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| Stubbs |
Hopefully, the people who demand Reds General Manger Walt Jocketty to trade Stubbs witnessed his performances this weekend against the Atlanta Braves and realize just how valuable he is to this Reds team.
Not only did Stubbs win the series for the Reds by hitting a walk-off home run to win game three 4-3, but he played extremely consistent throughout the series as if he had something to prove.
On Friday, he hit a homer, going 1-4 in a loss. He almost made a web-gem worthy catch in which he almost robbed a home run, but he knocked the ball over the fence at the last second. Its the effort here that counts to show that he does in fact hustle.
He however made up for that mistake in Saturday's win in which the Reds pounded Atlanta.
Stubbs went 1-3, but showcased his speed with a stolen base, and showed just how good he is at bunting. Not only did he lay down a sacrifice bunt that advanced runners, but Stubbs put down a perfect bunt down third base line for a single.
In the final game of the series yesterday, Stubbs hit his 13th homer of the year to win the game, but also had another hit (2-4), and a stolen base.
Sure his season numbers are not great, as Stubbs has 100 hits, 34 RBIs, and a batting average of .256, but these stats are indeed respectable.
What makes Drew Stubbs so valuable to the Cincinnati Reds is the little things he does throughout games.
He has amazing speed, and uses it to change the momentum of games.
Stubbs can run out bunts for hits, he can steal bases (25 this year), and he uses that speed to make fantastic catches in the outfield, whether it involves diving, jumping at the fence, or colliding with his fellow outfielders.
In other words, but makes Stubbs so different is that he is truly a team player, and will do whatever it takes to help the Reds win.
He might not be as big as a name as Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, or Brandon Phillips, but he works just as hard, and it is a shame that fans do not see that.
What they see is that he has 130 strikeouts, and yes that is sad, but sometimes you have to look beyond the numbers because he is quite valuable to this team, and is one of the go-to-guys, you do not talk about unless its about how much he strikeouts. Its quite easy to turn on Stubbs because of that, but Reds fans have to realize that he is talented player who does little things that are not always noticed, to help the team win.
Stubbs will never be the power hitter or star of the Reds, but he is the rare player the team has that is not only one of the fastest players in all of baseball, but also one of the best team players who puts what it takes for the team to win first, above individual numbers.
i love this article. it really shows that Stubbs is a good player. I am a huge Stubbs fan and this article just made my day! I am always getting hate from my family and friends for all of his strike outs but i can tell you one thing. He's fast and good lookin' that's all i need.
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