I thought about writing something. Then I thought that nobody would read or care and that I shouldn't bother. Then I thought I should write something anyway. So I settled on this. It's so short and unexciting. What's the point? Why am I putting this on the internet? Couldn't I be making better use of my time? Couldn't I be preparing dinner, or vacuuming the living room? I hate myself!
Mike Carp has wowed with his power in his time as a Mariner, which says something about Carp, and probably says more about the rest of the Mariners. He's showed the ability to hit the ball out to all fields, which is a rare trait to find. But as encouraged as we've been, and as willing as we've been to consider Carp a possible piece for the future, along the way there's been a concern: Carp was swinging and missing a lot. Like, way a lot. Like, about 30% of the time he was swinging. With that kind of contact rate, Carp would be hard-pressed to make much of a positive contribution down the road.
Well, here are some numbers that might be interpreted as good news, or nothing, or something in between. Carp has come to the plate 305 times this year, so let's split his season into ~thirds:
First Third: 71% contact
Second Third: 71% contact
Latest Third: 77% contact
That's a fine improvement in the latest third, and while a contact rate of 77% is still below average, it's a lot closer to average than before. And Carp has still been hitting for power, so it's not like this improvement has come at the expense of another skill.
Maybe it's nothing. It's a pretty small sample, all things considered. And it's September. Rosters and competition are different in September. But, who knows? The important thing is that I wrote this post, and that you might have learned something from it. Now to the game thread, which I am late putting up!