As I recall, *he* had nothing to do with the analysis. He just wrote the preface and used the other guys' stats. Anyway, being able to accurately measure defensive ability with science (assuming they can do that--BP is apparently very secretive with its defensive stuff) is more valuble than saying, "Boy, he's got a plus arm."
Sorry, but that line is pretty arrogant. You've obviously no idea what a scout actually does. I loved The Fielding Bible, btw. All pro teams utilize a variety of defensive metrics, they just don't write books about it...competitive advantage & all. What I was saying is that, absent another knowledge base, James needed things quantified. He freely admits his limitations, and does not ever deride "baseball people" like you seem to. And he's worked with many, many of them.
The problem with Everett is that he's not flashy. While one'd expect common fans to not see the difference between Everett and average SS on TV, you'd expect more from those voting for awards. You'd think they don't simply look at how "slick" someone throws the ball, or how many "diving catches" one has, or just pick up the newspaper to look at Fielding %. But in the end, those factor much more than what truly makes a player great defensively.
These are the same people who awarded Rafael Palmiero a Gold Glove for a year in which he played fewer than 20 games in the field.
Vizquel could pick it pretty damn good back in his day... but the only reason why he won the award is because its a reputation award (hence, you have to "lose" it... more than Everett has to win it). I wouldn't say Vizquel won it because he was flashy.
Vizquel was a great shortstop, and he's still very good. But for the past couple of years, Everett has been better than Vizquel at his peak.
Actually, I think he is. His throwing motion looks very slick, and for some reason he gets a lot of highlights reels where announcers simply gush at the way he picks the ball. It was mainly him and that Mets SS back then, whose name I can't recall at the moment. Of course, I watched Vizquel mainly back in his Cleveland days, when he was an elite shortstop playing in the postseason all the time. But I don't hear nearly the praise for Everett right now, even during our playoff runs.
That's true. GG might be the most laughable award ever given. I shudder at the thought that maybe 10 years from now, Derek Jeter would be remembered as a great defensive SS on the basis of his Gold Glove and his Yankee aura.
If Jeter couldn't hit, he'd be their version of Ryan Bowen. Hustles a lot, makes up for the lack of physical capabilities, and occasionally looks crazy doing it because he's willing to hustle like that.
One play that was made only through the ineptitude of the opposition. Poor fundamental baseball was a hallmark of those A's teams.
