I did not expect that. I didn’t think that the Braves had much of a chance, not in that park against that pitching staff, once they went down 3-0 behind a shaky Tommy Hanson, after only getting the minimum plate appearances the first time through the order. Shows what I know.
Hanson gave up a solo homer, to Ichiro of all people, in the first, and two doubles in the second to score a run, later having to pitch out of a bases-loaded situation. In the fourth, he gave up another homer. All in all he was fortunate to only give up three runs. So were the Braves.
The comeback began with… Dan Uggla? Uggla hit a solo homer in the fifth (to be fair, he’s continued to hit homers, it’s just that he doesn’t do anything else) to make it 3-1. In the sixth, the Braves got an “unearned” run when Heyward scored when Chipper reached on a two-out error.
In the seventh, Schafer hit a one-out bases-loaded single to score Uggla and tie the game. Heyward couldn’t get the go-ahead run home, but Brian McCann, the best catcher in baseball, who was 4-5 on the night (the other Braves combined for four hits), singled in Hinske and McLouth to make it 5-3.
Hanson, who did strike out eight, was in line for the win. But George Sherrill had other ideas, allowing two of the first three men in the seventh to reach on singles. The best catcher in baseball then took a hand, throwing out the trailing runner on a double-steal, which saved the day after Sherrill walked the next batter then allowed another single to make it 5-4. The Proctologist of all people was sent in to put out the fire, and did.
Jonny Venters returned to form, throwing a 1-2-3 eighth with a strikeout. Craig Kimbrel allowed a one-out hit and a wild pitch to get the tying run into scoring position in the ninth, but got a strikeout and popup for his 22nd save.
Great game. Mccann’s baseball intelligence seems to be matched by no other. Seriously, how many catchers would even think of throwing out the runner going to second On a double steal?
Mac is seriously carrying this team in vintage Chipperesque fashion right now. I realize there is no 1st half MVP award, but he’d be on the shortlist.
I wonder if this is McCann’s team yet (in the clubhouse).
Is he vocal in a clubhouse leader sort of way?
I think there are thre MVP canidates in the NL right now, Fileder, McCann and Reyes. I’d thorw Reyes out because the Mets suck.
Not to rain on the parade–last night’s game was awesome, once the bats got going–but I wouldn’t actually call last night a return to form for Jonny. He had two air ball outs, which is unusual to begin with, and one of them was a wicked fliner that Heyward made a great play on to save extra bases.
Hopefully, we’ll see him back to his groundballing ways in this afternoon’s game. Especially because that will mean the Braves have a lead to protect.
Reyes is waaaaaaayyyyyyy ahead of the pack, IMO. Trade Target Matt Kemp is also in the discussion, though.
Reyes even though the mets suck. Love McCann but Reyes is having a hell of a year
If you were going to spend $20 million per on a player next year would you rather pay Fielder or Reyes?
Not a Braves issue, I know …
Brian McCann is MVP of my heart, though.
@8
That is interesting. I guess it depends on your needs. I would go with Fielder becasue I think Reyes is having a Javy Lopez contract year.
8—Depends on the length of contract. If it were on a one-year deal, Fielder. Anything longer than three, though, I’d take Reyes. Short and morbidly obese isn’t a long-term recipe for success.
In 2005, at the zenith (the highest point…not the crappy television) of Andruw Jones career, he should’ve won the MVP. Because he loaded the Braves upon his broad back/shoulders and carried the Braves to 1st in the East. It was remarkable.
We are seeing nothing short of that with McCann currently. Now it is early…but this is clearly McCann’s team. He has more than arrived. He’s been good for years. But this is fantastic baseball right now folks. Not to be dramatic (but to be dramatic), this is legendary, insofar as regular season play can be.
#8 – Id go with Reyes.
@6,7 as has been rehashed many times, if you perceive MVP to mean “Best Baseball Player” – and I am certainly not saying that is not a valid way to approach it, Kemp is your man all the way. 40 points of OPS+, and he’s a fine CF. McCann is the difference between this team being in the WC/Division race and falling out by the ASB.
I was thinking last night McCann really picked up the pace when Mac started the “Brian McCann, best catcher in baseball” campaign so I was wondering if maybe Mac could spread some mojo to some of the other players… said with clinched teeth and a little vomit in my throat “Dan Uggla, best 2nd baseman in baseball”. Also, because I like him and want him to stick… “Jordan Schafer, best center fielder in baseball”. We’ll see if that helps this afternoon.
Best catcher in baseball
(Read, for Google bombs, that hyper-linking the text to the website you want to appear in the search results when that text is Googled is how it’s done.)
“Short and morbidly obese isn’t a long-term recipe for success.”
I take it you’re not buying stock in Dan Vogelbach, then?
I’m with Spike. The first question I ask when thinking about MVP is “Where would this team had finished without this player?” Then you have to start looking at stats.
I think Maddux should have won in ’95, but that’s jsut me
Maddux in 1995 = sheer brilliance & domination.
Looking at Maddux’s career numbers, do you realized he pitched 263, 268, 267 innings respectively in 1991-1992-1993. Holy crap. His arm didn’t fall off & he went on to dominate the league for years.
From 1992 to 1998, Greg Maddux pitched 1675 1/3 innings with a 2.15 ERA. He won four straight Cy Young awards (and finished second, fourth, and fifth in the other three seasons) and led the majors in ERA four times, innings three times, and complete games twice. Over those seven seasons, he had an average ERA+ of 191.
Greg Maddux was good.
Jose Reyes .349/.394/.528/922
MLB Ranks
1st – hits
2nd – runs
T10 – 2B
1st – 3B
2nd – SB
2nd – avg
I believe Reyes would win the vote if the season ended today.
Bautista, Bmac, A. Gonzalez, Kemp, Votto, Fielder, and Braun could all be in the running by seasons end too though.
“Not to be dramatic (but to be dramatic), this is legendary, insofar as regular season play can be.”
Not to rain on people’s parade but . . . c’mon. It’s not legendary; McCann is a very good player having a great stretch. Most likely, his stats at the end of the year will be in line with what they normally are–very good but not otherwordly.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/tom_verducci/06/28/midseason.awards/index.html?sct=mlb_t11_a3
According to Verducci, McCann is not even in top 10 in NL MVP vote. Totally insane.
#25
Okay, okay. I warned you I was going to be dramatic though. I’m thinking in future tense, I guess. And still abuzz over last night’s win.
26 – Saw that yesterday. Unbelievable. Verducci has some debatable picks in almost every one of his lists.
Reyes is the best player in baseball right now. He is hands down the 1st half MVP.
On another note, any news on The Prado’s return?
Plus Reyes is getting traded, he may go to the AL.
I don’t see how you can be the MVP on a last (or next to last) place team. I know it happens and I know NY sportwritters will get out the vote, but come on.
Because it’s a team sport and no amount of awesome can compensate for a crappy supporting cast?
And the Mets are in third, FWIW.
What’s funny is that the Yankees are in first place (again, ho-hum), but most of the baseball talk in this town is about the future of Jose Reyes.
According to Szymborski the Mets have lost more games to injury than any other team in baseball this year. He has them -6 due to lost time from regulars.
Concerning MVPs, how valuable can a player be if his team loses? The best player in baseball can play on a team that fails. I’m not certain the most valuable player can.
It reminds me of Branch Rickey negotiating a contract with Ralph Kiner after Kiner had led the league in home runs playing for Pittsburg. Rickey denied Kiner a raise.
Said Rickey, “We finished last with you and we can finish last without you.”
Andre Dawson won the 1987 NL MVP award. The Cubs were 76-85 that year and finished last in their division.
@33- So that tries to take in to account the quality of the regulars missing time?
That would seem to be a fruitless endeavor, to me. The injury spectrum is so wide. What if, say, David Wright weren’t hurt enough to actually be DLed, but instead took the field day after day and put up numbers below his standards, or below what his likely replacement would do?
So because he’s DLed, you can give the Mets imaginary wins, even though Turner is playing well.
And meanwhile, some other player (Heyward?) keeps chugging, likely hurt, and playing poorly and might be better replaced by a lesser but healthy player.
Ernie Banks won back-to-back MVPs playing for the Cubs. Maybe he was the best player in the league, and the writers said he was the most valuable. If so, why didn’t the Cubs win?
ARod won it in 03 with the Rangers finishing last. As he should have. Dawson did not deserve it.
The best player in baseball can play on a team that fails. I’m not certain the most valuable player can.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. How can you be more valuable than best?
The Mets are a game over. 500 with no Santana, Wright, & Ike Davis. Jason Bay has a case of the Uggla and bench players like Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy & Jason Pridie are getting regular playing time…Reyes is carrying this team.
Ububba’s right on, Met fans are now calling sportstalk radio and saying they want to trade David Wright and throw 150 million at Reyes. Crazy how much can change in a year.
Schafer
Heyward
BMac DH
Freeman
Uggla
Conrad
Ross (YAY!)
McLouth
Gonzalez
I am curious and wonder if anybody on here has a good handle. When they say “the Dodgers filed for Bankruptcy” what exactly is included in “the Dedgers.”
Originally, McCourt got Dodger Stadium and the land around it. The land is the most plausible site for an NFL stadium (would need LOTS of prking deck to replace the parking lost in the stadium and add 10,000 more spaces, probably, and some sort of transit like a people mover to the nearest subway station). However, the property fronts on two freeways and could easily have exit ramps added.
How can you be more valuable than best?
You could be Terry Pendleton in 1991, for example.
What is value in a team sport, individual accomplishments or team success? However, the Mets’ record would be worse without Reyes, just as the Braves’ would be without BMac.
I’m not sold on individual awards in team sports anyway, so give the MVP to whom you choose. However, I’m pulling for McCann to win it.
What is value in a team sport, individual accomplishments or team success?
Value in a team sport is value contributed to team success, whatever that may be. Albert Pujols on the Royals is still more valuable than David Eckstein on the Yankees.
@36
He attempts to account for quality of lost players, yes. If you have an ESPN Insider account here’s the link:
http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/insider/news/story?id=6712238&action=login&appRedirect=http%3A%2F%2Finsider.espn.go.com%2Fmlb%2Finsider%2Fnews%2Fstory%3Fid%3D6712238
Ububba and others, here’s a Bob Mould interview in the AV Club. Has anyone read his book yet?
I like the “whatever that may be” clause, Stu. Slash marks don’t make up the whole, but they are probably the most part of the whole.
The “whatever that may be” portion lets Chipper and TP win their MVPs even if they did not have the best slash marks in the league, because they certainly contributed to team success.
Francour should not win despite his numbers because of his contribution to great team chemistry, but things other than statistical data should be considered.
By “whatever that may be,” I meant whatever that team success may be, not whatever that player contribution may be. In other words, A 7-win player on a 60-win team is still more valuable than a 4-win player on a 100-win team, even though that second player’s team had a whole lot more team success.
#47
Yeah, I’m reading it, about 80-percent finished right now. Just finished the “wrestling chapter.” Very entertaining.
Kemp leads the league in Slg, OPS, OPS+, HR, Games played, RC, ABR, ABW, OWP,
2nd in BA,
3rd OBP
Current line – .332/.417/.630/1.047 194 OPS+
Reyes – 349/.394/.528/.922 157 OPS+
ONE NINETY FOUR.
FROM A CENTER FIELDER.
He has 50 points of wOBA, and 40 points of OPS+ on Reyes. There ain’t enough defense in the world to overcome that. He is the best player in the game right now.
Are a player’s “wins” computed on offensive stats only, or are inadequate defensive measures also included? Is there an indisputable mathematical formula for calculating a player’s wins that removes all subjectivity? If so, I agree that a seven-win player is both better and more valuable within the context of the formula.
Howver, McCann and, dammit, Reyes play premium positions; Pujols, not so much. Is the position and how well it’s played also factored into the formula for determining a player’s worth in wins?
Just asking, because to my benighted way of thinking, a five-win shortstop, catcher or centerfielder’s probably worth more than a six or seven-win leftfielder or first baseman.
Educate me, please.
51—It’s defense and base-running that gives Reyes the edge, according to FanGraphs. FWIW. And the “most exciting player in baseball” thing is what puts him so far ahead of the pack, in my opinion.
52—Nothing’s perfect, obviously. When the stats are close, or if there’s good reason to disbelieve part of the stats, sure, use subjectivity to break close calls. My point is that dismissing a player just because he’s on a bad/mediocre team makes no sense.
Heyman: “The Dodgers have not received one phone call on MVP candidate Matt Kemp, nor do they have any intention whatsoever to trade the multitalented outfielder. The suggestion they might sell star players to help them financially has hit the Internet. But there is said to be no truth to it.”
Not one call? Fire Frank Wren! And all the other GMs!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/06/29/padres.trades/index.html#ixzz1Qgvxfv9E
WAR attempts to account for positional scarcity and defense. The problem is, there aren’t enough data points in half a season of data to accurately gauge this, and the initial positional bump is just an average number – for example, we give SS a 15 point headstart, CF a 10 and catcher an 8 (just making these up). Pretty arbitrary. FWIW, Reyes is ahead in fWAR, Kemp is ahead in BB-REF WAr, and oWAR.
@53, Kemp has 21SB/3CS to Reyes 29/5. He’s no slouch. Again, his other numbers just dwarf Reyes – and in a much stiffer offensive environment (PF-B 90 to 101). No contest. He plays his home games in a park with PF of NINETY and STILL leads the league in HR.
54—Most optimistic about a Kemp trade I’ve been, yet. If Heyman’s reporting that it’s not happening, it’s almost certainly happening!
56—Well, there’s more to base-running than stolen bases. I don’t really disagree with you about Kemp, though; I’m just saying, I think Reyes is clearly the man to beat right now, given his flashiness and reputation.
Thanks, Stu and Spike. I don’t understand all you’ve told me, but at least I see you have an objective basis for saying it. I’d argue more for unquantifiable qualities that add value, but I can’t provide statistical support.
Re flashiness, I loved Yunel when he was my frosted-tips guy, but I dislike Reyes because he’s megacool. BMac’s a lot of things. Flashy ain’t one of them.
Kemp’s flashy, too — though I think his terrible season last year while he spent a lot of time on the celeb circuit with Rihanna may have left a bad taste in some of the old-school writers’ mouths. (At least when Derek Jeter shtupped starlets, he had the good sense to play well the next day.) But I think Reyes is better positioned in the New York media market. Dodger players just aren’t very hyped these days, and while the Mets have been an entertaining flaming wreck to watch, the Dodgers have just been drearily upstaged by the McCourt divorce case.
Kemp’s having an overwhelmingly better season, no question. But Reyes is still probably the guy to beat.
That said, even if there were completely accurate defensive stats, I still think there would be room for a bit of adjustment regarding team context. I think you could argue that a six-win player on a 90-win team that wins the pennant on the last day of the season was more “valuable” than a seven-win player on a 110-win team that won the division by 15 games.
In terms of league MVP, I think of an all-league team.
If I lose Kemp, I get McCutcheon or Victorino.
If I lose Fielder, I get Votto. Oh noes!
If I lose Reyes, I get Tulo.
If I lose McCann, I get (ignoring Ross) Hernandez or Montero.
To me, this means, in the NL, either Kemp or McCann is the most valuable.
Joey, I think you’re overvaluing positional scarcity. Due to Posey’s injury, McCann is far and away the best catcher in the league right now. But that doesn’t mean that the value he adds to the Braves is significantly more than they would receive, say, if we did that Braun-for-McCann swap that Desert asked about a few days ago. I think positional scarcity is a very important question for team construction, and obviously also for fantasy baseball, but not necessarily for MVP discussions.
Also, the downgrade from Kemp to McCutchen isn’t actually all that great. Cutch is a good hitter and a very good defender. He’s probably the best all-around centerfielder in baseball.
Off topic for Mac, Bethany, or anyone:
Is there evidence that Leonardo met Michelangelo?
I’m reading “Leonardo’s Legacy” by Stefan Klein and it’s clear they knew of each other, but can’t tell if they met.
Maybe we have the good Lowe today. Gonna need it.
coop at 59.
The positional adjustments in most systems use an assumption that GM’s and managers are going to optimize value. Therefore, the many years of offensive production for the various positions are compared. The assumption is that there must be a value ot shortstops that doesn’t show up in offense or else Cecil Fielder would have played there. the assumption is that the value of the defense on average is equal to the loss in value of the offense, on average.
In any one situation (GM or manager) that is a bad assumption, but over many teams and many years, it has some validity.
Really nice PA for Freeman.
Over-under on the Braves’ number of hits today?
Over-under on number of outs generated by Uggla’s first AB?
Boy does AAG suck! Will he EVER get another hit?
Thanks, Cliff. That lit my bulb.
@63 Yes, they actually worked together once.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Anghiari_(painting)
On MLB, it looked like Nate gave up on that ball.
really short foul territory there.
Ironic, because we’ve given up on him.
Heh.
So glad Good Lowe showed up.
Lowe’s done well so far.
@72, He absolutely did.
And Heyward is back to grounding out weakly to 2nd.
79—Yup. Extremely painful and frustrating to watch.
Is it bad thatI hope Heyward is hurt? Because otherwise, he isn’t as good as we think.
Uggla found an acorn.
Spike @ 14.
Can hardly say Kemp is a fine CF. From Fangraphs today:
Worst Fielder — Matt Kemp, -33.9 runs
When both Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rate you as worse than -15 runs in the field over a season….well, that’s really bad. But that’s what Matt Kemp did last season in centerfield, and according to UZR, he’s on a similar pace in 2011 (-8 runs so far). One year could just be an fluke, especially considering he rated as around average in centerfield in 2008 and 2009, but as this sample is getting larger, it’s worth considering that Kemp would be better served moving to a corner outfield slot.
Kemp’s bat makes him valuable in the outfield no matter where he plays, and obviously he’d be much more valuable if he could stick in centerfield. But can he? I don’t claim to know the answer to that, but it’s something to keep an eye on going forward
Folk Hero!
Woo-hoo! Conrad!
Uh, why was David Ross trying to bunt for a single?
Perfectly executed squeeze play! Too bad there were already two out. 🙁
Guess he saw the 3B playing back, but I’d rather see Ross hack there, for sure.
Some good placement on those softly-hit ground balls. There’s your lead, Derek.
Sure has been nice the past couple mornings to wake up and check my phone to find out the Braves won. Maybe I should take a nap here pretty soon and wake up in a couple hours…
I liked it when Brian bunted for a single against the shift the other day, but they weren’t shifted against David. Seemed like a low-percentage play.
Im hoping this is just the sophmore slump for Heyward. I dont think he’s hurt anymore, but who knows how he feels or what he’ll say.
I sure like watching him when he’s working the count more than swinging at the first pitch.
I’ve pointed this our before, but anyone notice how Chipper is always sore when we’re facing an ace? I know it’s a day game after a night game so it’s a good time to get him a rest, but it almost always seems to happen the last couple of years when we face someone like Halladay or Felix.
#92 – Careful, Ive mentioned that before and it didnt go well.
Hey… we’ve got Brooks Conrad!
Keep in mind Heyward is 21.
Nice cut, AAG
I just remember how good he was when he was 20.
Just a K please, no DP.
Edit: Ok, that makes it a little harder for AAG to produce two outs.
Edit: Fells like that was AAG’s best AB of the month.
Heads-up baserunning from Nate there…
Come on Jordan!!
YAY! Thanks Felix!
Hot damn!
Well, how do you like that?
@83, making claims about defensive value from 81 games of data in a system that it’s very authors claim needs three years worth for any kind of validity is a fool’s errand. Have you ever watched Kemp play this year? Do you understand what parts of the equation he is grading poorly on, and is there any explanation for this? UZR had him at 2.9 in 2009 and -25.7 in 2010 – do you honestly think a player can drop THIRTY runs defensively in one year?
In short, have you applied the same skepticism to this system that you would apply to some guy in a bar who says “Matt Kemp? He sucks”?
//I apologize for the tone here. It’s just that defensive stats are so new, and in many ways so unproven, you just can’t go flinging numbers around willy-nilly. It’s the last province of the scout/baseball man, and there is a very good reason for that.
FWIW, I pay little attention to defensive ratings. You’ve gotta be Frank Howard wearing leg braces & an eyepatch to “suck that bad” in CF.
Guys, I don’t know when it happened, but I’ve become a Jordan Schafer fan.
That play brought home to me how slow McCann really is.
Ha! Nobody’s hitting it hard…3 ground balls that have gotten through, a couple flares to the outfield, a couple walks, couple WP’s…I’ll take it.
Man, another hit here from Freddie would be sweet
EDIT: Yes Sir! Sweet indeed!
I find it hard to believe that Kemp was worse than Melky and Nate in CF last year.
I know it’s a whole lot to ask, but can we get a long hit here?
EDIT: Yes! Good enough, Freddie.
Freeman = stud?
I love Freddie Freeman.
Freeman is a stud
Love reading “in play, run(s)”
Spike, it’s true that partial season defensive stats are so flawed that they’re not worth using. However, the jury is more or less in on Kemp’s subpar defense. Just how bad he is is an open question — though it bears mentioning that scouts and fans hated Kemp’s defense last year just as much the advanced stats — but Matt Kemp’s career UZR in parts of six seasons — that’s 5711.1 defensive innings, including 4419.0 in center field — is -45.8. His career Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average is -14.
He’s bad. Just how bad is a matter for dispute, but there’s no question that he is bad.
Freddie Freeman may not be the best catcher in baseball, but he’s hitting like him.
113 – iphone mlb app?
Raise your hand if you thought this would be the score in the 5th inning (or at any point in the game, really).
dink them to death. 3 dinks = HR
Argh. Bear down, Derek.
Stop the bleeding here.
It’d be pretty sweet to get a ground ball at a middle infielder right now.
Oh no… come on Lowe.
Lowe is forgetting how to win.
Come on, Derek. Let’s get out of this
Too bad we didn’t keep Rodrigo Lopez and trade Derek Lowe.
I had absolutely no confidence in Conrad’s ability to not make an error on that play.
Their two best hitters are lurking.
Thank goodness!
Nice play, Freddie!
Whew!! Way to go, Freddie!
OK I did a little legwork on Chipper and here are just some of the Starters he’s missed in his 15 games not started: Marcum, Lincecum, Felix, Halladay, Greinke, C. Lewis, Ogando, Romero, Gee, Dickey. Some of this is I’m sure to injury but you can’t tell me he doesn’t pick his spots.
Whew.
Whew.
Lowe got very lucky there. Way too many 3-0 counts with a 4R lead.
but Matt Kemp’s career UZR in parts of six seasons — that’s 5711.1 defensive innings, including 4419.0 in center field — is -45.8. His career Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average is -14.
And the overwhelming majority of that total comes from a single season. I am sorry, that just doesn’t pass the smell test.
Whew! That was a big spot. And after starting 3-0 with the last 2 batters.
Dusty, Im sure you would find the same trend from last year also.
Spike, he’s had a negative UZR every season of his career but one, and during that one season his UZR was +2.9. That’s the outlier.
Excuse me, the season where he moves 5 runs from the previous year is the outlier as opposed to the season where he move oh, SIX times that amount? The point is, if it’s flawed, then ALL the results are tainted not just the ones that don’t measure up to what we’d expect. This system is not capturing what Kemp does accurately, and to claim that it is “mostly correct” anyway would require some explanation of what caused the bad result. Absent that, I just can’t use it.
AAG with a hit!
That was… bad, Jordan.
Schafer with the let down!
Nice swing there from Jason. I just haven’t seen the ball jumping off his bat like that enough this season.
Just do what it is that you do BMAC
B-Mac is the man.
Let’s get a Proctor-proof knock-out blow.
Sure, UZR is flawed, but it’s not gibberish. Quibble with the degree if you want. But pretty much every observer, every statistic, and every scout said that 2010 was a poor defensive year, even if they argued with the degree. Aside from UZR, his Fielding Bible Defensive Runs Saved in 2010 was -15. Fangraphs’ Fans Scouting Report put him at -3. (By Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average, he was actually at +1, but again, by that measure he’s still at -14 for his career.)
I don’t believe that he’s 20 or 30 runs below average. But I believe he’s below-average.
Death by a thousand cuts.
What is a “Proctor / Linebrink / Sherrill / Lisp” safe lead?
4 run lead and here is O’Flaherty.
I hope Fredi doesn’t use tomorrow’s off day as an excuse to use Venters and Kimbrel today.
Uggla has at least (to me) looked much more comfortable at the plate. Taking good pitches, not getting as visibly upset at the plate. We may see a turn-around, people.
I don’t believe that he’s 20 or 30 runs below average. But I believe he’s below-average.
That’s a believable enough conclusion, but one that hardly warrants a “can he stick in centerfield” follow on. The data isn’t granular enough to actually tell me what exactly he’s bad at, and to what degree. Poor routes? Positioning? He’s certainly fast enough to play the position. He doesn’t have a ton of errors. Can anything be done to improve these values? What did he do well in one season that he did poorly the next? to what extent are the quality of his OF mates impacting this data? I don’t think UZR/TZ/whatever system you like are gibberish, but I just can’t assign them uber-stat status until there is a way to actually describe what specific functions are being measured, what they correlate to, and how environment affects them. By “he’s a fine centerfielder” I meant “cromulent”, so I could have chosen my words better, but I’ll stick with the assertion that he’s more than capable enough to warrant running him out there.
12 pitch walk from Nate. He really is a different hitter in the 8 spot for some reason.
That PA was pretty epic from McLouth.
On Fangraphs, they break down UZR into its components: arm, range, and error. (For infielders, it also includes double plays.) In 2010, Kemp was far worse at all three than in years past, but the most noteworthy failures came from his arm and his range. In previous years, the arm had usually been a few ticks above average, while the range had usually been a few ticks below average; last year, both were significantly below average. This year, the arm has more or less rebounded, but the range is below-average again.
Why did they keep Hernandez out there so long? There was no need for him to throw 127 pitches in a game he was losing 5-1.
Was McLouth’s walk as interesting to watch live as it was on gamecast? It must suck to leave your pitcher in with two outs in the eighth for him to face “one more guy” and then see him stuck out there for 12 pitches.
Alex, its Seattle and they did try a double steal down 2 in the 7th at home on a 3-0 count with their cleanup hitter at the plate yesterday. However, their manager screams at the media everyday about how bad their offense has become. Yes, Fredi isnt the worst manager in baseball.
Not like Alex to get mad. If he says it hit him, it must be true.
Venters. Of course.
Does Nate know he’s not in CF anymore? Left fielders please yield to oncoming CF’s.
Way too many balls hit in the air lately for JV. Maybe he could use some rest?
Good thing we used Venters again. Not like he’s tired and his stuff is starting to slip or anything.
It is (edit: was) unforgivable to use Venters here.
Best part is, now Kimbrel is 100% coming in for the 9th.
Venters is officially overused and tired. F**k Fredi for this shameless waste.
Or maybe it’s just regression. He did strike out two.
Regardless of Fredi, I’m worried about Jonny. Too many balls in the air over his past 3 appearances.
I hate you, Fredi.
Using Venters in a 4 run game is not inexcusable with a day off tomorrow – Proctor is very capable of giving up 4 runs. However, he is used way too much. If you want to blame something for his abuse, blame the horrid offense. We simply don’t score enough runs to give our guys a break. And we don’t have Cliff Lee or Halladay to go out there and pitch 9 innings a day.
That’s exactly why we have Martinez. He’s fully capable of getting three outs without giving up four runs.
The off day tomorrow is a good reason to NOT use Venters. Gives him two days off.
There’s absolutely no reason to use him on back to back days with a 4 run lead against one of the worst hitting teams in baseball.
I miss Moylan.
I’m not saying I disagree with you, because I don’t. I’m just saying it’s not entirely indefensible.
Well, maybe against this weak hitting team it is…
How are you arguing that call?? This team needs a refresher on the strike zone.
from Dewan – The Plus/Minus System doesn’t know why the player made the play; it just knows that he did (or that he didn’t).
That’s kind of important when addressing how good/bad someone is, especially when +/- is the overwhelming “bad” fielding component for Kemp.
One more time.
EDIT: Ssss-www-eeeeeep!
Woof. That was strike three.
EDIT: And there’s strike 4. Sweep!
It is absolutely indefensible. Results today notwithstanding, the odds are 99.99% that we’ll have a 1-run game in September where Venters’ arm will have been infinitely more valuable than it was today. His arm is not a limitless resource.
edit: Good win though.
Fortunately, that was strike three, too. I love sweeps. I wish we could have the occasional sweep without nuking our reliever’s arms, but I can’t have everything.
Really can’t believe we swept this series, against Bedard, Pineda, and Hernandez.
Great win, albeit with more energy expended than was really required.
Recapped.