The Case for Clint

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I am slowly making my way towards your line of reasoning. The angst over the end of the season has washed away, and I realize Barmes is nowhere as bad as his playoff performance. In fact, he’s not bad at all.

Barmes for 2B Starter 2010!

He will forever be the whipping boy around here, though…

I think the fact that Barmes has never been a slap hitter with a decent OBP shows that he probably never will be. I would also prefer to have an upgrade at the position over Barmes (that’s the way I voted). These two points being said I think Clint at second is a good option for us as he plays excellent defense and he can drive in runs. I would like him to actively work on his plate discipline and try to work on hitting the ball the other way (especially since he’s stated these are issues in some post-game interviews) as this would help our team the most. Maybe not slap hits but going with the pitches would be nice once and a while.

is something I remember Drew Goodman saying. Of all the home runs Barmes has hit in his minor and major league career, only two (TWO!) have not been pulled.

The guy just can’t help it. He also can’t help swinging at sliders that start in the left hand batters box. It’s who he is. At this point, I accept it, because I greatly value his defense. He and Tulo do some pretty amazing things up the middle.

I too love Clint Barmes. He’s from Indiana, a state which I don’t particularly enjoy driving through or even flying over, but still seems like a good guy. He plays nice defense, which is the big thing to me.

However, the biggest problem with him is not that he doesn’t come through in the clutch. The biggest problem is (as you get to) that he makes an out more than 7 out of every 10 times he bats. That’s bad.

Hopefully he figures that out. Otherwise, if EY2 can play D and get on base like he did in the minors (career minor league OBP: 385), that plus his speed and defense could make him as valuable as Barmes was last year. Or, hopefully moreso. Before that happens, go Barmesy!

like deacs said he had a great OBP in the minor’s. I think it’s there but he may need a lot of ABs to bring it out.

I disagree with you on the clutch stuff though. Barmes made an out almost every time he came to the plate in the second half anyway so I don’t think he was any worse in the clutch. His OBP after the all star break was .262 which is epic suck. Did you evver really expect him to get a hit? (Off topic thought: The more I think of it the more amazing I think it is that the Rockies won as many games as they did in the second half with both Hawpe and Barmes hitting the way they did)

As others have already pointed out, Barmes is what he is; he’s a player who will give you great defense, has the ability to hit HR’s but will drive you absolutely insane with his inability to get on base. We just have to learn to live with that.

what we forget is that in the bottom of the 8th after Torri’s big hit, the intentional walk to Smith and the wild pitch the Rockies had runners at second and third and Barmes at the plate. He failed to come through again.

Albert Pujols doesn’t get to 1st even 50% of the time. Nor does Joe Mauer, nor does Todd Helton. The expectation here, with the best hitter in the world, is failure. I don’t think you can wail on Clint for not successfully doing what he does less than 1/3 of the time anyway.

Where would Barmie’s OBP be if he didn’t get hit by so many pitches?? I think he was in or somewhere near the top 10 in HBP last year.

aren’t very encouraging for Clint. But, I think this coming season is going to be different.
It’s not like he WANTS to suck every time he is at bat. When he is taking his practice swings, you can just see his mind racing…then when he actually is at the plate all the questions come flooding in….“should I swing or wait, what pitch is next, etc.etc.” When he is at second base, he’s all instinct. He has no time to ponder, he just reacts with his talent and training. I have a feeling that he is working on his batting primarily this off season. I say this because there was something about the way he answered questions after bad outings last year. He knows that his mind and body aren’t together when he bats and he is frustrated but determined to change that. Evidently the Rockies feel he can( (at least for now) so I hope they are helping him with this endeavor. He loves this game and wants to play it with excellence in all areas. I for one think this will happen.!!
This coming season will show if I am on to something….or just an old lady spouting nonsense about something she knows nothing about…HaHA…..any bets?