Offseason Baseball Thread

[Imran Siddiqui]

And for a leadoff hitter, speed is more important.

Speed is important for EVERYONE, Sava. All your example, they don't just happen at the top of the order, they happen all over the place.

However, the leadoff hitter does get more at bats during the game, so it's important that he makes as few outs as possible. I'd give up a little speed for that (such as swiching Castillo with Pierre last year... and Castillo isn't exactly slow either).

Btw, speaking of that.. the AL just got another great leadoff man with the Twins getting Castillo. Of course the Twinkies will probably **** it up by having Shannon Stewart as their leadoff man .

[Arrian]

Crossposting fun...

Sava,

I do not discount the ability of a good baserunner to take the extra base, go first-to-third and just flat-out steal. I see it ~160 games a year. Jeter doesn't steal all that much, but he's still a great baserunner. That DEFINITELY has value, and it's not measured by SLG. It's measured by SB, and I don't just ignore SB. I remember to at least have a look at CS.

Furthermore, if I was the type to totally ignore baserunning ability, I would assert that Jason Giambi ought to lead off because of his ungodly OBP. But Jason cannot run. Jason can't even jog, for chrissakes.

edit: like I said, the idea is to get your guy in scoring position. Scoring position for Giambi is halfway down the 3B line.

-Arrian

[Arrian]

Hey, anyone who gets on base for the Twins would help them. So far as I can tell, they had ONE such guy already: Mauer... who's a catcher and who hit for very little power (given his stats, unless he's terribly, Giambi-like slow, I might lead off with HIM... until they got Castillo, of course... Castillo is probably the right choice for the Twinkies now).

-Arrian

[Sava]

Originally posted by Arrian
His career totals just aren't very impressive,

hmmm... .305 career average... more walks than strikeouts in an era where that does just does not happen anymore... 50 stolen bases a year... 200 hits per year 100 runs a year... 162 games the last 3 years

so exactly what more do you want out of a leadoff man?

yes it would be nice to have Naj Lajoie hitting .426 with 48 doubles, 14 triples, 14 homers, and .463 OBP like in 1901... BUT THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

The Cubs tried to get both Furcal and Pierre. But they couldn't. Damon is a bit old and asking way too much... and frankly, Pierre is the better player at this point in time... and cheaper.

Pierre is not Willie Mays, defensively. But he doesn't need to be. Wrigley is not a huge open outfield. Pierre has great range and all he needs to do is hit the cutoff man. Patterson was great defensively, and Pierre won't give up much in that department... his arm isn't as strong, but the range is the same.

But offensively, Pierre is solid.

And how many players can hit .275 and can say they "sucked" last year?

I'd be very surprised if Pierre hits below .290 again.

The only thing I am concerned about is how Dusty is going to use him in terms of stealing bases.

[Sava]

and speaking of Giambi, it is a crime that he got the "comeback player of the year award"

you should not get an award for coming back from health issues stemming from STEROID ABUSE

[Imran Siddiqui]

Giambi is also too valuable with his SLG to waste at the top of the lineup .

As for Castillo. He'll probably bat 2nd, but should leadoff. Though I guess it isn't that big of a deal. Oh, and Mauer's power numbers should improve.

[Imran Siddiqui]

you should not get an award for coming back from health issues stemming from STEROID ABUSE

Why not? Druggies (cocaine) came back and get comeback player of the year.

hmmm... .305 career average... more walks than strikeouts in an era where that does just does not happen anymore... 50 stolen bases a year... 200 hits per year 100 runs a year... 162 games the last 3 years

so exactly what more do you want out of a leadoff man?

A better on base percentage?

He's better than anyone on the market after Castillo was dealt away, though... well aside from Damon, but he was asking for a ton.

[Arrian]

so exactly what more do you want out of a leadoff man?

Actually, this is the key question for all concerned. You have presented what you want:

High batting average, low strikeouts (so lotsa contact), steals.

Here's what I want:

High OBP, lots of pitches seen per plate appearance, some extra base hits (doubles are just fine, no need for HR power), bunting ability, decent speed and baserunning smarts (speed is very good, but even better is when a baserunner knows exactly what they are and are not capable of!).

And how many players can hit .275 and can say they "sucked" last year?

Oh, they're out there. These guys all hit better than .270:

Bubba Crosby

Edgar Renteria

Shannon Stewart

Darren Erstad

Jason Kendal

And I was just using the AL...

edit: position has to be taken into account, too. Pierre plays CF, and it's harder to get a CF who can really hit, so he gets a + there. Darin Erstad, playing 1B, however...

-Arrian

[Arrian]

Oh, and re: Giambi...

He's a cheating bastard, no doubt, and it's irritating to have the award go to a guy like him. There should be rules in place regarding the type of thing a player is "coming back" from, which exclude drug abuse (of any kind). Of course, fat chance getting the MBLPA to agree to that...

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Interesting... I've heard that Cards have basically said they are out of the running for Matt Morris... it seems the Giants are the top bidders right now.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Arrian

You have presented what you want:

High batting average, low strikeouts (so lotsa contact), steals.

you never asked what I want out of a complete leadoff hitter...

ideally I want a guy that hits .400, walks 100+ times, strikes out less than 10 times a year, steals 120 bases, hits 50 doubles, 15 triples, maybe 5-10 HR's, and is a monster defensively

but you don't get ideals

you can only choose from what is available

[Sava]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Interesting... I've heard that Cards have basically said they are out of the running for Matt Morris... it seems the Giants are the top bidders right now.

I hope Matt will enjoy pitching 5 inning games with Felipe

I hear Alou is going to keep 14 pitchers on the roster this year

[Arrian]

Ideally we all want a guy who bats 1.000 and hits a homer every time up (well no, that would get pretty boring, wouldn't it?).

I suppose I should rephrase it to: reasonable expectation.

In any event, I agree that, especially in this year's market, Pierre is a good pickup for the Cubs. I've said so several times. My initial post was written too harshly - I should have been a bit more reserved. I still maintain he isn't as good as you think he is, Sava.

Time will tell whether the good Pierre (.300+ average/.370 OBP) or bad Pierre (sub 300 av/ 330 OBP) shows up. Given what he's done so far in his career, they appear equally likely...

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Of course we can't fully evaluate the deal until we see what uber-prospet Nolasco (moving from the Cubs to Florida) does. I'm sure Florida is hoping for another Willis, who they STOLE from the Cubbies, giving them Clement and Alfonseco in return for the group of players including the D-train.

[Arrian]

I thought the line was that the Cubs didn't give up any uberprospects??

-Arrian