AFL Update: November 3, 2010
Tidbits from yesterday's AFL action
The Scottsdale Scorpions lost again, falling to the Peoria Javelinas by a 7-4 count. Here’s a look at how the Nats fared:
- Steve Lombardozzi led off and played SS. He went 3-for-4 with a triple, but was caught stealing for the second time.
- Derek Norris batted sixth and drew two walks but went o-for-2 otherwise.
- Michael Burgess batted eighth and extended his hitless streak to 15AB with another 0-for-4 game.
He did, however, throw out a runner at the plate. - Adam Carr pitched a scoreless ninth and struck out one.
Sammy Solis, to clarify, is scheduled to start today as will (presumably) Bryce Harper. Yesterday, the AFL announced rosters for the 5th Annual Rising Stars Game and Burgess and Cole Kimball were named to the Eastern Division squad.
[Editorial]The selection of Burgess is mystifying as is the exclusion of Norris. At first glance, it would appear that catcher Tony Sanchez would have bumped Norris (the old “every team must have a representative” canard), until you notice that Pirate OF Andrew Lambo, who also plays RF, is batting .304/.351/.522. As noted yesterday in the comments, it would almost appear as if the managers got together, determined whose turn it was to play, and cobbled the rosters accordingly [/Editorial]
Right or wrong regarding Burgess, Norris deserves to receive the honor and exposure. Seriously: what else would he have had to do to be named to the squad? Any defensive liabilities are outstripped by his SLG and OPS.
getting really tired of the references to Norris’ “defensive liabilities”. He is still a very young, relatively new to the position, catcher. His stats from this past season were well within the range of a major league catcher, and showed significant progress from the previous year.
Given his work ethic, success at the plate and general baseball smarts, he will be a major league catcher to be reckoned with.
To clarify… even with a recent spate of stolen bases, Norris has thrown out 8 of 13 baserunners and his three passed balls in the AFL still has him at less than 10 for the entire year — compared to 28 last year. Eight of 13 is very, very good; it’s even better when you consider the handicaps of (a) the baserunners in this league are elite (b) the lack of familiarity between pitcher and catcher (yes, it matters; hence why some teams will carry certain backups or even pair them).
I don’t think anyone here is disagreeing that if the implication that this exhibition is to honor excellence, Norris is not getting his due. We are talking about a 21-year-old playing the most difficult defensive position and yet he’s hitting like a DH.
Could not agree with you more, this is an airhead omission.
That being said, Cole Kimball has been a real revelation. Wow, he’s been good.
I’m beginning to believe that Norris is ‘turning the corner’ defensively. As Sue_D notes, his passed ball counts are down, and that 8-of-13 (61.5%) CS rate is “wicked good” so far against higher-level prospects. The future for the franchise at CA is looking brighter almost every day, especially since Flores has joined Magallenes in the VWL.
With Pudge, Flores, Ramos & Norris, that’s four ML-tested to high-end prospect players in the system, and three of them are 27 or younger.