He's A Superstar
Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:17 pm
I don't listen to podcasts much. Mostly, I find them boring. It's not the folks that do it at fault. It is just tough to hold my interest in any format with any talkers over a stretch of time. Most revert to telling personal stories or go on forever when making a point. Obvious in that they are at the ready to back their point with many stats.
All that being said, they all have one thing in common....along with broadcasters....along with MLB Channel personnel.
And it is this....THEY NEVER WANT TO CRITICIZE A SUPERSTAR. EVER. PERIOD.
I don't hold any current player in so high of regard that he can't be criticized.
I have been both wrong and right in criticizing Joey Votto.
Done the same with Bryce Harper.
If they're criticized, who cares. The superstar doesn't care. His team doesn't care. But man, these guys will not do it.
So...Let's do it....
Juan Soto has sucked.
Folks make excuses for him.
He plays on a crappy team.
He has nobody behind him.
Nobody in front of him.
Pitchers aren't giving him anything to hit.
Blah Blah and Blah.
All these things may be true. All of them. But....WHO CARES?
If you're a SUPERSTAR....you're a SUPERSTAR, right?
Nothing should stop a Superstar hitter from hitting.
But Soto isn't hitting.
His stats are close to Anthony Santander.
Soto........226/46/15/33/5
Santander 233/34/15/40/0
Santander was the 77th outfielder selected in ADP by NFBC drafters. Soto, outfielder number one.
Jayson Stark and others compared Soto to Ted Williams before the season.
Scribes and broadcasters talked about his age and said that he would only get better.....Uh huh.
The thing about Soto and Williams is a little amusing to me.
First, it is always unfair to compare any modern day player, especially one who is at the start of his career like Soto, to a player who has finished his career and put up otherworldly numbers.
That never stops writers though.
Actually, Williams and Soto are comparable right now in that they both play or played on crappy teams.
Soto put up his best numbers when his team wasn't so crappy.
Williams endured lots of years of pitchers avoiding him.
He became a master of selecting the best pitches that a pitcher would offer him.
Soto, clearly, hasn't mastered that art.
So here is the question I posed to friends today.
As of right now, who would you have ahead on your draft lists, Juan Soto or Julio Rodriguez?
I love the question.
Julio Rodriguez is doing great things. He's running. He's now hitting for power. He's hitting for average.
Soto, given his first round status especially, has sucked.
The question illustrates how tough and just how fluid our game is.
The question would have been preposterous even just two months ago.
Now?
Not so much.
(Five responders said their lean would be Rodriguez, three for Soto)
Soto has been given many excuses by, well, just about everybody.
The fact is....he has sucked.
He is hitting like a 77th outfielder.
Even if the trend continues till the end of the year, he will still be taken in the first round of most drafts next year.
Why?
Because he will be.
We know what he can do.
It's why he is not criticized. We all know what he CAN do. He's just not doing it this year.
And those that select him in the first round next year will not be thinking about this year.
They won't be thinking that in five years, he has never hit 35 homers or stolen15 bases.
They won't be thinking that he's reached 100 RBI once.
They'll be thinking the same thing that broadcasters, writers, and announcers say.
He's a Superstar.
All that being said, they all have one thing in common....along with broadcasters....along with MLB Channel personnel.
And it is this....THEY NEVER WANT TO CRITICIZE A SUPERSTAR. EVER. PERIOD.
I don't hold any current player in so high of regard that he can't be criticized.
I have been both wrong and right in criticizing Joey Votto.
Done the same with Bryce Harper.
If they're criticized, who cares. The superstar doesn't care. His team doesn't care. But man, these guys will not do it.
So...Let's do it....
Juan Soto has sucked.
Folks make excuses for him.
He plays on a crappy team.
He has nobody behind him.
Nobody in front of him.
Pitchers aren't giving him anything to hit.
Blah Blah and Blah.
All these things may be true. All of them. But....WHO CARES?
If you're a SUPERSTAR....you're a SUPERSTAR, right?
Nothing should stop a Superstar hitter from hitting.
But Soto isn't hitting.
His stats are close to Anthony Santander.
Soto........226/46/15/33/5
Santander 233/34/15/40/0
Santander was the 77th outfielder selected in ADP by NFBC drafters. Soto, outfielder number one.
Jayson Stark and others compared Soto to Ted Williams before the season.
Scribes and broadcasters talked about his age and said that he would only get better.....Uh huh.
The thing about Soto and Williams is a little amusing to me.
First, it is always unfair to compare any modern day player, especially one who is at the start of his career like Soto, to a player who has finished his career and put up otherworldly numbers.
That never stops writers though.
Actually, Williams and Soto are comparable right now in that they both play or played on crappy teams.
Soto put up his best numbers when his team wasn't so crappy.
Williams endured lots of years of pitchers avoiding him.
He became a master of selecting the best pitches that a pitcher would offer him.
Soto, clearly, hasn't mastered that art.
So here is the question I posed to friends today.
As of right now, who would you have ahead on your draft lists, Juan Soto or Julio Rodriguez?
I love the question.
Julio Rodriguez is doing great things. He's running. He's now hitting for power. He's hitting for average.
Soto, given his first round status especially, has sucked.
The question illustrates how tough and just how fluid our game is.
The question would have been preposterous even just two months ago.
Now?
Not so much.
(Five responders said their lean would be Rodriguez, three for Soto)
Soto has been given many excuses by, well, just about everybody.
The fact is....he has sucked.
He is hitting like a 77th outfielder.
Even if the trend continues till the end of the year, he will still be taken in the first round of most drafts next year.
Why?
Because he will be.
We know what he can do.
It's why he is not criticized. We all know what he CAN do. He's just not doing it this year.
And those that select him in the first round next year will not be thinking about this year.
They won't be thinking that in five years, he has never hit 35 homers or stolen15 bases.
They won't be thinking that he's reached 100 RBI once.
They'll be thinking the same thing that broadcasters, writers, and announcers say.
He's a Superstar.