Lofton: back?

Ytown Tribe fan · 05-31-2003, 10:51 AM

Kenny's having a "normal Kenny Lofton year" (or what WAS a normal year for him until @ 1999), and is riding a nice 26-game hitting streak.

Is he back from his injuries? Did the games he missed starting in late '01 help slow the aging process? Will a contender pick him up for the pennant race?

And the BIG question: will he catch up to Omar Vizquel in hits? Yeah -- I was surprised to find that Omar (at the same age) has 100+ more hits than Lofton. Of course, Lofton's played fewer games and draws LOTS more walks.

pwdennis · 05-31-2003, 02:08 PM

Good question - stay tuned to see how the rest of the season progresses

satchel · 05-31-2003, 04:21 PM

They were talking about Lofton on SportsCenter today - the question was, "will Lofton remain a Pirate?" The thinking is that he's been impressive enough so far that as the deadline approaches, a contender might be tempted to deal for him. He could probably help a club like he helped the Giants last year.

ronh · 05-31-2003, 08:08 PM

Last year Lofton had a great Apr and May. Then in June he was lousy. He hit .136 in June. Let's see if history repeats.

satchel · 06-01-2003, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ronh
Last year Lofton had a great Apr and May. Then in June he was lousy. He hit .136 in June. Let's see if history repeats.

Good point. Some of the Lofton-hype may be premature.

OaktownTribeFan · 06-03-2003, 07:28 PM

Last year after he was traded to the Giants, he had a .353 OBP and delivered a bunch of key hits in the playoffs. He's a good pickup for a contending team.

Fuzzy Bear · 06-07-2003, 01:51 PM

I hope he can keep it up. Lofton was a legitimately great player for a period of years; the second-best CF in the AL during the career of a clear-cut HOFer (Griffey, Jr.)

He's faded now. He needs to get his BA back over .300, and get as close to 3,000 hits as he can to even be in the Dwight Evans class of HOF candidate. I don't know if he can do what he does best for a full season to accomplish that.

One thing I notice is that Lofton appears to have regained some of his lost plate discipline. Lofton appeared to me to have become infatuated with the long ball, and while he once had some medium-range power, his OBP and baserunning were his bread-and-butter. I think his best chances for long-term success would be to return to the approach that made him successful in the first place, and he may be doing that, after years of drifting away from it.

Firpo Marberry · 06-15-2003, 02:59 AM

I think a trade to a contender is a key here. Seems to me as if Kenny gets a little bored playing for teams in a battle for fourth place.

05-31-2003, 10:51 AM	#1
Ytown Tribe fan Guest Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Scrappers territory Posts: 2,515	Lofton: back? Kenny's having a "normal Kenny Lofton year" (or what WAS a normal year for him until @ 1999), and is riding a nice 26-game hitting streak. Is he back from his injuries? Did the games he missed starting in late '01 help slow the aging process? Will a contender pick him up for the pennant race? And the BIG question: will he catch up to Omar Vizquel in hits? Yeah -- I was surprised to find that Omar (at the same age) has 100+ more hits than Lofton. Of course, Lofton's played fewer games and draws LOTS more walks.

05-31-2003, 02:08 PM	#2
pwdennis NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Winter Springs, FL Posts: 2,503	Good question - stay tuned to see how the rest of the season progresses __________________ "I would submit that if the world survives for a million years, perhaps its finest hour may be that in the last half of the 20th century, when the power to blow up the world rested in the hands of a few men in two very unsophisticated and suspicious countries, we didn't do it, and one American, Richard Nixon, moved the cold war away from permanent confrontation toward victory. How could any wrong that he did compare with that?" - John Sears

05-31-2003, 04:21 PM	#3
satchel NetShrine All-Century Team Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 2,601	They were talking about Lofton on SportsCenter today - the question was, "will Lofton remain a Pirate?" The thinking is that he's been impressive enough so far that as the deadline approaches, a contender might be tempted to deal for him. He could probably help a club like he helped the Giants last year. __________________ Rare mold, old vomit - An anagram rejected by Tom Riddle

05-31-2003, 08:08 PM	#4
ronh NetShrine MVP Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wooster, OH Posts: 160	Remember last year Last year Lofton had a great Apr and May. Then in June he was lousy. He hit .136 in June. Let's see if history repeats.

06-15-2003, 02:59 AM	#8
Firpo Marberry All-NetShrine Team Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Earth Posts: 327	I think a trade to a contender is a key here. Seems to me as if Kenny gets a little bored playing for teams in a battle for fourth place. __________________ "They're all nobodies until you have to pitch to them."

06-03-2003, 07:28 PM	#6
OaktownTribeFan Inducted Into The NetShrine Assembly of Fame Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: The Bullpen Posts: 529	Last year after he was traded to the Giants, he had a .353 OBP and delivered a bunch of key hits in the playoffs. He's a good pickup for a contending team.

06-07-2003, 01:51 PM	#7
Fuzzy Bear NetShrine's Evangelist Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Living by faith, and not by sight! Posts: 2,194	I hope he can keep it up. Lofton was a legitimately great player for a period of years; the second-best CF in the AL during the career of a clear-cut HOFer (Griffey, Jr.) He's faded now. He needs to get his BA back over .300, and get as close to 3,000 hits as he can to even be in the Dwight Evans class of HOF candidate. I don't know if he can do what he does best for a full season to accomplish that. One thing I notice is that Lofton appears to have regained some of his lost plate discipline. Lofton appeared to me to have become infatuated with the long ball, and while he once had some medium-range power, his OBP and baserunning were his bread-and-butter. I think his best chances for long-term success would be to return to the approach that made him successful in the first place, and he may be doing that, after years of drifting away from it.

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