 (27 Home Runs and 97 Rbi's) he only hit .254 with 128 strikeouts. These are eye-popping numbers on both ends of the spectrum, but you have to understand that when a hitter depends on their power, they are going to strikeout due to the lack of plate coverage and strike zone discipline. Therefore, these types of hitters are going to strikeout a lot and have an average hovering around the Mendoza line, although I doubt that Khalil will be around the .200 mark or below. For me, Greene is going to have another break out year. He is going to be playing for a contender so his renewed passion for the game will speak volumes in his play, defensively and at the plate.

Since I moved out to San Diego in June of '08, I have met numerous Padres fans, which is odd because this city is definitely considered a transient city and you rarely meet people that are actually from San Diego. Most, if not all, of the fans that I have met loved Khalil Greene. He was the easy choice for fan favorite and with his departure he also left a lot of broken hearts behind. This can only tell us one thing: That Khalil Greene is the real deal. If you have the ability to be a fan favorite, wherever you play, you are doing something right and if you look back at his career in a Padres uniform, he did exactly that. He is as close to a defensive wizard as I have ever seen with his highlight reel defensive plays up the middle or in the hole to his right. If he can thrive in San Diego, he will definitely thrive in the best baseball environment in St. Louis as most players do. There are countless players who have done it in the past, so why would that stop us from thinking that it wont happen again? And some of the players were not in their prime career years like Khalil Greene is right now. The thing that I am most excited about is his offense. The last power hitting shortstop (if you want to call if that) that we had was Edgar Renteria way back in 2004. I am mystified by Greene's power and wonder where he gets it from. He doesnt have a huge body frame, nor does he look like he has the muscle. This just shows how much ability he has as a hitter and that he knows he can hit. For instance, Alfonso Soriano does not have the muscles or the body type or the legs where most power hitters derive their power from, but that guy is good for 25+ home runs per year. I am not saying that Greene and Soriano are identical, but the way they uncoil themselves and drive through the zone definitely could draw some comparisons. If Khalil stays true to his form and sticks to his abilities, we should see a drastice improvement from 2008 in regards to his power numbers. He also hit in one of the most unfriendly hitting parks in all of baseball (Petco Park), so moving to St. Louis should only help, not hinder.

Khalil Greene has had an above average career so far. He has had three above average years (2004-2006), one way above average year (2007) and one down year (2008). Of course, the skeptical fans out there look at the 2008 season because that is the most logical thing to do, right? WRONG. He had an injury plagued year in 2008 when he broke his hand and only played in 105 games. Which ever way we look at it, he is going to love playing in front of the fans that we bring night in and night out and in the environment that we create. Khalil will give us what we have not had in a long time which is a mainstay on the left side of the infield and a true defensive magician. By the end of the 2009 season, we will be calling him the "Highlight Reel Khalil".

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you. When I heard that the Cardinals had signed Greene I was pretty excited about the possibilities, specifically the fact that he will give us offensive production at the SS position that we have not had since Renteria.

    More generally, I think the club will be much improved offensively this season. The past few seasons the middle infield positions have not been reliable sources of offense (Eckstein, Izturis, Miles, Kennedy, etc.) Sure they had their bright spots, but I think that Skip and Khalil will be a major improvement, and when combined with the rest of the Cardinal hitters will form a very potent lineup like we had during the 2004-06 run.

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  2. While Eckstein isn't a power threat, he hits for average, posting .294, .292, .309 batting averages in his 3 years in St Louis.

    I do like the acquisition of Greene though. If we average like 5-6 runs a game, I don't see how we can't make the playoffs

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