Jody Gerut anyone

by Shep on Aug 24, 2006 8:34 AM EDT

Whatever happened to this guy? He's a ROY candidate with Cleve, gets hurt, bounces around to other teams and though I'm too lazy to check, I think he's now with Pitt.

Any thoughts on his future? Does he have a future? I read a great article about him after his rookie year. The kid is a Stanford grad I believe and sounded so intelligent and had the knowledge that fame is fleeting and success is difficult.

Now he's experiencing all that.

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Gerut

He was going to get screwed out of playing time by Jeromy Burnitz....then he got hurt and he and the team disagreed on the extent of it and the approach to it. I think he ended up having the surgery, but I'm too lazy to check.

FWIW, I argued that a Wilson/Gerut platoon would be a much better option than starting Burnitz. That was just a stupid signing.

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by KevinApps on Aug 24, 2006 10:00 AM EDT reply actions

Andre Ethier = Jody Gerut

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." - Henny Youngman

by TINSTAAPP on Aug 24, 2006 10:12 AM EDT reply actions

ooooo

Not that I disagree, but this isn't going to go over well here.

Waiting for Travis Buck

by Furious George on Aug 24, 2006 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't disagree

with you either. This is a possibility in my opinion. That statement is going to go over like a lead balloon.

"Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical" - Yogi Berra

by the pinstripes on Aug 24, 2006 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions

re statement

do you want to backup that statement with an argument or was that just to evoke responses?

by npurcell on Aug 24, 2006 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Hmm...

I don't know, they really don't have too much in common. They both play RF and hit left handed, but that's about it.

by SmokeyJoeWood on Aug 24, 2006 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

More similarities:

a. Both drafted in 2nd round out of good college programs (ASU and Stanford).

b. Somewhat similar minor-league stats pre-06:
Gerut: .295/.390/.457 (1413 AB, 211:187 W:K)
Ethier: .312/.382/.455 (1142 AB, 117:188 W:K)

c. Similar concerns expressed about each being a "tweener".

I've seen a lot more ridiculous comparisons, to be sure.

by BobbyMac on Aug 25, 2006 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions

bingo

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." - Henny Youngman

by TINSTAAPP on Aug 25, 2006 12:00 PM EDT up reply actions

well, next time...

... back your statement up to begin with, then we wouldn't have this problem.

and boom goes the dynamite.

by Mean Dean on Aug 25, 2006 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions

problem?

what problem? I had no problem? Anyone else getting huffy is their problem. Really if you know prospects, the Gerut to Ethier similarities shouldn't have to be spelled out.

AE may turn out better, but Gerut shows that tweener corner OFs who start well can still fall hard fast. So many around here want to act like every prospect doing well has got a solid or spectacular 10-15 year career ahead of them. In reality, very few will follow the nice smooth career path... Hell, a few years ago Austin Kearns went #1 in my DMB league's Rookie draft. He looked like a stud at the time but he's been more dud than stud since then.

"When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading." - Henny Youngman

by TINSTAAPP on Aug 26, 2006 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Gerut

I think if you go back and look at Gerut's rookie and breakout season with the Tribe, it was superficially good but basically pretty unimpressive. As I recall there wasn't a lot of power there.

by Flynn Blake on Aug 24, 2006 12:40 PM EDT reply actions

And that's what I get

... for posting off the cuff. A pretty good year:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/gerutjo01.shtml

by Flynn Blake on Aug 24, 2006 12:41 PM EDT reply actions

I seem to remember him

destroying his knee in RF while going for a ball. I wouldn't mind him as a 4th OF on a major leauge team to see if he can recapture his form. Any other place for him is either too much or too little.

by Havok1517 on Aug 24, 2006 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Ahh ...

I was remembering incorrectly. The problem wasn't that Gerut didn't have a good year, but that he was 25 when he had it (born in 1977, came up in 2003). That obviously leaves a lot less room for improvement and makes such a rookie season a lot less impressive -- you can't expect him to keep trending upward when he makes such a delayed entry into MLB.

by Flynn Blake on Aug 27, 2006 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions

The Shealy/Youkilis Principle

Unless, of course, they're blocked by someone who's that good to justify holding them back. Was that the case with Gerut? I'm guessing no...

"What you're forgetting is that you need at least three DWIs before you're considered a 'dominant' drunk driver." (limozeen)

by drjayphd on Aug 28, 2006 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions

My thoughts on Gerut!

Hello everyone,

Yes, Gerut had a very solid season in 2003 - he hit 22 HRs, and had a line of .279/.336/.494, not bad for a rookie. It won him The Sporting News Rookie of the Year award.

The problem was, that offseason, he started tinkering with his swing, possibly trying to improve against LHP, his main nemesis in 2003. That, along with a combination of trying to make adjustments against pitchers' adjustments against him, led to him jumping out at everything and trying to pull everything, which led to his drop in BA and his power numbers. Ironically, his BB/K ratio actually improved in 2004, but his overall production decreased. He continued to show good patience in 2005, but his power continued to be non-existent.

There was supposedly a disagreement between Gerut and the Indians' FO if I remember correctly; that was probably a major factor in why Shapiro was willing to trade him to the Cubs for Jason Dubois, though Shapiro was hopeful that Dubois' power would translate to the Majors, which it didn't. Plus, the Indians needed more RH OF bats - another reason why the Gerut/Dubois trade was made.

I heard about that dispute he had with the Pirates about the surgery he supposedly needed, then something about his pay and going to AAA, etc. These disputes seem to have put his personality and attitude into question.

Personally, I think he'd be better as a 4th OF, especially with the way his offensive game has fallen. If he showed more of what he did in 2003, he could probably be a very effective platoon player, and if he had figured out how to hit lefties more consistently, he could have become a solid everyday player.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Aug 24, 2006 5:34 PM EDT reply actions