Garrett Atkins Stinks (So Far)

Don’t trade for him, please.

Unless it’s cheap!

Here’s the thing.  Garrett Atkins is fine.  If he were to come to Boston for spare parts. 

Mike Lowell is like 75-years old now.  If you are going to find a bat to replace him, make it an upgrade.  Otherwise, play him until his hip falls off. 

Lowell is hurt right now.  But what did you expect?  A full season out of him?  Get real.  The guy is old and creaky.  He can hit though.  The strange thing is, in 2009, his glove has been well-below his career defensive numbers and he has allowed runs to be created because of it. 

Atkins on the other hand, is just flat-out struggling this year.  People fall in love with his 2006 campaign where he blasted 29 home runs, knocked in 120 RBI and hit nearly .330.

This season, Atkins is flailing around under .225 and in June had a threat of a demotion to the minor leagues.

“There comes a point where we have to make a decision,” manager Jim Tracy said. “We are to the third of June now, and we are talking about getting to the point of a couple of hundred at-bats. But you do get to the point where you have to step back and look at something and ask the question if it’s going to happen or not.”

 

Is Atkins suddenly terrible? Maybe.  But probably not. It’s more likely that he will re-emerge from his slumber at some point this season.  His walk rate and strikeout rate are both in line with his career numbers. In fact, they are both better than in 2008.

What stands out is the .240 BABIP and the .108 ISO.  Huh?  How is Atkins isolated power nearly 75 points off of his career mark?  With a line drive rate of 18%, you’d think Atkins should be hovering around .300 for a BABIP.  Instead he’s around 60 points off of that.

It’s just strange.  Atkins’ first half struggles and the Rockies merry-go-round infield have left him in a bit of dire straights. Perhaps it’s time for him to come to Boston and enjoy the fruits of a good organization, a great park, and a better atmosphere.

Just don’t give up too much. 

After all,  he “stinks.”

 Red Sox (51-33)

Darryl Johnston is the Red Sox correspondent for Fanball.com. He has many years of sports writing under his championship belts. Email him – redsoxdj@gmail.com

Tags: BABIP, Boston Red Sox, Darryl Johnston, Denver Post, Fanball, Garrett Atkins, Mike Lowell, Sox Tea Party, Trade Rumors