Dayton Ohio's Tony Campana

[Bryants Disco Ball]

I like having him on the team, and I am not embarrassed to say it.

 

Sometimes it's just fun to have a guy that is so fast that every time he hits it on the ground, you believe he has a legit chance to beat it out. Maybe it's because the Cubs never have any speed, but it's enjoyable to watch.

 

That is all.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Yeah, yeah, gritty white guy, gives it his all, spark in the lineup.

[dew1679666265]

Yeah, yeah, gritty white guy, gives it his all, spark in the lineup.

 

Having him as the 24th or 25th player on the team is perfectly fine with me. I don't want him in the lineup consistently unless injuries necessitate it (as they have now), but he's cheap, young, versatile, plays excellent defense and excels as a pinch runner. He won't hit much at all probably, but he certainly brings value to the team.

[Little Slide Rooter]

As anyone around here will happily tell you, I was once naive enough to get excited about these guys getting their call up and doing relatively well. I learned that more often than not, guys who put up the kind of minor league numbers Campana did don't become anything special. Considering everyone is on the DL, I have no problem with Campana getting a shot, but I'm not going to get too excited about a guy whose ceiling is Rajai Davis.

[davell]

Yeah, yeah, gritty white guy, gives it his all, spark in the lineup.

 

Having him as the 24th or 25th player on the team is perfectly fine with me. I don't want him in the lineup consistently unless injuries necessitate it (as they have now), but he's cheap, young, versatile, plays excellent defense and excels as a pinch runner. He won't hit much at all probably, but he certainly brings value to the team.

 

 

Yes.

[dew1679666265]

As anyone around here will happily tell you, I was once naive enough to get excited about these guys getting their call up and doing relatively well. I learned that more often than not, guys who put up the kind of minor league numbers Campana did don't become anything special. Considering everyone is on the DL, I have no problem with Campana getting a shot, but I'm not going to get too excited about a guy whose ceiling is Rajai Davis.

 

You can be happy to have him on the team even if you realize his ceiling isn't very high. As long as you recognize his weaknesses and keep them in perspective, he can be a fun player to watch in the right situations - pinch running and playing defense.

[davell]

He's a league minimum salary guy who has some serious speed and is a decent fielder. 25th man? Sure. It even would save us a tad of money from signing a Reed Johnson to a mill or so deal. It may not seem like it's all that important, but that extra 600,000 can be used wisely elsewhere.

 

I pull for all these guys, because the more minimum salary guys we have that are capable major league players, the more we can spend on true impact talent.

[NewUserName]

This is kind of on topic. I have always wondered why guys like Campana cannot become a Brett Butler type of player. Is it because 1b and 3b have become more athletic and bunting for base hits is harder? or did Butler have a certain skill set that allowed him to be very good at bunting for hits that is hard to match?

[davell]

This is kind of on topic. I have always wondered why guys like Campana cannot become a Brett Butler type of player. Is it because 1b and 3b have become more athletic and bunting for base hits is harder? or did Butler have a certain skill set that allowed him to be very good at bunting for hits that is hard to match?

 

 

I don't think it has anything to do with bunting honestly. Butler had a hell of an eye. He walked a ton to have played in era where it wasn't emphasized as much as it is now. Campana has alot of the same skillset that Butler did, but probably needs to double his walk totals, if he's ever going to have a legit chance at being an everyday player.

[NewUserName]

This is kind of on topic. I have always wondered why guys like Campana cannot become a Brett Butler type of player. Is it because 1b and 3b have become more athletic and bunting for base hits is harder? or did Butler have a certain skill set that allowed him to be very good at bunting for hits that is hard to match?

 

 

I don't think it has anything to do with bunting honestly. Butler had a hell of an eye. He walked a ton to have played in era where it wasn't emphasized as much as it is now. Campana has alot of the same skillset that Butler did, but probably needs to double his walk totals, if he's ever going to have a legit chance at being an everyday player.

 

I agree that the main reason Butler was so good was because he walked a lot. But were his walks totals higher because pitchers were trying to pitch around his bunt attempts?

[davell]

This is kind of on topic. I have always wondered why guys like Campana cannot become a Brett Butler type of player. Is it because 1b and 3b have become more athletic and bunting for base hits is harder? or did Butler have a certain skill set that allowed him to be very good at bunting for hits that is hard to match?

 

 

I don't think it has anything to do with bunting honestly. Butler had a hell of an eye. He walked a ton to have played in era where it wasn't emphasized as much as it is now. Campana has alot of the same skillset that Butler did, but probably needs to double his walk totals, if he's ever going to have a legit chance at being an everyday player.

 

I agree that the main reason Butler was so good was because he walked a lot. But were his walks totals higher because pitchers were trying to pitch around his bunt attempts?

 

Hmm. Guess that's possible, but nothing we'll ever be able to prove. You'd think a manager would just tell his pitcher to pitch though. A bunt base hit is no different than a walk, in the end. Hell, with the walk, he's even a tad more rested to steal second. :D

[TruffleShuffle]

brett butler hit .338 with a .447 obp in the minor leagues, and hit 11 home runs. he struck out 141 times in 367 games.

 

campana has hit .303 with a .359 obp in the minor leagues, and hit 0 home runs. he has struck out 203 times in 312 games.

 

it's quite obvious that campana has nowhere near the contact skills, eye or hitting tool that butler had, and also doesn't have any pop whatsoever.

[Northside Blues]

I agree that the main reason Butler was so good was because he walked a lot. But were his walks totals higher because pitchers were trying to pitch around his bunt attempts?

 

Since 2002, all the players with 30+ bunt singles in a season

 

2007 38 bunt 1B, 21 BB Willy Taveras

2003 32 bunt 1B, 25 BB Alex Sanchez

2003 31 bunt 1B, 55 BB Juan Pierre

2004 31 bunt 1B, 07 BB Alex Sanchez

2005 31 bunt 1B, 25 BB Willy Taveras

2008 30 bunt 1B, 25 BB Carlos Gomez.

 

In addition to other seasons by Pierre and Taveras, the only other players with more than 20 bunt singles in a season were Dave Roberts and Corey Patterson. In those seasons they had 43 and 21 walks, respectively.

 

So this theory looks pretty dead. Juan Pierre's 162 game average of walks is 40. You also have to remember that Pierre's 55 walks in 2003 came in a league leading 746 plate appearances. He batted leadoff for the Marlins in all 162 games.

 

Brett Butler had a 162 game average of 83 BB per 162 games. Bunt singles do not appear to be the reason, at all.

[Vinestal]

He's like that Darwin Barney, he'll never hit in the majors right?

[Sammy Sofa]

So since Darwin Barney had a good April he's now an established MLB success story?

[Vinestal]

So since Darwin Barney had a good April he's now an established MLB success story?

scramble! scramble for a witty retort to your poor player predictions. lol

w/e

[TruffleShuffle]

also because one guy with a fringy bat is hitting in the majors, every guy with a fringy bat will hit in the majors.

[Sammy Sofa]

So since Darwin Barney had a good April he's now an established MLB success story?

scramble! scramble for a witty retort to your poor player predictions. lol

w/e

 

"Scramble?" This is his line over the last 2 weeks: .224 .245 .245 .490

 

It's great if Barney can get back to producing, but let's not start acting like he's some kind of lock. The guy has almost no power and a VERY empty OBP that requires him to keep that BA high.

[davell]

If Barney can keep his OPS above .700 for the entire season, I'd be shocked. He's got a very good glove, but to be a fulltime starter for us instead of a utility guy, I think he needs to develop into(assuming he's not now) a .280/.330/.385ish type guy offensively. And even then, I think LeMahieu winds up much better offensively than that, only thing is whether or not he can stick at the spot.

[VVMattVV]

So since Darwin Barney had a good April he's now an established MLB success story?

scramble! scramble for a witty retort to your poor player predictions. lol

w/e

 

You sure showed him

[Bryants Disco Ball]

brett butler hit .338 with a .447 obp in the minor leagues, and hit 11 home runs. he struck out 141 times in 367 games.

 

campana has hit .303 with a .359 obp in the minor leagues, and hit 0 home runs. he has struck out 203 times in 312 games.

 

If somehow Campana produced the same average and OBP in the majors, I'd take it. To me, a .360 OBP would be fine and he'd be on base enough to steal 50 or 60.

[Illini Iceman]

If Barney can keep his OPS above .700 for the entire season, I'd be shocked. He's got a very good glove, but to be a fulltime starter for us instead of a utility guy, I think he needs to develop into(assuming he's not now) a .280/.330/.385ish type guy offensively. And even then, I think LeMahieu winds up much better offensively than that, only thing is whether or not he can stick at the spot.

 

 

I would like the Cubs to try some kind of platoon with DeWitt and Barney to keep Barney from getting overexposed. He seems to have a good approach at the plate and could be a useful guy to have on the roster but I dread him becoming some kind of cult hero like Theriot and being given the every day starting job the next two years just because of a good month.

[rocket]

please refer to him as dayton ohio's tony campana

[Guest]

Honestly, given how far above expectations Barney has performed, I'd like to see if anyone would be interested in buying high on him. I'm more comfortable with LeMahieu if the cubs feel his defense is adequate.

[USSoccer]

So since Darwin Barney had a good April he's now an established MLB success story?

scramble! scramble for a witty retort to your poor player predictions. lol

w/e

 

I'm not sure how N&G is going to recover from such an epic burn.