Which is why moving Smoak down this year after struggling was stupid. And why, in a perfect world, Ackley is the starting 2b, beginning today..not some artificial date in May.
Favre threw as many interceptions as touchdowns in his first two seasons. Nobody sat him down, Greatness in progress still become greatness. Willie Mays was ofer 21to begin his career, or some such thing.
If Smoak is the hitter everyone seems to think he is, then 100 PA's in Tacoma didn't do him much good. Let him adjust on the fly.
Worrying about year 7 on a contract when the guy may be a 15 year star, all things going right, seems a bit chintzy, too.
Alas, I suppose I can survive the Tacoma-2011 Ackley days.
And let's just call him "The Cat!" Wicked reflexes and a keen eye.
moe
=== Ack ! ===
Kirby Arnold with a piece emphasizing Dustin's Champ-een mentality. :golfclap:
Dustin Ackley seems to be the Seattle Mariners' model prospect in more ways than hitting, running and fielding.
Ackley, who the Mariners picked last year with the second overall selection in the draft, has a tool the Mariners consider vital in preparing their players for what they want in the major leagues. He knows how to win.
Nearly everywhere Ackley has played — high school, college, minor leagues and fall ball — he has either played for a championship or won one.
“In college we had a really good team,” said Ackley, who helped the North Carolina Tar Heels reach the College World Series in 2009. “I was fortunate to be on some high school teams that won state championships. In AAU ball, we won a couple of national championships.”
That's the kind of player the Mariners want, a guy who not only has the skills to win but also the mentality. Ackley believes in it because he has lived it.
Easy to scan over this, and assume it's a bit of FKey-7 fluff. And easy to assume that all ML players have precisely the same (massive) ego dispensed with the cotton head socks in the maternity ward.
Social veneer, and braggadocio, that personality is one thing. But Dr. D likes to watch athletes at the very moment that the game turns decisively against them -- that moment in which the chance of winning goes from 40% to, say, 10%.
.
=== Case In Point: Cards Win % from 40% to 20% in one minute ===
With 6:00 left in the second quarter last Sunday, the Cardinals behind 3-0, they muff a punt return and gave the ball to the Seahawks on their own .... 2-yard line. Hasselbeck cashed in. The Cards were down 10-0 and the crowd was slapping the Cardinals senseless.
Okay, kickoff, touchback, and what's the feel of the game for Max Hall? The feel of the game is that, after 20 minutes of hanging in there pretty good ... he is now scared that his worst nightmares are about to come true.
Maybe they won't. But maybe they will. You feel me? I like to watch guys at right this second.
..................
The Cards run a couple times for a first down... wobbly feeling ... one more run? Stuffed. 2nd and long.
Next play? OK, let's see... Hall sacked for 9 yards. 3rd-and-16.
Five minutes' worth of clock time later, the Cards' win percentage is 4%.
I'm not saying that this incident demonstrated Max Hall's worth as a human being, or even as a quarterback. Just saying that it's a dramatic subplot in the wonderful drama that is pro sports.
....................
We're not talking about Max Hall only. You can watch all 11 players on Arizona's offense, and see which ones elevate their games as the world turns sour...
Joe Sheehan will ask you, "Which pro athletes are clutch players?," and answer himself, "ALL OF THEM!"
Relative to you and me?, well, of course they are all clutch players. But relative to each other? Max Hall and Brett Favre do not feel the same way about being down 8 points to the Patriots in the 4th quarter.
.
=== MLB ===
Draft gurus look at players who grew up in a baseball family -- Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, David Bell, all of them -- and put a thumb on the scale in their favor.
From the time that these guys were 3 years old, they were hard-wired to believe that they were special. That glory and success is the way the world is supposed to be.
Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley are college. Hitters. #1 overall** draft picks. High-OBP. Lefty.
And they're Brett Favres, as opposed to Max Halls.
.
Cheerio,
Dr D
Comments
Which is why one of my favorite articles about him this year was on how he was in a HUGE slump to start this season. Rather than stressing about it in the locker room or getting tight, he was helping Pineda get Rosetta Stone worked out and helping him with his English, calm as can be.
He knows he can hit. He knows he's a winner. His pulse is a cool 70 beats a minute no matter the pressure.
The man works hard on his game, and knows he'll reap the rewards. He doesn't hope for it, or pray for it. He knows it in his bones.
So struggles at the plate don't phase him. I expect him to debut for the Mariners in late May and to do exceedingly well. But if he slumps, I won't worry about that. Ackley is not the type to become a head-case.
He's got too much winning on his mind.
~G