CJ Wins Player of the Week Award for 2nd time this year
by shoewizard on Jul 28, 2008 4:30 PM EDT
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PrintJackson led the N.L. with a .542 (13-24) batting average, a 1.083 slugging percentage and nine runs scored, and he tied for the N.L. lead with 13 hits. The 26-year old first baseman hit two doubles, a triple and three home runs, drove in seven runs, and recorded a .593 on-base percentage. The University of California at Berkeley product recorded consecutive three-hit games on July 21st and 22nd vs. the Chicago Cubs and then added another three-hit effort on July 27th at San Francisco. Jackson (.324, 12 HR, 55 RBI) ended the week by posting five straight multi-hit games in which he collected at least one RBI. This marks Conor's second weekly award honor of the season (previous: 4/21).
It's a pleasure seeing CJ come into his own and reward those who had the patience and foresight to stick with him as he made incremental improvements to his game over the last 3 years.
Coupled with the improvements to his baserunning, and the surprisingly adequate defense in LF, he has become a very valuable player, and we are lucky to have him under control for the next 3 years through what is sure to be the prime of his career.
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I guess
They don’t take ‘baseball intelligence of -i’ into account!
Hey, someone had to say it. :-)
by Jim McLennan on Jul 28, 2008 4:42 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I am happy to see him hitting so well
He deserves the award
by DiamondbacksWIn on Jul 28, 2008 4:46 PM EDT reply actions
I Got to Admit
I didn’t have the patience or the foresight but I am definitely enjoying the benefits.
He is really swinging the bat
The last couple years it wasn’t easy to like Jackson. His errors at first base and his seemingly indifferent attitude made it look like he was a talented player who just didn’t care. But it looks like there’s a hard-working player behind that poker face who plays with a lot of focus and works hard to improve. I’m glad we got to see Conor Jackson develop into this kind of player and I’m looking forward to seeing him for several more years.
I know it’s a few years out, but I would also love to see the D-Backs sign Jackson for the very long term, so we get to watch him for more than just 3 years. They were willing to do it for CY. Now let’s see them do it for a player who’s actually proven himself.
"We...probed them all the way through. They're completely meat." — Terry Bisson
Count me as a doubter turned believer as well
You don’t increase your speed like CoJack has done without a lot of hard work. He has a great eye at the plate (hard to teach) and his weaknesses are fielding issues that work and experience can greatly improve. This guy is a keeper (hear that Mark Tex!).
I never understood the Jackson haters
He’s always had excellent plate discipline and the potential to put up some very good power numbers. I guess some people just want to focus on the negatives.
Dear Josh Byrnes: Please DFA Chris Burke. He can't hit, and probably never will.
by C. Wesley Baier on Jul 29, 2008 1:29 AM EDT reply actions
It's because of
people like you that think the only thing that matters in baseball is OPS.
Yeah, that’s right, Zephon. I’m calling you out. Why don’t you get your head out of a spreadsheet and watch a game every now and then?
I never got it either
I guess the defense was a sticking point, but if he continues to rake like this I could care less, and he’s shown himself to be more than capable in the outfield.
Knock off the hippie crap, strap on a helmet, and start shooting. This is baseball, Diamondbacks, I want you to storm that beach like it's Normandy!
After move to OF, Jackson heats up
I think that’s more of a natural position for me than first base. I came up as an outfielder. I feel comfortable in the outfield. It’s not that I’m not comfortable at first base. I’m just a little more comfortable in the outfield… It’s not that I’m focusing less on my defense when I’m in left, but I’m not as worried about it.Nick P then goes on, “Jackson has looked mostly solid in left field, showing decent range and a relatively accurate, if not strong, arm. The plus/minus system at Bill James Online has him at an above-average plus-5.”
Of course, there are still clearly those unimpressed by such objective measures, and Jackson in general – you know who I mean there…
When you factor in
the baserunniing and relatively smooth transition to LF, Jackson’s transformation has been nothing less than stunning. I’ve never seen a 25 year old, marginal first baseman suddenly get faster and morph into a triples threat., among other things.
I’ve always been in the “hate” camp, I suppose, but it’s nothing against Conor really. I just resented mgmnt’s decision to use first base as a position to let an unproven hitter develop, regardless of the cost savings, and feel the Dbacks’ 2007 success was largely in spite of Conor rather than because of him.
The hitting progress doesnt surprise me; the other stuff I find shocking, and if any of these patient folk who’ve been rewarded, in shoe’s words, have gone on record as foretelling that kind of transformation, before 2008 say, then by all means, speak up. I’ll be the first to acknowledge your acumen on the subject. Otherwise, I’d consider yourself more lucky than bright :-)
The hitting progress
Certainly wasn’t a shock. In the Community Projection, my predicted line for Jackson was:
.300/.385/.495 = .880 OPS, 20 HR, 85 RBI
And the overall expectation of readers was:
BA: .301 (range: .293/.310)
OBP: .388 (.383/.400)
SLG: .486 (.472/.500)
OPS: .873 (.855/.900)
HR: 21 (17/25)
RBI: 84 (76/90)
Compare that to the actuality [with HR and RBI pro-rated]
.321/..404/.507 = .911 OPS, 18 HR, 86 RBI
So he’s basically at the upper end, but not far outside, of expectations. The speed is something that was commented on in Spring Training, and so didn’t quite explode out of nowhere. It’s also often forgotten that Jackson was only 25 on Opening Day, so still is at the age where improvement in his game was to be expected. As a left-fielder, Jackson pointed out that he came up in the outfield and was only moved to 1B because there was no room for him in our outfield – on Opening Day 2006, that consisted of Gonzalez, Byrnes and Green, and they weren’t going anywhere.
So, was his progress a shock? I wouldn’t say so. A pleasant surprise, sure, but I think a good many of us had him pegged as the hitter most likely to have a good season – he got 48% of the vote as the player who’d put up the best batting average in 2008, for example.
by Jim McLennan on Jul 30, 2008 2:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Aside from community projections 2 years in a row
There was a pretty good conversation here: http://www.azsnakepit.com/2007/10/16/143953/60#4205848
The guy’s only 25… isn’t it reasonable to consider that he’ll keep getting better if we let him play?
If you’re specifically asking if we thought that he’d move to LF this year and be good at it… that seems a little outside of the relm of prediction.
Fire Bob Melvin
Showing you inability to read again, I see.
Did you NOT read this portion of my sentence hacks?
the surprisingly adequate defense in LF,
CJ slumped in April last year, and then from May 1 Onwards had a .879 OPS. And he’s been as good or better this year. He ALREADY developed as an offensive player LAST year. But apparently you missed it.
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