Nick Markakis' Recent Struggles

[2131andBeyond]

Most would assume that Nick would only get BETTER with the return of Brian Roberts, but that is actually the opposite of what has been happening.

Looking at his overall stats:

Nick's average topped out on July 10th in Texas right before the AS break at .310. His OBP was .398, SLG was .456.

When Roberts returned, Nick's numbers were down to .299/.380/.441

One would think that BRob back in the leadoff spot would only boost those back up, if not higher.

Well, here are his numbers as of post game Sunday, September 12: .288/.364/.418

Some argue that his RBI numbers are down due to nobody hitting around him, but think about it this way. Adam Jones (7 more RBIs than Nick) was thrown for a while into the 7 or 8 hole, and produced. Lately, he has been in the 5 or 6 hole on a nightly basis. One could say that Luke and Pie around him may help, while at the bottom there were sparks of production from Izturis, Wieters, and Tatum at times. Markakis has the top of the lineup. No reason to really blame who's around him. Lots of times lately has he stepped up with men on and even in scoring position and he grounds out. He even is working on new batting stances all the time. Not sure why he didn't stick with his original one that WAS WORKING!!

[GeorgeD4]

He's an enigma, that's for sure. As I referenced in the MVO thread, he is an average major league right fielder offensively this year. Another thing I don't entirely grasp. Everyone is so quick to tout his arm. Obviously he does have a great arm but that's the least important of the five tools. I would much rather see him with a higher average, more home runs, or more stolen bases.

[allstar1579]

The issue is more who's hitting BEHIND Nick, not in front of him. Teams can pitch around him...and they do.

[CamdenRevival]

If this is an off-year for Nick (and I believe it to be), then I'm not too concerned. The RBIs are down, but I think there's a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is that pitchers would much rather face Wiggy than Nick (agree with allstar1579). His #s against RHP are a little surprising and disappointing, but I'm hoping it's just a one year thing. As for the power, I just don't think he'll ever be the 30HR guy people dream he can/should be. I think the most apt description of Nick's potential is the one that Jim Palmer uses in calling him a potential George Brett. Brett hit over 25 HRs only once, but hit .305 lifetime, logged a lot of XBHs, played very good D, won and MVP (nearly two) and anchored the middle of the lineup for years as the face of the franchise. And he's in the Hall of Fame. I'll take that.

[allstar1579]

If this is an off-year for Nick (and I believe it to be), then I'm not too concerned. The RBIs are down, but I think there's a lot of reasons for that, not the least of which is that pitchers would much rather face Wiggy than Nick (agree with allstar1579). His #s against RHP are a little surprising and disappointing, but I'm hoping it's just a one year thing. As for the power, I just don't think he'll ever be the 30HR guy people dream he can/should be. I think the most apt description of Nick's potential is the one that Jim Palmer uses in calling him a potential George Brett. Brett hit over 25 HRs only once, but hit .305 lifetime, logged a lot of XBHs, played very good D, won and MVP (nearly two) and anchored the middle of the lineup for years as the face of the franchise. And he's in the Hall of Fame. I'll take that.

I think this is a very good expectation. He's more of a 20-25 HR guy should hit over .300 and steal 10-20 bases every year. Going to be a good BB guy too, but he really needs some protection in the lineup before you're going to see all that.