Corey Hart as unsung hero/key to playoffs

[molitor fan]

Hart is having a very similar year to last year, 25th in the majors in OPS after being 26th last year. His unwieldy style and injury this year have tandemed with the amazing seasons of Braun and Prince to hide his production a bit. I think a hot streak from Hart in the post-season would give the Brewers a chance to win it all.

[MJLiverock]

I think someone behind Prince in the order will be the key. I expect them to have the RBI opportunities as teams pitch around Prince, especially when 1B is open. They need a player like Casey, Yuni, or Lucroy to have a Cody Ross like series.

[dadofandrew]

Hart and Weeks would be the best hitters for half the teams in MLB. They are undervalued in MIL because of Prince and Ryan. Years ago, Terry Ryan said the Twins needed a RH, corner OF bat like Hart. They still do. We don't realize how rarely those guys come along.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Hart and Weeks would be the best hitters for half the teams in MLB. They are undervalued in MIL because of Prince and Ryan. Years ago, Terry Ryan said the Twins needed a RH, corner OF bat like Hart. They still do. We don't realize how rarely those guys come along.

I'm surprised how many casual fans and even my more casual baseball friends are so quick to want to shed Hart's 'horrible' salary and his 'streaky' bat. I'll be the first to admit he's no great shakes in RF, but his worst career OPS+ as a starter is 98. Heck, he's even taking walks at a career high rate, and pushing a .360 OBP this year.

 

When Werth got his ridiculous contract I said "Pff........he's Corey Hart with more doubles....plus he's older". We're lucky to have Hart at the price he signed for.

[owbc]

Yep, Hart would be hitting cleanup for a number of MLB teams, including the Marlins and Pirates. I agree that his contributions will be needed in the playoffs. I do not think the bottom of the order will contribute much against the quality pitching that the Brewers will face in the postseason. Hopefully Braun and Fielder will get to see some pitches and not get walked all the time.

 

Now, a scenario that I could see happening is the 7-9 starting a rally and Hart coming up with the big hit (like last night).

[kramnoj]

UZR and Total Zone both say Hart has been a positive defensively this year. That doesn't outweigh his deficiencies in the past, but he's not nearly as terrible as some believe.

 

This was his best year measured by OPS+. His best offensive year was 2007 when he added value on the bases. He's pretty much given the Brewers value this year to cover his salary for the next two years.

[nate82]

There are two failed trades by both the Braves and the Giants last year. Imagine if the Braves or the Giants would have made a trade for Hart last season. If the Braves would have made the trade they would be more than two games up in the wild card. The Giants probably still wouldn't have made the playoffs but Sanchez for Hart would have been a smart trade and would have looked favorably on their part at this time. The best trade for both teams would have been the trade from the Braves. With the Brewers getting a good young starting pitcher and the Braves getting their corner OF that they are lacking.

I am not opposed to trade Hart in the coming off season either if it helps the Brewers down the road. The Red Sox make the most sense as a trading partner.

[dadofandrew]

That's another reason I don't think many respect Gindl enough. Go look at Caleb's numbers...they are nearly identical to Corey's, same levels and ages. I don't care if he is 5-9, he had very good numbers in AAA and is very young for that level. Even if he does not match Hart's production, top 50 in OPS is pretty darn good.

[GAME05]

Betancourt is gonna be the guy to have monster Playoff production, and that will be both awesome and hilarious.

[hawing]

Betancourt is gonna be the guy to have monster Playoff production, and that will be both awesome and hilarious.

Awelarious, then.

More seriously...I keep thinking there has to be some unexpected cosmic reason for Yuni to remain on the roster and start as often as he does. A monster postseason would work for me, though I hate to think of the asploding heads that this site would experience.

[CheezWizHed]

A monster postseason would work for me, though I hate to think of the asploding heads that this site would experience.

 

Or the possibility of picking up his option for next year...

[Ennder]

It usually is some cruddy guy that carries the team in the post season. Comparisons to Uribe make a lot of sense for Betancourt.

[mothershipconnection]

If Betancourt carried the team and we win it all, I'll swallow the pill when they pick up his option and name him starter for next year. What I'd worry about is that he sucks like normal, then has some super-clutch 2 run single that makes sentimental feelings get in the way of a season's worth of data.

[Funketown]

Honestly, I think I'd rather the Brewers win the World Series and then give Yuni a 7 year $70 million deal than drop out in the first round.

 

I know people often view the Brewers as Prince, Braun, and the rest, but really this season they should view them as Braun, then Prince, Hart, Weeks, and Plush, and then the rest.

[Ennder]

Honestly, I think I'd rather the Brewers win the World Series and then give Yuni a 7 year $70 million deal than drop out in the first round.

 

I know people often view the Brewers as Prince, Braun, and the rest, but really this season they should view them as Braun, then Prince, Hart, Weeks, and Plush, and then the rest.

And Gallardo, Wolf, Marcum, Greinke, Axford and K-Rod. Usually we only get to count 1 or 2 pitchers in there http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

[chadomac]

I was never a "hater", but Hart has been better than I ever expected during the past two years or so. I would guess that 2012 is his last year with the team, but I've really enjoyed having him as a corner OF.

[Glennron]

Honestly, I think I'd rather the Brewers win the World Series and then give Yuni a 7 year $70 million deal than drop out in the first round.

I'd think, or at least hope, about 99% of posters here would agree with this. I mean it's not like the Packers where the team's set up to be great for multiple years. It's entirely possible the Brewers will be quite bad in 2013.

[rluzinski]

Betancourt is a decent hitter for a SS. The problem is that he should probably be playing a corner OF spot. But even a good defensive SS is going to make the majority of his plays, so let's hope the luck of the draw works to his favor in the playoffs.

[logan82]

Betancourt is a decent hitter for a SS.

He is 20th out of 20 in wOBA for qualifie SS and 29th out of 34 when you expand the PA far enough to get at least one starter for every team. How is that "decent" for a SS?

[GAME05]

i like Betancourt because everybody else hates him. he does all those unquantifiable things well.

[rluzinski]

Betancourt is a decent hitter for a SS.

He is 20th out of 20 in wOBA for qualifie SS and 29th out of 34 when you expand the PA far enough to get at least one starter for every team. How is that "decent" for a SS?

I didn't say he hit decently this year, I said he's a decent hitter. His current OBP is 20 points below his career average. Just he project to an average hitter? Probably not quite but if he was an average defender, he would probably would only be a little below average overall. Of course, he will never will be even close to an average defender so there you go.

[kramnoj]

20th out of 20th is one way of saying it. Another way of describing where he stands is that he is .001 away from being tied for 17th, which would mean that just over half of all teams have a better hitter at his position.

[logan82]

20th out of 20th is one way of saying it. Another way of describing where he stands is that he is .001 away from being tied for 17th, which would mean that just over half of all teams have a better hitter at his position.

If you add that .001 wOBA 27 teams have a SS who has hit better than Yuni this year. That doesn't even look at defense.

[Nottso]

i like Betancourt because everybody else hates him. he does all those unquantifiable things well.

Me too. If the guy pulled 14 orphans from a burning building, somebody would poo-poo it with a stat that shows the average amount of orphans pulled from burning buildings is 22, meaning Yuni's OPFBB is -8.

[RockCoCougars]

Cool- another Yuni thread. Before I talk about Hart, got to say that Yuni is nowhere near as bad as some make him out to be. He has a lot of stinker at bats, but he also seems to hit the ball hard a couple of times every game. I also like that he doesn't strike out much. Defensively, he has perhaps the most sure throwing arm in recent Brewer SS history, and he's very good at turning the DP. Yes, his range is lacking. Didn't check the in game thread last night, but when that run scoring single got by him, I'm sure the pitchforks were out. Bottom line, Yuni is not a great player, but he's been a clear upgrade over the steaming pile that was Escobar.

 

As for Hart, it would have been nice for him to be in a hot streak for the playoffs, hopefully he can sustain this for the next few weeks. I'm just hoping he doesn't go into a cold streak and totally disappear. He has had a very nice year under the radar though, doesn't seem that he's been as streaky this year as he's been over his career.