Post by mattpicard on Jun 13, 2013 12:51:10 GMT -5
As for Nava I was all in from his AA days. I was saddened to see him falter but I remained convinced - or had at least convinced myself - that last year was wrecked by his hand injury. Just so impressed with how he has continued to work and improve on both sides of the ball, and from the right side of the plate. Statistically, this year and perhaps next should be his peak, but I have a suspicion he may defy that expected outcome by a bit as well. The man wasn't even supposed to make it to MLB. Now he's made MLB his living. He is a ballplayer if there ever was one.
The issue, and I mentioned it at the time, was that his age was working against him. He was already 25 and, while they had jumped him right to A+, it was a long way to the majors. He was an adequate fielder, not great, getting late jumps on balls sometimes. But the approach was always there. Would he ever get a shot?
In retrospect, from what we can see when we watch the way he approaches the game, he wasn't going to be deterred. He just doesn't have it in him. His trajectory at each level has always been the same. Figure out the league and its pitchers, get comfortable, and then get raking. He's been near or right at 100 points of OBP above his average forever. That you can lay money on. Anyone who's read the site for a while knows that I don't believe those skills evaporate once you get to the majors, that there's some sort of magic barrier that saps you of your discipline and your pitch recognition. There's a lot more guys who can control all their stuff, and they often have a lot more of that stuff. But it's stuff you've seen a bit of in AA and AAA. Focus and discipline will take you a long way, all the way if you stick with it.
I don't think you'd get the guy to talk about it but I believe he took one for the team last year. What a disaster, really. Crawford's coming off the disabled list at some point, isn't he? I'm still waiting. A recap: Nava carried that team for a good while. Then he got hurt, and he still gave them at bats when they were looking under the rug for them. Not that last year was a washout. He got to learn a bit about the league and, as always, took his walks.
They owed him a shot, they gave him one, he's taking advantage of it. Anyone who's surprised at this hasn't been paying attention. How far does he go? Probably not too much farther given that he's 30 and that his skills have probably peaked out. But I'd never say he can't get even better. I just don't think this is a guy you should bet against.
Terrific post Norm, you hit the nail right on the head.
Nava played a large portion of last season in agaonizing wrist pain, mostly due to a horrific cyst. You try driving the ball in the majors with that nagging you, it's tougher than you may initially think. Still, he always maintained his plate discipline and had productive at bats, a testament to his skills that, as Norm noted, don't simply evaporate when shifting levels or climbing up the age latter.
I remember during this past spring training, there were a lot of intelligent fans who believed Nava, while being a good story, simply didn't fit the needs of the team the way guys such as Carp, Sweeney, Maier, and Overbay did. I adamently defeneded Nava, not because he is a great story, but because I knew he could be a great player. His approach, when combined with health, was bound to produce increased success at the MLB level (even if I didn't think he'd be quite this good), and as for the limitations he had, he worked his butt off to remove them. He went out in ST and learned how to play a decent first base, and he's consistently improved his outfield play to the point where, while not the most ideal situation, he's by far our most capable backup right fielder. He's gone from being a good-disciplined mediocre left fielder into a versatile high-OBP player who can hit in any spot of the lineup and be productive. Great guy, great player, great story. Nava got his shot, he's capitalized, and now hopefully he will play a prominent role on a successful Sox team for years to come.
It is, as always, interesting, to ponder the 2014 and 2015 lineups with Nava suddenly becoming more than a 1-year platoon option player. JBJ will certainly take center next season, and Shane is unlikely to go anywhere. Gomes could get his lefty time in subbing for Nava and JBJ. But this locks out Brentz (not really a bad thing), and also means Xander will certainly be an infielder for the next few years (the correct decision, just noting that for those who may continue to say we could move him to LF/RF). I guess the only super interesting logjam will be the Iglesias/Bogaerts/WMB/Napoli dynamic.