New Rangers newsletter up
by Adam J. Morris on Jun 18, 2008 10:22 AM CDT
31 comments
Evan Grant has a new Rangers newsletter up...
Discussion on what to do with Milton Bradley and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ron Washington's handling of the bullpen situation, and Gerald Laird, among other things...
Check it out...
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I don't think
OBP, SLG and OPS are the Triple Crown of anything.
That doesn’t even make sense.
by brettgardner on Jun 18, 2008 10:26 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
It's technically a double crown
As OPS is the combo of the two, so it’s really only two numbers. I thought it was weird, too.
by FuturePants on Jun 18, 2008 10:27 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
True
The Sabermetric Triple Crown is average, on-base percentage, and slugging. Also (and better) known as the “rate stat” triple crown.
Love of God and compassion and empathy leads you to a very glorious place, and science leads you to killing people. -- Ben Stein
by Lucas on Jun 18, 2008 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wouldn't really call that the Sabermetric Triple Crown.
Considering none of them are any more than barely technically metrics, and sabermetricians mostly find batting average to be close to useless.
But, it’s closer than OBP/SLG/OPS because you see the slash stats a lot and it’s not just adding 1 and 2 together for 3.
by philkid3 on Jun 18, 2008 11:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I am fast losing respect for Evan
Yesterday he quoted a JoeChat, and in that newsletter, he just called Gerald Laird a more well-rounded offenseive player than Salty (who he admits hits for more power and walks more) because he can “move runners and do things at the bottom of the lineup”.
I’m not denying Laird is having a great year – he’s on quite a tear right now, just in time for the trade deadline – but come on. That’s like saying David Eckstein is a more well-rounded offensive shortstop than Michael Young.
by lonestarJon on Jun 18, 2008 10:31 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Right Now...
Laird is the better catcher. Offensively and defensively.
by corbsclinton on Jun 18, 2008 10:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Offensively?
It’s obviously a smaller sample-size for Salty, but he’s got a .275 EqA to Laird’s .271. I don’t think you can definitively say Laird’s better offensively right now. And while Salty has hit a decline (like two weeks ago he had the 3rd best average on the team), he still has indications of superior patience.
Overall, though, I definitely think Laird is better right now. Not sure that should be an argument.
by philkid3 on Jun 18, 2008 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Salty
No offense to the guy but I think he needs to start swinging the bat more. Walks are fine and show a great attribute in plate discipline but he needs to start putting more balls in play and show he is a superior offensive player. it reminds me alot of the Botts fiasco in a way. Botts had all this offensive hype and people were so enamored with his OBP because he walked alot but all walks do is put the person behind you in position to showcase themselves. Also i think because of where Salty hits in the lineup he needs to walk less and hit more. Walks are fine if you are at the top of the lineup or middle and have really good hitters behind you. but when you are hitting 7th or 8th and have as much offensive potential as Salty does he needs to show it. Im not saying swing at bad pitches but instead of watching strikes go by try and do something with it. Laird may not have the power Salty does but he is a better offensive player right now. He gets the job done.
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
by bigsteve on Jun 18, 2008 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
My point on the walks was this:
He has a better EqA than Laird, and does so with more walks. All I was pointing out was that he has patience which is an indication he’ll be less likely to decline.
When it comes to who has been better I dont’ care how they arrive at it, I’m likely to feel the player with the higher numbers has been better. When it comes to who will be better, if the numbers are equal, I’ll usually bet on the player with more patience.
by philkid3 on Jun 18, 2008 11:25 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
No why?
Bryan Smith (12:17:17 PM PT): Justin Smoak and Josh Hamilton. The AL West might just have found their Bash Brothers, v. 2.0.
by bigsteve on Jun 18, 2008 11:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Reference to "basecloggers"...
... and a landmark quote in the history of idiocy that is Dusty Baker.
Right around the time all the young talent is ready to contend is when the organization will realize that Ron Washington is the wrong man for the job.
by Chad Crudup on Jun 18, 2008 1:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Also
It’s hard to believe there are people who would follow a team as casually as this guy:
“Q: What is the win-loss ratio of games when Gerald Laird is not the catcher vs. the win-loss ratio for the other catcher?”
...and yet still have enough interest to waste time writing an email to Grant. A dumb email, to be sure, but still.
by brettgardner on Jun 18, 2008 10:34 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
But Grant likes to do win/loss stuff when comparing players
Remember when he busted that out to try and say Ramon Vazquez was outperforming a Hank Blalock at 3B earlier this year?
by lonestarJon on Jun 18, 2008 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
why does the OMFT hate continue...
Is he not playing better, pretty much in all aspects of the game, than Salty is right now? At what point do you determine playing time based on performance as opposed to projectability?
Since the call up, Laird’s BA is better, W/L is better, pitchers ERA is better, etc. Let’s not forget that he also won the job in ST and only started losing time when his BACKUP was hurt.
IF the tables were turned and Salty’s stats / game outcomes were so glaringly better than OMFT’s, everyone here would be calling for Salty to catch 5x / week, touting these same stats as justification for a shift in playing time.
Jeff Henn is an idiot.
by Red Shoe Fan on Jun 18, 2008 10:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
The guy showed LSBers up this season and more power to him.
by corbsclinton on Jun 18, 2008 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
the hate continues
because it’s an illusion. We put him in the lineup every damn day and the numbers suck, just like last year. This two on, two off hides the fact that there are serious questions about his ability as an every day starter. Also at 28 his time is limited. There are four guys for two spots and because of age and past history Laird seems to be the low man on the totem poll, if this team is really building for 2010 and beyond.
by Hull Fan on Jun 18, 2008 11:05 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Argument the other day......
I don’t comment often, but I did the other day pointing out that Laird was simply a better catcher right now. I got blasted to two guys on here. I think the #’s support the fact that simply put, we’re a much better team right now w/ Laird. And contrary to what the two guys said, a team cannot survive when a catcher has thrown out ONE base stealer all season.
by coachh on Jun 18, 2008 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
At the time you said that
Salty’s offensive numbers were significantly better than lairds.
Bring up Justin Smoak
by DSheppard on Jun 18, 2008 11:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
who hated on OMFT in this thread?
Bring up Justin Smoak
by DSheppard on Jun 18, 2008 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
LSJ primarily...
But it hasn’t necessarilly been confined to this thread. There is much mention on this board of Salty’s positive attributes (and I personally believe he’s going to develop into a nice hitter at some point), but the majority reacts with shock when Laird performs well. As a fan of the team, don’t you want to see the best available options getting the majority of the playing time? At some point in the future, Salty, TT, MaxRam, etc. will probably be a better option, but right now, the outcomes suggest that Larid is the best option. I realize that you have to walk a fine line between putting a quality product on the field now and building for the future, but as I said in my last point, if the stats were turned the other way, most people here would (justifiably) hope that Laird never saw the field.
Jeff Henn is an idiot.
by Red Shoe Fan on Jun 18, 2008 11:24 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Salty needs to go..
I think that we can package Salty and maybe someone else for some serious talent. Like you guys have said, he has a great upside. But what happens if that upside doesnt rear its head untill were ready to bring up these two talented catchers (Teagarden and Mad Max). I just think we are painting ourselves into a corner where we will ultimately miss out on a great opportunity to get a pitcher or someone to help us on an everyday basis
"Water covers 2/3 of the world, T-New's got the rest"
by TheJman on Jun 18, 2008 11:18 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
teagarden and max
tea will probably never hit enough to be a regular starter
max isnt good enough behind the plate to be a regular starter
i think you gotta give salty consistnent playing time to see if he can put up an ops of .800 or better
by kumizi on Jun 18, 2008 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
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