- 11:34 AM
- 04/19/24
I wouldn't say homers is all they look at. But it is true that all they look at is batting which is only half the game of baseball. I think this is where baseball executives make the same mistake NBA execs make and which Dberri et al emphasize in their book. NBA management teams get distracted by scoring average. In baseball people only look at what they feel is measurable -- batting. When you take into account defense and clutch hitting then the picture changes somewhat. Morneau had a better batting year than Jeter (according to OPS) and is an above average defender (compared to Jeter who supposedly ranks near the bottom of shortstops). But when you factor in clutch hitting the scales tilt. Look who ranks at the top of win shares, a stat compiled by Bill James to see how a player contributes to his team winning.
posted by drkwanda at 03:00 PM on November 21, 2006
I have to say I am shocked and suspect a lot of this has to do with an anti-Yankee anti-Jeter backlash since he was pretty much coronated with the title in the midst of the season. I don't understand how a guy can be a MOST valuable player if he is on the same team as two other guys (Mauer and Santana) who are so valuable. When you take in that factor and look at the Yankee's record after they lost Sheffield, Matsui and (effectively) ARod for half the season, Jeter essentially held the team together with his bat and his legs and his glove. And they finished with the best record in baseball. I say Jeter was robbed. Some day I would like to see someone do for baseball what Dberri, Schmidt and Brook (The Wages of Wins) did for basketball with their wins produced statistic.
posted by drkwanda at 02:03 PM on November 21, 2006
This has obviously generated a lot of interest and I am sorry to say I don't have time to read all of them so forgive me if this repeats. But as frustrating as A-Rod is to a Yanks fan, you still have to feel a little for the guy. The expectations of him are totally out of line with what he can possibly achieve and while you can say that's why they pay him the big buck (in this case the whopping holy-cow bucks) the fact remains that he's just a guy like all of us (apologies to the female readers). Still, it's pretty tempting not to note, that his slump ended in September, aned his numbers surged back to respectable with a burst of productivity that began only after the Boston Massacre and the Yankees effectively ended all question of who would win the East. And with this you have to notice that his slump coincided with the Yankees injury depleted roster when the pressure on Jeter and A-Rod intensified in the absence of Matsui and Sheffield and dependable pitching. The guy obviously is thinking too hard and has too much talent that he tries to bring to bear in key situations and instead of letting natural ability take him, he ends up looking awful. To wit - the last few games of the 2004 chokefest with Boston and last year's performance against the Angels. Also, has anyone noticed that teams tend to do really really well the year after A-Rod leaves them. Check out Seattle and Texas in their first post A-Rod year and the increase in the number of wins.
posted by drkwanda at 03:11 PM on September 20, 2006
Morneau is your AL MVP
Great post by Grum When you put Morneau's numbers next to Konerko everything in his case just evaporates. I still think the main problem, as exemplified even in this discussion, is how much emphasis people put on batting and how little they put on fielding. I repeat - look at the Bill James stat Win Shares (yes Yerfatma I just got that one hour after my first post). Jeter is 6 games higher than Morneau and 2 full games higher than his nearest competitor -- Mauer! Morneau wasn't even the MVP on his own team! It's a Anti-Yankee Anti Jeter backlash