One
of the "original three" alongside Carmichael and brother
Terry Creighton, Joey is entering his 10th season. His .452 batting
average last season set a new record, and he can hit with power
to boot. He's very capable of hitting .400, and has done so four
of the last five seasons, the one sub-.400 season being .397. Since
1998, he's hit .409. His pitching was once dominating, but has since
fallen into the "above-average" range.
A true lefty,
Joey's become a master of hitting to all parts of the field. He
seems to enjoy going opposite way over pulling the ball, oddly enough,
and most of his homeruns go to center/left field. He's a chore to
strike out, and with two strikes, seems to find the ability to hit
any pitch. You can run the ball in on him with success, but he's
got a great eye, so you'd better not miss.
His pitching
is solid, but seems to be falling fast. Only three seasons ago he
broke new ground with a record-breaking 0.73 ERA. The next season
though, he climbed to 2.82 and then hit 3.28 last season. He's got
good enough speed, but not overpowering, and has good accuracy.
This may be the problem, though. His accuracy is more of the "he
doesn't walk many batters" variety, rather than the "he
can throw to any spot of the strike zone" variety, like Scott
Carmichael's. He leaves hitters way too many "cock shots"
and has been promptly been getting rocked. He does have the ability
to step up in pressure situations.
Joey is the
5-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner, and with good
reason. He's pretty much flawless in the field and can make difficult
plays look easy. He's robbed more homeruns than we care to count,
and if he can simply get his hands on a groundball, he'll probably
make the play. He doesn't get too many chances to shine on the Horsemen,
unless he's fielding for Eric Christensen, but everyone knows he
can make the play when needed. |
