CJ Cron = the new Napoli

[FabulousFabregas]

[UndertheHalo]

He’s got a long way to go before we can say he kills us like Napoli.

[GrittyVeterans]

He's about to flex on Scioscia this series

[FabulousFabregas]

1 minute ago, GrittyVeterans said:

He's about to flex on Scioscia this series

[Homebrewer]

Dude...we got PUJOLS!

[nando714]

Good thing we don’t face him 19 times

[Angel Oracle]

I wish we didn’t have Pujols anymore.

[Stradling]

I know everyone wants to blame Albert for Cron being gone, but it really is about Ohtani.  We have a shorter bench and we need roster flexibility more than anything else on a short bench.  

[Ohtaniland]

37 minutes ago, SuperTroopers said:

I know everyone wants to blame Albert for Cron being gone, but it really is about Ohtani.  We have a shorter bench and we need roster flexibility more than anything else on a short bench.  

So the Angels contractual obligation to Albert had nothing to do with it. I know what you’re wearing. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

C.J. Cron .293/.341/.537/.877- 11HR - 27 RBI, 7 weeks into season. Someone said it's luck tonite, I don't think so. I predicted at the time of the trade he would hit 25+ HR and 90+ RBI, if given everyday AB and allowed to slump without the pressure of being sent. I think I'm was being conservative. Also he can't be platooned and stay sharp.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

43 minutes ago, SuperTroopers said:

I know everyone wants to blame Albert for Cron being gone, but it really is about Ohtani.  We have a shorter bench and we need roster flexibility more than anything else on a short bench.  

Our bench is the same, 2 IF. 1 OF. 1 C. we have just been sending pitchers and others back and forth to AAA as needed.

[Stradling]

5 minutes ago, OHTANILAND said:

So the Angels contractual obligation to Albert had nothing to do with it. I know what you’re wearing. 

Here is all the evidence I need.  Last year Cron and Albert were both on the Angels. 

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

Our bench is the same, 2 IF. 1 OF. 1 C. we have just been sending pitchers and others back and forth to AAA as needed.

Yes and last year our starting third baseman wasn’t our back up 2nd baseman and back up short stop.  Our 1st baseman this year was our DH last year.  

[Stradling]

And of course Albert’s contract had something to do with it.  However last year they were both on the team.  It has more to do with Ohtani than Albert.

[HeavenlyHalos]

We have two bench players backing-up 3rd base which isn't necessary. Cron isn't likely to keep this up, but he is the best hitter of the three of them. 

[HeavenlyHalos]

Eppler's mistake was giving Valbuena a two-year deal. IMO, that is the biggest reason Cron is gone. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

3 minutes ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

We have two bench players backing-up 3rd base which isn't necessary. Cron isn't likely to keep this up, but he is the best hitter of the three of them. 

We'll see.

[101halo]

11 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

C.J. Cron .293/.341/.537/.877- 11HR - 27 RBI, 7 weeks into season. Someone said it's luck tonite, I don't think so. I predicted at the time of the trade he would hit 25+ HR and 90+ RBI, if given everyday AB and allowed to slump without the pressure of being sent. I think I'm was being conservative. Also he can't be platooned and stay sharp.

That was me. Here's why:

FG CJ Cron Career Stats

Nothing about his approach appears to have changed in a positive way. He's actually hitting more grounders than ever before. He's swinging at just as many pitches out of the zone as ever, but less IN the strike zone. He's not materially making harder contact. He hasn't majorly improved against any particular pitch he's struggled with. 

The entirety of his great start is him averaging more HR per flyball (not generally predictive of future performance), having a better batting average on balls he puts in play (counterintuitive when considering he's hitting more grounders) and because for some dumb ass reason pitchers are throwing him a higher percentage of fastballs, which he's always hit better (you'd think they'll eventually stop doing that). 

I really hope he keeps it up because I like the guy, I just don't see any change in what he's doing to suggest it WILL keep up. 

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

It's been too many weeks to be a fluke.

[JustATroutFan]

Well, lets not forget that Cron actually did put up a solid season in 2016 with the bat by posting a .792 OPS, despite playing half of his games at Angel Stadium. I've always liked Cron and felt that he needed consistent playing time to put up solid hitting numbers.

[Ace-Of-Diamonds]

23 minutes ago, 101halo said:

Nothing about his approach appears to have changed in a positive way. He's actually hitting more grounders than ever before. He's swinging at just as many pitches out of the zone as ever, but less IN the strike zone. He's not materially making harder contact. He hasn't majorly improved against any particular pitch he's struggled with. 

The thing that's changed is he is playing everyday, slump or not. No platooning against LHP even though he had better STATs against RHP. Playing everyday has kept him sharp and his timing on track. When the Angels signed Valbuena last season it was the kiss of death for Cron. He was coming off a good season in 2016, and I thought he was going to get everyday ABs until Luis joined the team and took most of his RHP AB away. When Escobar was injured and Luis moved to third last year, Cron began to hit again while getting regular AB, coincidence I don't think so.

[101halo]

29 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

It's been too many weeks to be a fluke.

Reggie Willits put up around an 825 OPS in 2007 from Apr-Jun in over 250 PA. Cron has 178 PA so far this year. Willits put up ~675 OPS from there on out. I remember this because Willits became my favorite player for 3 months and I swore he'd be the ROY. Oops. 

[101halo]

12 minutes ago, Ace-Of-Diamonds said:

The thing that's changed is he is playing everyday, slump or not. No platooning against LHP even though he had better STATs against RHP. Playing everyday has kept him sharp and his timing on track. When the Angels signed Valbuena last season it was the kiss of death for Cron. He was coming off a good season in 2016, and I thought he was going to get everyday ABs until Luis joined the team and took most of his RHP AB away. When Escobar was injured and Luis moved to third last year, Cron began to hit again while getting regular AB, coincidence I don't think so.

You're ignoring every fact I gave about how his underlying approach hasn't changed a lick. You're more than entitled to this belief, and I sincerely hope you're right! But, if you're not going to argue with more than anecdotes and vague suppositions, I'm not a good debate partner for you.

If you'd like to try to back up with stats, I'd suggest finding stretches where he got consistent ABs and seeing if his stats ARE better under those circumstances. I'm honestly curious if that's the case and would be super interested in that analysis! You obviously are under no obligation to take me up on that, just saying if not, we'll agree to disagree, which is totally fine. We all enjoy the game in different ways. 

Edit: and while I disagree with you, I appreciate the dialogue and reccing you for that. 

[JustATroutFan]

17 minutes ago, 101halo said:

Reggie Willits put up around an 825 OPS in 2007 from Apr-Jun in over 250 PA. Cron has 178 PA so far this year. Willits put up ~675 OPS from there on out. I remember this because Willits became my favorite player for 3 months and I swore he'd be the ROY. Oops. 

Only problem that I see here is that Willits never had another good a decent sample size like Cron this season.

[101halo]

11 minutes ago, JustATroutFan said:

Only problem that I see here is that Willits never had another good a decent sample size like Cron this season.

I see that as the complete opposite. Willits previously had never had MLB experience to suggest he couldn't keep it up. Cron, outside of a slightly above average 2016, has been mediocre from 2013-2017. He was barely over a 300 OBP during that span, with about a 450 SLG. Add in pretty bad fielding at 1B, too. Not a bad player, just not one I see why we stress out over losing.