[農場] Weekend Dish: August 27
一個打擊普通、選球有問題的游擊，竟然是2004年選秀第一個升上2A的
高中新秀，JimBo 可能認為這樣會長的比較快。
It's been quite the rough year for Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond.
A third-round pick in 2004 out of Sarasota (Fla.) High, Desmond was
fast-tracked to Double-A Harrisburg after spending most of the spring in big
league camp. That jump came despite the 20-year-old's less than spectacular
offensive numbers at low Class A Savannah or high Class A Potomac in 2005.
Desmond struggled mightily in the cold weather at Harrisburg, hitting just
.182/.214/.231 and struck out 35 times in 121 at-bats for the Senators and
was sent back to Potomac where he hasn't been much better. While he's made
some strides over the past month--including a 13-game hit streak--in 324
at-bats, Desmond was hitting at a .238/.311/.367 clip, and had a 74-24
strikeout-walk ratio. In his defense, a back injury that caused him to miss
two weeks certainly didn't help, but wasn't the sole reason for his problems
against more advanced pitching.
"I had never experienced failure like that and it hit me pretty hard,"
Desmond told the Washington Times. "I still battled my butt off.
"I wasn't surprised (at the reassignment), but I was a little disappointed.
When you do that badly, you just want to prove to people I can do better than
that. Age doesn't really matter to me . . . I can hold my own. It is just
disappointing. When I was up there [with Harrisburg], I would come out every
day and get beat and get beat. It takes a big toll on you. It is hard to stay
positive when you take all those extra swings and then nothing."
And though Desmond is known as being a plus defender with good actions, range
and plus arm strength at short, he's committed 23 errors with the P-Nats this
season (.934). At Harrisburg, Desmond's fielding percentage was .924; he
committed 11 errors in 145 total chances.
Add to that the fact the Nationals acquired 26-year-old Felipe Lopez in July
and hit the international market hard by signing 16-year-old Dominican
shortstop Esmailyn Gonzalez for $1.4 million and the pressure on Desmond to
perform just keeps growing.
"Right know I think Ian is on the right path," Potomac manager Edgar Caceres
told the paper. "I think he just needs some more experience and he is going
to be pretty good. His hitting is coming around. He made a couple of
adjustments with his swing and he is showing a little bit of power at times.
He needs a little bit more discipline at the plate and then he should be fine.
"He has the (defensive) ability. He needs to concentrate more and make the
routine plays, which he has been doing more. At times he could be better with
anticipating ground balls. Right now, he is maybe one step to the left or
right from being good--to be able to read balls and get his feet under him.
That is what he needs and you get that from experience from playing every
day."
Desmond will get more of a chance to play every day after the regular season,
though it won't be in the Arizona Fall League. The Nats opted to send Desmond
to the Hawaii Winter League, using their two AFL infield spots on first
baseman Larry Broadway and 25-year-old shortstop Seth Bynum--whose promotion
to Harrisburg in May correlated directly with Desmond's reassignment.
"If I can figure out my offense and be more consistent, who knows?" Desmond
told the Times. "My defense feels great, better than ever. I am starting to
see light with my offense. If I can keep working and working and have a great
offseason, maybe I can come back next year with more consistency and there
will be good things."
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