Am I the only one who notices this. It is a hesitation before he makes a pass at the ball. I haven't heard anyone bring it up on the radio or in the paper. I mean I expect a young guy to struggle like he has but I hope that Greg Walker has noticed it and is working with him. But if he's gone through the minors without anyone correcting it then it might be to late.

Brian Anderson has that same long swing that Joe Borchard does. Both 1st round picks, both busts. BA could hit A, AA, and AAA pitching, but he's fooled at the ML level, his bat is too slow.

The only good game BA has had in the bigs was against Felix the phenom in Seattle, but let's also remember the Felix the Cat hadn't been in the majors all that long.

I hope I'm wrong, but I can see Mr. Anderson being on the wrong side of the Mendoza line until he's sent back to Charlotte for some more seasoning.

Who is KW going to trade Josh Fields to in order to get a better CF?

I'm not so set on tossing BA out of town just yet, but the idea of trading up for a better (maybe veteran) CF intrigues me. What is Torii Hunter's status as of late? I obviously don't think he would be affordable now or even next year, but I could definitely see him wanting to upgrade in a division that is quickly becoming a battle between 3 teams.

Guys, relax. The Sox can afford to have Anderson in the line up with a 220 batting average. Beleive me. The benefit he will get for getting these at bats will help him. I'm not worried. Give him untill the all star break. If he is still struggling then make a move.

I don't see too many similarities between Borchard/Anderson. Yes, the guy will need some more seasoning, hopefully at the major league level, maybe a faster-to-primetime version of Rowand, but you really think his swing is as slow as Borchard's?

I don't even remember Borchard hitting much at AAA, other than for some power, not much average, but I think they had to bring him up repeatedly to justify that big signing bonus, in the hopes something would click at the big show.

Anderson is really good defensively so I don't have a problem with a not so great batting average. Kind of like Crede for me. If Anderson hits anything above .250 this year I'm happy as long as he works on his strikeouts and plays great defense.

You are willing to say that 13 games into the season? That is harsh and shortsighted. If you did not expect these kinds of struggles than you were being overly optimistic.

I think scouts generally give a player 400 at bats at a level before they make a full judgement.

17 Ks in 38 ABs (29 Ks in 72 career ABs); and more importantly he looks clueless at the dish.

I had zero expectations for BA and he's living up to them.

He should shut his mouth and concentrate on his hitting.

He's got that same big looping swing. I remember making the immediate comparison the first time I saw Anderson swing in a game.

Crede has that big swing too but it seems he has figured it out. You can have that swing if you have the bat speed. I haven't figured out if Anderson can't catch up or is just confused. Lets give him the 400 at bats like Dolphin suggested.

I'm willing to give him the entire year. Many, many players in their first year struggle to get acclimated.

However, LJH makes a great point, he should shut his mouth and play, he has no standing to be coming out and being the quote guy for this team.

How many Ks in those 400 ABs? I'll set the over/under at 150, with a +115 on the under.

Shit, as long as he catches the ball like they want him to, he can hit .150 and the offense should be okay.

You might be right on the strike out prediction. I'll give you a couple local boys that struggled there first couple of months in the bigs. Robin Ventura and Ryne Sandberg. I'm not saying that he is going to be like them. But I'm also not willing to say he is Joe Borchard.

No one has a bigger swing than Uribe. He swings like he is David Ortiz.

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Experience is like drawing without an eraser

Uribe's is not the same swing as Anderson/Borchard, not even close.

Plus, Uribe has unbelieveable bat speed.

I would compare Borchard/Anderson's swing to a bird flapping its wing. There's too much going on and not even speed thru the zone.

Right, that goes to my original point on Anderson. It's not the long swing that worries me as much as it is that slight hitch he has.

He was a big strikeout man in the minors as well. This was to be expected.

Give him until the trade deadline this year. If he is hurting the team, Kenny Lofton is perpetually available...and the Dodgers do not look like they will be in the playoff hunt.

Hitched it out of here

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"I am not saying, I am just saying"

The sun even finds a dog's ass some days.

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Nothing clever or witty to put here.....

As he approaches at bat number 300, does anyone feel differently about Anderson?

He's going to be a fine player. By the way Greg Walker fixed that hitch in his swing. I commend the Sox for sticking with him. Very few contending teams would have done that. It will pay off. On other teams Anderson might have been sent down, lost confidence, and never amount to anything in the Big League. It's happened to so many other players. For some there is such a fine line between success and failure and the Sox are an organization that lets its young players develope and succeed.

Perfect examples are Garland, Crede, and Uribe. There are other organizations that would have lost these players and ruined there confidence.

I have a feeling BA is going to turn out to be a fine player. Even though he has turned things around this year, I'm still leary of having him start in the playoffs. However, I don't see any other options in CF.

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To me, boxing is like a ballet, except there's no music,
no choreography and the dancers hit each other.

Just wondering,

what was Aaron Rowands numbers last season vs. the combined numbers of Anderson and Mackowiak in CF ???

I think Anderson and Roward are about the same defensively, and Mackowiak is a butcher out there (however that seems to be a thing of the past now as it looks like they're going more and more with BA)

Anderson is better defensively, without question. And ultimately, he should become a better hitter, but that may take a couple of seasons.

The smartest thing said in this thread so far.

I wish the Rowand vs. Anderson thing would stop already. BA is a FAR better fielder, and Thome's bat this year more than makes up for his learning curve.

Rowand to me is very much a poor man's Jim Edmonds. If he ever got the right jump on a ball, he wouldn't have to crash through walls or dive for everything looking to make an ESPN highlight reel.