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Vientos and Peeeete going jack-to-jack is a fine start to the series, and it's only the 1st inning, so Smoltz hasn't made me vomit…yet.
In fact, the one thing that pissed me off is their praise of Nimmo. Now I love Mr. Pointy, and I'm glad that they appreciate that he has a fine eye, brings good OF defense, and hits with power…but come on, let's stop ignoring the pachyderm in the park.
Nimmo is hitting .227 now. That's 36 points below his career average.
And while BA is hardly the Be-All of offensive stats, it's the one that affects all the others. As a result, Brandon is not only posting the 2nd-worst batting average of his career (he hit .221 in 2019), but the worst OBA of his career (.337), the 2nd-worst SLG (only his rookie cameo was below this year's .398), and the 2nd-worst OPS of his career. (Again, only the 2016 cameo was worse. This is the first time he hasn't reached .750 in full or even COVID-length season.)
Yes, he still has a 110 OPS+…but that's the worst of his career, too.
He's 31, he's been moved to LF because Mendoza Line doesn't really think he can handle CF these days, and he's got 4 more seasons left on his deal. I HOPE he's not spiraling down. I HOPE he rebounds and has many more great seasons for us.
But perhaps a certain amount of concern ("Brandon Nimmo, trying to get hot again after a second-half slump that has turned this into pretty much a lost season") would serve Smoltzie better than mindless praise ("He has 20 HR on the year, which is only 4 off of his career high"). I mean, come on, now.
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