Training, competition, nutrition, recovery, injuries, psychology, and other topics relevant to competing with younger athletes. Also Tim Tebow articles. Formerly the "Over Forty Athlete" blog.
Am enjoying following him day to day, and was thrilled with those 2 home runs. The second one was a bonecrusher, and shows what can happen when he gets the bat around.
Would like to see that batting average come up. 176 ain't gonna cut it in the long run. Seems like over the last few games his strikeouts have come way down, and he's usually making contact. He grounds out a lot. What is that a reflection of?
As in football there is something about Tim that transcends stats. Even with his low .176 batting avg. he still manages to find himself in the middle of all the action. I point to his 9 RBI's in 9 games which is probably an unsustainable pace. To have done that while hitting only .176 is remarkable. Of course he also has those 2 home runs.
I would like to see his batting avg. go up but I am not at all concerned yet with his avg. I want to see what happens over the course of a full season. There will be periods of struggle as he finds his way at the plate. His on base % is pretty good. He is willing to accept his walks which helps his on base %. Walks do not count as official at bats but they count towards your on base %.
It's too early to make an assessment on what all the ground outs mean. As long as he is making solid contact some of those grounders will turn into base hits.
One thing that I am watching out for over the course of the season is the effect the grueling daily grind will have on Tim's performance. Will he get stronger & better as the year goes on or will he tire at seasons end.
Baseball's grind is different than football's, it might require an adjustment period. The ideal would be to have one full season under his belt then come back next season to see if he continues to develop.
So far the Mets have handled him perfectly pointing to his progress & embracing the intangibles he brings to the team. Some people expect to see him in the majors in Sept. when they expand the rosters.
I don't know yet. Let's see what happens. I do think though that the Mets & MLB are giving him every opportunity to make this work.
They moved him up in the order to 5th tonight. Perhaps because of the RBI production?
He missed a chance for a classic Tebow moment tonight. Came to bat with 2 outs and bases loaded. Alas, didn't hit the grand slam. He grounded to the shortstop, but reached base on an error. The next guy hit the grand slam. :)
4 ground balls yesterday, another 3 today. Strikeouts are becoming infrequent. But gotta wonder if word has gotten around on how to pitch to him: "keep it low and he'll hit it on the ground every time."
Starting to get discouraged. Batting average of .156, 0-4 yesterday with 3 strikeouts, not playing today. I know baseball is a long game with slumps and streaks, but this is starting to feel depressingly like pre-season football. Wishing away the numbers.
I just saw a video of all 3 hits. I like the fact that he is hitting to all fields plus willing to take his walks. It will make him tougher to defend & tougher to pitch to.
MILB.com has a thing called gameday where you can track a game. Shows each pitch placement.
Just watched a rather strange at-bat by Tim. He took 3 pitches that looked very much like brushbacks. One was basically at his head. Then he was hit by a pitch. Who throws at Tim Tebow? I mean A) that's a little like kicking a puppy, and B) God help you if Tim ever DID get angry and charge the mound.
Kinda backfired, though. Tim took 2nd and 3rd on a wild pickoff throw, then scored on a sacrifice fly.
Here's a funny thought: at some point in his baseball career, some fool catcher is going to try to block the plate on him.
I have often thought some pitcher might try something like that. There is probably some degree of envy involved.
If Tim ever did charge the mound it would seem so out of character for him they could make a movie about that alone :). Although when his competitive juices begin to flow he does transform his happy go lucky demeanor.
Thanks for keeping me updated on whats going on. I haven't been able to see much lately. I have been working alot.
They have eased up the rules on catchers blocking the plate & also the take out slides at 2nd base. With the old rules catchers would block the plate on almost every play now they can only do it under certain circumstances.
It seems like Tim is getting more comfortable on the baseball field everyday. Look forward to the next update.
Entering Monday, Tebow led the minor leagues with a 4.73 ground-ball to fly-ball ratio. Which means on his balls in play, he’s nearly five times as likely to dribble it on the ground than he is to hit it in the air. His rate is by far the highest of any of the 993 qualified minor leaguers at any level, according to FanGraphs.
My guess would be he & his coaches are making a conscious effort to cut down on the strikeouts by putting the ball in play. The theory being if he learns to make contact the hits & home runs will eventually come. Putting the ball in play puts pressure on the defense.
I just saw Tim make a major league play with my own eyes. Anyone who can make a play like that after not playing for 12 years has big league potential without a doubt.
Super excited to catch some games myself. There are 4 high-A affiliates within an hour of my house. Will definitely catch a few of the Tampa games in August.
Read an article in local Savannah paper that interviewed the minor league GM there. It had some insight about the logic of moving Tim. He said the general plan of progression for most players is 4 years in the minors, one year at each level. In Tim's case, because of his age they feel he needs to make the progression in 2 years instead of 4.
I watched all four of the games in Ft. Myers this past weekend. That catch he made on Fri. had a difficulty degree of 10. He had to run a super long way just to get to the ball then he had to contend with the outfield wall & time his jump at the precise moment to be able to make the catch. It was a play that alot of major league outfielders would not have made. He really didn't get another opportunity to do anything spectacular but he made all the routine plays he needed to make. He threw to the proper bases & hit the cutoff man on the throws in. It's only 4 games so I don't want to award him a gold glove just yet but I do think from the 4 games I have seen he has a chance to become an above average outfielder. On the offensive side he is a patient hitter who makes the pitcher work. He had a base clearing 3 run double in last night's game. The potential is there. His bat needs to become quicker though. Hopefully that will come with more at bat's. It's a small sample size but so far I have to believe the Mets have to be genuinely pleased with what Tim has shown them. The team will be back in Ft. Myers in a couple of weeks & then in Pt. Charlotte later this month. I am going to try to make those games. If he keeps developing as a hitter through the summer maybe the Mets may consider bringing him up to the bigs in Sept. if they are not in the race.
1) Tim currently has an 11 game hitting streak. That is remarkable in it's difficulty. He has also reached base in every game he has played for Pt. St. Lucie.
2) In the last few games he seems to be pulling the ball a little more. Maybe it is something they are working on. Trying to develop. There is no doubt he can hit the ball the other way he has a nice opposite field stroke if his bat speed improves to the point where he could get around consistently on inside pitches he could become a really good hitter. Hitting requires constant adjusting. He is growing by leaps & bounds as a hitter. He still has alot of work to do but what he has shown so far has to exceed anyone's expectations thus far in the process.
3) Some of the MLB all stars were effusive in their praise. Conforto from the Mets noticed the same thing I did about Tim's hitting style. He doesn't chase very often he has alot of patience at the plate. espn.com/mlb/story has their comments. What a difference in the way the baseball world talks about him than the football world did.
4) His team will be back in Ft. Myers this weekend. I will be going to all 3 games.
What we are witnessing here is truly remarkable. This is a storybook story that hopefully will have a happy ending. Only the most jaded among us would not appreciate what Tim is doing. It's not a question anymore of whether or not he will get a major league shot. At some point it has to happen.
Once that happens the slate will be wiped clean & he will have to prove himself all over again.
He has always been driven by his faith but there has to be at least some part of him that is being driven by the horrible rejection he took from the NFL.
This is a redemption story unlike any we have ever seen!
Just got through watching all 3 games in Ft. Myers. Tim had been 0 for his last 12 coming in to today. I thought he might be headed towards his first slump but he bounced back nicely with 3 hits. Even when he strikes out he always seems to have good at bats. He sees alot of pitchs. What I really liked most about today is he laid a beautiful bunt down the 3rd base line. I don't think anyone in the park was expecting that. To me it showed he wants to play the game the right way. He is becoming a complete player. In the next month or so we will learn alot more. This is becoming more interesting by the day.
Sounds cool. Looking forward to catching some games in August when he plays in the Tampa area. There are 4 high-A clubs within 1 hour of me, so plenty of options. Will probably try to catch a few games when he plays the Tampa Yankees.
He had a slump at the end of his time at Columbia, which lowered his stats.
So how the heck did he get a base hit on an infield pop up?
It was a broken bat looper which fell in over the 2nd baseman's head & in front of the right fielder. It fell in the right spot. That's ok though because earlier in the game he hit a hard line drive right at the 2nd baseman.
BTW: Whatever happened to Catherine she has not commented in a long time.
Seems like he is getting a lot more shots on the right half of the field lately. Maybe learning to get around on the ball?
Kathryn is still following closely. I always know when Tim hits a homer because she pings me on Twitter. I think she's just exercising patience because she knows it's a long process.
Speaking of following games, have you messed with the MILB mobile app? It's pretty handy.
I haven't messed with the App yet. I have been following this more closely now than I had been been earlier in the season. So I will look into it. It allows you to watch the games right?
It does, but only selected games, and only with a paid subscription. The free app has a function called gameday, which is a live action tracker similar to gamecast on NFL mobile. I like the live pitch placement, though I wonder how they figure that out.
Tim had another nice day today, 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. He seems to be settling in at .300, which is great if it holds. His strikeouts are drastically down since the promotion. Perhaps he is not pressing as hard.
Another nice game, 3 for 5. BA holding steady above 300. Seems to be pulling more, and strikeouts are way down. Mets have to be be pleased with his progress. If he keeps on his current pace, seems like a promotion to AA ball would be in the works by next spring.
Really looking forward to catching a game next weekend.
His steady production along with his consistency continues to surprise me. I believe the consistency comes from his discipline at the plate. He has also been able to produce when he hasn't hit with walks, sacrifices, Hbp etc. His is an all around offensive game.
Since he has performed better than expected so far, I don't see what the down side would be to bringing him up to the majors for Sept. call ups. In Sept. the rosters are expanded from 25 to 50. Teams that are out of the race use this time to evaluate their minor leaguers similar to the way it's done in spring training. If he were to be called up just for Sept. he could still start next season in the minors.
If he were hitting .200 instead of .300 it might be more difficult to justify the call up. In Tim's case a Sept. call up would surely have the added bonus of stealing the headlines from the opening of the NFL season.
I will be going to the games in Pt. Charlotte this weekend. I will keep you posted.
Would you be concerned about his progress stopping due to being overmatched by MLB pitchers? I'd rather see him backfill someone in AA or AAA and continue to excel against incrementally better pitching.
His exit velocity is apparently a thing in his favor. Hadn't thought about that much, but it makes sense. I did play enough baseball to know that placing hits in gaps is mostly nonsense. You hit it square and the ball goes where it goes. The faster the ball moves through the field, the harder it is to make a play.
I thought about his progress being stopped as a possibility. There is a little bit of a risk in that but I factored in his mentality (I think he would be strong enough to handle it if that did happen)( I also factored in that he faced some of these same pitchers last spring. He was overmatched by some but not all of them & he has vastly improved since then. The time spent in the majors would only be for one month. If he does well great. If he struggles it would be no different than the initial struggles he had in Arizona or Columbia.
There might be less pressure being called up in Sept. with 25 other players as opposed to starting or being called up in the middle of a season by himself. If he is overmatched he could start over again next spring.
We'll just have to wait to see what the Mets decide. The last comments I heard from their GM did not seem like they were thinking about bringing Tim up this Sept.
Another outstanding night for Tim. This is becoming routine. In addition to the 2 great diving catches I noticed when he caught a routine fly ball he made a gesture with his glove similar to the way Ricky Henderson used to do it. It was more subtle not nearly as pronounced. What it showed was supreme confidence. He has grown a lot since he was catching fly balls with 2 hands.
Sooner or later it was bound to happen. I am not sure whether to attribute it to the law of averages, or possibly the long grind of a baseball season taking it's toll. Whatever it is Tim is battling through a nasty prolonged slump. It happens to almost every hitter. It may have been a bit unrealistic to think he was going to keep his batting avg. up at .300. He may just be leveling off. I am confident he will bounce back up & get hot again. I am pretty sure the Mets feel the same way. This first year is being used to get him acquainted with the process of being an everyday player.
Btw: According to reports the Dolphins considered Tim before signing Jay Cutler. I think right now he is focused on baseball & would not have taken an offer.
Hard not to get discouraged. That stat line is looking pretty brutal. If he drops below .200, you can bet the haters will start chanting "Tebow Stinks" again.
I caught a game last weekend. A few random observations:
1. I'd never seen him in person. He has the largest legs of any human I have ever seen. Huge hips too. The guy was born to play football.
2. He looked behind the pitchers. Also, the ones I saw were jamming him up with fastballs high and inside. I wonder how much of his slumping stats could be due to the pitchers in his league figuring out how to pitch him?
3. Looks slow in the field too. Can't cover space like the center fielder and right fielder, and looks afraid to commit.
4. Terrifying on the base path. One day a catcher is going to block the plate. I hope they have trash bags ready to clean up that guy's body parts.
5. Great atmosphere, lots of fans and no haters. Folks working the stadium seemed to get a kick out of the crowd. Quite a bargain for $8 tickets right alongside 1st base.
I share some of your observations. This slump he is in is brutal. I think #2 is a very valid point. Teams know that he has a late swing so that makes him susceptible to high inside fastballs. I also attribute the slump to the daily grind of playing everyday. It gradually wears on a player. I think that's where Tim is at now. He will have to fight through it WITHOUT PRESSING which is a very difficult thing to do.
I actually enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the minor league games also. In some ways I enjoyed it more than major league games. Those games retain alot of the personal flavor that is sometimes lacking in the bigger parks.
I still wish he was playing football. The sport of football was robbed of his unique abilities.
It's hard to know without knowing what the coaches are asking him to do. Since he has been slumping they may be telling him to take a basic approach just trying to put the ball in play. It also could be that right now his swing is tired & slow not allowing him to get a good lift on the ball. I am confident that at some point (it may not be until next season) that he will start to hit again.
Looks like the coaches are trying to help Tim shake off his slump. Batting him in the cleanup spot after a rain out. It will be up to Tim to see if he can make something of it. Sometimes small things like this can help a player break the funky cycle he may be experiencing.
Thoughts on Jacksonville: Khan blew it. Should have signed Tim and Kap, hired someone like Kyle Shanahan to run the read option, and had a QB competition both on and off the field for the whole season. A license to print money, both locally with Tim and nationally on social media with the Kaepernick controversy. Who knows what would have happened, but it would have been a hoot either way.
Ed, were you as surprised as I was to see Tim doing Tv this morning? He had been swinging such a hot bat recently I would have preferred he finish out the minor league season before doing the Television gig.
All things considered I think Tim has had a remarkable first season of pro ball. He was not only playing the game he was learning the game at the same time. Next season he can begin to play the game more instinctively. Whereby he can react to situations without having to think about them. It's a combination of muscle & mental
It will be interesting to see what the Mets decide to do.
If it were my decision I would give him a few weeks in the bigs this month. Then give him some time off to absorb what he learned this season before taking the next step. Whatever that might be.
Am enjoying following him day to day, and was thrilled with those 2 home runs. The second one was a bonecrusher, and shows what can happen when he gets the bat around.
ReplyDeleteWould like to see that batting average come up. 176 ain't gonna cut it in the long run. Seems like over the last few games his strikeouts have come way down, and he's usually making contact. He grounds out a lot. What is that a reflection of?
As in football there is something about Tim that transcends stats. Even with his low .176 batting avg. he still manages to find himself in the middle of all the action. I point to his 9 RBI's in 9 games which is probably an unsustainable pace. To have done that while hitting only .176 is remarkable. Of course he also has those 2 home runs.
DeleteI would like to see his batting avg. go up but I am not at all concerned yet with his avg. I want to see what happens over the course of a full season. There will be periods of struggle as he finds his way at the plate. His on base % is pretty good. He is willing to accept his walks which helps his on base %. Walks do not count as official at bats but they count towards your on base %.
It's too early to make an assessment on what all the ground outs mean. As long as he is making solid contact some of those grounders will turn into base hits.
One thing that I am watching out for over the course of the season is the effect the grueling daily grind will have on Tim's performance. Will he get stronger & better as the year goes on or will he tire at seasons end.
Baseball's grind is different than football's, it might require an adjustment period. The ideal would be to have one full season under his belt then come back next season to see if he continues to develop.
So far the Mets have handled him perfectly pointing to his progress & embracing the intangibles he brings to the team. Some people expect to see him in the majors in Sept. when they expand the rosters.
I don't know yet. Let's see what happens. I do think though that the Mets & MLB are giving him every opportunity to make this work.
They moved him up in the order to 5th tonight. Perhaps because of the RBI production?
DeleteHe missed a chance for a classic Tebow moment tonight. Came to bat with 2 outs and bases loaded. Alas, didn't hit the grand slam. He grounded to the shortstop, but reached base on an error. The next guy hit the grand slam. :)
4 ground balls yesterday, another 3 today. Strikeouts are becoming infrequent. But gotta wonder if word has gotten around on how to pitch to him: "keep it low and he'll hit it on the ground every time."
Or alternatively, "for goodness sake, don't hang it high or he'll knock it to California."
DeleteStarting to get discouraged. Batting average of .156, 0-4 yesterday with 3 strikeouts, not playing today. I know baseball is a long game with slumps and streaks, but this is starting to feel depressingly like pre-season football. Wishing away the numbers.
DeleteFeeling a lot better after tonight. 3 hits and a walk in 4 at bats.
DeleteThat's great. Probably a confidence booster for him. Were they solid hits? How is his base running & defense?
DeleteI just saw a video of all 3 hits. I like the fact that he is hitting to all fields plus willing to take his walks. It will make him tougher to defend & tougher to pitch to.
DeleteHere's a link to game highlight video. https://youtu.be/MCP-DZ4l-b0
DeleteAnother good day, 2 for 4 with a double.
DeleteMILB.com has a thing called gameday where you can track a game. Shows each pitch placement.
DeleteJust watched a rather strange at-bat by Tim. He took 3 pitches that looked very much like brushbacks. One was basically at his head. Then he was hit by a pitch. Who throws at Tim Tebow? I mean A) that's a little like kicking a puppy, and B) God help you if Tim ever DID get angry and charge the mound.
Kinda backfired, though. Tim took 2nd and 3rd on a wild pickoff throw, then scored on a sacrifice fly.
Here's a funny thought: at some point in his baseball career, some fool catcher is going to try to block the plate on him.
I have often thought some pitcher might try something like that. There is probably some degree of envy involved.
DeleteIf Tim ever did charge the mound it would seem so out of character for him they could make a movie about that alone :). Although when his competitive juices begin to flow he does transform his happy go lucky demeanor.
Thanks for keeping me updated on whats going on. I haven't been able to see much lately. I have been working alot.
They have eased up the rules on catchers blocking the plate & also the take out slides at 2nd base. With the old rules catchers would block the plate on almost every play now they can only do it under certain circumstances.
It seems like Tim is getting more comfortable on the baseball field everyday. Look forward to the next update.
Here is an interesting data point:
ReplyDeleteEntering Monday, Tebow led the minor leagues with a 4.73 ground-ball to fly-ball ratio. Which means on his balls in play, he’s nearly five times as likely to dribble it on the ground than he is to hit it in the air. His rate is by far the highest of any of the 993 qualified minor leaguers at any level, according to FanGraphs.
Thoughts?
My guess would be he & his coaches are making a conscious effort to cut down on the strikeouts by putting the ball in play. The theory being if he learns to make contact the hits & home runs will eventually come. Putting the ball in play puts pressure on the defense.
ReplyDeleteI just saw Tim make a major league play with my own eyes. Anyone who can make a play like that after not playing for 12 years has big league potential without a doubt.
ReplyDeleteSuper excited to catch some games myself. There are 4 high-A affiliates within an hour of my house. Will definitely catch a few of the Tampa games in August.
DeleteRead an article in local Savannah paper that interviewed the minor league GM there. It had some insight about the logic of moving Tim. He said the general plan of progression for most players is 4 years in the minors, one year at each level. In Tim's case, because of his age they feel he needs to make the progression in 2 years instead of 4.
I watched all four of the games in Ft. Myers this past weekend. That catch he made on Fri. had a difficulty degree of 10. He had to run a super long way just to get to the ball then he had to contend with the outfield wall & time his jump at the precise moment to be able to make the catch. It was a play that alot of major league outfielders would not have made. He really didn't get another opportunity to do anything spectacular but he made all the routine plays he needed to make. He threw to the proper bases & hit the cutoff man on the throws in. It's only 4 games so I don't want to award him a gold glove just yet but I do think from the 4 games I have seen he has a chance to become an above average outfielder. On the offensive side he is a patient hitter who makes the pitcher work. He had a base clearing 3 run double in last night's game. The potential is there. His bat needs to become quicker though. Hopefully that will come with more at bat's. It's a small sample size but so far I have to believe the Mets have to be genuinely pleased with what Tim has shown them. The team will be back in Ft. Myers in a couple of weeks & then in Pt. Charlotte later this month. I am going to try to make those games. If he keeps developing as a hitter through the summer maybe the Mets may consider bringing him up to the bigs in Sept. if they are not in the race.
DeleteA few things of note:
Delete1) Tim currently has an 11 game hitting streak. That is remarkable in it's difficulty. He has also reached base in every game he has played for Pt. St. Lucie.
2) In the last few games he seems to be pulling the ball a little more. Maybe it is something they are working on. Trying to develop. There is no doubt he can hit the ball the other way he has a nice opposite field stroke if his bat speed improves to the point where he could get around consistently on inside pitches he could become a really good hitter. Hitting requires constant adjusting. He is growing by leaps & bounds as a hitter. He still has alot of work to do but what he has shown so far has to exceed anyone's expectations thus far in the process.
3) Some of the MLB all stars were effusive in their praise. Conforto from the Mets noticed the same thing I did about Tim's hitting style. He doesn't chase very often he has alot of patience at the plate. espn.com/mlb/story has their comments. What a difference in the way the baseball world talks about him than the football world did.
4) His team will be back in Ft. Myers this weekend. I will be going to all 3 games.
12 game hitting streak. :)
Delete13 game streak. And a triple with RBI. He's tearing it up.
DeleteWhat we are witnessing here is truly remarkable. This is a storybook story that hopefully will have a happy ending. Only the most jaded among us would not appreciate what Tim is doing. It's not a question anymore of whether or not he will get a major league shot. At some point it has to happen.
DeleteOnce that happens the slate will be wiped clean & he will have to prove himself all over again.
He has always been driven by his faith but there has to be at least some part of him that is being driven by the horrible rejection he took from the NFL.
This is a redemption story unlike any we have ever seen!
Just got through watching all 3 games in Ft. Myers. Tim had been 0 for his last 12 coming in to today. I thought he might be headed towards his first slump but he bounced back nicely with 3 hits. Even when he strikes out he always seems to have good at bats. He sees alot of pitchs. What I really liked most about today is he laid a beautiful bunt down the 3rd base line. I don't think anyone in the park was expecting that. To me it showed he wants to play the game the right way. He is becoming a complete player. In the next month or so we will learn alot more. This is becoming more interesting by the day.
DeleteSounds cool. Looking forward to catching some games in August when he plays in the Tampa area. There are 4 high-A clubs within 1 hour of me, so plenty of options. Will probably try to catch a few games when he plays the Tampa Yankees.
DeleteHe had a slump at the end of his time at Columbia, which lowered his stats.
So how the heck did he get a base hit on an infield pop up?
It was a broken bat looper which fell in over the 2nd baseman's head & in front of the right fielder. It fell in the right spot. That's ok though because earlier in the game he hit a hard line drive right at the 2nd baseman.
DeleteBTW: Whatever happened to Catherine she has not commented in a long time.
Seems like he is getting a lot more shots on the right half of the field lately. Maybe learning to get around on the ball?
ReplyDeleteKathryn is still following closely. I always know when Tim hits a homer because she pings me on Twitter. I think she's just exercising patience because she knows it's a long process.
Speaking of following games, have you messed with the MILB mobile app? It's pretty handy.
I haven't messed with the App yet. I have been following this more closely now than I had been been earlier in the season. So I will look into it. It allows you to watch the games right?
DeleteIt does, but only selected games, and only with a paid subscription. The free app has a function called gameday, which is a live action tracker similar to gamecast on NFL mobile. I like the live pitch placement, though I wonder how they figure that out.
DeleteTim had another nice day today, 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. He seems to be settling in at .300, which is great if it holds. His strikeouts are drastically down since the promotion. Perhaps he is not pressing as hard.
Another nice game, 3 for 5. BA holding steady above 300. Seems to be pulling more, and strikeouts are way down. Mets have to be be pleased with his progress. If he keeps on his current pace, seems like a promotion to AA ball would be in the works by next spring.
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to catching a game next weekend.
His steady production along with his consistency continues to surprise me. I believe the consistency comes from his discipline at the plate. He has also been able to produce when he hasn't hit with walks, sacrifices, Hbp etc. His is an all around offensive game.
DeleteSince he has performed better than expected so far, I don't see what the down side would be to bringing him up to the majors for Sept. call ups. In Sept. the rosters are expanded from 25 to 50. Teams that are out of the race use this time to evaluate their minor leaguers similar to the way it's done in spring training. If he were to be called up just for Sept. he could still start next season in the minors.
If he were hitting .200 instead of .300 it might be more difficult to justify the call up. In Tim's case a Sept. call up would surely have the added bonus of stealing the headlines from the opening of the NFL season.
I will be going to the games in Pt. Charlotte this weekend. I will keep you posted.
Would you be concerned about his progress stopping due to being overmatched by MLB pitchers? I'd rather see him backfill someone in AA or AAA and continue to excel against incrementally better pitching.
DeleteHis exit velocity is apparently a thing in his favor. Hadn't thought about that much, but it makes sense. I did play enough baseball to know that placing hits in gaps is mostly nonsense. You hit it square and the ball goes where it goes. The faster the ball moves through the field, the harder it is to make a play.
I thought about his progress being stopped as a possibility. There is a little bit of a risk in that but I factored in his mentality (I think he would be strong enough to handle it if that did happen)( I also factored in that he faced some of these same pitchers last spring. He was overmatched by some but not all of them & he has vastly improved since then. The time spent in the majors would only be for one month. If he does well great. If he struggles it would be no different than the initial struggles he had in Arizona or Columbia.
DeleteThere might be less pressure being called up in Sept. with 25 other players as opposed to starting or being called up in the middle of a season by himself. If he is overmatched he could start over again next spring.
We'll just have to wait to see what the Mets decide. The last comments I heard from their GM did not seem like they were thinking about bringing Tim up this Sept.
Another outstanding night for Tim. This is becoming routine. In addition to the 2 great diving catches I noticed when he caught a routine fly ball he made a gesture with his glove similar to the way Ricky Henderson used to do it. It was more subtle not nearly as pronounced. What it showed was supreme confidence. He has grown a lot since he was catching fly balls with 2 hands.
ReplyDeleteSooner or later it was bound to happen. I am not sure whether to attribute it to the law of averages, or possibly the long grind of a baseball season taking it's toll. Whatever it is Tim is battling through a nasty prolonged slump. It happens to almost every hitter. It may have been a bit unrealistic to think he was going to keep his batting avg. up at .300. He may just be leveling off. I am confident he will bounce back up & get hot again. I am pretty sure the Mets feel the same way. This first year is being used to get him acquainted with the process of being an everyday player.
ReplyDeleteBtw: According to reports the Dolphins considered Tim before signing Jay Cutler. I think right now he is focused on baseball & would not have taken an offer.
Hard not to get discouraged. That stat line is looking pretty brutal. If he drops below .200, you can bet the haters will start chanting "Tebow Stinks" again.
ReplyDeleteI caught a game last weekend. A few random observations:
1. I'd never seen him in person. He has the largest legs of any human I have ever seen. Huge hips too. The guy was born to play football.
2. He looked behind the pitchers. Also, the ones I saw were jamming him up with fastballs high and inside. I wonder how much of his slumping stats could be due to the pitchers in his league figuring out how to pitch him?
3. Looks slow in the field too. Can't cover space like the center fielder and right fielder, and looks afraid to commit.
4. Terrifying on the base path. One day a catcher is going to block the plate. I hope they have trash bags ready to clean up that guy's body parts.
5. Great atmosphere, lots of fans and no haters. Folks working the stadium seemed to get a kick out of the crowd. Quite a bargain for $8 tickets right alongside 1st base.
I share some of your observations. This slump he is in is brutal. I think #2 is a very valid point. Teams know that he has a late swing so that makes him susceptible to high inside fastballs. I also attribute the slump to the daily grind of playing everyday. It gradually wears on a player. I think that's where Tim is at now. He will have to fight through it WITHOUT PRESSING which is a very difficult thing to do.
DeleteI actually enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the minor league games also. In some ways I enjoyed it more than major league games. Those games retain alot of the personal flavor that is sometimes lacking in the bigger parks.
I still wish he was playing football. The sport of football was robbed of his unique abilities.
3 ground outs today. That seems to be the norm with Tim lately. Any idea why?
DeleteIt's hard to know without knowing what the coaches are asking him to do. Since he has been slumping they may be telling him to take a basic approach just trying to put the ball in play. It also could be that right now his swing is tired & slow not allowing him to get a good lift on the ball. I am confident that at some point (it may not be until next season) that he will start to hit again.
DeleteLooks like the coaches are trying to help Tim shake off his slump. Batting him in the cleanup spot after a rain out. It will be up to Tim to see if he can make something of it. Sometimes small things like this can help a player break the funky cycle he may be experiencing.
ReplyDeleteSeemed to help a bit.
DeleteThoughts on Jacksonville: Khan blew it. Should have signed Tim and Kap, hired someone like Kyle Shanahan to run the read option, and had a QB competition both on and off the field for the whole season. A license to print money, both locally with Tim and nationally on social media with the Kaepernick controversy. Who knows what would have happened, but it would have been a hoot either way.
Cautious optimism after his last few games.
DeleteHe had 2 days off this week. It may have helped. Hopefully he can finish off this last week on a high note.
DeleteEd, were you as surprised as I was to see Tim doing Tv this morning? He had been swinging such a hot bat recently I would have preferred he finish out the minor league season before doing the Television gig.
DeleteAll things considered I think Tim has had a remarkable first season of pro ball. He was not only playing the game he was learning the game at the same time. Next season he can begin to play the game more instinctively. Whereby he can react to situations without having to think about them. It's a combination of muscle & mental
DeleteIt will be interesting to see what the Mets decide to do.
If it were my decision I would give him a few weeks in the bigs this month. Then give him some time off to absorb what he learned this season before taking the next step. Whatever that might be.