Dodgers' SS possibilities
Posted: Tue May 01, 2018 11:39 pm
3E373F2E205A0 wrote: I continue to be puzzled by the widespread belief that Kang won't be able to hit again because he's been away from live pitching for a year.
Arod was away from the game at 37 and came back at 39 as good as he was at 35.
A ton of players went away to war in the 40's and 50's and came back without missing a beat. We're they facing live pitching in Korea or Germany or Japan?
The chance that he won't hit again is very small imo. This has been done many times before and has not been a big deal. Whether or not he can play short, yeah ok. Of course everyone is entitled to believe what they feel makes sense, but this whole "Kang won't hit" thing feels like another emporer has no clothes moment.
The idea that he wasn't getting a visa, and he was done and couldn't play anyway after being away from the game for so long was peddled by the bloggers and it was repeated over and over. The tiny sample during the winter league fed into those preconceptions. Now that he's suprisingly back, there remains widespread dismissal of his ability to hit the baseball.
I think it’s an apples and oranges comparison. In the 40s and 50s, relief pitchers weren’t as common. You might face a guy four times in a game, and he might have already thrown 120 pitches by the time you saw him for the fourth time.
Plus, guys throw harder. It used to be that if you hit 92, you were a power pitcher. Now, 92 is what the batting practice guy is throwing. Until he proves me wrong, I’m going to be very skeptical about Kang.
Arod was away from the game at 37 and came back at 39 as good as he was at 35.
A ton of players went away to war in the 40's and 50's and came back without missing a beat. We're they facing live pitching in Korea or Germany or Japan?
The chance that he won't hit again is very small imo. This has been done many times before and has not been a big deal. Whether or not he can play short, yeah ok. Of course everyone is entitled to believe what they feel makes sense, but this whole "Kang won't hit" thing feels like another emporer has no clothes moment.
The idea that he wasn't getting a visa, and he was done and couldn't play anyway after being away from the game for so long was peddled by the bloggers and it was repeated over and over. The tiny sample during the winter league fed into those preconceptions. Now that he's suprisingly back, there remains widespread dismissal of his ability to hit the baseball.
I think it’s an apples and oranges comparison. In the 40s and 50s, relief pitchers weren’t as common. You might face a guy four times in a game, and he might have already thrown 120 pitches by the time you saw him for the fourth time.
Plus, guys throw harder. It used to be that if you hit 92, you were a power pitcher. Now, 92 is what the batting practice guy is throwing. Until he proves me wrong, I’m going to be very skeptical about Kang.