Jay Payton

[RichH55]

Might be non-tendered by the Rockies....should be a guy KW looks at......He should be relatively cheap, and all things considered, I would rather have Payton than Everitt

[hold2dibber]

Originally posted by RichH55
Might be non-tendered by the Rockies....should be a guy KW looks at......He should be relatively cheap, and all things considered, I would rather have Payton than Everitt

Does anyone have a feel for how good/bad Payton is defensively? Can he handle CF on an everyday basis? I personally would rather have Everett's stick, but Everett obviously is not an every day CF (and he's not coming back anyway).

[dugwood31]

Can he play center? Wilson was there last year for Colorado. He seems like he's fast enough, at least.

[poorme]

I bet he's logged years of time on the DL. But when you can't afford "sure things" you have to gamble.

[Roadblock Jones]

Payton was a solid centerfielder for the Mets -- not spectacular, but generally made the plays he should have and had the respect of his pitchers for doing so. In a fair fight he'd probably have won the CF job from Preston Wilson in COL but the latter had the $$ and played everyday where Payton wasn't guaranteed either.

As a hitter he's a mixed bag. When he's at his best, the ball just screams off his bat -- he absolutely scorches it, and it's exciting to watch. But the cost is that he's extremely aggressive -- doesn't see many pitches, walk or whiff a lot. So when he's not hot, it's a lot of quick at-bats and pop-ups.

He's fast, but never been a particularly good basestealer or baserunner. His injuries (two elbow surgeries and a massive hammy rupture) are generally thought to have been the result of walking around with like 0% body fat -- he's a bit of a gym freak. OTOH, he hasn't been seriously injured since 2001.

Not a bad risk if you don't expect a lot.

[SoxxoS]

Originally posted by Roadblock Jones
Not a bad risk if you don't expect a lot.

Currently, Aaron Rowand is our starting CF. Do you think we expect a lot? :D:

[MarkEdward]

Originally posted by Roadblock Jones
Payton was a solid centerfielder for the Mets -- not spectacular, but generally made the plays he should have and had the respect of his pitchers for doing so. In a fair fight he'd probably have won the CF job from Preston Wilson in COL but the latter had the $$ and played everyday where Payton wasn't guaranteed either.

As a hitter he's a mixed bag. When he's at his best, the ball just screams off his bat -- he absolutely scorches it, and it's exciting to watch. But the cost is that he's extremely aggressive -- doesn't see many pitches, walk or whiff a lot. So when he's not hot, it's a lot of quick at-bats and pop-ups.

He's fast, but never been a particularly good basestealer or baserunner. His injuries (two elbow surgeries and a massive hammy rupture) are generally thought to have been the result of walking around with like 0% body fat -- he's a bit of a gym freak. OTOH, he hasn't been seriously injured since 2001.

Not a bad risk if you don't expect a lot.

Would you happen to be the same Roadblock Jones from Baseball Primer?

Anyway, welcome to WSI.

[jabrch]

and that's a fairly big OF to cover. He is better than any CF that we had on our team last season - no doubt.

I wonder what he is expecting to get as a non-tendered FA?

[Roadblock Jones]

Originally posted by MarkEdward
Would you happen to be the same Roadblock Jones from Baseball Primer?

Anyway, welcome to WSI.

I am, and thanks. I lurk occasionally and stopped over looking for any reaction regarding that rumored Koch-for-Cedeno trade and found this thread more interesting. Great site you got here, love the historical stuff.