The WS was pretty freaking disappointing. We didn't hit the ball (for the most part). The pitching broke down. We lost, four and out. That said, there is something pretty freaking awesome about this season that has never been true before: <b><i>The Astros are the defending National League Champions.</i></b> Oh, yeah. Stick that in your palette and chew on it for a while. Sweet, ain't it?
I've just ordered that book and I look forward to reading it. The interesting point is not whether Everett is the best SS defensively, but how much value that brings to a team given his offensive woes. By the way, last year no NL team was better than the Astros at converting balls in play into outs.
Here is the Gammons blog: A 'Solution' for defensive analysis posted: Friday, February 24, 2006 The ESPN set when the World Series was in Houston was in dead center, which provided Larry Bowa and I a perfect position to watch what became a favorite show -- Aaron Rowand's jumps in center field. At one point Bowa made the observation that Rowand seemed to be two steps into his jump before the ball was hit. Yet, how many folks think of great center fielders and think of Aaron Rowand, perhaps other than Pat Gillick. Which brings me to one of the most interesting books of the spring. John Dewan, the CEO of STATS, Inc. who moved on to found Baseball Info Solutions, has written "The Fielding Bible," with contributions from Bill James. We have all struggled with quantitative analysis on defense, but this isn't some statshead thing created in a cellar at MIT. James explains that Dewan's aides "watched video from every major league game and had recorded every ball off the bat by the direction in which it was hit [the vector], the type of hit [ground ball, fly ball, line drive, popup, mob hit, etc.] and how hard the ball was hit &" So, in a game where we have long been able to measure offense and pitching, Dewan has made a strong presentation for rational and real defensive analysis. According to Baseball Info Solutions, Rowand was the best defensive center fielder in the game in 2005. Just go buy the book. There are charts that show where hits fell against every team. There are breakdowns by three years (2003-05). James' introductory explanation compares the game's best shortstop, Adam Everett, to Derek Jeter. Did I realize Alex Rodriguez is the worst third baseman fielding bunts? No. But I'm not surprised Nomar Garciaparra was the worst shortstop turning double plays with his arm action for the last three years. I'm not shocked the Yankees have been the worst defensive team in the game the last three years. In some ways, "The Fielding Bible" is like getting James or the Hirdt Brothers books in the '80s. What I'm using doesn't kill the book, it enhances. Just go get it and think. First base: Dewan struggles with this position (he does not rate catchers), but listening to Orel Hershiser it is no surprise that Mark Teixeira rated as the best in 2005. What's interesting is that Derrick Lee comes out in the middle of the pack, right below Daryle Ward. Three-year bests: Teixeira, Doug Mientkiewicz, Albert Pujols, John Olerud, Darin Erstad. Worst? Richie Sexson, Carlos Delgado, Adam LaRoche. Delgado was far and away the worst in 2005. Second base: Craig Counsell was the best in 2005 and Robinson Cano the worst. Orlando Hudson, Marcus Giles, Adam Kennedy, Mark Ellis and Brian Roberts were the best for three years, Counsell, Chase Utley and Mark Grudzielanek the best in 2005. Worst? Bret Boone, Alfonso Soriano and Luis Rivas for three years, Cano, Boone and Soriano in 2005. Best at turning the DP in 2005? No surprise, Grudzielanek. Third base: Mike Lowell wins a gold glove and ranked 21st last year because of his range to his left and balls hit to him. Three-year bests are Adrian Beltre, David Bell, Scott Rolen, Eric Chavez and Morgan Ensberg. Bell was the best last year, Mark Teahan the worst. I agree with Dewan, Rolen is really the best. Shortstop: Everett is in a class by himself for three years. The top six shortstops for three years are all National Leaguers, which makes Orlando Cabrera the best in the AL. Everett, Jack Wilson, Jimmy Rollins and Rafael Furcal are the three-year leaders with Michael Young, Jeter and Angel Berroa at the bottom. Left field: Coco Crisp, whose center-field rating is a little better than Johnny Damon's, was the best in left last season; second to Carl Crawford over three years. Three worst for three years: Manny Ramirez, Adam Dunn, Hideki Matsui. Center field: Last year? Rowand, Jeremy Reed, Joey Gathright. Three year: Torii Hunter, Rowand, Andruw Jones. Worst for last year and three years: Bernie Williams, Junior Griffey, Preston Wilson. Jim Edmonds may have slipped, but his arm remains the best. Right field: Trot Nixon and Casey Blake came out the best in 2005, Ichiro Suzuki, Nixon and J.D. Drew for three years. Worst? Gary Sheffield last year, Sheff, Michael Tucker and Juan Encarnacion for three years. Teams for 2005: Phillies, Indians, Angels, White Sox and Astros the best; Yankees, Royals, Marlins and Reds the worst. There is so much to this book. Just go buy it and have Dewan explain what you read here means.
Whats so complex about that? If our pitchers were filled with players like Astacio, the hits would be much more difficult to convert into outs than when you have a player like Petitte forcing hitters into weak ground balls. The better the pitching, the easier it is for a defense to convert balls in play into outs.
Well, not exactly. There is some dispute about the ability of pitchers to influence batting average of balls in play. There was a big difference between Pettitte and Astacio, but there was virtually no difference between Oswalt and Astacio. Here are some of the 2005 stats. Clemens - .757 Pettitte - .734 Backe - .717 Rodriguez - .710 Oswalt - .698 Astacio - .693 Lidge - .662 Link - http://www.hardballtimes.com/thtsta...=fip&teamAbbr=HOU&leagueAbbr=NL&qualified=All
http://houston.astros.mlb.com/NASAp...d=1336841&vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=hou The Astros have no interest in trading Burke. He doesn't have a starting job, but I can promise you he'll get plenty of at-bats this year. General manager Tim Purpura loves the combination of Phil Garner and Burke -- a creative, risk-taking manager and a young, hungry, talented player who will adapt to anything. You'll see Burke in left, at second and maybe short. By the end of Spring Training, we should have a gauge on whether Burke can adequately back up Adam Everett at shortstop. =============================================== In addition to full regular-season coverage, MLB.TV will broadcast several Astros games throughout Spring Training: • March 15: Yankees • March 16: Yankees • March 18: Indians • March 25: Mets • March 27: Tigers • March 28: Braves • March 29 Indians ESPN will televise only the March 15 Astros-Yankees matchup, and FSN will carry just two games -- March 22 versus the Indians and March 28 versus the Braves. If you're interested in coverage of games not televised or broadcast on MLB.TV, many more games throughout the Grapefruit League schedule will be audio broadcast on Gameday Audio ================================================= (Carlos) Hernandez is creating quite a buzz here in camp, and I would say he's got a heck of a chance to win a spot this spring. He's regained some of his velocity, and his curveball looks good. He's going to spend most of this month with the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic, but representatives from the organization will be following his every move. Phil Garner may have to make a decision based on what the scouts say, but he'll just have to trust their judgment.
I had to find a copy of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" for a show I am working on. I found this Washington Post page with some songs to put you in the mood for baseball. http://mp3.washingtonpost.com/bands/diamond_cuts.shtml The Hula Monsters one is great.
Sure would be nice to see him take over that spot so we could get his bat into the lineup every day as opposed to AE's.
it would be even better if AE would just hit better this season. burke has become one of my favorites, though. mostly because he's a figurehead to me of keeping the team together last season. he seemed like the most likely tradeable part during the season...but they stuck with him...and they stuck with the rest of the team...and i'm very glad they did!
Max Max Max...you've got it all wrong. Last year was a failure BECAUSE we didn't trade for anyone. And because Tim Purpura is fat. This has all been covered.
anybody watching the WBC right now? Carlos Hernandez is on to pitch against David Ortiz. Interesting to see how he looks. I'm stuck at work listening on my XM radio.
this is kinda off-topic and maybe i was nieve about every astro player when i was younger. but was there ever any hard proof that bagwell actually used steroids or just an assumption shared by many?
It was an assumption shared by precious few until very, very recently. People have always assumed the *best* about Bagwell, outside of some accusations of clubhouse politics back in '01 or '02. Recently, when almost everyone to some degree was implicated, people began to look at Bagwell and ask, "how *did* he go from average to below-average power in the minors to 449 ML bombs?" I think he's clean, but perhaps I'm thinking between my shoulders instead of above them.
