Yardbarker: Jose Valentin

Give Jose a break.....

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:50:04 -0500

No, this isn't a post about how the rest of the NL east plays the Mets every night like a playoff game because they've been outraged by Jose Reyes antics. I only have one thing to say about that situation, if you're going to bring that type of heat on yourself and team, then you better be able to shut them up. Otherwise, tone it down and not because anyone tells you too but for your own good.....

This is a post about the make-up of the bench, I believe it has been mis-constructed for the last two years and has had a trickle down effect on the starting line-up. I believe the bench should have specific roles, just as the bullpen guys want to have roles. I also think that if a player is used somewhere else in the field then his role should be filled by another player. For example, last year Fernando Tatis started as the back-up corner infielder but ended up playing LF his bench position was filled by another 2B. For much of last year the team carried multiple players for the same position (at different times): (3) 2B Easley, Castillo, A. Reyes; (3) Schneider, Castro, Cancel; (3) LF Tatis, Murphy, Evans.....

I feel a five man bench should be constructed of a catcher, two back-up outfielders (one power bat and one defensive), a corner infielder 1B/3B and a middle infielder 2B/SS. The trickle down effect of not having backups at every position is that David Wright and Jose Reyes are way over played and end up running out of gas in Sept. They have Castro and Endy for two of those spots and more then likely Tatis will return. I would consider Tatis more as a corner infielder and use him sparingly as a left fielder. Not only would this make him more available as a pinch hitter but it would give Wright and Delgado more rest which they didn't get last year. Murphy is a huge variable as to where he plays and fits into this team. There are plenty of outfielders available and it will be easy to pick-up a left fielder, the question will become whether they get a difference maker ( Manny, Dunn, Blake) or a solid role player ( Rivera, Ibanez, etc..).

But what has been missing for the last two years is a back-up short stop, now I'm only talking about a day off every once in a while but if Jose went down for two weeks they haven't had a solid alternative since Kaz in early 2006.

It's odd that 2B has been a revolving door since Jose Valentin but none of those 2B would I would be confident playing short for even a week. Damion Easley has been the closest to a solid middle infielder but at 39 y/o the few times he played SS his range wasn't very good and I not sure if he'll be back this year. Ramon Martinez is 35 y/o and was primarily a SS for most his career, when he finally got a chance he looked decent I could see him returning on an Invite.

There are a few decent free agent middle infielders who could be easily pick-up without much difficulty and while they won't be the sexy names we all want to hear their roles will be just as important moving forward.....

A few older players who jump out at me are Mark Loretta, David Eckstein or Craig Counsell. Loretta is a 37 y/o utility infielder who is known as a winner and clubhouse leader, 2007 he played 72 gms at short and is a lifetime .280 hitter. Counsel is 38 y/o and is unknown as a scrappy, over achieving player who has been on two World Championship teams and NLCS MVP. Counsell is only a .255 hitter, he's played regularly at 3B, 2B and SS. The Mets tried to pick-up Eckstein last year but he decided to sign as a starting short stop and didn't have a very good year. The 34 y/o would be a solid pick-up as a middle infielder.

Of the under 30 y/o club or at least close are Willie Bloomquist ( 31 y/o), Alex Cintron and Cesar Izturis. All three have played both middle infield positions and while they don't provide the veteran leadership the team needs they may not be the injury risks the older players would be. Cintron is the best hitter, while Izturis is the best glove and Bloomquist provides the best all around versatility.

As I said before these are easy signings that won't consume the front office and take precious time away from focusing on pitching or break the bank. But it is extremely important moving forward that the bench become much more versatile, they can't keep running Wright and Reyes out their 160 games a season ( or for that matter Delgado) and then look perplexed when they struggle in Sept..

Rumors: Mets might be a match with Tigers for Magglio Ordonez !

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:28:24 -0500

A recent article in the Detroit News by Lynn Henning suggests that the Tigers might entertain the idea of trading Magglio Ordonez to free up salary.

Lynn Henning says in the article :

A critical question is whether the team can expect to achieve anything other than payroll relief if it trades Magglio Ordonez. The Tigers aren't in favor of trading a career .312 hitter on Ordonez's level, particularly one who consistently hits good pitching. Ordonez would leave a serious hole in a batting order that could be further strapped if Detroit, as expected, settles on a new shortstop known more for his defense than for his hitting.

Ordonez, however, will turn 35 in January and stands to pull $48 million during the final three years of his contract. The Tigers are staring at a potentially tough year at the box office and might need to consider trading Ordonez even if little is obtained in return.

A more realistic possibility is the Tigers would agree to absorb some of Ordonez's remaining money if they could gain a reliever, shortstop or catcher in return.

With the above being said makes me believe the Mets can be a match for Tigers. The Mets have Aaron Heilman who the Mets would love to unload, if the return is right and they also have Scott Schoeneweis who also got his ticket for dismissal this year, plus he has some value. The Mets have Brian Schneider who the Mets think a little less of because of his lacking approach at the plate and his plate calling with pitchers. I would not be surprised if Minaya who has a need for a right handed bat and a left fielder, can find himself calling for Magglio Ordonez's services. The guy hits and he hits for power, he might be the offensive player the Mets need to get them over the hump.

If the Mets were to trade Brian Schneider they can look at a Jason Varitek, Josh Bard, or Jose Valentin's brother Javier Valentin who are all free agents. It's only a amount of time to see the disappearance of Aaron Heilman or Scott Schoeneweis. The Tigers have had interest in Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis in the past. Both of them were discussed when the Mets were in the hunt for a right handed bat offensive bat in Marcus Thames.

What do you think? Make Comments!

Is Castillo at the point of no return....

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:39:16 -0500

Is there any chance Luis Castillo can rebound as a Met from his horrible year in 2008. Many Mets fans were incensed by Castillo contract prior to the start of the season, then Castillo had an awful year and it became hard for him to even take the field. Now most Mets fans want him gone no matter what it takes for that to happen....

Eric Simon of Amazin Ave. in a great post disputes the ineptitude of Luis Castillo.

But in reading Jon Heyman's most recent post there he reports that Jerry Manuel and Luis Castillo haven't gotten along since Florida when Manuel was the bench coach and Castillo the starting 2B. Tonight at his blog I asked John Delcos if he heard of the history between the two and confirmed it ( comment #133). Couple that with the fact that Omar actually admitted in an interview with Matt Cerrone of Metsblog that the contract was a mistake and I can't see how Castillo could succeed here....

Luis Castillo is not beloved by Mets manager Jerry Manuel, going back to their Marlins days together. But it's still going to be hard for the Mets to trade Castillo and the $18 million remaining on his contract. Orlando Hudson is a nice idea for the Mets, but tying up $16 million at second base ($6 mil for Castillo and a potential $10 mil for Hudson) seems like a bad idea. source SI.com

Another factor in the equation is that I don't believe Castillo is a NY type of guy. Howie Rose recited several times during games a conversation that had been relayed to him. The story goes like this: In 2005 at Shea against the Marlins, Cliff Floyd hits a double and when he pulls into second his former teammate Castillo comes over to say "hi". The Shea Faithful are booing the next batter and Castillo asks Floyd if there always like that. Cliff says "Yup" but they'll also cheer when your doing good. Castillo looking into the crowd says something to the effect of not knowing about this (meaning dealing with the atmosphere). Then Manuel acknowledged that the booing was effecting his decisions to play Castillo and there was even a report that Castillo admitted the booing was bothering him....

But if Castillo is at the point of no return, then what are the Mets to do about moving him. The Mets aren't the type of organization that historically is willing to eat significant losses by releasing a player or trading him and most of the contract without getting anything in return. Remember Kaz Matsui was just as bad a fit by 2005 but he was kept until midway through 2006 when the contract was reasonable and he was replaced by league minimum Jose Valentin....

Most of us ( including me ) see us trading Castillo for another bad contract. Mets Today has an excellent post warning us from past mishaps about trading bad contracts, for those that are willing to take this risk it's a must read. I'll be honest I'm still willing to take the risk because I can see Castillo being a negative influence if he gets benched and if he's moved for nothing they won't spend extra money to replace him (of course that's a moot point if Murph can take over at 2B).........

This offseason is eerily similar to the one between 2001 and 2002 a?" when the Mets also were intent on "remaking" the roster, and "addition by subtraction". source Mets Today

Watch closely tonight...Lowe

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:51:49 -0500

Since this blog was started in December of 2006, each year I identify one free agent that I feel is a must for this team. Sure if were going to spend there are others I'd like to see brought aboard but there is always that one free agent I think could put us over the top. So far Omar has always disagreed with me, so take this post with a grain of salt........

In 2007 I thought Soriano was a perfect fit for this team, he was a New York guy who could play two positions the team needed 2B/LF and was a true table setter. Jose Valentin wasn't a long term answer at 2B and even if Soriano couldn't play a decent 2B the team needed to fill Cliff Floyd's spot. Paul Lo Duca did a solid job in 2006 as a two hitter but I was never convinced he could do it long term.......

Then in 2008 with Alou projected in left and Castillo at second the position players including the offense appeared solid and the rotation was addressed through trade. The bullpen was the glaring weakness but there was a solid group of relievers available last off season. Of them all, I thought the Mets had to get Scott Linebrink. As inconsistent as relievers are, throughout his career Linebrink has always been a solid set-up man......

This years it's much tougher, going forward after missing the playoffs two years in a row the Mets must be extremely aggressive to keep those not as fanatical interested. They need to address left field, second base, the pen more specifically the closer and the rotation. As tough a decision as it would be, if Omar said we can only sign one free agent and the rest is coming from in-house or trades that one player for me would be Derek Lowe......

Orlando Hudson runs a very close second and Brandon Eddy of Metsblog did a very good job of explaining why Hudson is a perfect fit for this team. I think the Mets are going to have a hard time moving Castillo, I can't see them signing Hudson until he's gone and unless Hudson wants to play here so bad that he'll wait, he'll probably be off the market by then. The Mets have options at second base, they may not be what we want but Castillo is still a 2B and therefore it's not absolutely necessary to fill that spot.

So why do I find a 35 y/o right handed pitcher who will probably get a 3-4 year deal, the must get of the FA market. First of all I believe the Mets will have two spots in the rotation to fill when Ollie signs elsewhere, Pedro doesn't return and Niese stays in AAA for further development. But in this year in which the teams versatility and depth directly effected the outcome of the season, Derek Lowe would address not only specific needs but also provide the intangibles that were missing. Injuries happen, it has to be the ability of the team to over come those adversities which makes the difference between a contender and a winner.....

First of all let me address age, which is only a factor if there are signs of breaking down. Since becoming a full time starter in 2002 he has pitched at least 33 starts in every year and in all but one of those seasons (2004) thrown 200 innings. Over the last four years with the Dodgers his BB/SO ratio has improved and this year not only was the ratio the best of his career but he matched, for the second straight year a career high in strike outs with 147. He's a ground ball pitcher which would play into the defense, in fact I'm surprised Omar hasn't brought in more sinker ball pitchers. Lowe's GO/AO ratio has always been good over his career, it has been lifetime approx. 3.50.

But for four years with Boston he was a solid set-up man and fill in closer. Between the years of 1999-2001 Lowe was predominantly the set-up man for the Red Sox bullpen. Over those three years he pitched in 291 innings in which he produced an ERA of 2.91 with a record of 15-17. The Red Sox's never saw Lowe as a full time closer because he wasn't a flame thrower so he filled in throughout those three years and compiled a record of 81 SV-96 SVO. With Lowe in the rotation and Niese in the minors if a significant injury occurred in the pen or it fell apart again they know Lowe could handle a move to the pen ( Unlike Maine this year). Thinking outside the box, as many veteran starters do he could finish out the later part of his contract in the pen.

In addition to his durability and versatility Lowe has intangibles that he would bring to the club. He is a big game pitcher who thrived in Boston a large market much like NY, he has pitched in 73 playoff innings in which he has posted an ERA of 3.31. In 2004 for the World Champion Red Sox's he went 3-0 with a 1.86 ERA in three starts, four appearances. Lowe has been the staff ace of the Dodgers and becoming a solid number would improve his numbers based on match-ups and I think he would have a positive impact on Maine and Pelfrey who have similar deliveries.

Maybe this year Omar and I will be on the same page, but even if we aren't; I'll be watching Mr. Lowe closely tonight, not only hoping he beats up on those Phillies but also to see what he has.....

Lightning in a bottle

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:00:14 -0500

If the Mets make the playoffs or even if they don't one of the amazing story lines will be their ability to catch lightning in a bottle. The Mets are on the verge of a 90 win season which is a very respectable number and even though we'll be disappointed if it doesn't result in a playoff birth the fact is they rebounded well.

Who would have thought when we were in fourth place, seven games behind, double digits below five hundred, and being swept by the lowly Padres in a four game series by the score of 2-1 in three of them, with Willie was on the verge of being fired we would be where we are. We actually have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs with just three games left to play and while I would have liked them to play better down the stretch they have shown enough resiliency and determination to stay in the fight....

Yes, the expected players have come through as Delgado has rebounded from what probably was a slow recovery from a wrist injury. Church carried the team through the first quarter of the season and when he went down Wright took over until Sept. All along Reyes has fueled the fire and Beltran continues to quietly stack-up HOF numbers.

But if you said that a team would lose their number three starter (Maine), Projected Fifth starter (Hernandez), All-Star Closer (Wagner), Starting left fielder (Alou), Fourth outfielder ( Pagan), Fifth outfielder (Nixon), Sixth outfielder/utility player (Tatis), Seventh outfielder (Clark) and ground ball specialist reliever (Wise) all for the season. And then get no production out of the starting second baseman (Castillo) due to slow recovery, lose the starting right fielder for half the season (Church) and your number four starter (Pedro) who when he did finally come back was in-effective. The bench consisted of a never used third catcher, and two ineffective players (Chavez/Anderson) who slump offensively most of the year. Along with losing the replacement second basemen (Easley) down the stretch to injury and having both catchers in and out of the line-up all year. Also losing back-up pitching options in AAA to injuries ( Armas/C. Vargas/J.Vargas/Burgos), couple that with a nightmare manging distraction and you'd say it was a fifty win season.

The Mets have had a successful season thanks to contributions from the most unlikely characters and even some of those are part of the injury list but Manuel became an expert at catching lightning in a bottle.

To start the season Angel Pagan became the player who was passed back and forth between the Mets and Cubs for cash considerations to a .275 hitting starting left fielder.

Regardless of missing the last two weeks of the season Fernando Tatis should be the comeback player of the year, before dislocating his shoulder diving for a fly ball he was hitting .297. Tatis a natural third basemen was a starting corner outfielder, number six hitter and a key component of this team after not playing regularly since 2003.

Then their are the two rookies straight out of double A, Nick Evans and David Murphy. Evans had that three double debut in Colorado and has cooled since but the righty is still hitting a respectable .262. Murphy already has a nickname ( D-Rex) and has turned into a starting number two hitting table setter. Murph is hitting .325 and continues to come up big hitting a ninth inning triple in a tie game.

Then there are the journeyman who are the epitome of playing the hot hand. Rem. Raul Casanova the catcher who's bounced through multiple organizations and hit .273 in 20 games when Schneider went down. Now Robinson Cancel who has been a career minor leaguer is filling in at catcher and had a huge game tying hit last night along with hitting .245 (not bad for a catcher). A. Reyes stuck in the Indians system for six years signed a minor league deal this year and came up for the first time to play a decent second base and while he's very cool now (.219)in July hit .286. Who would of thought the 28 y/o castaway from the Rays, Brian Stokes would have played such a key role in the pen down the stretch or waiver wire pick-up Luis Ayala would be the closer. The regulars in the pen have been bad but some of the call-ups have contributed at times including 33 y/o Brandon Knight and Nelson Figueroa. Until the three run bomb Mexican League pitcher Ricardo Rincon had been perfect against lefties.....

Finally with second base once again becoming a black hole and other then one year of Jose Valentin hasn't been productively filled since Jeff Kent/Edgardo Alfonzo days, Ramon Martinez emerged. Manuel has been reluctant to use the call-ups he's been unfamiliar with and Martinez was waived earlier this year by the Dodgers when they were begging for infielder but he was slow to recover from a thumb injury. In his first major league at bat of the season he hit a double and then drew a walk. Last night he got his first start and played a solid second in the muddy infield, with the season on the line he had a huge hit.

It's truly Amazin that the Mets are even in this position.......

I Still Hate...

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 08:30:50 -0500

Adam Eaton. Adam F'n Eaton. Piece of no good donkey dung Adam Eaton. Piss poor excuse for a Major League pitcher salary whore Adam Eaton. Yep, I still hate him. This news shouldn't be new to any reader of this blog, hell Eaton knows firsthand the level of my hatred I have for him. I had this to say in the comments section yesterday prior to his spring training 2008 debut, "Eaton pitches today. I'll be following his spring closely, because as much as I hate him, I understand we need him. Benson won't be ready to start the season, Blackley is a longshot, and the Durbins really aren't that good. Eaton has had success in the past, just not really as a Phillie, so I'm hoping he can somewhat bounce back and at least turn in a 5 era, which is sometimes all you need to win with the Phils offense behind you. He needs to give 6 innings every time out though, too many short outings last season that killed the bullpen." See, even this angry hate-filled blogger can find it in his heart to give Eaton a second chance. Too bad he's promptly dashing all hopes of a rebound season as his line from yesterday's game was- 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, and 1 HR. Don't worry though, both Durbins have sucked so far too, and Benson still isn't ready to pitch in a game, but at least Blackley tossed 3 scoreless frames. I know it's only spring training and that many players struggle, but in regards to Eaton this is merely continued suckage and I hate it! Click on URL for more story

Mark Hendrickson to the Florida Marlins: The Fantasy Impact

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 09:36:13 -0500

In an attempt to add some depth and leadership to their rotation (and possibly bullpen), the Marlins signed starter/reliever Mark Hendrickson to a one year contract. It looks as though the Marlins will use Hendrickson in their rotation, since their bullpen was a strong point last season, and their rotation was far from it. The Marlins currently have Sergio Mitre, Scott Olsen, Andrew Miller, Anibal Sanchez, and Rick VandenHurk in their rotation, but Hendrickson figures to have a secure spot considering Sanchez is still recovering from arm surgery, and VandenHurk struggled in 2007 (despite a nice 9.03 K/9 IP). If Hendrickson can remember what he did in the first two months of 2007, then he should be a serviceable fantasy pitcher, but that's a tad unrealistic. At this point, he's a marginal NL-only reserve pick as a starter, but he could potentially have more fantasy value as a reliever. We'll also examine Jose Valentin to the New York Mets and and Kirk Saarloos to the Oakland A's.

Mets decline Arbitration to Eight...

Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:25:06 -0500

According to Rotoworld the Mets have declined to offer salary arbitration to C Paul Lo Duca, C Sandy Alomar Jr., 1B Jeff Conine, C Mike DiFelice, INF Damion Easley, OF Shawn Green, RHP Aaron Sele and 2B Jose Valentin.

Franco Is a Clubhouse Cancer

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:45:12 -0500

First off, I already made a short post about this on our blog, Nyjer Please. But this post is going to be longer due to the larger audience that Epic Carnival has. Exactly a month ago to this day, our very own Epic Carnival writer and creator of Nyjer Please, Luke Halpert made an "outlandish post" about a racial divide in the Mets clubhouse and said that Julio Franco was the ring leader. No pun intended. Luke's exact words were these: Secondly, Julio Franco, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday, is becoming a "clubhouse cancer". Since the losing streak, my source told me that Franco has become the ringleader of a "racial divide" in the clubhouse between the Latinos and non-Latinos. While it isn't a straight divide, it was painfully obvious there was something going on during last night's debacle at Yankee Stadium, where the Latinos were sitting in the dugout while the non-Latinos were on the dugout railing the entire game. Once these words hit the blogosphere, s*** hit the fan. Over at Metsblog, Matt Cerrone called out Halpert saying that his post was 100% false and the post was all a big lie because he is still in high school. He can also "only assume [Halpert] dropped my site's name so to make an attempt at adding credibility to his post". The Comments section at Metsblog was also furious at the post and here's what one Met fan had to say: Hey luke stop masterb***** while looking at yourself wearing your yankee gear in the mirror and stick to things you know about like zit creme. Perhaps if you kiss Steinbrenners a** well enough he will hook you up with a female yankee chearleader. I heard Susan Waldman is available. 16 year old with a source in the Mets clubhouse hahahahhahahahahahah As you can see, he was bashed pretty bad by some pretty ignorant fans. Some other blogs picked up the story such as Deadspin, The Big Lead, and The Fanhouse and all of a sudden, the post had 10,000 hits. A lot of smaller blogs picked it up too such as The Feed and The Uwe Blog . The guys over at NJ.com had this to say: Deadspin linked to a very-likely-fabricated blog post that claims Julio Franco is the "ringleader" in "a racial divide" in the Mets clubhouse. If Franco was the ringleader of a movement to take naps after batting practice, or to have rocking chairs installed in the clubhouse, I'd maybe believe it. This...not so much. Luke Halpert and myself also used to write for a blog called "Hotfoot". It was a Mets blog run by Anthony De Rosa, and right after the incident, we were both fired. So now that we have that out of the way, last week Julio Franco was designated for assignment by the Mets. That's pretty much a nice word for being cut. Anyway, when Willie Randolph was asked about Franco, Willie said, "that clubhouse stuff is overrated" and Jose Valentin told reporters that Franco was less than eager to participate in the team's pre-game stretching routine. Some of the team's younger guys didn't appreciate Franco giving them advice when he sucked in his own right. To me, that sounds like a Clubhouse Cancer and a guy that didn't get along with most of his team. We're not even asking for an apology, just for our names to be cleared and to not be known as the "Blog that made up those Franco stories". If Cerrone, the Metsblog commentors and or any other blogger does want to apologize though, that's O.K too.

Free Agent Review 2006

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:37:19 -0500

Another article from BVTN, this one with a statistical inquiry into how much teams are paying free agents per run they bring to the lineup. Very interesting read...the data table is cool to look at! Interesting stuff though when you look at that they're paying over $300,000 per run added to their line-ups. Somehow I think that MLB is awash with money

Al Cohn Joins Staff of Gothambaseball.com

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 14:39:42 -0500

This week, Going Nine will be penned by Gotham Baseball Magazine's newest addition, the esteemed Al Cohn. We're so pleased to have the veteran newspaperman and former sports and features editor from Newsday join us, and look forward to his work in the coming months.

Notes from a ballgame: NLCS Game 7

Fri, 20 Oct 2006 20:57:56 -0500

• You down wit' OPP? Maybe I'm giving the Mets too much credit, but I'm thinking they played that song after the Cards hit into a double-play to indicate Oliver Perez's Pitching (OPP). • Preston Wilson and Jim Edmonds lightly bump into each other in the outfield and Cardinals Nation holds its breath. Together, the pair have the durability of a seven year-old condom. Luckily, they limp away relatively unscathed. • BY FAR the most annoying new trend in McCarver's repertoire of things that get under my skin is the pitching sequence recap. "He threw three four fastballs in a row. Let's count them. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4!" Hey brain surgeon, this isn't Sesame Street. • McCarver calls Mookie Wilson "The Mookster." Hey, Timmy. Mookie is his nickname. Unless you're turning into The Copy Guy -- The Mookster, Mook-a-chook-a, making copies, Big Big Mook Mook, doing his thing at the copy machine, Magical Mister Mookie -- then shut it. • Endy Chavez just made the play of the postseason. Maybe the best postseason play I've ever seen. Full sprint to the wall to make a leap from a few feet onto the warning track up the leftfield wall to snowcone a ball that Scott Rolen had just tattooed for what had appeared to be a no doubt two-run lead. And then he throws it back in to complete an inning-ending double play. That was one of those plays you get on the phone and call your friends to talk about. Simply astounding ... Meanwhile back in the dugout, Tony LaRussa tells Dave Duncan to tell Rolen that he can not believe Rolen didn't hit it harder. • Yadier Molina's two-run jack is too much even for Endy Chavez. Buck and McCarver credit La Russa for moving him one spot up in the lineup. Let's play the logic game, shall we? Tony LaRussa is a genius and Yadier Molina is worthless with the bat. So if Molina does something good, credit LaRussa. Yes, that works. As always, full entry in The Swamp after the link.

The RBI-To-GIDP Ratio Theory

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 01:24:41 -0500

For the Sabermetric crowd, a cost-benefit ratio to measure run producers since 1946. "The idea behind this that I recall reading online some place (where, I don't know), is that if a batter has alot of RBIs, it's partly because he has lots of opportunities. Of course, he then has more chances to ground into double plays (the GIPDs). So if he has a high RBI-to-GIDP ratio, it means he is able to drive in alot of runs while not hurting his teams with double plays. It is kind of like a cost-benefit ratio. If you drive in runs you are providing your team with benefits. But if you hit into double plays, your team incurs a cost. By bringing both stats together, I partly offset the opportunity issue in judging the meaning of these two stats. It certainly is not a complete picture of hitting, since getting on base is not well incorporated (and you can drive in runs in non-GIDP situations). But the rankings turned up some interesting surprises, so it was fun to work on."

Fonzi Back with the Mets

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 08:23:48 -0500

The oldest 33 year old in the history of baseball is back in the big show. After brief stints with the Angels, Blue Jays and an independent league club this year, Edgardo Alfonzo signed with the Mets organization yesterday and will report to Triple-A Norfolk. He fell hard and he fell fast. He doesn't have much to contribute any more, even as a bench player, but it would be nice to see him help out the playoff contending Mets. Unfortunately, for what it's worth, it looks like the 37 year old Jose Valentin has about ten times as much gas in the tank as the younger Alfonzo does....and he's not even gaurunteed to keep 2B job for the rest of the season.

Jose Valentin deserves a Post

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 14:06:40 -0500

After last nights performance don't you think the aging veteran deserves some love? Valentin was en fuego against the Reds (and has been the entire series) going 3-3 w/ a walk and his 5th dinger of the year. The crazy thing is that Valentin, a switch-hitter decided to bat lefty off of left handed pitcher Chris Hammond and hit it a whopping 403 feet to dead center, that's just something you don't see these days when managers play the percentages more than ever and begs the question:.. why would he do that? Also, does his recent hot streak mean that the Met's don't look to add a power 2B (Soriano)? Either way, Valentin should not be on your roster unless you're in a mixed 30 team league.