Comments on: When Bad Stats Happen to Good Players http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/ New York baseball from 1900 to tomorrow's game Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:38:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: garment daily business reports http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/comment-page-1/#comment-970 garment daily business reports Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:27:25 +0000 http://www.atrainbaseball.com/?p=84#comment-970 <strong>Cool sites...</strong> [...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]…... Cool sites…

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]]> By: JasonChervokas http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/comment-page-1/#comment-195 JasonChervokas Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:09:37 +0000 http://www.atrainbaseball.com/?p=84#comment-195 Yes and no. Yeah, you can hide a bad defensive player at first if he can catch. But having a great defensive player at first is a big difference maker--turns throwing errors into outs, turns ground balls into 3-6-3 DPs, robs doubles down the line, makes plays at home (if they have both a good and accurate arm). I've had a chance to watch a bunch of great defensive first baseman in NY--like Hernandez, Mattingly, Tex....and a bunch of lousy ones, like Steve Balboni, and there's a world of difference. A great defensive first baseman is a huge, underrated asset that solidifies an infield and prevents runs. The most underrated defensive position in baseball.<br><br>I understand the arguement on A-rod v Pujols with regard to defense. But Pujols is a better hitter with a higher average, fewer strikeouts, higher OB%. A-rod has more speed. Putting aside age and injury (Pujols now has a back problem), the two are close. A-rod may be slightly better in terms of his all around game. Pujols is the better hitter. Yes and no. Yeah, you can hide a bad defensive player at first if he can catch. But having a great defensive player at first is a big difference maker–turns throwing errors into outs, turns ground balls into 3-6-3 DPs, robs doubles down the line, makes plays at home (if they have both a good and accurate arm). I've had a chance to watch a bunch of great defensive first baseman in NY–like Hernandez, Mattingly, Tex….and a bunch of lousy ones, like Steve Balboni, and there's a world of difference. A great defensive first baseman is a huge, underrated asset that solidifies an infield and prevents runs. The most underrated defensive position in baseball.

I understand the arguement on A-rod v Pujols with regard to defense. But Pujols is a better hitter with a higher average, fewer strikeouts, higher OB%. A-rod has more speed. Putting aside age and injury (Pujols now has a back problem), the two are close. A-rod may be slightly better in terms of his all around game. Pujols is the better hitter.

]]> By: Slappy http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/comment-page-1/#comment-193 Slappy Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:22:23 +0000 http://www.atrainbaseball.com/?p=84#comment-193 First base is the least important defensive position and the easiest to fill. It is why many first baseman are also sluggers, they are there for their offense as much if not more than their defense. This is not true of any other infield position. In the minors, if you can hit but cant field, they will put you on 1B. If you are talented enough, maybe catcher. Tex is there to hit. Period. <br><br>This is why I cringe when people call Pujols the best player in the game. Maybe the best hitter, but not the best player. A-Rod can play a great SS and 3B and can hit. <br><br>And 1B doesn't require a good arm or even a very accurate one.<br><br>My apologies to Lou Gehrig. First base is the least important defensive position and the easiest to fill. It is why many first baseman are also sluggers, they are there for their offense as much if not more than their defense. This is not true of any other infield position. In the minors, if you can hit but cant field, they will put you on 1B. If you are talented enough, maybe catcher. Tex is there to hit. Period.

This is why I cringe when people call Pujols the best player in the game. Maybe the best hitter, but not the best player. A-Rod can play a great SS and 3B and can hit.

And 1B doesn't require a good arm or even a very accurate one.

My apologies to Lou Gehrig.

]]> By: JasonChervokas http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/comment-page-1/#comment-174 JasonChervokas Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:02:37 +0000 http://www.atrainbaseball.com/?p=84#comment-174 A highly subjective stat with lots of variables is kind of a bogus stat...a team is better off just scouting a player. And a stat that is so widely variable from year to year for a player whose performance--to watch it--is not, suggests there's something wrong at the core of the stat.<br><br>And you're right, in terms of "league average," outside of Carlos Pena, none of those guys are good first basemen A highly subjective stat with lots of variables is kind of a bogus stat…a team is better off just scouting a player. And a stat that is so widely variable from year to year for a player whose performance–to watch it–is not, suggests there's something wrong at the core of the stat.

And you're right, in terms of “league average,” outside of Carlos Pena, none of those guys are good first basemen

]]> By: twasp http://www.atrainbaseball.com/2010/03/when-bad-stats-happen-to-good-players/comment-page-1/#comment-173 twasp Mon, 22 Mar 2010 23:23:01 +0000 http://www.atrainbaseball.com/?p=84#comment-173 The UZR rating is relative to other fielders and there aren't any Mattingly/Hernandezs in this bunch: <br>Billy Butler <br>Carlos Pena <br>Chris Davis <br>Aubrey Huff <br>Lyle Overbay <br>Russell Branyan<br>Justin Morneau<br>Paul Konerko <br>Miguel Cabrera <br>Kendry Morales <br> <br>not a stellar bunch ,so Tex shouldn't score that low.<br><br>For the first few months Tex was with the Yankees he showed a tendency to break to quickly to the bag. Robby doesn't go to his left well and many hits went through that hole. Some looked as if they were only a step or two to Tex's right. This happened less frequently as the season wore on. Did you notice this too? I wonder how much it effected the UZR rating? <br><br>The UZR rating is flawed in that it is calculated using subjective input. People "stringers" watch the games and decide whether a ball in the zone could have been caught or not. Just because a ball was in the players zone doesnt automatically mean he should have had it - how hard hit it was , the trajectory etc all play into the decision. A stringers' varying bias and standards effect the final ratings.<br><br>I watched Jeter in 2007 2008 and 2009 and I didnt see a significant improvement in his range -- in fact he was awful in the WBC where the difference between him and Rollins was so obvious it was almost embarrasing. Davey Johnson even switched to dh-ing Derek. During the 2009 season there was still many balls up the middle that jeter should have gotten to but didn't (nobody dives and "just misses" as many ground ball as Derek) . Yet his UZR did this massive turn-around. The media was saying Derek had a new training regiment to improve his lateral movement and Cashman was pressuring/challenging him to improve. Did some stringers assigned to derek watching believe the hype? The UZR rating is relative to other fielders and there aren't any Mattingly/Hernandezs in this bunch:
Billy Butler
Carlos Pena
Chris Davis
Aubrey Huff
Lyle Overbay
Russell Branyan
Justin Morneau
Paul Konerko
Miguel Cabrera
Kendry Morales

not a stellar bunch ,so Tex shouldn't score that low.

For the first few months Tex was with the Yankees he showed a tendency to break to quickly to the bag. Robby doesn't go to his left well and many hits went through that hole. Some looked as if they were only a step or two to Tex's right. This happened less frequently as the season wore on. Did you notice this too? I wonder how much it effected the UZR rating?

The UZR rating is flawed in that it is calculated using subjective input. People “stringers” watch the games and decide whether a ball in the zone could have been caught or not. Just because a ball was in the players zone doesnt automatically mean he should have had it – how hard hit it was , the trajectory etc all play into the decision. A stringers' varying bias and standards effect the final ratings.

I watched Jeter in 2007 2008 and 2009 and I didnt see a significant improvement in his range — in fact he was awful in the WBC where the difference between him and Rollins was so obvious it was almost embarrasing. Davey Johnson even switched to dh-ing Derek. During the 2009 season there was still many balls up the middle that jeter should have gotten to but didn't (nobody dives and “just misses” as many ground ball as Derek) . Yet his UZR did this massive turn-around. The media was saying Derek had a new training regiment to improve his lateral movement and Cashman was pressuring/challenging him to improve. Did some stringers assigned to derek watching believe the hype?

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