Don't call it a comeback, he's been here for years

by RememberthePhitans on Jul 7, 2007 1:00 PM EDT

Burrell in July (small sample size, but something positive):

Avg. .308
On-base: .471
OPS: 1.240

His low for the season, average-wise, was .201. He's bounced all the way up to...: .209.

Through April, he was hitting .292 with an OPS of .850.

This is why Pat just kills me. He can perform. His body isn't broken, so far as we know.

I'd love to have the guy who hit 25-30 homers with an on-base of .370-.390 plus 100-110 RBI hitting in the five hole. Why does he have these El Nino drought years where he falls off a cliff? Is it all in his head? Is it the booing? Has he changed something in his swing?

They checked the eyesight last year, IIRC, and he got new contacts. Is it purely change of scenery, or is it decline, or is it Chuck Knoblauch syndrome (applied to hitting instead of throwing)?

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Re: Don't call it a comeback, he's been here for y

Dmitri Young stole Burrell's mojo.

by Celebre Twins on Jul 8, 2007 12:21 PM EDT reply actions

Re: Don't call it a comeback, he's been here for y

As of today for PB for July:

Avg: .375
OBP: .524
OPS 1.462

The average is also up to .215 from a low of .201. That'll happen when you hit .179 in May and .129 (!) in June. Remarkably, while PB hit .179 in May, his on-base percentage was still .360 for the month. In June, when he hit .129, his OBP was .276. Rollins' OBP for the year is .329, and he's hitting mid .280's. So, mired in a horrific, two-month long slump, PB was still as good at getting on base as the Phil's leadoff hitter.

As for July's numbers...it's just five starts and one pinch hitting outing for six appearances, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. Maybe Pat has started working a little early on his contract year. Or else he's getting a few breaks finally.

He's still working counts, since the walks are still consistently there -- he has 16 AB and 4 BB out of 20 appearances. That's more or less consistent with his numbers in the slump months. It's not as though he's given up patience at the plate in favor of more aggressive swinging, evidently.

Maybe it's just the Rockies and Astros have terrible pitching plus good parks for hitters. Whatever it is, he's showing signs of life that we haven't seen since April, or at least 5/11-5/17.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Jul 9, 2007 12:07 AM EDT reply actions