A word on Mayberry
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A word on Mayberry
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. — The volume of questions about John Mayberry Jr. has expanded in recent days. The majority sound something like this: "Should we worry?"
If it's spring stats that make you worry, then absolutely not.
Yes, Mayberry is tied for the team lead in Grapefruit League at-bats with 68 and he is currently toting a .191/.247/.250 slash line. He's 13 for 68 and four of those hits are doubles. He has no home runs and has struck out 10 times with five walks.
It hasn't been pretty; few times has Mayberry squared up the ball.
But how soon we forget Ben Francisco. Certainly you'll remember Francisco began 2011 as the Phillies starting right fielder. He came to camp with purpose and it showed. He batted .361/.439/.667 in 72 Grapefruit League at-bats. Eleven of his 26 hits were for extra bases, including a team-leading five home runs.
By the end of May, of course, Francisco was on the bench. From April 1 to May 20, Francisco hit .221/.331/.368 in 136 at-bats. On May 21, Domonic Brown was recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley to assume the majority of playing time. Later, Hunter Pence filled right field.
This is a roundabout way of stating the irrelevancy of spring stats. Sure, they sometimes are a tool for teams to make roster decisions. But, mostly, a spring won't make or break a player.
Now, back to that question: Should you worry? There should be trepidation. Even if Mayberry was hitting .600 with seven home runs this spring, there would still be pause. The Phillies have no clue what to expect from Mayberry. His second half in 2011 was a revelation, but hardly a coronation. Before spring training started, we examined why it was impossible to be sold on Mayberry as an everyday player. None of that changes with a good or bad spring.
And it's this writer's opinion that Mayberry is the most important offensive piece in a new Phillies reality that excludes Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
"I don't think Mayberry has to have a tremendous but if he plays the way he did in the seond half of next year, and nothing more, this lineup should be fine without the 2 boppers — Anything_Philly_is4me"
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To put this in perspective, if he hits for a full season the way he did after being called up on July 5th last year, he would have these stats (in 650 plate appearances):
.301, 48 HR, 148 RBI, .965 OPS
We are more likely to get something like the stats below, but we should be very happy with this, and barring any significant new injuries, the Phillies will be in good shape:
.260, 20 HR, 80 RBI, .775 OPS— schmenkman- THE GUY WHO WANTS BROWNIE TO PLAY IN LEFT EVERYDAY has some serious problems. Suggest he try immodium for the condition,— NewMick314
- Offense is not about how many total runs you score. It is about how many games you score five or more runs. Last year the Phils scored five or more in 56 games. The Cards in 78. Actually the Phils were worse than the Cubs in scoring five runs in a game. Whatever the Phils accomplish it is by pitching. The offense is poor and getting worse.You don't get to fatten up on bad teams pitching in the playoffs.The last two years they faced teams with almost as good pitching in the playoffs and the offense couldn't contribute enough to match up— T Schick
