2011 Season Forecast: Minnesota Twins

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Paul Proia

Last Five Seasons:

2010: 94 – 68 (Winners of the AL Central, losers to the Yankees in the playoffs… Again.)
2009: 87 – 76
2008: 88 – 75
2007: 79 – 83
2006: 96 – 66

This has been a great run for a well-managed franchise.

Runs Scored: 781 (5th in the AL)
Runs Allowed: 671 (3rd in the AL)

With this combination, the Twins would be expected to win 93.2 games – right about where they finished.

Season Recap:

At the outset, the Twins were considered among the favorites to win the division, and having tossed aside the White Sox whenever they needed to, held off Chicago to walk away with the division for the third time and fourth in five seasons.

The Twins came out strong in April, winning 15 of 23. They held serve in May, but when the Sox got hot in the summer, the Twins had their worst month in June. This ended in July, however, as the Twins got stronger every month and looked like a potential World Series team until they faced the Yankees in the playoffs.

Among the hardships – Justin Morneau took a knee to the head while sliding into second base against the Blue Jays and missed the last three months of the season at a time when the first baseman was hitting like Ted Williams. And, closer Joe Nathan went down after one spring training appearance, missing the season following Tommy John surgery.

The Twins made a few moves to shore up the bullpen after Nathan’s injury, acquiring Matt Capps from Washington in July, and later picking up Brian Fuentes from the Angels in September – in both cases for essentially spare parts.

Starters:

Francisco Liriano put his career back on track in 2010, winning a rotation slot in the spring and then winning 14 games and striking out 201 batters during the season. This, as much as anything, gave the Twins a needed shot in the arm as the season started. Carl Pavano had an even better 2010 than 2009, pitching 221 innings, hardly walking anyone at all (just 37) and winning 17 games. Kevin Slowey went 13 – 6 despite pitching at essentially league average levels, but also doesn’t walk anybody (29 in 155.2 innings). Same goes for Scott Baker (12 – 9, 43 walks in 170.1 innings) and the less effective Nick Blackburn (40 walks in 161 innings). Swingman Brian Duensing was a team MVP candidate, making 13 starts amongst his 53 appearances, winning 10 of 13 decisions, and finishing with a 2.62 ERA. Duensing also has great control.

All this is good – but a long-time reader of Bill James might notice something particularly troubling. One of his predictors of future success (or decline) is looking at the ratio of strikeouts to wins. Pavano won 17 with only 117 strikeouts – so he’d be expected to decline to something like 8 – 11. Blackburn, already well below average with his 5.42 ERA, won 10 and fanned just 68. He might expect to go 5 – 7. Kevin Slowey won 13 and fanned just 116. He’s a candidate to fall to 10 – 10 or something like that. Liriano and Baker are probably good candidates to hold steady, with good strikeout rates.

Perhaps the really high control guys can get away with this more than other pitchers because fewer guys are getting on base. Still – I’d be a bit nervous about this. Likely Duensing will get more starts than Blackburn in 2011.

Relievers:

When Joe Nathan went down, Jon Rauch became the first closer. He was okay – not great, though – so the Twins picked up Matt Capps for the rest of the way – and he was fantastic. There are other quality relievers around, too. Jose Mijares is a decent late inning option, as is the returning Pat Neshak, with Alex Burnett picking up long relief. Jeff Manship and Glen Perkins will battle for the other slots in the pen. I think, however, that the Twins will miss Rauch, Jesse Crain (3.04 ERA in 71 appearances) and Matt Guerier (3.17 ERA, 74 appearances), and even Ron Mahay (3.44 ERA in 41 appearances). Manager Ron Gardenhire will have to work a little magic here.

Catching:

Joe Mauer remains the best catcher in baseball, despite having a season that was well below his career breakout season of 2009. Mauer is fighting bum knees and a sore back and will eventually turn into a first baseman or DH before too long. For now, Mauer is solid defensively against the run, works well with this staff, and doesn’t make many errors. Drew Butera is his less than tolerable backup.

Infield:

Morneau’s injury has already been covered – as a hitter, he’s remarkable and as a fielder he has little range. After sitting out for three months (and much of the early spring), here’s hoping he can get back and play 150 games this year. If not, the Twins will move Michael Cuddyer back to first base. Cuddyer is better in terms of range, but can’t hit like Morneau. Last year, the Twins had the second best second baseman in the AL in Orlando Hudson. This year, the Twins imported switch hitting Tsuyoshi Nishioka to play second. Nishioka won the batting title in Japan last year, has gap power and blazing speed. The new shortstop will likely be Alexi Casilla, who played well in a utilty role last year. I like Casilla a little, but I’m not certain his defensive skills will make up for his not being as good an offensive player as J.J. Hardy. At third will be rookie Danny Valencia, who came up and did a nice job replacing the injured and ineffective Brendan Harris. Trevor Plouffe and Matt Tolbert will replace former utility player Nick Punto, who joins the Cardinals.

Outfield:

Delmon Young had a breakout season offensively, but can’t seem to run down anything in the field when playing in left. Denard Span has solid defensive skills and occasionally hits like a leadoff hitter. Last year, not so much, but the Twins survived anyway. In right, Jason Kubel or Michael Cuddyer will get the bulk of the action. Both are slightly above average hitters and barely tolerable fielders. Jason Repko is a pretty good fourth outfield option, and Ben Revere might gallop onto the roster and take the #5 slot.

DH:

The 40-year-old Jim Thome had a remarkably productive season in 2010 and will return for another go in 2011. When getting a day off, look for Cuddyer or Kubel to take at bats.

Down on the Farm:

My son, Casey, is playing on his first little league team and it’s fashioned after the Rochester Red Wings. We use their hat; their tee-shirt is our uniform. I’ll be ordering a hat later today. But if you are looking at THIS Red Wings team and not ours, you’d be a little concerned. Most of the guys who can play some and played in Rochester have already arrived. Danny Valencia is now your regular third baseman, Trevor Plouffe (a low average hitter with some power) got a cup of coffee and may be the utility infielder. One of the regulars on this team, I was surprised to see, was corner outfielder Jacque Jones. Yeah – THAT Jacque Jones… The Red Wings hitters were a little light, and the pitchers – mostly the starters – weren’t very good. The one arm that impressed me was Anthony (Phi) Slama, who saved 17 games, fanned 74 in 65.1 innings, and allowed just 41 hits. Oh – since I mentioned that Jacque Jones was still playing, I should note that Mike Maroth logged 11 innings in AAA as well here.

Ben Revere is a centerfielder who got a cup of coffee after hitting .305 in AA New Britain; he’s a burner with no power – and that lack of power also means a lack of triples, even for a guy who stole 36 bases in 94 games. He’s the new Matty Alou, I guess. Joe Benson hit 23 homers, can run a little, and is just 23. The power was a surprise, he had 23 homers in his previous four seasons and 21 games of A+ ball in 2010. If this is a legitimate change in his skill set, he’ll get to the majors in a couple of years.

The pitcher in this group I really want to see is reliever Billy Bullock – the third round pick from 2008 out of Florida. In 36.2 innings, he struck out 60 batters. 60! He walked 24 guys, must be wild as all get out, but WOW that’s an impressive number. The Twins moved Deolis Guerra up from AA to AAA at the end of 2010 – after a year he went 2 – 10 with a 6.24 ERA. I don’t get that. He’s young and must have amazing stuff.

A couple of pitchers catch your eye at A+ Fort Myers. Bruce Pugh was just 7 – 10, but he struck out 106 in 102.2 innings and allowed just 81 hits. Reliever Liam Hendriks fits the Minnesota control mode – in 74.2 innings, his K/W ratio was 66/8. Another reliever there, Bobby Lanigan, was 41/7 in 54.1 innings. As such, a guy named Shooter Hunt probably won’t make it – walking 84 in 67.1 innings with 19 wild pitches. He also struck out 79 in 67.1 innings – so he must have an amazing arm. In 2008, he was a first round draft pick, but he’s still figuring things out.
2011 Forecast:

I see too many reasons for the Twins to take a step back in 2011, and won’t pick them to repeat. I know the new Target Field gets in the way of people having great offensive seasons and helps the pitchers. However, I think three of the six starting pitchers will fall back and fall back a lot. The bullpen doesn’t seem as deep as in 2010. Nishioka could be a revelation, but Orlando Hudson was really good last year. If Nishioka is that good, it’s just a wash. Valencia played well, but is already 26 – so he’s a bit long in the tooth to have a long and successful career. Mauer is starting to accumulate wear and tear and his knees are already problematic. Jim Thome turns 41 in August.

The offense is going to fall back some – the question is how much, and depends in large part how much Delmon Young falls back, Mauer or Thome fall back, and how Morneau returns. I think the Twins will be lucky to score 725 runs, and the pitching staff will probably fall back to about 725 runs. As such, we’re talking about a .500 season, which will likely be well behind the Sox.

2010 – Top AL Catchers

Posted on February 3, 2011 by Paul Proia

Joe Mauer (MIN) – 99.3 runs created

Mauer wasn’t 100%, but he’s still amazing. Defensively, he has few peers and offensively he’s a solid #3 hitter. His power was off – just nine homers – and his batting average fell with the league, but he remained a threat to win the batting title. Backup Drew Butera was solid, too – cutting down 43% of would be base stealers. Of course, Butera hits like Sal Butera – which isn’t very good.

Victor Martinez (BOS) – 83.4 runs created

Martinez and Jason Varitek remained solid as a team behind the plate, being way below average against the run (80% success rate and 169 stolen bases allowed) and not necessarily being that mobile – though who really bunts against the Sox, anyway. Martinez hit well here, batting .302 with 20 homers, and Varitek had surprisingly good power in limited plate appearances. Martinez is gone now, leaving Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jason Varitek as top options, which will hurt the Sox offensively in 2011. Saltalamacchia has never hit that well – and Varitek isn’t going to hit .275 anytime soon. Let’s hope that Salty has beaten his phobia of throwing back to the pitcher…

Mike Napoli (LAA) 73.1 runs created

Jeff Mathis is supposedly the stronger defensive catcher – but Napoli was actually better against the run and made slightly fewer mistakes. Mathis is definitely a cleaner catcher – far more mobile, but not a world beater with the bat. Bobby Wilson got 29 starts and wasn’t awful, didn’t impress me with either his mobility or arm, but he might be able to hit a little. As a group, they were well below average and partly to blame for not winning the division in 2010. Offensively, Mike Napoli has power and produces runs, and held down first base when Kendry Morales went down to that freak broken leg. Mathis hit like Lou Marson (see below) in fewer at bats. Will Hank Conger win the job in spring training?

John Buck (TOR) – 61.7 runs created

Now a Marlin, John Buck was dependable, decent against the run, didn’t make too many errors, and generally mobile. The pitching was surprisingly good and Toronto had a winning record. Defensively, for this position, it was a lot of positives. Backup Jose Molina was awesome against the run (44% caught stealing), and Buck was pretty good. Rookie J.P. Arencibia gets the nod for 2011, and he didn’t look so bad either. By the way, Buck had his best offensive season, too – hitting .281 and slugging 20 homers. His weakness? He doesn’t walk at all.

Jorge Posada/Francisco Cervelli (NYY) – 57.9 runs created

Innings split nearly down the middle, Posada is aging (he doesn’t LOOK old, but he’s playing old), but Cervelli isn’t the answer either. Neither can stop the run, though Cervelli is younger and, therefore, more mobile. The pitching isn’t happy with the catching either. As a hitter, Cervelli is learning, and marginally below average, but not awful; he also isn’t seen as the next Yogi Berra either. Posada did what we would have expected to do – which is lose a little in his batting average, though he still gets on base and hits for some power. Jesus Montero will have this job as soon as he is ready.

Kurt Suzuki (OAK) – 57.1 runs created

Suzuki remains a decent catcher, though he’s not very good against the run anymore. Backup Landon Powell is better against the run, but needs to remove some of his mistakes – which will come with time. As a duo, they weren’t very good – not very mobile, and slightly above average in terms of making mistakes. Suzuki still hits a little, but it’s a little less and he’s now below average. He’s still better than Landon Powell.

John Jaso (TB) – 54.2 runs created

Jaso is young and gets on base – much like his Florida Marlins counterpart, John Baker. In fact, he got on base enough that Joe Maddon let him bat leadoff from time to time. Dioner Navarro is the best catcher of this group, but his weight is problematic and he isn’t hitting. Kelly Shoppach doesn’t look like he’ll be in the league very long and should start brushing up on his coaching skills instead.

A.J. Pierzynski (CHISOX) – 52.4 runs created

Pierzynski is starting to get old, but he’s a good kind of old – just good enough against the run, few mistakes, and keeping the pitching staff on point – though he has a good set of pitchers to work with. His offense fell off to where his power slipped and his OBP is woeful (.301). Backup Ramon Castro isn’t half bad, and the man can hit (.278/.504/.331). He could easily be a DH if the Sox wanted, and I’d be tempted to let him play more.

Matt Wieters (BAL) – 51.4 runs created

The Orioles future is now with Matt Wieters assuming the starting role full time. As a team, Oriole catching rates as slightly above average, with the young Wieters being mobile, and making few errors or passed balls. The TEAM was below average in terms of the stolen base percentage, but Wieters wasn’t the problem, nabbing 24 of 77 runners. Craig Tatum was horrible here, allowing 25 of 27 runners to reach the next base. Offensively, Wieters didn’t amaze as we had been led to believe, but there were a few positives, including 11 homers in 446 at bats. I think he’s going to be better. Tatum had a nice batting average (.281), but he didn’t do much with those singles.

Jason Kendall (KC) – 43.6 runs created

You want to know why the Royals are never going to win? Who was responsible for letting John Buck go to Toronto (where Toronto suddenly had the best overall catching in the league), and replacing him with the ancient, impotent, and immobile Jason Kendall? Kendall can still throw a little, but the rest of his game is lacking. Brayan Pena should have been given this job from the outset. Pena is a better hitter, a better athlete, and has upside.

Alex Avila/Gerald Laird (DET) – 32.3 runs created

Laird is a really good catcher with solid skills, good with pitchers, good against the run, relatively mistake free. Avila is nearly his equal and played 86 more innings. Neither hit – but Avila was closer to league average than Laird, who seems to have lost his bat altogether – explaining why Avila got more time behind the plate. If Avila can step up a bit – maybe .260 and slugging .400 – this would be a positive. He’ll be a backup, though, as Victor Martinez will take on a load of catching in 2011.

Lou Marson (CLE) – 22.4 runs created

As a team, Indian catchers were average – but the young guys were good in terms of avoiding mistakes and making the throws. The veteran backup, Mike Redmond, struggled against baserunners (see Craig Tatum, BAL, above). I’ve always been a Marson fan, but if his bat doesn’t improve soon (.195 with no power), he’ll become the new Paul Bako. You think the Indians miss Victor Martinez?

Matt Treanor/Bengie Molina (TEX) – 20.5 runs created

A few years ago, it looked like Texas had all the good young catchers. Saltalamacchia is gone, Taylor Teagarden has been disappointing, Max Ramirez isn’t the answer yet, leaving veteran Matt Treanor as the best of the lot. It was so bad, the Rangers imported Bengie Molina from the Giants down the stretch, and he wasn’t much better than Treanor – though he was more mobile. Nobody hit here, so the addition of Mike Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba will help immensely.

Adam Moore/Rob Johnson (SEA) – 14.9 runs created

Josh Bard got 300 innings, too – nobody had more than 515 innings at the position in 2010. Moore wasn’t very good against the run and he isn’t very mobile. If he has room to grow, that’s news to me. Rob Johnson was good against the run and more mobile, but his health record looks like Medicare’s worst nightmare. Bard can catch, but that’s about it. As a team, among the worst catching in the league. Only Bard hit above .200, and he hit .214. Not good at all…

2010 AL Gold Glove and Dirty Brick Award Winners

Posted on February 1, 2011 by Paul Proia

My fielding ranking system is a method that looks at the number of plays made per 800 balls in play. In effect, if someone makes one play more than another person at the same position, he reduces the batting average of the hitter by a point. The best fielders occasionally make a run at 15 plays per 800 balls in play more than average, the worst can go 15 in the other direction. Then, I convert those plays made into runs saved (or not saved, if the number is negative) based on the types of hits allowed on balls hit toward that fielder. I also convert double plays and errors into runs based on Pete Palmer formulas found in the old Total Baseball encyclopedias.

Does it work? Actually – yes. It passes the eye ball test (Elvis Andrus, when you watch him, looks like an impressive fielder), and the system is comparable to other methodologies. I’ve used this for about ten years, when I was first trying to rate fielders to make player cards for the old Superstar Baseball board game.

I try to remove biases for groundball/flyball tendencies, and for lefty/righty balls in play. If there is one position where I am always concerned, it’s first base because much of that is based on the rest of the infield – so I essentially remove infield assists from the first baseman’s putout total. Even with that, there is usually a greater range between the best and worst fielders. However, after doing this for years, I have reached the conclusion that the reason for this has more to do with the fact that the worst fielders are, indeed, the least mobile athletes on the field and if you get someone at first base who is young and still fleet of foot, that person is going to make GOBS more plays than a big lumbering first baseman whose first move is to start heading to first to catch a throw on almost any ball hit to his right.

Mighty Casey generally doesn’t rank pitchers individually, but the best team in this regard was probably Cleveland. Cleveland pitchers had a positive ratio of double plays to errors (19/13, where the league pitchers participated in 180 DPs and made 181 errors) and also handled about 5 chances more than the average team per 800 balls in play. The worst was easily Detroit (17 DPs, 18 errors, 6.4 plays below average per 800 balls in play).

I also rank catchers differently, choosing to score them as a team. There are seven categories for which a team of catchers could be graded: ERA, Winning Percentage, SB%, Fielding Percentage on plays not including strikeouts, Mistakes per Game (passed balls, errors), Plays Made per Game (or Mobility), Other Assists per Game (not including Caught Stealing). The catchers get a point for each category in which they are above the league average, and lose a point if below league average. The highest score, theoretically, is seven and the lowest would be -7. Nobody was that good, nor that bad.

Catcher:

Toronto had the best rankings, being above average in six categories and dead even on Mobility. John Buck did the yeoman’s share of the work, but his backup Jose Molina was also exceptional against the run, tossing out 15 of 34 runners. That being said, I don’t think that John Buck is the best catcher in the AL, it’s Joe Mauer. But the rankings say that Toronto’s catchers held their own collectively.

Behind Toronto, the White Sox scored at positive four, failing only in mobility categories, and then a tie between Boston, Detroit, and Minnesota at positive three.

The worst catching was a toss up between three teams that all scored at -3: Seattle, Los Angeles, and Kansas City.

First Base:

For the first time in several years, the stats matched the reputation. Mark Teixeira earns the nod, saving his team nearly 32 runs with his range and ability to avoid errors and turn double plays. I was surprised at how good Ty Wigginton was, showing even better range, but then again – he’s an infielder moving over to first – and frequently those guys are used to straying as far as possible to get grounders where many first basemen will give up on balls to the right and let the second sacker get them while moving to first base.

I’m not totally certain that Teixeira would have won the award had Kendry Morales not gotten hurt. Morales, in just 51 games, had a slightly higher range and was on pace to save just as many runs as Big Tex. Two others who didn’t get 1000 innings at the position also scored well here – Kevin Youkilis and rookie Justin Smoak.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Mark Teixeira    1291.2    10.2    31.7
Ty Wigginton    787    12.5    18.7
Justin Smoak    807.2    10.3    17.5

The Dirty Brick goes to Cleveland’s Matt LaPorta, whose poor range didn’t help a season where his bat wasn’t very strong – negating half of the runs he created offensively. The other two shouldn’t be a surprise. Miguel Cabrera is looking less and less lean, and Mike Napoli is a catcher playing first.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Matt LaPorta    791.1    -13.5    -25.0
Miguel Cabrera    1285.1    -5.6    -19.9
Mike Napoli    586.1    -12.7    -19.2

Dishonorable mentions go out to Daric Barton, Justin Morneau (on pace to match LaPorta, but he missed half the season), and Paul Konerko…

Second Base:

Robinson Cano had an amazing year with the bat, and was equally strong with the glove. His range factor was nearly 11 plays per 800 balls in play more than average, and he made just 3 errors while turning 114 double plays. As such, he not only saved his team 26 runs just by eliminating hits, but he took more than seven more runs off the board by avoiding errors and helping with the DP – the most at his position by far. Orlando Hudson provided value for Minnesota, and KC’s Mike Aviles returned and made a positive contribution with the bat and glove, too. Regular leaders here, Ian Kinsler and Mark Ellis, fell back as both missed about 500 innings at the position due to injuries. Honorable mention to Sean Rodriguez at Tampa who nearly made the list in just a half season of innings, and to Gordon Beckham who switched over from third and was solid for the White Sox.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Robinson Cano    1393.1    10.9    33.3
Orlando Hudson    1067    7.4    16.3
Mike Aviles    765.2    14.8    15.8

The Dirty Brick goes to a position switch as well – Seattle’s Chone Figgins. He was a decided bust at second base, making 19 errors and making an adjusted 4.11 plays per nine – 11.9 plays fewer per 800 balls in play than the average second baseman. Seattle signed him as a third baseman, switched him over to let Jose Lopez play third. Thankfully, Lopez was fantastic over there – else it would have been a total loss… Brian Roberts, a regular to the brick list, was abhorrant in a shade under 500 innings, 20 plays worse than the average second sacker per 800 balls in play, and Aaron Hill took his struggles at the plate with him to the field. Dishonorable mentions to supposed glove man Chris Getz (-7 runs) and rookie Scott Sizemore (-11 runs in must 314 innings). So much for replacing Placido Polanco…

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Chone Figgins    1417    -11.9    -33.3
Brian Roberts    498.1    -19.5    -17.1
Aaron Hill    1188    -6.1    -14.5

Third Base:

As poorly as Chone Figgins played second base for Seattle, converted third baseman Jose Lopez was a decided success. His range was superior, and he didn’t disappoint in terms of errors or double plays. Evan Longoria remained in the 30 runs saved range – a remarkable player, really – and Adrian Beltre continued to field his position remarkably well. An honorable mention goes to the reluctantly converted Miguel Tejada, who had greater range than even Longoria, but played just 808 innings before being shipped out. Nick Punto played an out shy of 345 innings there without making an error…

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Jose Lopez    1252.2    13.3    36.9
Evan Longoria    1330.2    8.7    31.1
Adrian Beltre    1342.2    6.6    19.0

The dirty brick goes to a part-timer, Royals infielder Wilson Betemit, who must have had ball repellant on him, making barely 2.2 plays per nine and having a range about 17 plays worse than the average player per 800 balls in play. Another halftimer, Omar Vizquel got close to 600 unnecessary innings at third base for the White Sox – he’s an ancient shortstop who hadn’t played there for his entire career. You want to know why the White Sox lost the division – look right here. Of the regulars, Michael Young was, again, a lousy third baseman – but he did make improvement over last year. No wonder he volunteered to be a DH.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Wilson Betemit    455.1    -16.9    -18.4
Omar Vizquel    582.1    -19.4    -17.4
Michael Young    1370.1    -3.3    -10.3

Shortstop:

Nobody was more surprised to see this than I, but Alexei Ramirez had a remarkable year at shortstop, showing great range – as good as he ever played. He was one assist shy of 500 – a great season by any measurement. Cliff Pennington helped out the young A’s staff by making his share of plays, and Elvis Andrus remained among the best fielders of his time. Seattle’s Jack and Josh Wilson, if combined, saved Seattle more than 20 runs.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Alexei Ramirez    1376.2    12.8    32.1
Cliff Pennington   1304.2    12.0    26.9
Elvis Andrus    1291.1    10.3    26.0

At least the reigning gold glove winner didn’t finish last, but he did have the worst range amongst the regulars. This year, Marco Scutaro’s 18 errors and only contributing to 57 double plays made up for making slightly more plays than Derek Jeter, who had just 6 errors and 94 double plays. The 11 run swing gave the brick to Scutaro, who killed the Red Sox infield. He’ll need to be replaced soon if the Sox want to be competitive. Third place went to Jason Bartlett who no longer looks like the slick fielding shortstop he was before all the ankle injuries in 2009. Thankfully for the Rays, they have other options for 2011.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Marco Scutaro    1166    -13.2    -32.0
Derek Jeter    1303.2    -15.0    -27.4
Jason Bartlett    1104    -8.9    -16.4

Left Field:

A centerfielder playing left who also had his best offensive season heading into free agency, the gold glove goes to the perennially amazing Carl Crawford. Crawford was the only left fielder to save his team more than 10 runs, but only because the next closest guys played too few innings to save enough runs. Only three left fielders played 1000 innings there in 2010.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Carl Crawford    1260.1    4.2    13.1
Michael Saunders   647.2    6.3    9.6
Alex Gordon    486.1    7.6    9.0

One of those three was Dirty Brick winner Delmon Young, who abused left field until he cost the Twins 25 runs out there. At least he found his bat last year… Fred Lewis played a disinterested left field for Toronto, and Daniel Nava was the Boston representative of the list of bad outfielders who played between 200 and 500 innings in the AL.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Delmon Young    1277.2    -8.5    -25.0
Fred Lewis    726.1    -7.8    -13.2
Daniel Nava    380    -12.9    -10.4

Center Field:

The Angels are rightfully excited about the defensive capabilities of their new centerfielder, Peter Bourjos. The man can fly – reminding you of a young Gary Pettis. He can throw, too – ten assists in what amounts to a third of a season in the field. This allows Los Angeles to move Torii Hunter, who is now a slightly below average centerfielder to right (where he was really good), and makes room for another below average centerfielder, Vernon Wells, to move to left. As it was, there isn’t a whole lot of difference amongst the starting centerfielders, except for Bourjos, in terms of overall range.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Peter Bourjos    449.2    12.0    12.4
Adam Jones    1298.1    2.9    7.9
Alex Rios    1246.2    2.8    7.1

The Dirty Brick goes to a guy whose body and game are falling apart, and that’s Grady Sizemore. One hopes he can heal and start to put his career back in the right direction, but it’s probably going to have to be at a different position. Sadly, his replacement (Brantley) doesn’t look much better, and among those who played at least 1000 innings, Vernon Wells, who was healthier than in recent seasons, is still the worst of the lot (costing his team about 7.5 runs). Thankfully, he’s done as a centerfielder.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Grady Sizemore    269.2    -17.5    -11.2
Michael Brantley562.2    -6.9    -9.4
Gregor Blanco    347    -11.2    -8.4

Right Field:

For the second year in a row, Nelson Cruz was a remarkable outfielder, though he threw hardly anybody out from right. I was surprised to see how well Nick Swisher did, but that could be because opponents may allow more lefties to bat in the new Yankee Stadium. Honorable mention to Ben Zobrist, who has to play everywhere but looked solid enough in right. I wonder if there isn’t some form of statistical bias in Texas, though, as even Vlad Guerrero showed up as above average in his 118.2 innings there. Not WAY above average, but slightly.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Nelson Cruz    799.1    15.2    25.9
Nick Swisher    1102    6.1    14.5
Jason Repko    226    16.4    9.3

The Dirty Brick goes to the surprise hammer of the league – Jose Bautista, followed by a bunch of guys who are either ill-suited for the outfield, aging, our out of position (David DeJesus). The worst right fielder who played at least 1000 innings was Shin-Soo Choo, who barely edged out the immobile Nick Markakis and the aging J.D. Drew, and were all between -7.02 and -7.17 runs in the wrong direction.

Player        Innings    Range    Runs Saved
Jose Bautista    982.2    -6.8    -14.6
Carlos Quentin    897    -5.3    -13.6
Bobby Abreu    805.2    -3.4    -7.9

AL Designated Hitters

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Paul Proia

Rather than rank them, I’ll just sort by team – especially since some teams didn’t really have a standard DH (Detroit, for example).

Baltimore: Luke Scott got 89 games, the rest were mixed. Scott is an above average offensive player with legitimate power and enough patience to help out (55 walks in 128 games). Scott is not really an outfielder, but he can back people up in right field if required. (73.3 Runs Created)

Boston: David Ortiz played 139 games. We know about his horrible first two months, but he finished strong – 28 homers and 99 RBI. I don’t think he can rebound to being a .300/.400/.550 guy again, but if he gets off to a quicker start and hits close to .260, he’ll remain valuable. (81.0 Runs Created)

Chicago: Jim Thome played 98 games before being traded… Still a great hitter and the Twins will like him. Is Carlos Quentin the first choice in 2010? Thome was productive – more so than Ortiz per 27 outs, but played far fewer games. (61.7 Runs Created)

Cleveland: Travis Hafner played 88 games… He and the Indians are still recovering. The rest were shared amongst the other teammates. Hafner may never hit 25 homers again… (61.6 Runs Created)

Detroit: Didn’t really have a regular – Marcus Thames got 50 games, Carlos Guillen 33, Aubrey Huff 28 brutally bad games down the stretch. Magglio Ordonez should have the job because he’s been an immobile object in right for several years now.

Kansas City: Mike Jacobs got the bulk of the work – 102 games – and it was crushingly unproductive. 49 Runs Created, less than four runs per 27 outs. There just weren’t a whole lot of better options – the team needs to add DEPTH and add it fast. (49.0 Runs Created)

Los Angeles: Vladimir Guerrero stayed healthy enough for 93 games, the rest were split among friends… Vlad is now in Texas, but I would be concerned about his health, as his body is breaking down after a rather long and productive career. Even last year, falling off as a hitter, he was still productive. Hideki Matsui‘s job now… (58.7 Runs Created)

Minnesota: Jason Kubel got half, Joe Mauer used the position for his bat and resting his back… As a hitter, Kubel was the second most productive of the DH regulars. (98.1 Runs Created)

New York: Hideki Matsui‘s primary job – 116 games. Kubel may have created more runs, but Matsui created more runs per 27 outs (7.0). Now an Angel, if he can stay healthy he’d still be productive even with losing 10 – 20% of his skills. (87.0 Runs Created)

Oakland: Jack Cust got 96 games, Jason Giambi – while in town – got 22 more. Nomar Garciaparra also got 22 games here. Cust struck out 36% of the time – a frightening number – and yet had a .359 OBP and created runs. (78.5 Runs Created)

Seattle: Ken Griffey‘s last job as a Mariner. Mike Sweeney was his platoon partner. They combined for 27 homers and 91 RBI – but the net batting average and OBP was rather pedestrian.

Tampa: Pat (The Bat) Burrell‘s job 112 times, otherwise Willy Aybar. Aybar was better… When Burrell signed, I don’t think 14 – 64 – .221 was what they had in mind. (48.5 Runs Created)

Texas: Andruw Jones and Hank Blalock split 100 games, the rest were dished out with Julio Borbon getting 21 shots. Nobody really helped the cause, which is why Vlad Guerrero was added to the roster.

Toronto: Adam Lind, a born DH, was here 92 times. Randy Ruiz got 30, and the rest were shared… Lind was the best hitter of the bunch – 36 – 108 – .305. He’ll play outfield from time to time, but in a few years, he’ll be Jim Thome for sure. Randy Ruiz was just as good in his shot – 10 homers in 115 at bats and batted .313.

Top NL Catchers

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Paul Proia

Unlike the guys who play between the baselines, determining the value of a catcher defensively is a much harder proposition for me. I haven’t been able to translate defense into runs the way I have for all the other positions, but I AM able to look at the responsibilities of a catcher and determine what teams are benefiting more from good catching than others. Here’s how I do it.

There are seven things for which a catcher would get credit as being solid defensively. If the catchers for a team are above average in a category, they get a point. If below average, they lose a point. The top score is seven, the lowest score (obviously) would be -7. Here are the categories:

W/L Percentage: Score a point for a winning record, take one away for being below .500.

Adjusted ERA: If the team’s staff has a better than league average ERA (4.21), score a point.

Mistakes Per Game: Essentially errors and passed balls are added up. The norm is about .11 mistakes a game for AL catchers. Score a point for doing better than that. Otherwise, take one away. The only time this is patently unfair is when a team has a knuckleballer – so this works against Boston right now. But it’s just a single category and I tend to give that team the benefit of the doubt on that category.

Mobililty: Mobility is the total number of assists that aren’t tied to stolen bases and the number of putouts that aren’t strikeouts. A good catcher blocks the plate and gets outs on throws home, or can race out of the crouch to snare bunts and make plays in the field. In the AL, the average catcher made .38 plays requiring mobility. Score a point for beating that number.

Fielding Percentage (not counting strikeouts): I guess someone had to get credit for the putout when a batter strikes out. Unfortunately, catching strike three isn’t really “fielding”. So, I look at the fielding percentage after removing putouts for Ks. The average catcher has a fielding percentage of about .914 on balls in play or when runners are trying to advance. Beat it, and score a point.

Assists Per Game: These are assists NOT tied to stolen bases and is used to grade the catcher’s ability to make good throws. The league average is .23 assists per game.

Stolen Base Percentage: Can a catcher hold the running game in check? If so, score a point. The league average is 73.6% – which is awfully high, don’t you think?

The best catcher (well, team of catchers) can score a seven – and it happens from time to time. As it turns out, there was a seven in the NL in 2009 – and it was your St. Louis Cardinals led by the incredible Yadier Molina. The Cardinals had a winning record, an adjusted ERA of 3.48, cut off the running game, made few errors, few mistakes in total, had great mobility, and had an above average number of assists not tied to stolen bases.

I’ll list the table here to show you where the catchers rank defensively and then discuss the nuts and bolts in the player comments below.

	M. ERA	WPct	SB%	FPct-K	MTK	Mob.	Asst	Rank
NL AVG	4.21	0.500	71.2%	0.917	0.11	0.44	0.33	***
ARI	4.03	0.432	76.1%	0.948	0.08	0.37	0.32	-1
ATL	3.77	0.531	67.8%	0.906	0.15	0.49	0.31	1
CHN	3.60	0.516	67.4%	0.879	0.14	0.50	0.34	3
CIN	4.23	0.481	62.7%	0.923	0.09	0.52	0.28	1
COL	3.76	0.568	81.0%	0.886	0.11	0.41	0.42	0
FLA	4.02	0.537	75.4%	0.971	0.07	0.35	0.29	1
HOU	4.71	0.457	69.1%	0.924	0.13	0.58	0.38	2
LAN	3.67	0.586	69.5%	0.914	0.09	0.41	0.37	3
MIL	5.12	0.494	79.6%	0.968	0.06	0.43	0.34	-1
NYN	4.58	0.432	66.0%	0.904	0.11	0.38	0.18	-4
PHI	4.10	0.574	72.0%	0.917	0.12	0.39	0.21	0
PIT	4.51	0.385	71.3%	0.883	0.18	0.44	0.39	-4
SDN	5.02	0.463	70.4%	0.891	0.16	0.45	0.29	-3
SFN	3.48	0.543	71.8%	0.911	0.12	0.37	0.42	-1
SLN	3.82	0.562	61.1%	0.943	0.07	0.54	0.42	7
WAS	4.98	0.364	70.1%	0.941	0.10	0.46	0.26	1

Catchers Ranked by Runs Created

Brian McCann (ATL): Unlike the AL, where Joe Mauer is arguably as valuable as any player in the game, the NL doesn’t have even one catcher who can generate 100 runs of offense. McCann has the ability to do it, but in 2009 fell a little short. Not that anybody is complaining – he’s been a top flight catcher for a few years now… Power, patience, hits for a good average (though not as high as two years ago). McCann is such a good hitter that it might be worth it to move him to first base to save his bat before the grind catches up with him. Backup Dave Ross was impressive against base stealers, nabbing 19 of 40 attempts. (88.95 Runs Created)

Yadier Molina (STL): A complete defensive package – only the best runners even DARE to run on him, and those are nabbed at a 40% rate. As an offensive weapon, Molina almost hit .300 and worked his way on base about 36% of the time – very good offensive production for a catcher, too. (72.22 Runs Created)

Miguel Montero (ARI): Power, patience, decent batting average. Granted – gets help by playing in Arizona, but would look good most anywhere. Montero and Chris Snyder avoid mistakes, but aren’t all that good against the run – and the team generally underperformed (though it’s not their fault that Brandon Webb didn’t play except on Opening Day). (66.14 Runs Created)

Russell Martin (LAD): Years of playing every day likely contributed to Martin’s amazing loss of energy and power. Still a solid defensive catcher – good against the run, his teams are very successful and the pitchers all look good. He’s consistently the second best catcher in the NL – but now is a below average offensive run producer. (65.19 Runs Created)

Bengie Molina (SF): More power than most catchers, and a decent (if slightly above average) batting average. Rarely walks, though, so his OBP is low (.291) which makes him a slightly below average offensive performer even with the power. People can run on Bengie (and do) and he’s just below average in terms of his mobility and dependability. Backup Eli Whiteside was great against the run. In a year, Buster Posey will have this job. Maybe sooner. (61.7 Runs Created)

Miguel Olivo, recently of Kansas City and now in Colorado, would rank here.

John Baker (FLA): He’s a decent enough hitter that Baker bats second in the lineup from time to time. Good OBP, decent power. His platoon mate, Ronny Paulino, also had a good season so the Marlins got a lot of production from this spot. Both tend to be dependable, but not necessarily mobile – and Paulino threw well enough… (50.26 Runs Created)

Jason Kendall (MIL): Brings his lack of power and barely acceptable on base percentage with him to Kansas City. To Kendall’s credit, the man is durable. On the other hand, look how badly so many Brewers pitchers fared. Look at the team ERA. Sure, he doesn’t make mistakes, but baserunners were successful 80% of the time. And the Royals didn’t want John Buck out there? For 2010, the Brewers will try Greg Zaun, George Kottaras, and possibly rookie Angel Salome – who would be my first choice… (50.24 Runs Created)

Carlos Ruiz (PHI): Not appreciably different than Baker – both had 9 homers, between 40 and 50 RBI, and virtually the same SLG and OBP. Ruiz, Paul Bako, and Chris Coste provide ordinary, middle of the road defense. How many teams has Paul Bako played for now? (48.6 Runs Created)

Rod Barajas – just signed by the Mets – would rank here.

Chris Iannetta (COL): His batting average was down (.228), but his power and OBP were still solid. Shared the job with Yorvit Torrealba and now will share with Miguel Olivo. Virtually everyone could run on Torrealba or third stringer Paul Phillips. (41.42 Runs Created)

Ramon Hernandez (CIN): I’d say this was a disappointing season for the veteran backstop – missed half the season due to injuries. Power numbers fell off to five homers, the rest of his game is barely average. Of course, Ryan Hanigan caught the most innings, but he’s not better with the bat (merely average at best). Even third stringer Craig Tatum had a good year against base stealers and as a team, the Reds had pretty good catching defensively. (40.10 Runs Created)

Nick Hundley (SD): Had stats that his dad might have had… Some power, a low batting average, but on the whole wasn’t too bad. Has room to improve defensively – easy to run on and a bit mistake prone. Henry Blanco was much better behind the plate, but you’d rather see Nick with the stick. (39.18 Runs Created)

Geovany Soto (CHI): Now THERE’S a sophomore slump. Ouch. Cut his homers in half (seemed like his batting average, too) – lost power and his OBP (.326). Says that he’s going to come into spring training in better shape and also not have to deal with the World Baseball Classic. For the Cubs sake, let’s hope so. Defensively, his backup, Koyie Hill, looked stronger against the run, but as a team they were above average in five categories – so they ranked very highly. (38.66 Runs Created)

Ivan Rodriguez (HOU): Finished year in Texas, now catching for the Nationals. His arm isn’t as good as it used to be, but it’s still solid. Backup Humberto Quintero was even better, nabbing 12 of 25 would be base stealers. I-Rod’s bat is gone, though. As a prospect, J.R. Towles would appear to be finished, huh? (36.46 Runs Created)

Ryan Doumit (PIT): Missed time with injuries (most catchers do), didn’t have his best season offensively and, as such, fell far down the list. As a team, Pirate catchers look bad – mistake prone, average against the run, with poor records and poor pitching ERAs. Jason Jaramillo isn’t the answer either and hits like a backup catcher. (34.97 Runs Created)

Omir Santos (NYM): Forced into more playing time than planned, Santos was tolerable. Slightly below average as a hitter – like many of the people on this list – Santos played when (a) Brian Schneider couldn’t keep his back and knees healthy and then (b) Ramon Castro got sent to the White Sox. On the whole, Santos didn’t look very mobile and Schneider certainly is more polished. But, the Mets catching as a whole looked off – below average results for pitchers and the team, a few too many mistakes… (34.20 Runs Created)

Ronny Paulino, discussed above, would rank here in offensive production – not bad for the right handed partner of a very effective Marlins platoon. (32.41 Runs Created)

Ryan Hanigan, the Reds catcher, got more innings than Hernandez, but a few less at bats. Good glove, a little bat kind of a guy.

Josh Bard (WAS) Got more innings than Wil Nieves or the injured Jesus Flores, Bard has some skills and was probably glad to not have to catch a knuckler… Doesn’t hit or get on base, and is power is marginal at best. (29.03 Runs Created)

Yorvit Torrealba (COL) Suffered through the kidnapping of his son, which – fortunately for all – ended without incident. Hit .305 with a decent OBA… Brutal against the run (8 out of 57 baserunners) but made fewer errors than Iannetta. (25.95 Runs Created)

Koyie Kill (CHC): Not much of a hitter – but can still throw some. (23.94 Runs Created)

Top AL Catchers in 2009

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Paul Proia

W/L Percentage: Score a point for a winning record, take one away for being below .500.

Adjusted ERA: If the team’s staff has a better than league average ERA (4.43), score a point.

Mistakes Per Game: Essentially errors and passed balls are added up. The norm is about .11 mistakes a game for AL catchers. Score a point for doing better than that. Otherwise, take one away. The only time this is patently unfair is when a team has a knuckleballer – so this works against Boston right now. But it’s just a single category and I tend to give that team the benefit of the doubt on that category.

Mobililty: Mobility is the total number of assists that aren’t tied to stolen bases and the number of putouts that aren’t strikeouts. A good catcher blocks the plate and gets outs on throws home, or can race out of the crouch to snare bunts and make plays in the field. In the AL, the average catcher made .38 plays requiring mobility. Score a point for beating that number.

Assists Per Game: These are assists NOT tied to stolen bases and is used to grade the catcher’s ability to make good throws. The league average is .23 assists per game.

Stolen Base Percentage: Can a catcher hold the running game in check? If so, score a point. The league average is 73.6% – which is awfully high, don’t you think?

The best catcher (well, team of catchers) can score a seven – and it happens from time to time. As it turns out, there was a seven in the AL in 2009 – and it was your Detroit Tigers led by Gerald Laird. The Tigers had a winning record, an adjusted ERA of 4.26, cut off the running game, made few errors, few mistakes in total, had great mobility, and had an above average number of assists not tied to stolen bases.

I’ll list the table here to show you where the catchers rank defensively and then discuss the nuts and bolts in the player comments below.

	ERA	WPct	SB%	FPct-K	MTK/G	Mobility	Asst/G	Rank
AL AVG	4.43	.500	73.6%	0.914	0.11	0.38	0.23	***
BAL	5.05	.395	78.3%	0.918	0.10	0.50	0.16	-1
BOS	4.20	.586	86.8%	0.925	0.10	0.47	0.20	3
CHA	4.02	.488	75.9%	0.899	0.09	0.18	0.11	-3
CLE	5.50	.401	77.1%	0.948	0.09	0.36	0.21	-3
DET	4.26	.528	63.8%	0.975	0.10	0.43	0.30	7
KCA	4.57	.401	74.5%	0.873	0.17	0.45	0.18	-5
LAA	4.41	.599	76.6%	0.875	0.14	0.41	0.43	1
MIN	4.28	.534	77.0%	0.933	0.12	0.32	0.10	-1
NYA	4.34	.636	70.6%	0.925	0.10	0.37	0.25	5
OAK	4.32	.463	70.8%	0.922	0.08	0.35	0.27	3
SEA	3.98	.525	60.4%	0.935	0.13	0.35	0.27	3
TBA	4.33	.519	76.3%	0.905	0.09	0.37	0.23	0
TEX	4.20	.537	69.7%	0.858	0.15	0.34	0.17	-1
TOR	4.61	.463	65.9%	0.911	0.13	0.41	0.32	-1

Joe Mauer (MIN): Hands down the best catcher in baseball, wouldn’t you think? An offensive force who chose to try and take advantage of hitter’s counts and blasted his way to creating 131.6 runs. Last year, Mauer wasn’t as dominating against the run, but he still did a few good things. His backups, Mike Redmond and Jose Morales can contribute. Both can hit a little and catch enough – but had limits. Redmond struggled against baserunners, who were successful 35 out of 40 times, while Morales had 5 passed balls and 3 errors in just 183 innings.

Victor Martinez (CLE/BOS): A remarkable hitter who bounced back from an unproductive and injury riddled 2008 to hit 23 homers, drive in 108 runs, and generate 108.8 runs of offense. His catching skills don’t match his offensive numbers – easy to run on, not exceptionally mobile. And, when asked to play first base, shows his lack of mobility there. Still, he’s 30 runs better than any other catcher offensively, you can live with the rest of it most days.

Kurt Suzuki (OAK): Would you have guessed he was the third most productive offensive catcher? Mid range power and average, can run some (78.45 Runs Created) and his stats aren’t helped any by playing in Oakland. Plays a lot of innings. Not great against the run and his teams haven’t been remarkably successful, but don’t blame this guy. Oakland’s catchers scored at 3 points, which is five above average counters, and just missing on mobility and the team’s winning percentage. He’s a great catcher.

Jorge Posada (NYY): Still a very productive player (74.98 Runs Created). Good power, good batting average, and patient at the plate. Defensively, Posada found some of his youth. His backups, Jose Molina (now in Toronto) and Francisco Cervelli may not hit like Jorge, but they are more than his equal defensively – a nice thing for the Yankees to have. Overall, the team ranked at +5 – six above average categories and just missed the league average for mobility. Cervelli was great against the run – gunning down 10 of 23 runners.

A.J. Pierzynski (CWS): Hit .300 but his power numbers were down a bit. Contributes with the bat (69.22 Runs Created), but his defense is not helping out. Not very mobile, makes a few too many mistakes, and the team fell below .500. The final tally was -3, which means that only the team’s ERA and the total mistakes per game numbers were above average. Everything else was not. Ramon Castro was #2 last year, and he isn’t known for his defense either (though he threw well in 2009).

Mike Napoli (LAA): An impressive hitter – power, patience, hit .272. His backup, Jeff Mathis, is the glove wizard. The net is a very productive combination. Slightly above average catching (+1) and above average hitting.

Miguel Olivo (KCA): Hits for power, but doesn’t get on base (53.59). Has a strong throwing arm, but doesn’t always get the ball where he was aiming. Makes an awful lot of mistakes, and for a guy who looks lean, isn’t very mobile. Royals catching was well below average (-5) because John Buck couldn’t throw people out and even though he’s less mistake prone, EVERYBODY is less mistake prone than Olivo. In 2010, both Olivo and Buck will be gone. Olivo is in Colorado, where if he gets off to a hot start might hit 30 homers and make 15 errors… Buck is in Toronto.

Jason Kendall, who inherits this job, would rank in this spot offensively and I don’t believe that things are going to improve that much defensively. You never know.

Matt Wieters (BAL): In two years, he may be the guy challenging Joe Mauer for the top rung. For now, he’s got work to do. A good hitter (.288, .412 slugging – 49.04 Runs Created) and not horrible catching (-1 as a team), I like where Baltimore is heading here. Gregg Zaun is gone, so Chad Moeller can back things up himself. Moeller didn’t throw anybody out trying to steal, though. Okay, two people, but that’s it. Maybe they can sign Paul Bako to teach Wieters a few tricks.

Rod Barajas (TOR): His batting average tanked to .226, but his power numbers were up (46.99 Runs Created). I think Toronto would miss Barajas, but Raul Chavez was equally good at shutting down the running game and not horribly error prone. Chavez is also more mobile these days and offensively they were a wash. Chavez is cheaper, though… The 2010 Blue Jays have only one catcher on the 40 man roster, Royals vet John Buck. After that, it’s non-roster invites like Chavez, Jose Molina and former first round pick J.P. Arencibia. Arencibia, out of Tennessee, has good power and some skills, but right now looks like he’d have Barajas’ batting numbers.

Before I let this get away, John Buck wasn’t horrible last year. Defensively, as mentioned, he was stronger than Olivo but everyone focused on Olivo’s homers and so he got to play more. Buck hits for some power and, per 27 outs, was actually more productive hitting than Olivo because he gets on base more often. I’m NOT suggesting that Buck is a hidden all star, but rather that if he got 450 at bats and kept his batting average around .240 rather than .220, he would probably help a team more often than not.

Jason Varitek (BOS): Now Victor Martinez’s job. Varitek started out okay and just faded to 14 – 51 – .209 (43.3 Runs Created). His slugging and OBP numbers aren’t very good either. ‘Tek also allowed 87% of the runners to steal – 108 successes against 16 runners gunned down. Martinez and George Kottaras weren’t any better (Martinez was worse in Boston, about the same if you combine his days in Cleveland). Martinez is going to help score runs in Boston, but I think the pitchers might miss Varitek. The young Varitek anyway…

Gerald Laird (DET): Didn’t get the lion’s share of the credit for Detroit’s comeback season because as a hitter, he’s not one. Creating just 41.3 runs with his .225 batting average and .320 slugging percentage, nobody’s putting Laird on their fantasy team if they can help it. But he was solid as a defensive stopper – above average in all seven categories and only Kenji Johjima was harder to run on. Laird tossed out more than 40% of all runners.

Kelly Shoppach (CLE): Did I read that right? Shoppach was hit 18 times by pitches? What did he do??? As a hitter, he strikes out WAY too much (39.77 Runs Created). He’s better defensively than Victor Martinez was, but that’s like saying I’m taller than my seven-year-old. He was a bit more mistake prone, but better against the run and much more mobile. Lou Marson, the former Phillies prospect, will get every chance to win the job and I gather he will. Marson will hit in the 280s with medium power and some patience. And, he can throw, too. Oddly enough, in terms of total production, Shoppach was better in Cleveland than Victor Martinez because if you count everything, you have to include Victor’s lack of defense at first base.

Dioner Navarro (TB): After such a nice 2008, Navarro crashed and burned in 2009. His batting average fell to .218, his power was gone, and he doesn’t get on base in other ways so that was a big zilch at the end of the lineup (32.63 Runs Created). His reputation against the running game may have stopped more people than actually stole bases – the numbers show him to be league average and in the seven categories, Tampa scored ZERO – just as many above average categories than below average categories. The team says they want Navarro to come into camp lighter, so check the Diamond Notes in the spring.

Kenji Johjima (SEA): Back in Japan – his batting average and playing time fell off (despite being more productive per 27 outs than many of the guys ahead of him – the net was just 29.91 Runs Created). Defensively, he and Rob Johnson weren’t too bad – just a few too many mistakes and marginal mobility.

Rob Johnson, who – like Grady Sizemore – had surgeries over two-thirds of his body in the offseason, comes into 2010 as the odds-on starter. And yet Johnson wasn’t all that solid, generating just 25.2 runs while being a slightly above average catcher (compared to Johjima, who was awesome).

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (TEX): He needed to have a big season with Laird gone and Teagarden coming up behind him and it didn’t happen. Salty wasn’t horrible defensively but Teagarden is better – better against the run and more mobile. As a hitter, Saltalamacchia didn’t cut it – just 29.3 runs created with an OBP under .300 and the SLG under .375. If it was .320 and .425, he’d be hard to replace.

As it was, Taylor Teagarden hit worse than Saltalamacchia, generating 19.3 runs in his 200+ plate appearances. So, Teagarden’s chance may have passed as well – meaning Max Ramirez may wind up the starting catcher. The only problem with that is that even Ramirez didn’t hit in AAA last year – batting just .234 with a .336 SLG in Oklahoma City. The Rangers THOUGHT they had the position locked down two years ago, and now Laird is gone and nobody has really stepped forward. I think Saltalamacchia, because he’s likely the better hitter of the group, will eventually take over for good.

Final Thoughts… You want to know how valuable Joe Mauer is? Look at how many catchers generate barely 50 runs of offense and realize that Mauer is 80 to 90 runs better than that. AND, he’s a great catcher. He was easily the most valuable player in the AL last year and will deserve whatever monster five or six year deal he can get.

Top AL Third Basemen in 2009

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Paul Proia

Evan Longoria (TB): No sophomore slump here, huh? One of the better offensive performers (33 – 113 – .281), draws a few walks, and is as good a defender at his position as there is in the game. Other than a couple of first basemen and maybe Joe Mauer, nobody was more valuable in the American League. (114.0 Runs Scored, 31.91 Runs Saved = 146.76 Total Run Production)

If he was a full time third baseman, Kevin Youkilis would rate next.

Chone Figgins (LAA): Gets on base, runs the bases well, and had an above average season with the glove – a sign that he’s getting more comfortable over there now that he’s not being used like a super utility player. Seattle will like having him at the front of the line up. (104.3 Runs Created, 7.5 Runs Saved = 111.86 Total Run Production.)

If you are an Angels fan, you probably want to know more about Brandon Wood. Wood has been the power hitting infielder in waiting for what seems like a small eternity. Wood was a first round draft pick back in 2003, and has had seasons at Rancho Cucamonga and Salt Lake City that would suggest that he’s the next Troy Glaus. Personally, I don’t buy it. Now, he’s struggled to hit .190 in the majors because he’s spent a lot of time going back and forth between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. He’s really only had one month where he got some regular MLB playing time – and that month he hit about .250 with a little power. And that’s where I think he’ll be. As a rule of thumb, you can usually look at PCL stats and knock 50 points of the batting average and about 40% of the power off the top. In three seasons of AAA ball, Wood has hit between .270 and .295 with 25 homer power. That translates to about 15 homers and a .245 batting average. I’d like to think, hitting at the bottom of the lineup, he’d be okay. Wood might do a bit better than that – the way Kendry Morales jumped up and hit like a monster. A bit better than that is 20 homers and .260 – which is decent enough if he brings a solid glove and improves his strikeout/walk ratio. Wood turns 25 in March, which is a bit long in the tooth for a prospect.

Alex Rodriguez (NYY): Missed a month following hip surgery, and then needed some time to get back into playing shape. After the all-star break, he was dominating at times – including during the playoffs. Is getting better defensively, but has never been an above average fielder. Would he still be this good had he not spent years on the juice? (100.3 Runs Created, -6.50 Runs Saved = 93.76 Total Run Production)

Jhonny Peralta (CLE): As a hitter, he’s declining but tolerable. As a fielder, he was surprisingly solid at third base. I don’t know if he’s a long term solution, but what else do the Indians have? Besides, I’m ranking him as the fourth most productive third baseman in the AL! Andy Marte is penciled in as a backup here and at first base – and in more than a year’s worth of MLB at bats has struggled to hit .220. Marte looked good at Columbus in AAA, but so far he has not progressed beyond prospect. (75.6 Runs Created, 10.6 Runs Saved, 86.19 Total Run Production)

Adrian Beltre (SEA): Couldn’t stay healthy, and his bat suffered mightily. He’s now at the age where the chances of him returning to his 2006-2008 form are getting slimmer, but his stats might come back playing in Fenway. He’s never been a GREAT hitter, but he’s always been above average until last year. He remains a great fielder, though – and he will help Boston’s pitchers. (55.5 Runs Created, 28.6 Runs Saved = 84.14 Total Run Production)

Brandon Inge (DET): His body broke down as the season progressed, but he still played in 161 games. I’m just not so sure he was helping in, say, September. A surprising number of homers made up for a lack of batting average. He remains a pretty good fielder. (71.9 Runs Created, 9.4 Runs Saved, 81.31 Total Run Production)

Melvin Mora (BAL): Now in Colorado. Like Beltre, his bat fell in the tank. Defensively, he was solid – so he can still help. He’s not getting any younger, though… Welcome back, Miguel Tejada, who – if he doesn’t age two more years – should be a step up here. (51.6 Runs Created, 21.70 Runs Saved, 73.32 Total Run Production)

Adam Kennedy (OAK): Played all over the infield, but had the most innings here. He’s really NOT a third baseman and having been signed to play second base for Washington, is returning to his old home… Kevin Kouzmanoff arrives from San Diego to play for the As, and Eric Chavez could always come back from injuries to play for a month at some point in the season. Kouz is NOT a step up from what Kennedy did overall – and if we ranked him using the numbers he put up in San Diego, would rank in this exact same spot anyway.

Mike Lowell (BOS): His hip injuries have become problematic, but he’s more productive than most. Last year’s fielding numbers were below average and his offensive numbers weren’t great but still above the league norm. Somebody is going to give him 400 at bats and he’s not going to be a problem. I still predict that he’ll join the Marlins radio booth in a few years… (69.7 Runs Created, -4.2 Runs Saved = 65.51 Total Run Production)

Gordon Beckham (CWS): Actually, not a bad tally for a rookie and if he were staying at third, I’d like his chances to move into the top five in this group next year. Instead, the White Sox are moving Beckham to second base and giving his job to Mark Teahen – which isn’t a great idea (I’d rather have kept Beckham at third and signed Orlando Hudson), and it might take a while for the new infield to gel. Beckham’s OBP and SLG numbers were solid. I like him. (60.5 Runs Created, 4.2 Runs Saved = 64.67 Total Run Production)

Michael Young (TEX): Newly found power source gave Young perhaps his best offensive season ever. However, he looked out of position at third after years as a shortstop and his overall production numbers dropped him to eleventh. Hopefully he can maintain the offense and improve his range in 2010. (102.8 Runs Created, -39.0 Runs Saved = 63.83 Total Run Production)

Scott Rolen (TOR): Had a remarkably productive run for Toronto, hitting .320 with a little power. He was so good, Toronto sent him to Cincinnati… Like Lowell, you wonder how many years he has left, but if he can hit like this, he’s got plenty. Glove is no longer a strong suit. Edwin Encarnacion may not have this job for long unless he finds some stability and to be honest, this is a step down for Toronto. (63.2 Runs Created, -5.6 Runs Saved = 57.61 Total Run Production).

Joe Crede (MIN): The best of what Minnesota threw out there (Brendan Harris, Matt Tolbert, Brian Buscher, Nick Punto), Crede isn’t horrible but he isn’t dependably healthy either. Minnesota will go in a different direction, but it’s hard to say what that direction will be. As of this writing, Harris is listed at the top of the depth chart but he is NOT a third baseman. (38.2 Runs Created, 6.8 Runs Saved = 45.01 Total Run Production)

Mark Teahen (KC): Alex Gordon will get his old job back, but it’s not like Gordon has been as advertised since arriving with the Royals three years ago. Teahen struggled mightily in the field for some reason – he’s usually pretty dependable. Now, he’s a White Sox third baseman, and that may not be a good thing. We’ll see. (67.4 Runs Created, -23.9 Runs Saved = 43.53 Total Run Production)

Mauer Wins AL MVP; Other News

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Paul Proia

Getting all but one first place vote, Joe Mauer became the fifth Minnesota Twin to win the AL MVP. Hitting .365, playing gold glove worthy defense behind the plate. It’s hard to argue with the selection – I can’t, he was my pick, too – because there just aren’t that many players like this guy. Mauer decided to take advantage of the count when he it was in his favor and added power, enough to lead the AL in batting, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Amazing, really… [ESPN and others…]

Tom Verducci had a vote and explains it for Sports Illustrated…

Ken Rosenthal discusses his vote for Fox Sports…

The real challenge will be this offseason or next when the Twins have to try and keep Mauer around, especially since Mauer has to be worth about $20 million per season on the open market.

And in Other News…

Omar Vizquel signed a one -year deal with the Chicago White Sox. Vizquel expects to be a mentor to infielders Alexei Ramirez and Gordon Beckham. [ESPN]

The Nationals say that Stephen Strasburg, who missed his last start in the Arizona Fall League, won’t need surgery on his twisted knee. Dcctors say it’s a dislocation of the joint and he just needs some rest. [SI]

The Associated Press released notes suggesting that Ken Griffey Jr. could earn as much as $3.9 million after incentives for the 2010 season. [ESPN]

The Cubs signed lefty reliever John Grabow to a $7.5 million, two-year deal. Grabow is a solid eighth-inning guy (though he can pitch in any inning from 5 through 9) who earned the contract after a year with 70 appearances for both Pittsburgh and Chicago. However, personally I’d be leery of anyone coming off a career high in appearances and a career ERA over 4.00… [SI]

Cuban Aroldis Chapman has fired his agent, signing with the Hendricks Brothers, agents who represent players such as Andy Pettitte. Edwin Mejia, of Athletes Premier International, had helped Chapman escape from Cuba, setting up residency in Andorra so that Chapman couldn’t be drafted and would be signed as a free agent. One expects a lawsuit for tampering in the very near future. [ESPN]

Look for Roy Halliday to play out the string for Toronto, knowing that he will either be traded or become a free agent after the 2010 season. Toronto brass fully expect Halliday to hit the road. [ESPN]

The Marlins and pitcher Josh Johnson couldn’t iron out a deal, and per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, it’s because Johnson wants a fourth year if he signs a long-term contract. The Marlins are prepared to deal with arbitration, but tried to get Johnson to sign a three-year deal. Johnson was trying to get a deal similar to the four-year, $38 million deal the Royals gave Zack Greinke. [ESPN]

Speaking of Marlins named Johnson, the ESPN rumor mill has Nick Johnson getting plenty of interest in the free agency market. Johnson had a .477 OBA after arriving in Florida in a late season trade with Washington. Among the suitors? Boston, Washington, the Mets, Giants and Orioles. [ESPN]

Let’s stick with stories about my fish… Former Angels prospect and Marlins minor leaguer, Dallas McPherson, signed a minor league deal with the Oakland A’s. At 29, McPherson is past his prospect days and has missed two of three seasons with back problems. [ESPN]

Finally, Peter Gammons compliments the management of the Marlins for winning with a payroll that, over four years, has spent less money – nearly a third less – than the Mets spent in 2009. [ESPN]

Quick Hits…

Jermaine Dye says he is open to playing first base. I’d be more worried about how his production fell apart after the all-star break, so this is just something to make him seem more valuable on the free agent market. [MLB]

After signing Chris Capuano and John Halama, two pitchers who have missed time due to injury and really haven’t been on the MLB radar in two or three years, the Milwaukee Brewers are showing interest in Carl Pavano. There just aren’t enough 4.50 ERA guys with bad backs and shoulders to go around, I guess… [MLB]

Happy Birthday!

Hall of Famer Joe Medwick was born on this day in 1911. Joe never liked his nickname “Ducky”, which was shorted from “Ducky Wucky”, which might help explain his surliness…

Others celebrating with cards, cake, or rememberances include: George Burns (1889) – a fine lead off hitter with the Tigers back in the day…, Billy Rogell (1904), Danny Ozark (1923), Jim Northrup (1939), Fred Beene (1942), Steve Yeager (1948), Randy Velarde (1962), Cal Eldred (1967), Ben McDonald (1967), Al Martin (1967), Dave Hansen (1968) – who could probably STILL lace a single pinch hitting for the Dodgers right now…, and Joel Guzman (1984).

AL Gold Glove Winners Announced; More Hot Stove News

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Paul Proia

The managers who voted for the AL Gold Glove awards apparently were those guys managing in 1980, because obviously they didn’t watch any games this year, or check out the stats, or – well, pay attention… Winners included Ichiro Suzuki, Torii Hunter, Adam Jones, Evan Longoria, Derek Jeter, Placido Polanco, Mark Teixeira, Joe Mauer, and Mark Buerhle. [MLB]

Now, Torii Hunter hasn’t been the best centerfielder in the AL for probably five years, but he makes enough flashy catches to earn notice on Baseball Tonight. Baltimore’s Adam Jones and Seattle’s Franklin Gutierrez flew all over the field and made all of the Oriole and Mariner pitchers look better. Hunter was solid – don’t get me wrong – but I think he won it because he had won it before and not because he deserved it.

Jeter and Polanco are both dependable and make few errors, and while Polanco had a good season I might have considered Aaron Hill first. And Jeter? Don’t get me started. How can the guy with the lowest range factor (chances per nine innings) of all shortstops with at least 200 innings in the field get the award??? Elvis Andrus was robbed.

I’m good with the rest – Longoria is great, Tex solidified the Yankees infield, and Joe Mauer is the best catcher in baseball with the bat, and only Yadier Molina is his equal in the field.

Other News…

Let the bidding begin – followed by cries that MLB executives are deliberately talking about the depressed free agent market… MLB’s future union chief, Michael Weiner, says that execs are anonymously setting the stage through the press for making lowball offers to potential free agents. [ESPN]

The soon-to-be 82 Vin Scully says he’s going to call the 2010 Dodgers season, but might walk away after the year to spend more time with his family. He’s been a Dodger voice for 60 years… [ESPN]

Despite a slew of bad calls in the post-season, GMs aren’t interested in expanding the use of instant replay. Sheesh. [SI]

Mark Cuban didn’t get to buy the Cubs, but he’s interested in finding a good deal. With the McCourts going through the throws of a divorce, the Dodgers might be in his sights. [FoxSports]

John Smoltz says he still wants to pitch – apparently feeling better, and not wanting to go out like he did last year… [FoxSports]

Free Agent Filings… Rich Aurilia (SF), Jerry Hairston (NYY), and Elmer Dessens. Others considering other options, Russell Branyan, who turned down a one-year deal from Seattle, and Jason Kendall.

Happy Birthday! Rabbit Maranville (1891), who was the greatest fielder of his day… Perfectly timed with the announcement of Gold Glove winners… Also Pie Traynor (1898), Hal Trosky (1912), Cory Snyder (1962), Roberto Hernandez (1964 – probably can still hit 90), Damion Easley (1969), Rey Ordonez (1971), Mike Bacsik (1977), Matt Garza (1983).

Buehrle Retires 45 Straight; Wang and Johnson Done?

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Paul Proia

The Cub fan in me was supposed to watch their game with Houston last night; instead I watched Mark Buehrle figuring I should watch to see how long he could keep getting batters out. Buehrle didn’t disappoint – cruising through five innings as if he’d never allow a batter to reach base again. His streak reached 45 batters when he got the first two out in the sixth inning and suddenly people were wondering if he’d throw a second straight perfect game, Then, Buehrle he got up 0 – 2 to Alexi Casilla and I was thinking, “grounder to short.” Instead, Casilla coaxed a walk, followed by Denard Span’s liner into center for a single. When Scott Podsednik misplayed Joe Mauer’s fly ball into a ground rule double, the magic was over. (They only give errors when you get a glove or body part on the ball, but never when you slow up or short arm the reach. It clearly should have been caught.)

Still – 45 straight! The record of 41 was first set in 1972 by Jim Barr of the Giants, and later tied by Bobby Jenks (Buehrle’s teammate) a couple of years ago. I was listening to SportsCenter this morning, and the comment about Barr and Jenks was “these guys were relievers…” as if it was easier for a reliever to get that many outs in a row. As I see it, they got it wrong on both counts. At that time in his career, Barr was a starter. He got the last 21 in a row in a complete game shutout of Pittsburgh on August 23, 1972, and then got the first twenty out before allowing a double to Bernie Carbo of the Cardinals in his second complete game shutout six days later… Barr threw a perfect game in the middle there – but it didn’t count. Later in his career, with a burned out arm, Barr was a reliever. As for what Jenks did – working one inning at a time, he didn’t allow a hit for over a month in the 9th inning protecting a lead. How is that any easier?

Buehrle got roughed up in the seventh and took the loss to Minnesota – which is what happens when you are coming off of perfect games. Too much magic needed to win two consecutive games when so much is spent on the first game…

On to Other News…

Chien-Ming Wang’s season is over – shoulder surgery is next. [ESPN]

Randy Johnson’s season, and possibly his career, may be over as he learned he has a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. Johnson laughed that his days of doing an instructional hitting video are over. The Big Unit hopes to return in September. [ESPN]

Houston pitchers are running into back problems… Roy Oswalt left last night’s start against the Cubs in the second inning and will have his strained back looked at. For Latroy Hawkins, he heads to the DL with shingles in his back. Yuck.

Oswalt’s injury (and, for that matter, Hawkins’) opens the door for prospect Bud Norris to join the Astros. Norris has great stats – big strikeout numbers, even in the PCL, and occasionally fights his control. Baseball America says he’s the #2 prospect in the Astros organization. If there is a “but…”, it’s his minor league W-L record, which stands at 12 – 25. You’d like for your top prospects to have winning records – even on bad minor league teams.

Ian Kinsler strained his left hammy running out a grounder and is day-to-day for now. This is a tough loss for the contending Texas Rangers.

The latest blockbuster trade? Boston sent Mark Kotsay to the White Sox for outfielder Brian Anderson. Kotsay used to be a good fielding outfielder, but his back has taken away that mobility. Anderson’s reputation is that of being a good outfielder, but at 27 he’s never had the stats to back that up and his bat reminds you of someone who might never get out of AA – heck, he had just been sent back to AAA. Kotsay is a good pinch hitter and can play first a little – so the White Sox would seem to have gotten some value out of the deal. [SI]

ESPN has a good rundown of current trade rumors, as we await the trade deadline on Friday, as does FanNation. Or you could read about trade rumors on MLB.com… [ESPN/SI/MLB]

Welcome Back! A bunch of guys came off the DL in the last 24 hours… Houston reliever Doug Brocail, Blue Jays pitcher Scott Richmond, Cubs starter Ryan Dempster (looked rusty last night), Arizona catcher Chris Snyder, Padres catcher Henry Blanco and infielder David Eckstein…

Make it Work! Andy Marte was called up by Cleveland… Three years ago, he was a top prospect, but it hasn’t worked in more than 500 MLB at bats – hitting all of .211 with nine hommers. It’s time for Marte to make his mark in the majors or he’ll be an afterthought before long.

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