Series Thread: Jays vs. Rangers | April 21-23

[tsherkin]

He's been hurt the last two seasons and is still injury prone There isn't much of a reason to believe he'll play 154 games.

Now who's being a pessimist?

Vernon played 149 games even the season before he had his surgery and has played 150+ games in 4 of the past 7 seasons (and 149 in one other). I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation for him to log around 150, 155 games.

[Mustard_Tiger]

He's been hurt the last two seasons and is still injury prone There isn't much of a reason to believe he'll play 154 games.

Now who's being a pessimist?

Vernon played 149 games even the season before he had his surgery and has played 150+ games in 4 of the past 7 seasons (and 149 in one other). I don't think it's an unreasonable expectation for him to log around 150, 155 games.

I'm just being realistic. It's unlikely that he'll play that many games.

[tsherkin]

I'm just being realistic. It's unlikely that he'll play that many games.

"Realistic" is the time-honored catechism of the pessimist.

But seriously, even given Vernon's injury-plagued history, he's played 150+ games more than not over the last 7 years, it's not "unlikely" that he'll do it again. It may not happen, there may even be a noteworthy chance of it not happening, but I'd call it 70/30 personally. Maybe 60/40. The question is more whether he can keep producing at a level where he's on pace for the appropriate hitting quality if he does play that much.

[s e n s i]

I admire tsherkin's patience with M_T. Can't believe you two are still goin on.

[Mustard_Tiger]

But seriously, even given Vernon's injury-plagued history, he's played 150+ games more than not over the last 7 years, it's not "unlikely" that he'll do it again. It may not happen, there may even be a noteworthy chance of it not happening, but I'd call it 70/30 personally. Maybe 60/40. The question is more whether he can keep producing at a level where he's on pace for the appropriate hitting quality if he does play that much.

His offense will be fine (that is, if you don't have unreasonable expectations), IMO. The injuries, however, will come up again.

[tsherkin]

Do you have a medical reason for believing that or are you just a pessimist?

[Mustard_Tiger]

Now I'm the pessimist? This coming from the guy who needlessly bashed Wells after a few meaningless games in early April?

Anyway, injury prone players like Vernon Wells generally don't have healthy seasons often, but who knows, maybe he'll be like Yao this year.

[tsherkin]

Now I'm the pessimist? This coming from the guy who needlessly bashed Wells after a few meaningless games in early April?

You think that sample is the only reason I dislike Wells' contract?

Anyway, injury prone players like Vernon Wells generally don't have healthy seasons often, but who knows, maybe he'll be like Yao this year.

The funny part is, to be truly labeled injury-prone, one would think a guy had to have more injured seasons than healthy seasons... which isn't actually the case with Wells. Yes, he's been injured a lot recently, but he had a problem which nagged him all of one season, and then had surgery and it nagged him again after. I don't know that I'd be so quick to call it 'injury proneness' when he had 4 other seasons of 150+ games (and the one at 149 when he was injured) and that's across a stretch of time that only includes one other season reduced by injury (2004), one that included enough health to garner his first Gold Glove and hitting numbers that were otherwise decent, if not earth-shattering.

I may not like Wells' production against his contract, but to call him injury-prone is to do a disservice to the number of games he HAS played... this isn't Ken Griffey Jr. we're talking about.

[Mustard_Tiger]

Now I'm the pessimist? This coming from the guy who needlessly bashed Wells after a few meaningless games in early April?

You think that sample is the only reason I dislike Wells' contract?

We've been over this before. Wells' contract is no reason to bash him. It's not his fault he's dreadfully overpaid, nor will he ever be able to play up to your unreasonable expectations.

The funny part is, to be truly labeled injury-prone, one would think a guy had to have more injured seasons than healthy seasons... which isn't actually the case with Wells. Yes, he's been injured a lot recently, but he had a problem which nagged him all of one season, and then had surgery and it nagged him again after. I don't know that I'd be so quick to call it 'injury proneness' when he had 4 other seasons of 150+ games (and the one at 149 when he was injured) and that's across a stretch of time that only includes one other season reduced by injury (2004), one that included enough health to garner his first Gold Glove and hitting numbers that were otherwise decent, if not earth-shattering.

In his last 5 seasons, he's been hurt in 3 of them (2004, 2007, and 2008). Yes, he's an injury prone player.

I may not like Wells' production against his contract, but to call him injury-prone is to do a disservice to the number of games he HAS played... this isn't Ken Griffey Jr. we're talking about.

Nobody is Ken Griffey Jr.