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nateistheshi
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Most of us probably didn't expect a .330+ average this year, but expecting 25+ homeruns from him was perfectly realistic. He has fallen far short in each of those categories, farther than most people could have foreseen of him. He's had a rough year emotionally off the field as well, there's the divorce, there's the growing pains of him adjusting to not playing everyday, and then there was the fire near his mom's house.
I read something interesting from Baggs, that I'm really hoping will fix the Panda:
"Sandoval said he reviewed video with hitting coach Hensley 'Bam Bam' Meulens and went back to a more open stance that worked for him last season. He’s planning to use it from both sides of the plate.
'I’ve changed,' he said. 'I’m more patient. I’m seeing the ball really well. I try to help the team.'
I have a hunch that Sandoval will be back in the lineup tomorrow, even if Freddy Sanchez returns. The upside is just too great if the Panda looks like he’s got his Kung-Fu grip back.
My beat colleague, Henry Schulman, drew some laughs in the postgame session when he told Bochy he had a three-part question about Sandoval. The first part: Would he have played if Sanchez were healthy?
'The first one I’m not going to answer … ' Bochy said, to more laughs.
The next two parts: Did Bochy see better swings when Sandoval got a few hits off the bench on the last road trip, and what would it mean to get him squared away?
'Yeah, you could see Pablo relaxing a little more,' Bochy said. 'He came off the bench with a couple hits and he slowed things down. I’m happy for Pablo. We need him. He can flat-out hit. It’d be so important if Pablo can stay within himself and contribute to this offense.
'Sometimes it’s good for a player to back off and get a mental break and realize you’ve been pressing. Hopefully that’s what you get with Pablo.' "
So Bam-Bam helped him find a difference in his swing between this season and the last, and now it looks like (or at least he's claiming) Bochy wants to play him as much as possible.
By no means do I expect him to return to the same form as he was in last year, but if he can get hot entering the playoffs and maybe be 80% of the player he used to be, then we actually would have an above average lineup of:
Torres
Sanchez
Huff
Burrell
Posey (yes I moved him out of the cleanup spot, he's been pressing lately and is under an enormous amount of pressure to produce.)
Sandoval
Guillen
Uribe
So my question to all of you is, how likely is it that Pablo starts producing like he was expected to? And what can we expect of him next year?
I read something interesting from Baggs, that I'm really hoping will fix the Panda:
"Sandoval said he reviewed video with hitting coach Hensley 'Bam Bam' Meulens and went back to a more open stance that worked for him last season. He’s planning to use it from both sides of the plate.
'I’ve changed,' he said. 'I’m more patient. I’m seeing the ball really well. I try to help the team.'
I have a hunch that Sandoval will be back in the lineup tomorrow, even if Freddy Sanchez returns. The upside is just too great if the Panda looks like he’s got his Kung-Fu grip back.
My beat colleague, Henry Schulman, drew some laughs in the postgame session when he told Bochy he had a three-part question about Sandoval. The first part: Would he have played if Sanchez were healthy?
'The first one I’m not going to answer … ' Bochy said, to more laughs.
The next two parts: Did Bochy see better swings when Sandoval got a few hits off the bench on the last road trip, and what would it mean to get him squared away?
'Yeah, you could see Pablo relaxing a little more,' Bochy said. 'He came off the bench with a couple hits and he slowed things down. I’m happy for Pablo. We need him. He can flat-out hit. It’d be so important if Pablo can stay within himself and contribute to this offense.
'Sometimes it’s good for a player to back off and get a mental break and realize you’ve been pressing. Hopefully that’s what you get with Pablo.' "
So Bam-Bam helped him find a difference in his swing between this season and the last, and now it looks like (or at least he's claiming) Bochy wants to play him as much as possible.
By no means do I expect him to return to the same form as he was in last year, but if he can get hot entering the playoffs and maybe be 80% of the player he used to be, then we actually would have an above average lineup of:
Torres
Sanchez
Huff
Burrell
Posey (yes I moved him out of the cleanup spot, he's been pressing lately and is under an enormous amount of pressure to produce.)
Sandoval
Guillen
Uribe
So my question to all of you is, how likely is it that Pablo starts producing like he was expected to? And what can we expect of him next year?