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Khalil Grievance Update

Padres file Grievance Against Khalil

Heath Bell is the Player Union Representative.  He had this to say about Khalil:

"We need Khalil to forget what happened last year," Bell said. "He struggled last year ... and it was like he couldn't get out of a hole. He couldn't really get a day off because we didn't have anyone to fill in for him. But I think that he's capable of bouncing back and having a career year."

I'll take that one step further.  I need to forget what happened last year.

Heath is hoping that the grievance doesn't hurt the relationship between Khalil and the Padres.  He hasn't talked to Khalil, because Khalil is probably talking directly to the players union. Heath really doesn't have any idea how Khalil is feeling about the grievance.

I guess that's the good and bad thing about Khalil, you don't know how he's feeling.  He's not the type to voice his anger or comment at all to the media and in some ways that's a good trait for a baseball player.  It keeps him out of a lot of trouble and he won't say anything that will lessen the Padres opinion of him.  The only bad is that everybody who isn't involved doesn't get his side of the story, which can be frustrating.  It's not really our any of our business though.

It's hard to say if Khalil will bounce back, there isn't really any way of knowing.  He's had sporadic success but he doesn't really have the plate discipline to fit the Padres philosophy and kinda lost the mental game by letting the slump get to him.  

I thought he was easily replaced by Luis Rodriguez, but who knows if Rodriguez is actually better than Khalil. It's clear that as long as the Padres have Khalil they are going to give him the starting job.

During the season I emailed Bob Scanlan at heyscan@cox.net.  I told him that I would take a more rounded player like Rodriguez who may not play defense as well as Khalil but can still play effectively and hit for a higher average.  I always heard commentators saying how much we'd miss Khalil's defense once it was gone, but I didn't find that to be the case at all.  In my opinion good hitting beats good defense every time.  So was Khalil overrated as a total player because of his great defense?

I think it's more that too much has been expected rather than he is overrated.  When he first signed the Padres said they would be happy if he played defense and hit above .220.  He did that an now the expectation is that he will hit .265 with 25-30 homeruns and 100 rbi's.  Simply asking too much.  The defense is great, which is what a shortstop is supposed to do.  I like Rodriguez at second base. He is doing great at shortstop, but not sure if he could handle 162 games.

I like Scan, I'll agree with just about whatever he says.

 

Poll
Will Khalil bounce back in 2009?
Yes, 2008 was a fluke
64 votes
No, this is the beginning of the end
41 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

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Insert Rant by Phantom Here

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

by sdsuaztec4 on Oct 7, 2008 10:18 PM PDT   0 recs

I thought this

was a totally well-reasoned post by JBox. I wish people would give Khalil a break now and then, and I think JBox is right that this whole grievance thing isn’t really our business and we too often (myself included) Khalil’s true intentions without ever really knowing them.

I do think Khalil will bounce back and I think the MVP award in 2007 put a ton of pressure on him to repeat what he did. I also think that he was legitimately trying to improve his overall game last year (he did appear to go the other way more often than he ever had previously in MLB) and I think he was victimized by some bad luck (he had his lowest career BABIP this year).

All in all, I think Khalil will be fine next year. He’s never going to have an OBP that is in the .330 range, but then again, it doesn’t look like Kouz will either. And you can certainly make the argument that Khalil has comparable power to Kouz (Kouz averages a HR every 26.5 AB, Khalil averages a HR every 28.5 AB), while being a superior defender. And yet we rag on Khalil. We get all over him for his crap OBP, but Kouz didn’t exactly see a ton of pitches this year. I think we should all take a step back and just appreciate the guy for what he does and realize that he’s an incredibly value member of the team.

by Phantom on Oct 8, 2008 11:06 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Wait...

From Scan’s email:

“When he first signed Padres said they would be happy if he played defense and hit above .220.”

We really took a guy a guy with the 13th pick overall and said we’d be happy if he played defense and hit above .220?? Seriously? I find that hard to believe. And if it’s true…it’s beyond pathetic.

by Drama on Oct 8, 2008 9:35 AM PDT   0 recs

I like Scan

but like all analysts, they just make stuff up sometimes. No way KT (and Beane/Depodsata who stated he would have taken him with the 1st pick), thought the guy would only hit 220. A lot of teams were going to transition to 3rd base for his power, and they were worried about his range to the left.

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra

by Sammy G on Oct 8, 2008 9:38 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I saw Khalil play in college (on TV)

He looked like he was Money(ball). He was patient, he hit for average, he hit for power. There was no way anyone at the time thought that he would be a one dimensional hitter. There was also no way anyone thought he could be a gold glove caliber SS. Most predicted a position change for him. But his defense improved a ton and his hitting fell off in the patience area. I wonder if the two were related.

Homer: Ohhhh, The Denver Broncos.
Marge: Whats wrong with the Denver Broncos?
Homer: Marge you just don't understand football.

by Wonko on Oct 8, 2008 10:28 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

in College

KG was a “sure thing”, sure to be a future All star and potential HOF.

Of course College doesn’t have a MLB sliders.

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra

by Sammy G on Oct 8, 2008 3:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

It was the ACC

It’s not like it was some Division III school or something.

Homer: Ohhhh, The Denver Broncos.
Marge: Whats wrong with the Denver Broncos?
Homer: Marge you just don't understand football.

by Wonko on Oct 8, 2008 5:44 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I am not disagreeing

but some players just have hard time adjusting to MLB level pitching. Mickey Mantle stated several times that he would have been pedestrian against the slider (the slider they through during his play was a cut fastball), once he stood in against it in the early 80’s. But he was probably drunk at the time.

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. " ~Frank Sinatra

by Sammy G on Oct 8, 2008 8:15 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Maybe the broken hand

will lead to more patience at the plate and better discipline as he’s recovering and rediscovering his swing.

That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.

Capri. Denial. It's a sweet sweet place; come join me....

by Demoira on Oct 8, 2008 10:36 AM PDT   0 recs

Except

This is like the 3rd broken bone in his hand/wrist/arm he’s had.

Homer: Ohhhh, The Denver Broncos.
Marge: Whats wrong with the Denver Broncos?
Homer: Marge you just don't understand football.

by Wonko on Oct 8, 2008 12:10 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Third time's the charm.

www.PadsAndEnds.blogspot.com
"jbox does not drink coffee, as it makes him clean house big time." ~Kev

by TheThirdGonzalez on Oct 8, 2008 9:08 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

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