A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, no-hitters and Brian Wilson's beard are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.
How about a little exercise in futility, kids?
Player A: 152 PA, 4 HR, .183 BA, .224 OBP, .303 SLG, .233 wOBA, -0.3 WAR
Player B: 137 PA, 2 HR, .217 BA, .314 OBP, .283 SLG, .277 wOBA, 0.2 WAR
I think we can agree that these are two terrible offensive players. Of course, Player A is making, for the sake of a round number, about $20 million more this year than Player B. Player A is Vernon Wells who recently hit the disabled list with an acute case of suck that has spread throughout his body. While Player B is Juan Rivera who the Blue Jays DH and bat cleanup to "protect" baseball's best hitter Jose Bautista. I think this sums up where these players are in their careers...
Rivera set out to prove that sound effect correct Saturday night. Let's go to the tape...
Top 1st: Rivera struck out swinging against Nick Blackburn. It was a strike 'em out, throw 'em out with Bautista involved so I'll, begrudgingly, give Rivera a little benefit of the doubt on this one.
Top 3rd: Rivera struck out swinging against Blackburn again. No excuses this time.
Top 6th: Rivera struck out swinging against Blackburn. This, new readers, is what I like to call the MTD Hat Trick. That's when a player strikes out three times, the same way, against the same pitcher. It happened last year way more than I thought it would. But still, tell your friends. I'm trying to make it a thing.
Top 8th: Rivera struck out swinging against Matt Capps.
Credit where it's due, Rivera had the decency to get the Golden Sombrero in before extra innings so it doesn't feel tainted.
Showing posts with label blue jays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blue jays. Show all posts
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Vernon Wells Is An Upgrade From Juan Rivera, Right?
Yesterday I took a look at Mike Napoli vs Vernon Wells as hitters. And while this isn't becoming an Angels blog, it does seem like I have an awful lot to write about them lately. I think the guys over at the Orange County Register are egging me on though. Dan Woike recently wondered "Was Angels' Juan Rivera That Bad?" I'm not sure what his answer was because I'm allergic to slideshows but it did get me thinking.
How much better is Wells compared to Rivera? It's a little easier to compare the two since they're both 32-year-old outfielders. And Wells has a clear advantage in Wins Above Replacement because Rivera has the mobility of a wounded pylon (except for his outlying 2009 season). Click image to embiggen.
In terms of overall value, Wells is clearly the superior player even with him, hopefully, moving to left field. But in pure hitting terms, you might as well flip a coin. Yes, I am still using wOBA and, as always, click to enlarge.
These aren't especially comforting graphs for Angels fans. Now, I'm not saying Rivera is close to the player that Wells is because he isn't. I'd much rather have Wells than Rivera in a vacuum but we can't ignore the Wells contract.
Could the Angels have suffered through a Bobby Abreu/Juan Rivera left field and found better production from a Manny Ramirez or Johnny Damon designated hitter? If we turn a blind eye to defense for this experiment, I think the answer is yes. Plus that assortment of players could have just been a place holder until Mike Trout arrives.
Of course, this has just become a "could have, should have" exercise for me at this point. Actual results may vary.
How much better is Wells compared to Rivera? It's a little easier to compare the two since they're both 32-year-old outfielders. And Wells has a clear advantage in Wins Above Replacement because Rivera has the mobility of a wounded pylon (except for his outlying 2009 season). Click image to embiggen.
In terms of overall value, Wells is clearly the superior player even with him, hopefully, moving to left field. But in pure hitting terms, you might as well flip a coin. Yes, I am still using wOBA and, as always, click to enlarge.
These aren't especially comforting graphs for Angels fans. Now, I'm not saying Rivera is close to the player that Wells is because he isn't. I'd much rather have Wells than Rivera in a vacuum but we can't ignore the Wells contract.
Could the Angels have suffered through a Bobby Abreu/Juan Rivera left field and found better production from a Manny Ramirez or Johnny Damon designated hitter? If we turn a blind eye to defense for this experiment, I think the answer is yes. Plus that assortment of players could have just been a place holder until Mike Trout arrives.
Of course, this has just become a "could have, should have" exercise for me at this point. Actual results may vary.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Mike Napoli Versus Vernon Wells And It's Not Pretty
An insufferable amount of words have been written about how bad the Vernon Wells trade was from the Angels aspect. We get it. The contract is an albatross, Wells is a 32-year-old declining outfielder, his splits last year were a nightmare of Freddy Krueger proportions, Tony Reagins has a drinking problem, et cetera, et cetera... I know it hasn't been completely lost in the shuffle but the Angels also traded away the best hitter in this deal.
The fallacy I keep hearing from Angels fans is that Mike Napoli wasn't one of Mike Scioscia's "guys" or he wasn't wanted in Anaheim or he wasn't going to get playing time anyway or the Angels didn't want to pay him the $6 million or so he was going to win in arbitration. Maybe, but by trading Napoli, the Angels made the Blue Jays better and themselves considerably worse. The Angels will go into 2011 with Jeff Mathis, a career .199/.265/.311* hitter, as their starting catcher. But this post isn't about how bad Mathis is, and he is bad, it's about how underrated Napoli is compared to Wells.
*I accidentally copied Mathis' OBP/SLG/OPS line first and thought we were all terribly misinformed. Then I realized I missed the actual AVG/OBP/SLG line and Mathis is worse than I ever imagined.
I don't think the majority of people do realize that Napoli has been a better hitter than Wells over the past three or four seasons and will probably continue to be so over the duration of Wells' cashrific contract. For illustrative purposes, let's take a look at the career Weighted On Base Averages (wOBA) for Napoli and Wells. For those new to wOBA, you can read about it here. Click image to enlarge.
As you can see, Napoli has had a higher wOBA for each season since 2007 except for 2010. The Wells supporters like to point at the bounce back season of 2010 hoping it is an encouraging sign for things to come. Unfortunately, Wells' big 2010 season was aided by a massive power spike in Toronto.
So I would caution any Angels fans who are hoping Wells will be bringing 30 home run power to Anaheim. Wells has as good a chance of repeating his 2010 season as I do being Scarlett Johansson's rebound. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong in both cases.
The other concern about Wells is his splits. He hasn't hit lefties over the past two seasons and was atrocious on the road last year. Napoli isn't going to hit for a high average and he struggled with right handers this past season but absolutely crushes southpaws. He is also a pretty consistent hitter at home or on the road.
I would love to be wrong about Wells but the numbers suggest he's on the decline and has lost the ability to hit left handed pitching. His spike last season was a clear product of the Rogers Center becoming a hitters park for 2010. I doubt this is one of those "change of scenery will do him good" scenarios. But who knows, maybe the Angels have the Fountain of Youth hidden in the outfield rocks.
Napoli, on the other hand, is poised for a big 2011 season and won't cost the Jays the price of a small island.
As an Angels fan, it isn't fun being the bearer of doom and gloom.
The fallacy I keep hearing from Angels fans is that Mike Napoli wasn't one of Mike Scioscia's "guys" or he wasn't wanted in Anaheim or he wasn't going to get playing time anyway or the Angels didn't want to pay him the $6 million or so he was going to win in arbitration. Maybe, but by trading Napoli, the Angels made the Blue Jays better and themselves considerably worse. The Angels will go into 2011 with Jeff Mathis, a career .199/.265/.311* hitter, as their starting catcher. But this post isn't about how bad Mathis is, and he is bad, it's about how underrated Napoli is compared to Wells.
*I accidentally copied Mathis' OBP/SLG/OPS line first and thought we were all terribly misinformed. Then I realized I missed the actual AVG/OBP/SLG line and Mathis is worse than I ever imagined.
I don't think the majority of people do realize that Napoli has been a better hitter than Wells over the past three or four seasons and will probably continue to be so over the duration of Wells' cashrific contract. For illustrative purposes, let's take a look at the career Weighted On Base Averages (wOBA) for Napoli and Wells. For those new to wOBA, you can read about it here. Click image to enlarge.
As you can see, Napoli has had a higher wOBA for each season since 2007 except for 2010. The Wells supporters like to point at the bounce back season of 2010 hoping it is an encouraging sign for things to come. Unfortunately, Wells' big 2010 season was aided by a massive power spike in Toronto.
| Park Factors HR Rates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Angels Stadium | Rogers Center |
| 2010 | 0.825 | 1.358 |
| 2009 | 1.22 | 0.99 |
| 2008 | 0.933 | 0.926 |
So I would caution any Angels fans who are hoping Wells will be bringing 30 home run power to Anaheim. Wells has as good a chance of repeating his 2010 season as I do being Scarlett Johansson's rebound. Obviously, I hope I'm wrong in both cases.
The other concern about Wells is his splits. He hasn't hit lefties over the past two seasons and was atrocious on the road last year. Napoli isn't going to hit for a high average and he struggled with right handers this past season but absolutely crushes southpaws. He is also a pretty consistent hitter at home or on the road.
| Vernon Wells | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | vs RHP | vs LHP | Home | Road |
| 2010 | 27 HR .291/.342/.553 | 4 HR .195/.289/.354 | 20 HR .321/.363/.628 | 11 HR .227/.301/.407 |
| 2009 | 12 HR .278/.322/.425 | 3 HR .206/.279/.323 | 8 HR .214/.285/.348 | 7 HR .300/.335/.444 |
| 2008 | 18 HR .290/.328/.509 | 2 HR .333/.394/.455 | 11 HR .296/.347/.502 | 9 HR .304/.339/.490 |
| Mike Napoli | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | vs RHP | vs LHP | Home | Road |
| 2010 | 16 HR .208/.277/.423 | 10 HR .305/.399/.567 | 13 HR .240/.324/.480 | 13 HR .237/.307/.456 |
| 2009 | 14 HR .251/.325/.453 | 6 HR .337/.422/.611 | 10 HR .230/.332/.480 | 10 HR .308/.365/.514 |
| 2008 | 16 HR .270/.364/.590 | 4 HR .286/.406/.571 | 10 HR .250/.356/.542 | 10 HR .299/.394/.636 |
I would love to be wrong about Wells but the numbers suggest he's on the decline and has lost the ability to hit left handed pitching. His spike last season was a clear product of the Rogers Center becoming a hitters park for 2010. I doubt this is one of those "change of scenery will do him good" scenarios. But who knows, maybe the Angels have the Fountain of Youth hidden in the outfield rocks.
Napoli, on the other hand, is poised for a big 2011 season and won't cost the Jays the price of a small island.
As an Angels fan, it isn't fun being the bearer of doom and gloom.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
At Least A Giant Letter B Didn't Fall On Me
I survived my birthday on Monday fairly unharmed. Sure I'm missing an eyebrow and had to shave my head but other than that and any possible liver damage, I came out of it relatively unscathed. It's not like I went to a baseball game and had a giant letter B fall on me...A fan at the Toronto Blue Jays' game was OK on Monday after being struck in the right shoulder by a tumbling, metal "B" from a sign honoring Jackie Robinson.Canadian craftsmanship at its finest. Jose Bautista's retooled swing is making some real noise this season. Bautista already leads the league in homers (43) but he's now dismantling The Rogers Center one letter at a time.
The middle-aged man had a scrape after a foul ball by home run leader Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays dislodged one of the letters in a tribute honoring Robinson's retired No. 42.
Anyway, now that the birthday festivities have run their course, I should be back posting about the home stretch and usual nonsense at my regular pace. Sorry for the interruption.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ricky Romero Extended: A Look At The 2005 Draft
Toronto lefty Ricky Romero signed a 5-year, $30.1 million extension with the Blue Jays today. The 25-year-old pitcher broke into the bigs last season with the Jays with mixed reviews. He's sporting a 3.53 ERA which seems sustainable considering his 3.60 xFIP and .301 BABIP. Is a 25-year-old left handed pitcher with a 3.50 ERA worth a $30 million extension? It seems like a good deal to me from the Blue Jays side. The draft pick at the time was criticized since the Jays passed up Troy Tulowitzki in order to draft Romero. Let's hop in the way back machine and take a look at some of the other first round picks from 2005...1. Justin Upton
Upton broke out in 2009 hitting 26 homers with a .300/.366/.532 line mixing in 20 stolen bases. He's having a disappointing season thus far to the tune of .272/.359/.449 but he is still just 22-years-old and has many more All Star appearances in his future.
2. Alex Gordon
The cornerstone of the Royals franchise has been anything but that in his young professional career. Gordon has managed 42 career homers and a .248/.328/.414 with the Royals while bouncing up and down between the minors. Plus he's already been moved to the outfield from third base. I still believe he can be a solid regular but not what the Royals thought they were getting with the second overall pick.
3. Jeff Clement
Bust.
4. Ryan Zimmerman
Zimmerman ended up being everything the Nationals expected. Zimmerman got a cup of coffee the year he was drafted and never looked back. The 25-year-old had his offensive breakout last season slugging 33 homers on his way to a .292/.364/.525 line. He's been even better this year hitting 22 homers with a .301/.390.540 line. Did I mention he might be the best fielding third baseman in baseball too?
5. Ryan Braun
Braun is the offensive juggernaut that everyone thought he'd be but he's godawful at defense. He was drafted as a third baseman but after posting a -27.7 UZR in 2007 he was quickly moved to left field. Last year he posted a -13.4 UZR there and is aiming to top that this year already sitting at a -10.7 UZR.
6. Ricky Romero
7. Troy Tulowitzki
If Tulo could stay healthy for a full season, he would rival Chase Utley as the player I feel gets no MVP love. In 2009, Tulo played a full season and hit 32 homers with a .297/.377/.552 line while playing a respectable short stop. The injury bug got him again this year but when active he's hitting .321/.382/.512.
They also got drafted...
9. Mike Pelfrey
Pelfrey is putting together a nice season for the Mets this year with a 3.94 FIP and might end up being a front of the rotation starter.
11. Andrew McCutchen
I was shocked to see that McCutchen's outfield UZR is -8.4 this year. The 23-year-old still figures to be one of the few exciting things Pirates fan have to look forward to in the immediate future.
12. Jay Bruce
While Bruce is still just 23-years-old, his major league career hasn't lived up to the hype surrounding him. But I'm pretty jaded considering I draft him every year for fantasy baseball.
23. Jacoby Ellsbury
The speedy Red Sox outfielder hit the disabled list for the third time this season. Boston has been snakebitten all year.
25. Matt Garza
Garza has been the Rays second best starter since the Twins gave him up for the underwhelming Delmon Young.
28. Colby Rasmus
Rasmus is on his way to being one of the key players for the Cardinals and picked up the rare reverse Golden Sombrero yesterday going 0-0 with 4 walks.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Mark Teixeira's Platinum Sombrero
A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.Two platinum sombreros in two days? Is it strikeout Christmas or, if you will, K-mas? This must be how perfect game aficionados feel this year. Less than 24-hours after Jason Heyward's Platinum Sombrero, Mark Teixeira struck out five times against the Blue Jays. We should note that Heyward's is much more impressive since he managed the feat in a mere 9 inning game while Teixeira had an extra 5 innings to not get a hit.
Okay boys and girls, gather around this table and grab your shot glasses. We take a shot of tequila every time Tex strikes out swinging. Let's see how drunk we're getting.
Top 3rd: Teixeira struck out swinging against Ricky Romero. Everybody take a shot!
Top 5th: Teixeira struck out swinging against Romero again. Two tequila!
Top 8th: Teixeira struck out for the third time against Romero. Hat trick! I made up my own definition for a strikeout hat trick. It's when a batter strikes out 3 times against the same pitcher, the same way. How many time has it been done? Do I look like Baseball Reference? Three tequila!
Top 10th: Teixeira struck out swinging against Kevin Gregg. Floor!
Top 13th: Teixeira struck out swinging against Casey Janssen. It's a good thing I can hold my booze, kids.
Congratulations, Mark. You won a giant, shiny Mexican hat. Now, we're all a little buzzed. Why don't you take us out for some burritos?
Adam Lind's Golden Sombrero
A golden sombrero is awarded to a player who manages to strike out four times in a single game (real golden sombrero not included). It's quite the feat unless you're Ryan Howard or Mark Reynolds. Unfortunately, cycles and no-hitters are all the rage nowadays. Not for me, though. I will pour over the box scores to bring you the finest at swinging and missing.The Blue Jays and the Yankees engaged in a strikeout fest that the Jays pulled out in the bottom of the 14th. Over the 14 innings, the two teams combined for 30 strikeouts. Yet, I'll only be handing out two sombreros. This made me a little sad. Greedy, I know, but still. This video always cheers me and will probably make another appearance or two in this feature.
Enough nonsense. Adam Lind is the recipient of my first sombrero. He's having a disappointing season after breaking out last year. I'm inclined to cut him a little slack since it was a 14 inning game but he's destroying my fantasy team. Let's see how won his sombrero while going 0-6. *shakes fist*
Bottom 1st: Lind struck out swinging against Andy Pettitte. To be fair, Pettitte struck out the side swinging in the first. That sentence doesn't look right.
Bottom 6th: Lind struck out swinging against Pettitte again. Lind did at least manage to fly out in the 3rd.
Bottom 8th: Lind struck out swinging for the third time against Pettitte. Hat trick!
Bottom 12th: Lind struck out swinging against Chan Ho Park.
To recap, Lind struck out swinging four times against two pitchers with a combined age of 73-years-old. Put on the hat and go for some tequila. Yet it wasn't as bad as...
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