Comments on: Report Cards: The Hitters

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 01:07:25 +0000

What Zac said. If we’re lucky, some other GM has a man-crush on Aviles and will trade something for him. Until then he is, like Kila and Soup, a AAAA player blocked not only by someone in the majors but also by a team mate at Omaha. I see the valentines for Aviles quite a bit over at Royals Review and think that Getz-hate, like Frenchy-hate, is a requirement for bloggers even though their beloved stats don’t really support their amour. Aviles had a fair chance and choked it.

By: Zac

Zac — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 23:45:35 +0000

“Aviles would provide more value over an entire 162 game season.”

There seems to be a love affair between you guys and Mike Aviles. Before the year, you wrote that he deserved the chance to prove his greatness (I’m paraphrasing). His rookie year was great; so was Angel Berroa’s and Bob Hamlin’s. Fact is, the guy got hurt and never produced again. It’s almost like the love affair you guys had with Kila.

Fact is, Getz’s OBP and batting averages are far superior to Aviles’s. And their defense is basically a wash. I’ll take the guy who gets on base as opposed to the guy with a little pop in his bat, especially since Getz can steal bases.

Aviles is done. Accept that you were misguided and move on.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:09:24 +0000

kcrb, agree. Major problem with Cain is he strikes out over 20% of the time, but that is down from 27% earlier in the year. His splits are getting better, just as Giavotella’s have been, so I think he’s ready after some room is cleared. He’ld be best in center, but Melky is having a great year and Frenchy is performing. Somebody will have to move, because they won’t bring Cain up to sit on the bench. Melky is most valuable, as Frenchy splits badly with RHP, but not sure GMDM gets 3.0 WAR and .349 wOBA back for him, the WAR being Gio Gonzales range. As he’s under control for next year and can play RF, Frenchy and his 1.8, .329 might be easier to let go of. An OF of Gordon, Cain, and Melky wouldn’t be bad, good range, great arms, power and average.

By: Austyn

Austyn — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:48:02 +0000

Thanks @Craig and @Jim for the reasoning, I have just always been curious haha

By: kcrb

kcrb — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:53:03 +0000

i am one of the few getz supporters…that said, he shouldn’t be hitting lead off…better suited for 8 or 9 hole…but we really don’t have an ideal lead off hitter… hopefully cain can fill that need soon

By: airgoesit

airgoesit — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:25:23 +0000

scott, I hope you’re right and Duffy becomes a 1 or 2. I love his stuff. My point on him and any of the other arms is they need to be broken in, not broken. This team continually places too much pressure on anybody with a sniff of talent.

By: Craig Brown

Craig Brown — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 21:11:08 +0000

fb- I could care less what a player’s batting average is… That stat tells me nothing. Treanor has the 3rd best OBP on the team and takes more walks as a percentage of plate appearances than anyone.

As for the lineup… It is largely irrelevant in the grand scheme. Although it does make sense to position your best hitters so they can get the most plate appearances. Studies have shown you should have your best hitters in the 1, 2 and 4 spots. Getz doesn’t belong in any of those positions in the order.

Austyn- Personal habit on the WAR question. I like how they incorporate defense and (now) base running for the position players.

Nolan – I whiffed on Pena. I’ll include him Friday.

By: jim fetterolf

jim fetterolf — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:55:55 +0000

“Just a curious questions, why do you guys use the WAR value from Fangraph over the WAR value from baseball-reference?”

Habit.

“Jim – Aviles had a bad month and one-half after posting above average OPS+ in two of the previous three seasons.”

And he’s 30 years old, forgot how to hit RHP, and plays soccer in the field. Everyone passes their peak eventually and it’s a guess when it will happen. Aviles may have had a bad streak or he may be on the decaying side of his skill set, but like Kila he gave the job away. With the younger Giavotella putting together a really good six weeks in Omaha, Aviles isn’t really in the conversation any more. His best hope, like Kila, is to be a throw-in on a trade package, maybe to Oakland, where he gets a fresh start on a team that he would be an instant upgrade for.

By: kcrb

kcrb — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:47:08 +0000

DanL
my better idea would be ALL contracts are performance based..NO GUARANTIES… that way when a player fails to meet his performance expectations, he is released, plain and simple…that is the way most jobs are… and baseball is just a business…right?

By: DanL

DanL — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:27:29 +0000

Just for fun – so no hating, just your better idea…

What if baseball creates a hybrid trading/waiver system to facilitate player movement. It would work like this – a GM would post any player (majors or minors) he is willing to give up for a numeric price (credits) in the range of 1 to 100.

Example would be posting Betemit for 40 credits, Davies for 1 credit and Kila for 20 credits. For guys you prefer to keep, but willing to part with for a higher price, maybe post a guy like Frenchy at 75 credits and Soria at 100.

Any team can place a claim and get Betemit by giving the Royals 40 credits, 20 credits for Kila, etc. If multiple claims occur on a player, you can use an auction to decide.

The Royals would collect credits over time and place a claim on a higher quality player. So maybe a Triple AAA second baseman is posted for 70 credits, the Royals might value the player and spend 70 credits. Then immediately post Getz and Aviles for a price that will move them to other teams.

This would make moving players easier since teams don’t have to match up needs directly – just collect and spend credits.