Corky Miller Statistics and History – Baseball-Reference.com
Seasons with Braves: 2007-2008
Notable Stats: .138 BA, 20 TB
Notable Achievements: First hamster to play in the major leagues.
Versus
Rafael Belliard Statistics and History – Baseball-Reference.com
Seasons with Braves: 1991-1998
Notable Stats: .223 BA, .265 SLG
Notable Achievements: Played in eleven postseason series with the team.
Wow – Corky’s 2008 “line”…083/.152/.133/.285 OPS+-24
That’s NEGATIVE 24.
How could anybody vote for Rafy over Corky? Raf may not have been what you would call a “good” for most of the time (and he wasn’t full time anything for most of those seasons)… but just that ’91 WS performance was enough to forgive him for a lot of things.
IMO, no contest.
This should be a blowout. 1996 WS aside, at least Raffy could play defense. And .223 is almost DOUBLE the batting average of Hamster.
No contest.
This is going to be long.
DOB said the other day that the Braves are serious about getting a right-handed power bat. A list of righties who have slugged .500 in 2009 (and switch-hitters who have slugged .500 from the right side):
Pujols
D. Lee
Teixeira (S)
Tulowitzki
M. Cabrera
Reynolds
Youkilis
Sandoval (S)
Braun
H. Ramirez
J. Upton
Zobrist (S)
Bay
N. Cruz
Longoria
M. Young
Zimmerman
A. Rodriguez
Holliday
Cuddyer
Hunter
Werth
A. Hill
Butler
* Of those, the following can be eliminated for salary considerations (whether their respective team would be willing to trade them or not):
Teixeira
M. Cabrera
M. Young
A. Rodriguez
Hunter
* A. Hill, I would eliminate, because I seriously doubt we’re looking for a second baseman and I don’t really buy him as a power bat.
* These guys can be eliminated because there’s no way their respective teams would trade them for anything the Braves would realistically offer:
Pujols
Tulowitzki
Sandoval
Braun
H. Ramirez (Question: Should the Braves offer Jurrjens, Medlen, and Escobar for Hanley? Would the Marlins accept?)
J. Upton
Longoria
Zimmerman
Werth
* That leaves the following guys as “right-handed power bats” whom the Braves might have the wherewithal to obtain:
D. Lee
Reynolds
Youkilis
Zobrist
Bay (free agent)
N. Cruz
Holliday (free agent)
Cuddyer
Butler
* I assume we won’t be serious players with the free agents.
* I think I’d go after Cuddyer, who (a) can play the corner OF positions and first base; (b) is under contract for $8.5 million in 2010 and $10.5 million (team option) in 2011; and (c) probably wouldn’t require the Braves to part with a ton of value.
Thoughts?
When I see guys like Corky Miller in the majors, I wonder how I never got a chance. 🙂
Cuddyer’s solid. That seems like a lot of money for solid, but he could be a pretty good fit (mostly because I agree that the Braves shouldn’t have to give up a ton to get him).
He seems to get hurt a lot. Is that just my perception? If it’s true, is it freakish stuff?
Comparing Rafael Belliard to Corky Miller is kind of like comparing Rafael Furcal to Henry Blanco. Belliard’s whopping slugging percentage with the Braves of .265 was more than 130 points higher than Miller’s slugging percent in 2008.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if BJ Upton could be had for less than a king’s ransom. You know, if you’d like a toolsy guy who can’t get on base and has shown flashes of power. (Don’t the Braves just love that?)
So, does that mean they’re just going to re-sign Anderson, because that’s exactly what they were saying before they signed him.
Put me on the Cuddyer bandwagon. What would the twinkies want in return?
I think this season screams “outlier” for Cuddyer. Pedestrian OBP, wrong side of 30, and only one other season in which he slugged .500. Pass.
How about someone like Nelson Cruz? The Rangers would have too many OFs if they brought back Byrd, maybe he could be had for young pitching.
@#5
I think Zobrist would be at least as hard to get as Jayson Werth, not really an option IMO.
Butler is only 23 and has been one of their big 2 prospects for a while. Maybe we could have gotten him if Francoeur was still around…
I don’t know what the Rangers would want for Cruz, but it seems like it was high around the deadline? Maybe that was someone else.
Youkilis and Reynolds just don’t seem like fits for pretty much opposite reasons. Don’t see Lee working out either.
That leaves the FA’s and Cuddyer. I don’t see us getting Bay or Holliday unless there is somehow a shortage of bidders. Cuddyer isn’t very inspirational to me, but he looks like a decent option with at least a fair chance of coming to fruition.
Nice post.
Another no-way-this-could-happen proposal: We get Youkilis for Escobar+ and then get Hardy from the Brewers.
I love the idea of Lee in our lineup, but we’d have to give up a lot, and we’d only have him for a year.
The reason I included Werth on the no-way list was because I don’t see us making a high-magnitude trade with the Phillies. As for Zobrist, the Rays might be looking to sell high.
@12 Spike, my thoughts too. Cuddyer has had exactly 2 years when he really slugged.
#14 You know there could be an actual shortage of bidders for Holliday and Bay. You would think that as the best 2 players in a really bad FA class that they stand to command Teixiera like money but the fact that its a bad FA class may actualy work against them too because teams may come to the conclusion that neither is in that class of player.
teams may come to the conclusion that neither is in that class of player.
They should come to that conclusion regardless of market. They ain’t.
I would be elated if we signed Holliday for $60 million over 5 years.
this will probably be longer, and skip over it if you hate rosterbation:
this could work…the cubs need a 2nd baseman and fox looks to be their 1st baseman of the future.
braves send:
derek lowe
kelly johnson
ryan church
braves get:
milton bradley
derek lee
5 million in salary relief
diaz becomes full-time left fielder. heyward becomes full-time right fielder. mitlton bradley’s foolish ways is tamed by the best “people manager” of all time: bobby cox, and he becomes the 4th outfielder/pinch hitter for a championship caliber team. hudson renogotiates his contract for 4/40.
completing this trade would allow the financial freedom to keep vazquez, sign hudson to a long-term contract,and re-sign gonzo and soriano.
vazquez:12
Hudson 10
Chipper 13
Kawakami 7.33
Mccann 5.67
Mclouth 5
Infante 1.85
Ross 1.6
Diaz 3
Jurrjens .5
Escobar .5
Prado 0.5
Moylan 2
Medlen 0.5
Hanson 0.5
Heyward 0.5
Conrad 0.5
O’Flaherty 0.5
bradley: 5 mil (after salary relief)
d. lee: 13 mil
gonzo:6 mil
soriano: 7 mil
roughly 96 million so not much money left to fill out the remaining roster, but should be easy to find a cheap outfielder, infielder, and arm “in-house” (conrad, schafer, blanco, canizares, carlyle, acosta…).
i’m bored.
The obvious answer on what we will (not saying SHOULD) do for a power hitting right handed bat hit 17HRs in only 80 games this year and with his sub .220 BA should be cheap… Unless we find somebody to take Lowe (which we may) I predict (and I use the word predict in the usual internet way to mean wild-a$$-speculation) we’ll be financially strapped after getting LaRoche to sign for 3/25 and nostalgic and have an outfield of McLouth, Diaz, Andruw, and Schaefer.
Cuddyer is going nowhere fast as Gardy would strangle anybody who attempted to trade his valuable right fielder. Not to mention the Twins new ballpark as a factor in the teams future direction.
But Nelson Cruz? Definitely worth looking into. He’s a solid corner outfielder with power and a great arm. Also, he’s making the league minimum. The Rangers need pitching, we have it to give. We need a right handed power hitting outfielder, the Rangers have a surplus of power bats.
But the real sleeper resides in San Diego.
Luis Durango, the “Panamaniac” is what he is, a balls to the wall blazing speedster who can be an everyday lead off hitter if given the chance. The two time minor league batting champion is buried in the Padres depth charts due to their glut of young outfielders. He’s all speed, defense, zero power and plays all three outfield positions. But what really gets my attention is one single stat: in five minor league seasons,* 232 walks and 193 strike outs*, that is amazing. Not to mention the career minor league .328 BA and .422 OBP. Did I mention his 44 stolen bases this year?
Throwing the Friars Jo-Jo Reyes in return for Durango is a no brainer.
Add these two players in the outfield mix along with McLouth, Diaz, Schafer and Heyward. Then the defense, depth problems, outfield, power bat, speed and lead off problems are all fixed.
Durango is 5-10 and 145 lbs and has three career homers. In two years, he has a chance to be Gregor Blanco. He has pretty much the same skill set, except Blanco has far more power. He isn’t even that good a basestealer — barely over the 67 percent break-even point.
ESPN Now Dabbling in the Baseball Blogs Business | The Big Lead
I’m available, guys!
Mac, you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried. I’m not even gonna argue the subject. I’m right and I know I’m right.
You have a good one 🙂
Outfielders who walk a lot and have no power get their bats sawed off by major league pitching.
Durango doesn’t look that great, but if he hits .330 and draws 80 walks, he has value.
What might be telling is how many of his strikeouts are looking. If he’s just sitting on pitches waiting to be walked, major league pitchers will eat him up. If he actually has a good eye and was a bit unlucky last year, he might be worth a flyer. Probably not, though.
Winning two batting titles on the way up is always worth a look, though.
Durango, this year as a 23(!)year old in AA – .281/.390/.309/ .699. Doesn’t look too promising.
coach, the smiley faces dont negate your dumb points. and honestly, i dont know of anyone on this blog who has been more “wronger” than you.
this is about the 4th-5th pickup that you have suggested and every one of your suggestions contradict each other. last week, you were hounding on having to acquire more power. now you want to get a singles hitter that steals 2 of every 3 bases, which might “increase” his seemingly absent slugging percentage but at the same time, incredibly “decreases” his average and obp.
Durango doesn’t look that great, but if he hits .330 and draws 80 walks, he has value
So would I. His OBP and BA have declined every full year in the minors. If he hits that standard in MLB I got another home plate seat for you, my treat, JoeyT.
Guys who strike out too much and don’t walk enough get embarrassed by major league pitching.
I’ll take walks over strike outs any day.
Mac’s got a short memory.
Think Otis Nixon who hit exactly ELEVEN HR’S during a 17 year career, drew tons of walks, didn’t strike out much, hit his weight, stole bases like crazy and played great Defense. Sort of like what this Durango dude does.
Oh yea, TWO TIME MINOR LEAGUE BATTING CHAMPIONS are not in the habit of getting their bats sawed off. Maybe next time Mac should actually read what I had to say.
Hey 28, your ignorance is impressive. I screamed for months in the AJC blogs last year for the Braves to pursue either the Rangers Nelson Cruz or the Angels Juan Rivera. I was RIGHT on both accounts and I’m right about Luis Durango.
Keep on disagreeing, the future will plow you under.
30—I would advise against it.
Maybe next time Mac should actually read what I had to say.
If you were in my house, you’d be banned already.
Coach, find me a successful major league hitter from the last fifteen years who slugged .309 (ISO .028) in 560 PA at AA.
You’ll forgive me if those TWO BATTING titles in short season Rookie and low A fail to impress. Again, his BA and OBP has fallen every full season – he is nothing special.
For comparison’s sake, the lowest isolated power in the NL this year is Luis Castillo at .044, and the lowest by an outfielder is Nyjer Morgan at .081. No outfielder since 1993 has had an ISO lower than .040. Even Nixon had (a little) more power, and he’s the only one since 1991 with one lower than .043.
Coach,
Could you please go back to screaming in the AJC blogs about how you are right and not do that here?
Thanks!
IP check please – Coach = Gadfly?
No way. Both are incredibly long-winded and annoying, but their writing styles are quite different.
Nah, Coach is in one of the Dakotas, Gadfly was in Oregon.
Stu,
I can see that you have spent time pondering this…
True – I was just taken by the “useless statistic held out as prima facie evidence of a wrong headed argument” similarity.
Anyone who votes for Rafael Belliard as having been a worse Brave than Corky Miller hates freedom, America, puppies, apple pie, Keystone Light, Metallica, chicken wings, and wanting to get into the stadium to scream as loud as you can.
Actually, his IP is right outside of Fargo, and is actually on the Minnesota side of the state line.
Coach – are you fleeing the interview?
desert,
Pondering the Gadfly/Coach comparison? No, I’ve just (masochistically) read a lot of their respective comments.
Mac,
I will now be reading all future Coach posts in Frances McDormand’s voice. I encourage everyone to join me.
Coach’s name if Howard Zeigler, and he works at a pet store in Moorhead, ND.
JC, you really know how to deliver an anticlimax.
Why do the Braves need a right handed power bat when half their line up is already right handed (Diaz, Prado, Chipper, Escobar) and most pitchers are right handed? How about just re-sign Laroche who will give you a solid bat at 1B for a small hometown discount, replace Anderson with Heyward and Norton with Conrad, trade a few overly expensive spare parts (Johnson and Church) then either re-sign our 2 headed closer or find replacements via trade or free agency and call it a day?
I think Laroche is looking for a 3 year deal – somebody will probably offer him one. 4 of the last five years he’s hit like an above average 1B. The question is will he continue going forward (probably, IMO), and how will that use of resources impact the budget weighed against Freeman’s progress.
@49
i actually really like that idea. i just dont see the braves being able to pull it off financially (keeping all 6 pitchers). however, getting rid of lowe, acquiring derek lee, and keeping hudson and vazquez would get me incredibly excited. having to take milton bradley in the deal would only dampen my excitement slightly.
challenge: try to post something “coach” like, yet make yourself sound even more ridiculous. i bet you cant.
My evidence suggests that Coach is one of these two men:
“You’re a smooth smoothie, ya know…”
Neither – definitely this guy
http://www.bham.biz/movie_pages/pics/macy_fargo.jpg
Mac,
Please take this down if it is too far…
5th entry
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&q=Howard+Zeigler+North+Dakota&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
JC how do you figure out these things?
Wrong name, wrong state……just wrong altogether LOL. But damn funny.
Mac, applying slugging percentage to a lead off type hitter?
C’mon, even you’re not that ignorant.
David Ross has been criminally underused this year.
Sometimes it’s fun to listen to the opposing team’s broadcast. You get brutally honest statements like “Boy, Anderson covers no ground in left field.”
He hasn’t done anything right for us this year. Please tell me we’re not going to re-sign him.
Coach, let’s try this. Find a successful leadoff hitter with a slugging percentage under .300.
God damn does that contract look awful.
“Ignorant”? – you my friend suffer from projection. Durango’s MLE tranlation from BPro – .248/.319/.276. A regular Rickey Henderson.
Boog is leaving the Braves to take a full time job at ESPN. That sucks. I liked him.
@65- That does suck. So does that mean we get stuck with Brian Jordan or Ron Gant with Joe Simpson? I might shoot myself in the face if that happens. Hopefully Sutton comes back to TV.
Fucking no! No Gant or Jordan!
Just to be clear, the Zeigler ID was meant to be a joke.
I’m laughing my ass off. Great stuff. I’m actually looking forward to the off season and the 10 thousand roster permutations, outrageous trade proposals, and flat out nut case posts that are coming.
Just heard that we have a deal to trade Chipper for the Panamaniac. To make it more even we are throwing in Hanson.
Lowe-bashing recap is up.