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Hot Stove, part 2

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by novelist_wannabe, Dec 13, 2006.

  1. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Well, this is fun. It's January and Pirates' shortstop Jack Wilson is already pissing people off.

    http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07030/757912-63.stm

    Not that he's wrong about Jose Castillo being an underachiever.
     
  2. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Way to go Blue Jays, I always knew all you were missing was Victor Zambrano.
     
  3. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    What are they, a coupla ovens? I love the stats and all, but WTF is a range factor?
     
  4. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    Range Factor - The number of Chances (Putouts plus Assists) times nine divided by the number of Defensive Innings Played.

    From Baseball Almanac: "Range Factor simply stated is the number of plays MADE per game at the fielding position. It is better than Fielding Average in several respects: It can be calculated for almost any player this century and it takes into account the fielder's own ability to get to a batted ball - rewarding the more gifted players at each position. Positions can only be successfully compared to the same position on the field when using this statistic and early in the season numbers are often skewed as players chances are not yet normalized."
     
  5. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    Lantaur, I appreciate the effort, but what a crock o' hooey. If you're an infielder playing behind a staff of fly-ball pitchers (or, just lousy ones, ore ones who strike out a lot of batters), you're not going to make as many plays. Or, if you're an outfielder playing behind a bunch of ground-ball pitchers, same thing. Every GM in the major leagues may use that stat, but it looks worthless to me. I'd rather know a guy was making the play on balls he gets to. Did Bill James come up with this?
     
  6. lantaur

    lantaur Well-Known Member

    I give no credence to any of the fielding stats used - I think they all have their faults.

    For example, as Baseball-Almanac.com writes of fielding pct.: "The downfall to this statistic is that it almost rewards fielders who choose not to attempt a difficult play, thereby avoiding the error, to those that try to turn every hit ball into a possible out."

    I realize fielding pct. is an age-old stat and thus must be treated with reverance (hell, I'm as traditional as anyone), but then again, OBP wasn't highly regarded until recently, not to mention things like ERA+ and OPS.

    Anyway, here's more on fielding stats for anyone with any interest. Personally, I think you look at every stat available and then you can form your own opinion on someone's worth defensively.

    http://www.baseball-almanac.com/stats3.shtml
     
  7. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    OK, a bump to mention Kris Benson's torn rotator cuff and Smotz' impending divorce. Only three days ...
     
  8. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Benson never seems to catch a break, does he?
     
  9. novelist_wannabe

    novelist_wannabe Well-Known Member

    First Anna, now this ...

    Meanwhile, the AJC is reporting that the Braves' sale to Liberty Media is a done deal and has been sent to MLB for approval
     
  10. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    Where are all our Twinkies fans on Mauer's 4-year, $33-million deal?

    Actually, this is a good deal for both sides.
     
  11. That's a lot of money for a soft-hitting catcher.
     
  12. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Agreed. By the end of that deal, he may end up moving away from catching, thus cutting his value down.

    Mauer is an excellent hitter, but a big part of his value is the fact that he is very good behind the plate as well.
     
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