So how about Daniel Nava?

[Dojji]

That's pretty much how a lot of at bats are won. Stay with the pitcher until you get your pitch.

 

Even on a bad day Verlander was absolutely disgusting and a very intimidating pitcher to face off against. That pitch to Nava was his only really big mistake of the night. All of the 3 hits to load the bases were little Texas league dunks -- bad luck on his part.

[a700hitter]

Boy I never thought I would see Nava and Yaz in the same sentence.

It is a bit blasphemous, especially since Yaz already had won a triple crown and three batting championships by Nava's age.

[redsoxbeatz]

Nava knows the strike zone. [. . .] Yaz did the same thing after a few seasons' date=' and increased his power output--at the expense of his BA.[/quote']

 

Boy I never thought I would see Nava and Yaz in the same sentence.

 

Nava & Yaz not in same sentence ^^^^ period is in bold for you.

 

Nava's been good for us in his 52 ABs. This season is injury struck, anyone that helps keep this team +/-2 games from .500 is going to look good. Ells, Crawford, Ross, Sweeney all bring way more to the table than Nava does and will do so for a longer period of time (not Ross cause he's old.)

[mvp 78]

Ross 31 = old

Nava 29 = young

[jung]

That pitch to Nava was his only really big mistake of the night.

 

No it wasn't. Verlander made what was for him tons of mistakes with the breaking ball hanging more of them right in the middle of the plate than I have ever seen from him. He hung more of them right in the middle of the plate in one night than I would have expected in a month of starts. He threw a few good ones but threw many more like the slider he threw to Youk in Youks second at bat. Verlander was also up in the zone with his FB much more than usual as well. Check Brooks. It is not hard to see.

 

When Verlander is really on he can throw any one of his pitches at any time and even his mistake breaking balls are not left right in the middle of the plate or up in the zone.

[Dojji]

Seems to be good for a walk and a double every game. I'll take that.

[User Name]

Ross 31 = old

Nava 29 = young

 

Yeah simple math seems to be a forgotten science.

[Bellhorn04]

Nava continues to do a commendable job. Out of 20 games there have only been 2 that he hasn't reached base by hit or walk at least once, and in one of those games he had a sac fly.

[User Name]

TTP (Total Team Player)

[SoxSport]

It is a bit blasphemous' date=' especially since Yaz already had won a triple crown and three batting championships by Nava's age.[/quote']

 

Different time lines. Yaz came up to the Red Sox in '61 at age 19 or 20. I saw him hit his first year. Trust me when I say Nava's swing is similar to the young Yaz. Nobody is comparing stats. If Nava was 5 years younger, he might be seen in a different light. As it is, Bobby V is impressed enough so far. The team is winning with the present lineup. Stick with it.

[SoxSport]

Hey, the kid got 4 hits tonite. He hits like this, they can't keep him out of the lineup. They're winning games with him at the top of the order.

I've been saying the kid has a great swing for a couple of years. Now the Globe is saying it too.

[Dojji]

Nava replaced Pedroia tonight and gave a Pedroialike performance. His average is back up above .300 (.314) and 3 more doubles.

 

But of course, he's just a singles hitter.

[Bellhorn04]

22 games .314/.444/.543

 

“God-dang,’’ manager Bobby Valentine said. “He just hits the ball where they weren’t and hit it hard and worked the count. He looks like as good a hitter as you want. Every at-bat he takes pitches that are balls and takes full swings at pitches that are strikes. That’s a good combination.’’

 

Valentine said Nava has the ability to recognize the location of pitches quickly and decide whether to swing. That enables him to go deep into counts and take confident swings. He saw 22 pitches on Friday.

 

“Am I surprised? I’m absolutely amazed,’’ Valentine said.

[SoxFanForsyth]

Nava WAR: 1.4

 

ARod WAR: 1.2

 

And, just for you a700, Abreu WAR: 0.3 :thumbsup:

[a700hitter]

Nava WAR: 1.4

 

ARod WAR: 1.2

 

And, just for you a700, Abreu WAR: 0.3 :thumbsup:

It was never a choice between Nava and Abreu, because we didn't have to give up Nava to get Abreu. As it turned out due to Ross injury, they would both be in the lineup. Getting Abreu probably would have sent Marlon Byrd packing. Do you really want to defend Byrd?/

[Dojji]

It depends on whether or not you're deluded enough to think Abreu is a CF at this point in his career.

 

Getting Abreu would have kept Gonzo at first and Middlebrooks on the bench more. It would have been small gain even it worked brilliantly.

[Dojji]

I think this rebound from Nava is somewhat significant. It's not a free ticket to the 3-4 years of major league starting that IMHO he has the potential for, but it is a sign that the first time MLB pitchers start adjusting to him, he can adjust back. It doesn't mean everything, but it doesn't mean nothing either.

[SoxFanForsyth]

It was never a choice between Nava and Abreu' date=' because we didn't have to give up Nava to get Abreu. As it turned out due to Ross injury, they would both be in the lineup. Getting Abreu probably would have sent Marlon Byrd packing. Do you really want to defend Byrd?/[/quote']

 

No no no. I'm just giving you s*** because you're so pro-Abreu and pretty anti-Nava.

[Beaneater]

On base machine.

[VA Sox Fan]

No no no. I'm just giving you s*** because you're so pro-Abreu and pretty anti-Nava.

 

Really? I never got that impression. ;)

[kapsis21]

even an out turns into a 2BI when Nava hits one ...

[a700hitter]

No no no. I'm just giving you s*** because you're so pro-Abreu and pretty anti-Nava.

The Abreu thing is just a pet peeve that I have been carrying since 2006.

 

I am not anti-Nava. I feel great for the kid. I was at the game in 2010 when he hit the Grand Slam. I just don't have a high opinion of his skills. He has improved his fielding a great deal since 2010, but he is still just average. He'll need to get onbase at a very high rate to find a place in the majors, but he is continuing to produce in that regard. I hope he continues what he has been doing.

[Dojji]

Out of curiosity, exactly when was the last time Nava failed to reach base at least once in the course of a game?

 

EDIT AFTER A BIT OF DIGGING: Ahh. May 27 against the Rays. But that's one of only 3 games he's had where he hasn't touched first at least once.

 

This guy has been a very adequate top of the order hitter and he's been very consistent so far in the one thing a top of the order guy should be doing -- getting on base. He's not got elite speed, but his OBP skills, contact ability and propensity for doubles marks him as an archetypal #2 type. He's not quite the born #2 hitter Pedroia is, but he's above the league average considerably among players in that role, and he'll more than do for a replacement until we get Pedey back.

 

I'd have a hard time not seeing another big league team give this kid a shot if we let him go now. He's earned a look for any team who's a bit light at the corners and can use a good #2 hitter. There might even be some trade value here.

[RedSoxfanforlife305]

Oh god.

[mvp 78]

May 27

[Dojji]

Yeah, I found it myself after about another 2 minutes of digging.

 

Anyway, the gorilla in the room seems to be the BABIP. Nava's BABIP has gone back up to around .340, which seems high to people because it's well above the league average. It's the biggest weapon in the arsenal of those concerned that Nava is a fluke.

 

Food for thought: Nava's BABIP has been consistent throughout his minor league career. His BABIP average over his mL career was .337, well within the margin of error of his current .344 in the bigs. He's a line drive hitter who can really put some good swings on the ball, and tends produce a lot of sharp contact. That will generate more hits than the average when contact is made.

 

He has a power swing for such a small player, a lot of bat speed to make up for his lack of being physically built. Thus the line drives. And he strikes out a bit from swinging hard to hit those drives, which increases the BABIP a bit on the other end. And we've all seen him hit some screamers. He's been Laser Show, Jr. from time to time. So the BABIP isn't relly something that concerns me. It might normalize, or this might BE his normal BABIP. We don't know yet.

 

As for power: Nava's power is mostly in low line drives, and he can get it to the wall in a hurry from time to time. If Nava ever found a way to change his swing just a little and get under the ball just that one tiny fraction of an inch more, like Pedroia did, the home runs could come for him like it did for Pedroia. I dunno if it'll happen, but the skill is there to make it a possibility if he can make the right adjustments.

 

That said? Nava is probably a little bit of a fluke. For his career. whatever he gets of it in the bigs he's going to be closer to .270/.380/.420 than his current line. I don't think he's going to continue being one of the league's best top of the order hitters from now to retirement, in other words. I still take that line in the 2 hole over most of the league's #2 hitters.

[User Name]

How does striking out increase BABIP? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

If what you mean is that hitting more line drives increases BABIP, then that's right. But that sentence is really really confusing.

[Rdsxmbnt]

How does striking out increase BABIP? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

If what you mean is that hitting more line drives increases BABIP, then that's right. But that sentence is really really confusing.

 

His theory is that he has an aggressive swing and when he hits it into play, this bat speed causes his BABIP to be higher than someone who doesn't hit it as hard. I'm not sure I entirely believe this but his LD% is very high and higher LD% and higher BABIP are correlated.

 

EDIT: ya you're second point^

[Dojji]

How does striking out increase BABIP? That makes absolutely no sense.

 

If what you mean is that hitting more line drives increases BABIP, then that's right. But that sentence is really really confusing.

Striking out lowers your AVG without creating a ball in play. Therefore it raises your BABIP.. or more correctly, it doesn't lower it. So if you strike out more and have the same average, you have a higher BABIP. This Nava has a higher BABIP than, say, Dustin Pedoia who is a similar hitter in some respects but almost never strikes out.

[mvp 78]

Striking out lowers your AVG without creating a ball in play. Therefore it raises your BABIP.. or more correctly' date=' it doesn't lower it. So if you strike out more and have the same average, you have a higher BABIP. This Nava has a higher BABIP than, say, Dustin Pedoia who is a similar hitter in some respects but almost never strikes out.[/quote']

 

"more correctly"

 

Oh Dojji...