WPA.

Meh.

aren’t Young haters… just Young’s contract haters. As has been said before, it’s not his fault. It’s not like he should have passed on the deal saying, “Mr. Hicks, I’m not sure I’ll be worth that in 2011”. It’s just tough to watch a player decline when he’s being paid a lot of money.

But, we better get used to it. He’s going nowhere.

are they kind of big and a blue, veiny color?

24 hour news cycle right? no young hating posts tomorrow???

Gree

tougher to do these days.

I think Cameron is overblowing this a little. The average ML shortstop hit .271/.331/.390 in ‘08, and even if that is bumped up a bit in ’09, I have a hard time believing a healthy Young (that is, one without two broken fingers) won’t remain at least a bit above-average with the bat for his position. He’s got definite problems, and I’m not saying those shouldn’t be acknowledged (and, if at all possible, addressed), but let’s not make him out to be a replacement-level player even with his defensive deficiencies. He’s not at that point.

I’m also not a huge fan of WPA/LI.

I entered and wasn’t done. Cameron’s article is well written, and evidently accurately researched and stated, even though I don’t know the formulation of WPA/LI. I also read Jeff Sullivan when I have time. So use the proverbial grain of salt, it’s just so monotonous to hash and rehash and recalculate Young’s performance (and screw the contract, he received it, he didn’t authorize it). Just for kicks, I’ll venture he produces a .315/.375/.430 line in 2009 (assuming healthy), and grades no worse than maybe 11th in whichever position he plays. I can tell you that playing through a broken finger on each hand, however fast he heals, is not disabling but sure does hamper swinging a bat. And yeah, the old concession about his location in the box stands. He has to get up a shoe’s width, and a couple of inches closer to the plate to be batting from where he set up in 2005. Maybe all the above won’t happen. I think it can, should, and maybe will.

“…when everyone thought…”

he means: contribute occasionally as Hambone, Kinsler and Crush lead the Rangers to the Promised Land.

LOL. Name 15 SS’s you’d rather have up with a runner on 2nd and down by 1. You can’t even get close.

I don’t think that’s the issue here.

For me at least, the issue is hating the 80 million dollar contract that he’s signed too, and hating his undeserved “star power” that could very well wind up blocking and/or leading to the trade of one of the best shortstop prospects in baseball.

The bottom line is (as Dave Cameron points out) is not only is he being paid waaay to much money for overall performances that are simply mediocre at this point, he’s now getting an award for a performance that was can only be termed average at the very, very best. Just like Derek Jeter, Michael Young is getting money and accolades he simply doesn’t deserve, and as someone who loves the sport of baseball, I don’t see how anyone can just sit and turn a blind eye to it for the sake of homerisim.

Paging DSheppard, paging DSheppard…

2007 decline compared to 2006, and the excuse for the 2006 decline compared to 2005?

Pre-July 28th (when he sustained the origional injury) he hit .298/.345/.421, which is a .766 OPS. Post-July 28th he hit .256/.326/.363 (689 OPS).

That is a pretty huge dropoff, but even if he had maintained that .766 OPS through years end, it only would have bumped him up one spot among MLB shortstops with at least 500 PA’s. He’d have been tied for 9th out of 18 with Yunel Escobar – exactly mid-pack, in other words, and still down almost 20 points from his 2007 OPS of .783 (which was down from 814 in 2006).

Bottom line is, Young’s decline was indeed continuing this year, even before he got injured.