I don't think it's a stretch to call Adam Everett the best defensive player in the league. It's also not a stretch to call him the worst offensive player in the league. Like everyone else has said, the big problem is that there just isn't any good way to quantify how much value defense is worth right now. And, looking at the numbers, it's a miracle that the Astros are even in a pennant race right now. They have 3 of the 6 worst hitters in the NL, ranked by OPS, and that is playing half of their games in a batter-friendly stadium.
He hit .308 for the Devil Rays and is hitting .235 for the Dodgers. Overall he is at .292 (108 hits in 370 official at bats).
That's cause I can't count. Still doesn't change the argument, though. That's an extra 25 hits over 500 ABs. Not worth losing the glove and range Adam gives us.
I think you could make the argument for the first part. He's definitely not the worst offensive player in the league. Ignoring bench players for a bit, we have 1 player on our team that's worse (Ausmus). If you look only at SS's, there are at least 3 starting SS that are worse (Ronny Cedeno, Angel Berroa, and Clint Barmes). All of their numbers - AVG/SLG/OPS - are worse than Everett. Taking into account other positions and bench players, there are plenty of players worse than AE offensively.
That's not a complete comparison of value, though. It's not just 25 extra hits, it's almost 0.100 points in both OBP and SLG - that is a huge difference. That said, I think Lugo had a flukey half-year with Tampa and his numbers with LA have been horrid, but looking at it by average alone is simply not meaningful.
It's not that hard to believe really. Everett is better than Jeter in every category defensively at a position where defense is a necessity. This is an offensively inept team, but I hardly think this discussion would be warranted if Ensberg, Biggio, Lane and yes even Ausmus were producing similar to what they did last year (in the second half).
Teams can exploit defensive weaknesses pretty easily in baseball too. With a Piazza behind the base, you're gonna see baserunners challenging him all night. If you have a weak arm in the outfield, you'll see baserunners stretching singles and doubles into doubles and triples. If you have a crap bullpen, you might see teams work the starting pitcher into deep counts to get him out of the game sooner to get to the pen. And baseball players play defense all night too. Just because a ball isn't hit to you on every single play doesn't mean you don't have to be ready. They gotta stay focused all night cause the moment they lose they're concentration is the moment a ball is hit to them and they screw up. And the pitcher might be the primary factor in a team's defense, but it takes a lot of pressure off that pitcher knowing he has a stellar defense to back him up...just take a look at some of Roger's quotes of Willy from last night.
Yeah, but baseball's an "individual sport". I'm still reeling from the abject stupidity of that take. Replacing Vizcaino with Everett and removing Biggio from the outfield were most certainly 2 factors in Roger's amazing ERA last year.
Ummm, BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAaaaaa!!! omg. The stupidest post ever, and you followed it with an encore! You bested yourself. Just for kicks: tell me if it's really possible for a pitcher to win a game by himself. If so, how. I'm on the edge of my seat.
I agree with this post the most. Having both Everett and Ausmus in the every day lineup has been painful to watch all year long. It seems that it happens so often that with the pitching spot or with Ensberg in the lineup, there is a guaranteed 1-2-3 inning for the opposing pitcher with no hope whatsoever. If Stros continue to keep Everett b/c the value of his defense, at least get rid of Ausmus!
because no team has ever been successful before with the everett/ausmus combination. OR the reigning NL champions had that mix, exactly.
Okay, let's suppose Adam Everett and Brad Ausmus are stuck in a burning building, trapped under some rubble. You (huge Astros fan) are the only person in the area, and you can only save one of them before the building collapses. Who would it be?
he cost them a playoff series. or at least played a big role in costing them that series. errors from SS's suck. 18 errors in about 220 attempts this season sucks.
