Where he would get into his batting stance, curl for power... and then relax and step out of his batting stance when the ball was halfway to home? "Eh, not a strike." Now Ackley just watches it in even when he knows it's a strike, paralyzed, but back then he would assault the pitches in the zone and didn't care one bit about those not in the zone.
That's how Franklin is getting. If you think it's fun watching him work a walk with a guy painting the corners, it's 10x more fun when he takes the bat off his shoulder and the ball screams into the gap to get away from it.
Watching them play D is a very different experience, though. I've been saying for a couple of years now that Franklin looks like a complete natural at 2B and has to stretch himself to play SS. I don't mind that. I'd like him to play SS. But if 2B is where he lands then he's kinda overqualified for the position. Being a tweener SS/2B makes you a plus 2B.
Ackley has somehow made himself into a plus 2B while scooting after grounders on his knees and chest, smothering everything hit near 1B, and generally making up for his lack of polish at the position in amazing ways.
Franklin will make it all look easy out there at second. He's also very chatty around the infield, likes to talk to the pitchers, and seems to dearly delight in every second spent around the diamond.
He seems to turn double plays more smoothly than Triunfel does when their positions are reversed. I'm curious to see him take a feed from Ryan - I'm sure his half of the DP won't look like Ackley pegging a leg in the ground and daring the runner to spike him in it or break his leg while he fires to first.
Ackley is gonna need not to get Wally Pipped. Remember your swing down there in Tacoma, kid. I love ya, but time and roster positions wait for no man. Let's see if Franklin can do at the plate what Ackley did when he first came up - and then keep doing it.
~G
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