BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Phils-ville: The 220 lb. elephant in the room no one’s been talking about: Raul Ibanez

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Phils-ville: The 220 lb. elephant in the room no one’s been talking about: Raul Ibanez

Elephant walk rate: One man claimed the spot!

I’m kind of surprised it took until the last days of a pretty ho-hum spring training for people to start wondering if last season’s first-half hero Raul Ibanez was creeping ever closer to that dreaded place all veterans must eventually confront: The Wall.

Even before the games that mean nothing began, I had my doubts about a soon-to-be-38-year-old corner outfielder that basically disappeared after a June DL stint for a strained left groin (His 2009 first half stats: 22/60/.309 in 289 plate appearances; second half stats: 12/33/.232 in 276 plate appearances), then had off-season surgery for a sports hernia.

Now that Ibanez has posted an .098 batting average with one HR and two RBI (thru Friday’s game vs. the Yankees, which he left after being hit with by a pitch on the elbow) in Grapefruit League action, people are talking, and wondering what we can expect from Rauuuul.

...Am I concerned that he is fast approaching the wall? Sure. Am I losing sleep over what the 2010 version of Ibanez will look like. Not exactly.

The guy keeps himself in phenomenal shape. Spring training stats won’t mean a thing in a few days. And for what it’s worth, Raul had a pretty good 2009 post-season.

If he stays healthy, I think Raul is capable of something in the neighborhood of 550 plate appearances, 25-30/80-90/.265-.270. I’d be thrilled with that.

Repoz Posted: March 30, 2010 at 03:15 PM | 15 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: phillies, sabermetrics

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1. Best Regards, Larry M. Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:05 PM (#3488686)

I don't think it should be any surprise when a guy who had his best season at 37 doesn't repeat it at 38. 20-25 HRs is a more reasonable expectation from Ibanez.

2. Davo Malvolio Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:09 PM (#3488691)

(His 2009 first half stats: 22/60/.309 in 289 plate appearances; second half stats: 12/33/.232 in 276 plate appearances)

Was I the only one who had no idea what 22/60/.309 meant?

3. rLr Is King Of The Romans And Above Grammar Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:13 PM (#3488695)

Was I the only one who had no idea what 22/60/.309 meant?

That's how they record blood alcohol content in Canada.

4. Howie Menckel Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:14 PM (#3488697)

Probably, since those look very much like really good HR/RBI stats for the first half of the season, and that matches the sentiment of the article.....

5. OCD SS Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:34 PM (#3488714)

What are these "RBI" you speak of? Are they lost arcana from the dark ages?

6. philphan Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:38 PM (#3488718)

Well, I for one never expected him to post a "22/60/.309" (Hike?) first half last year, so I was equally not surprised by the second half. Similarly, though, he most likely will not be putting up an .098 batting average in April and May, either.

If the Halladay deal had not happened, Michael Taylor would probably have been receiving a decent amount of playing time out there post-All Star Break this year. But that's the price you pay. We won't know if it was worth it until we play the games. We will just cross our fingers that Domonic Brown will be ready by the time Raul's contract is up. In the meantime, Mayberry fils may have to fill in for the Phils.

7. ColonelTom Posted: March 30, 2010 at 04:48 PM (#3488725)

Don't forget Ben Francisco - he's one of the better fourth outfielders in the league and won't kill the Phils if forced to play regularly. Dobbs and Gload would also get ABs vs. RHP if Ibanez flops and/or is injured.

8. philphan Posted: March 30, 2010 at 05:13 PM (#3488753)

Gload? Ugh. One of the more inexplicable signings of the winter....

I agree about Francisco. But if he plays semi-regularly, it will leave the Phils short on the fourth outfielder side of things.

9. philphan Posted: March 30, 2010 at 05:31 PM (#3488767)

(I wonder if Brandon Moss would be worth grabbing off waivers?)

10. filihok Posted: March 30, 2010 at 06:41 PM (#3488844)

22/60/.309" (Hike?)

The first snark in a while that actually made me utter a laugh

I'm not a fan of these new triple slash stats

11. JMPH Posted: March 30, 2010 at 06:43 PM (#3488846)

220 pounds seems like a pretty damn small elephant.

12. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: March 30, 2010 at 06:48 PM (#3488848)

I've predicted Ibanez would fall of a cliff every year since 2003. I am pretty confident he'll be DHing for the Las Vegas Aces in the year 2024.

13. Alan S Posted: March 30, 2010 at 06:53 PM (#3488852)

The 220 pound elephant is an elephant/pot-bellied pig hybrid.

14. Harris Posted: March 30, 2010 at 08:46 PM (#3488941)

Don't forget Ben Francisco - he's one of the better fourth outfielders in the league and won't kill the Phils if forced to play regularly. Dobbs and Gload would also get ABs vs. RHP if Ibanez flops and/or is injured.

While he's nice...I don't think that's what you'd hope for from your starting LFer.

15. ColonelTom Posted: March 31, 2010 at 02:57 AM (#3489162)

While he's nice...I don't think that's what you'd hope for from your starting LFer.

Well, no, but I don't think you're likely to have another Shane Victorino or Jayson Werth just sitting around on the bench. For all the lamenting about Taylor, for this year I doubt he'd be much better than Francisco's career .263/.330/.446 numbers. If the Phils get desperate, they could move someone like Kyle Kendrick for outfield help. Hopefully it won't come to that.

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Phils-ville: The 220 lb. elephant in the room no one’s been talking about: Raul Ibanez

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