If you want love, you'll need a glove. (Defense 2010)

[MFS62]

As they used to say in Ebbets field, DiMaggio made the tough catches look easy. Mays made the easy catches look tough. And Duke just made the fucking catches.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'm sorry, Pagan has the sort of speed that allows him to fit into the phrase "Gomez-Pagan-Reyes speed"?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: I'm sorry, Pagan has the sort of speed that allows him to fit into the phrase "Gomez-Pagan-Reyes speed"?

11 trips, 14 steals last year in 276 PA, so he's in the neighborhood. (Although if "Gomez-Reyes-Cedeno" or "Gomez-Reyes... Pagan" makes you more comfortable, I'd make the change.)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Pagan apparently is the best athlete on the team, kills the other guys in jumping, agility drills and shit like that. I could not believe he got picked off again. I mean, I could.

[Guest Edgy DC]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Edgy DC wrote: I'm sorry, Pagan has the sort of speed that allows him to fit into the phrase "Gomez-Pagan-Reyes speed"? 11 trips, 14 steals last year in 276 PA, so he's in the neighborhood. (Although if "Gomez-Reyes-Cedeno" or "Gomez-Reyes... Pagan" makes you more comfortable, I'd make the change.)

I know he's got good wheels, and I know he's got productive wheels, but Gomez is as fast as anybody, and Reyes, before he went down, was sorta top-fivish.

Pagan has had some harsh and extended injuries in recent years, and it's great if he's still such a top athlete.

I think Jerry's plan is to share the job, but the opening day assignment goes to the more veteran player because the more veteran-higher paid guy is a bigger pain if he's unhapppy. A more releasable/demotable has more motivation to take what he can get.

[Frayed Knot]

Jerry made some statement about Mathews getting the OD assignment because he wanted Cora leading off and was more comfortable with GMJ down the lineup a ways than with Pagan -- a statement which skews more logic than a carload of Kardashian sisters dropped off at a physics convention.
Anyhoo, I wouldn't be surprised to see Pagan up top tomorrow w/Tejeda at SS -- for much the same reason.

[Guest Edgy DC]

There's some logic in there, but if you draw it out, you see it doesn't quite add up.

It's the sort of logic that a bad girlfriend uses, and you know that trying to get her to be a little consistent ("if this, why not this?") is only going to get you cut off, but you can't help yourself.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: There's some logic in there, but if you draw it out, you see it doesn't quite add up. It's the sort of logic that a bad girlfriend uses, and you know that trying to get her to be a little consistent ("if this, why not this?") is only going to get you cut off, but you can't help yourself.

I've been looking for things about which I can be thankful/optimistic, baseball-wise.

I never thought that one of them would be, "At least when I question their logic, they don't call my mother's house 40 times in one night or try to poison my pets."

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Y'know how UZR's a bit of a stat-in-development-- like cookie dough, if you will? Fangraphs made itsfirst seasoning adjustment-- mostly via park factors, and then mostly as regards quirky areas like Fenway's LF, LF at Minute Maid, and Coors Field's meadows in general-- to the 2009 UZR numbers.

There are a few names that stick out in terms of getting ratings bumps... specifically, a few former-FA left-fielders.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Turns out the Mariners were gakking at the FanGraphs rating also.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/marinersblog/2011744779_turns_out_jason_bay_may_have_h.html

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Beyond the Box Score takes a stab at catcher rankings[Players are ranked by linear weights runs saved above (or below) average in four categories. fielding errors (FE), throwing errors (TE), passed balls and wild pitches allowed (PBWP), and caught stealing (CS); methodology below].

Like most runs-saved/-earned-type stats, these are cumulative totals for the year. Our catchers last year?

Barajas (NYM), 6.1 runs, 7th (out of 120!)-- kicked ass in plate-blocking/WP prevention... not so in mowing down baserunners.
Blanco, 5.1 runs, 9th-- tied for third in the league at "caught stealing" score, even given limited duty.
Thole, 2.4 runs, 18th(!)

Our boy is REALLY not looking bad as a starter. Blanco-Thole, 2011!


OTHERS OF NOTE:

Yadier F., 14.6 runs, 1st
Carlos Ruiz, 9.2 runs, 3rd
Buster Posey, 4.2 runs, 12th
Brian McCann, 3.1 runs, 15th
Brian Schneider, 1.3 runs, 27th
Ramon Castro, 1.0 runs, 31st
Russell Martin, 0.0 runs, 58th
Bengie Molina (TEX), -0.3 runs, 68th
Bengie Molina (SFG), -2.7 runs, 103rd
Chris Iannetta, -5.1 runs, 112th
Victor Martinez, -5.7 runs, 114th
Jorge Posada, -8.6, 117th
Francisco Cervelli, -9.4, 119th

Stolen Bases/Caught Stealing: A) figure out the league rate for caught stealing; separate the catcher caught stealings from pitcher pickoffs; C) total the CSctch +SB to get total stolen base attempts (SBA) and then to total CSctch/total SBA for the lgCS rate; D) use the weight of .63 runs for each caught stealing, which represents the average linear weight of the caught stealing (.44 runs) plus the weight of the stolen base not achieved (.19 runs). Formula for runs above/below average: (CS - (lgCSrate) * SBA) * 0.63.
Wild pitches/passed balls: The league rate = (WPlg + PBlg)/lgPA. The linear weight for each passed ball/wild pitch is 0.28 runs. The formula for each player is ((WP + PB) - (lgWPPBrate * PA)) * -0.28.

Errors: There are two types of errors, throwing errors and fielding errors .There are separate linear weights for throwing errors (-0.48) and fielding errors (-0.75). Throwing errors: (TE - (lgTErate * PA)) * -0.48. Fielding errors: (FE - (lgFErate * PA)) * -0.75.

[Guest Edgy DC]

How did Russell Martin go from heir apparent to Piazza and LoDuca/future Met to kinda sucks at everything so fast? Did Alyssa Milano vampire-suck the talent out of him?