Is it time to sell my Billy Butler jersey?

[Mama Hip Rockets]

I have the powder blue Billy Butler jersey. It is an awesome jersey and looks very cool. But he is hitting .260, 1 HR, 18 RBIs. Not really jersey-wearing type of numbers. In addition to that, he is the slowest player this side of Mike Sweeney.

But at the same time, I have seen promise from young Billy, mostly last year and early this season. Perhaps there is still time for him to turn it around. How long should I hold out to see if this jersey is worth wearing in public?

[Deberg_1990]

I really thought he would have more power?? Anyone know why he doesnt? He looks like he could hit the ball mile.

[Sure-Oz]

He really hasnt had much power in the minors...always a doubles and singles hitter. Gordon is known more for having some power.

Billys potential is 15-20 hrs, we can hope he an Edgar Martinez for us honestly.

[Ultra Peanut]

22 year old in "not playing at an all-star level" shocker! Read all about it!

[alnorth]

Depends. If its a crappy screen-printed jersey, do what you want. If its an authentic jersey, well... I still have my Teahen jersey and I wear it to games. Your jersey is obviously a better bet than mine.

Its probably too early to dump it.

[alnorth]

Oh cool, post #5,000, and I used it to stick up for my poor Teahen jersey. Oh well.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I still have my Teahen jersey and I wear it to games.

I guess thats a better choice than my Neifi Pérez jersey.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Originally Posted by Ultra Peanut

22 year old in "not playing at an all-star level" shocker! Read all about it!

i'm not expecting him to play at an all-star level. but i'm expecting him to play at a level where i am not embarrassed to wear his jersey. a .260 average with one home run is pretty embarrassing.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

i'm not expecting him to play at an all-star level. but i'm expecting him to play at a level where i am not embarrassed to wear his jersey. a .260 average with one home run is pretty embarrassing.

It's probably becuase pitchers in the AL has tape of him and know his weakness, so they adjusted to his weakness. Now the question is, can he adjust to them?

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Coach

It's probably becuase pitchers in the AL has tape of him and know his weakness, so they adjusted to his weakness. Now the question is, can he adjust to them?

Yep, thats the thing about baseball. Its not a constant with never-changing variables where what you do at the beginning is going to be the story of your career.

A lot of pitchers and hitters break into the majors doing reasonably well or on fire. Then the other teams study him and realize the hitter has a gaping hole in his swing down and in, they cant resist swinging at a ball high and outside, or the pitcher's nifty-looking curve is almost never a strike. The rest of the league adjusts to exploit those weaknesses, which is why a player's 2nd and 3rd seasons sometimes stink. The difference between a failure and a good player is the ability to realize whats going on, and adjust so that your hitting those low inside pitches, lay off the outside toss, or proving that you can throw that curve for a strike. The greatest players have no glaring weaknesses at all.

[DeezNutz]

I agree with those who say it's way too early to worry too much about Butler. He has a strong approach at the plate, so he'll eventually adjust.

That said, I'm not a huge believer in the "power develops" crowd. Yes, there are certainly many cases one could cite for this, so I'm not saying that it cannot happen, but often the legit. power guys are like this from the start. Quick example, Upton for Arizona. He went #1 overall in '05, same year we took Gordon (after sweeping Detroit in the final series in '04 to prevent us from having the #1 pick to take, likely, Upton):

.281 HR 6 RBI 22 Runs 28

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that he's 20. 6 bombs and he's 20. Also, these stats reflect a current prolonged down turn because he started the season on fire.

I think Gordon and Butler will be good players, players certainly worth keeping and part of the future, but often the truly great players, every year All Stars and potential HOF's, hit the ground running. Unfortunately it doesn't look like we might have one of those.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Yep, thats the thing about baseball. Its not a constant with never-changing variables where what you do at the beginning is going to be the story of your career.

A lot of pitchers and hitters break into the majors doing reasonably well or on fire. Then the other teams study him and realize the hitter has a gaping hole in his swing down and in, they cant resist swinging at a ball high and outside, or the pitcher's nifty-looking curve is almost never a strike. The rest of the league adjusts to exploit those weaknesses, which is why a player's 2nd and 3rd seasons sometimes stink. The difference between a failure and a good player is the ability to realize whats going on, and adjust so that your hitting those low inside pitches, lay off the outside toss, or proving that you can throw that curve for a strike. The greatest players have no glaring weaknesses at all.

To dovetail this with my previous post...

Alnorth makes a viable point, and this well could be the case with a player like Upton. League identifies weakness and then abuses him. Probably not, though, since he was in the A-Rod and Griffey category when drafted.

However, what Alnorth describes is best defined by a player like Berroa, and this is one reason why I still have some high hopes for Gordon. He hit rock bottom in year one, adjusted, and has improved, all while pitchers are adjusting to him and improving. Gordon's going to be a good player, maybe even a really good player, for a long time. Problem is he might never be a *great* player.