More thoughts on Hank Blalock and defense

A few more things, having digested the announcement of the Hank Blalock move...

At the end of the day, I think this reflects an organizational decision that has been made about the prioritization of defense.  It is interesting to note that, a few years ago, there was discussions about how Billy Beane had decided that the "undervalued" commodity in the game is no longer OBP, but defense, and was making decisions accordingly (notably involving Mark Ellis and Mark Kotsay, two guys considered elite defenders).  more...