SB Nation - Shane Victorino

MLB Trade Rumors: Phillies Sign Placido Polanco

raygu — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:00:15 -0000

by Duane Burleson - AP

14 days ago: FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2009, file phot, Detroit Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco throws to first after getting the force out on Tampa Bay Rays' Dioner Navarro (30) in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Detroit. Polanco has returned to the Philadelphia Phillies, agreeing to an $18 million, three-year contract on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. The 34-year-old free agent won Gold Gloves at second base for the Detroit Tigers in 2007 and this year but will shift to third base, which hasn't been his primary position since 2002. He replaces Pedro Feliz, who became a free agent. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson, File)

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Thursdays news that the Phillies signed Placido Polanco is a little confusing as most rumors out there were that they were interested in Adrian Beltre or Mark DeRosa. The Polanco signing came out of left field in my opinion.

Polanco is a career .300 hitterm but doesn't walk much or strike out much, and maybe that is why the Phillies signed him. He isn't a power hitter, judging by his career slugging percentage of .414, but he can hit and field very well.

This is what ESPN's Buster Olney had to say about the Polanco signing:

And the Phillies also believe that Polanco will help them do a better job of manufacturing runs at the top of their order. The team has, year after year, consistently ranked near the top of the major leagues in runs scored, but the front office has come to believe that the team is too reliant on home runs -- on big swings -- and has become prone to strikeouts and pop-ups in situations in which they might be well-served by a ground ball to the right side.

Shane Victorino was the primary No. 2 hitter for the Phillies last year and struck out 71 times, not a particularly high number. The Phillies believe that if Polanco bats second, behind Jimmy Rollins, this will give Rollins a better chance to run after reaching base, and that Charlie Manuel will have more options at his disposal, given that Polanco is one of the best hit-and-run men in the sport. Victorino may well drop down in the lineup, to the No. 7 spot.

Quite informative piece there as this tells me that Rollins and Victorino could be running more in 2010...well, definitely Rollins. But with Victorino batting 7th, he could also run more than last year, but he won't be scoring as many runs as he would hitting in front of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth.

Then again, the Phillies could deal Victorino and promote AAA outfielder Michael Taylor to bat 7th, which would be a perfect spot in the lineup for a young power hitter.

Poll

Will Jimmy Rollins steal more bases in 2010?

MLB Trade Rumors: Phillies Shopping Shane Victorino??

raygu — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:30:13 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - ASSOCIATED PRESS

about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Shane Victorino, right, is congratulated by Jimmy Rollins after scoring on a two run RBI single by Raul Ibanez during the eighth inning of Game 1 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the New York Yankees Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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I was trading emails with my brother and a few friends yesterday, and one of my friends who listens to alot of Philadelphia talk radio said he heard that the Phillies may be quietly shopping Shane Victorino. I was shocked to hear that one, and none of the big rumors guys have yet to throw that one out there. It will be interesting to see if the Phillies would actually mess with a lineup that went to the World Series two years in a row.

So, why would the Phillies want to deal Victorino? I think there are several reasons. One is they have Michael Taylor and Domonic Brown in AAA and AA respectively, who are probably amongst the top 20-25 prospects in the game right now. Secondly, if the Phillies are serious about signing Cliff Lee long-term, then they need to move some salary to afford Lee. Victorino is up for arbitration again this year, after making $3+ million last year. That number could double in 2010 and beyond.

Factor in that the Phillies have two more years of Raul Ibanez and the $20 million left on his contract, and Jayson Werth is a free agent at the end of the 2010 season, and the Phillies have some decisions to make with their outfielders. The contracts that Ryan Howard ($19 million in 2010), Chase Utley ($15 million in 2010), Jimmy Rollins ($7.5 million in 2010) and recently signed Placido Polanco (~$6 million in 2010), the Phillies infield is making almost $48 million in 2010. Add in what Cole Hamel, Brad Lidge, Cliff Lee, Jamey Moyer and others are making, and the Phillies may want to consider dealing some salary where they have depth in the minors.

Who could have interest in Victorino? Well, the Toronto Blue Jays would certainly be interested in him if the Phillies are serious about dealing for ace starter Roy Halladay. Other teams would include the Braves, Marlins and Mets who all need an outfielder, but I am sure the Phillies wouldn't deal Victorino within their own division. The Cardinals would jump at the chance to trade for Victorino and make him their leadoff hitter. He could play right field with Ryan Ludwick moving over to left field. A package of pitching prospects could entice the Phillies. The Cubs are also looking for a centerfielder. Victorino could also lead off for the Cubs.

Poll

Should the Phillies deal Shane Victorino to make room for Michael Taylor or Domonic Brown?

Yes, Brown and Taylor are either ready or very close to being major league ready.

390 votes

No, they should deal Werth, and they could get more in return for him than Victorino.

265 votes

655 votes | Poll has closed

Phillies closing in on Placido Polanco

Eli Greenspan — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:56:14 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

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SI.com's Jon Heyman is reporting that the Phillies and Placido Polanco are closing in on a three year deal. The deal is worth 18 million dollars, but holds an option for a fourth season.

The Phillies were seriously considering Mark DeRosa for third, but feel Polanco is a more valuable hitter at the top of the order, which will allow them to move Shane Victorino down to a more "run-producing spot."

Polanco, a .303 career hitter, hit .285 with 10 home runs last season. Polanco spent about 3 seasons in Philadelphia after being acquired from St. Louis, where he hit .299 with 38 home runs before he was traded to Detroit.

Tuesday's Quick and Late Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:31:13 -0000

Some things to read while the Muppets make everything better (h/t Daily Drink).

In the interest of getting it done as early as possible, today's Mug is bullet pointed again:

Prince Fielder finished fourth in the NL MVP balloting, appearing on all 32 ballots and getting five second place votes (FanShot). Ryan Braun also appeared on 16 ballots en route to an 11th place finish, but was ranked no higher than fifth on any of them. The link above has the full voting. Hopefully we'll soon find out which three voters had Prince Fielder tenth on their ballot, and who cast votes for Jeremy Affeldt, Brad Hawpe and Shane Victorino.
John Halama is a Brewer, having signed a minor league deal yesterday. Halama will turn 38 before opening day, hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006, and would be pitching for his eighth major league team if he makes the Brewers. With that said, Adam McCalvy blamed his 2006 departure from the Orioles on family issues, so perhaps he's ready to bounce back.
Speaking of pitchers who could bounce back, Chris Capuano will be back for another season on a minor league deal. Capuano made a few short appearances down the stretch for the Brewer rookie league affiliates, and if his rehab continues to progress he could be ready to pitch in the major leagues by spring training.
Project Prospect ranked baseball's top 15 shortstop prospects, and Alcides Escobar is #1, ahead of recent AFL standout Starlin Castro. TheJay had a post earlier today on players who do not have rookie eligibility next season, but Escobar is not one of them...and he's probably an early candidate for Rookie of the Year.
Al has a look at ten free agents that could become Brewers. Aside from the top two, there's no one else on that list I've even heard mentioned in connection with the Crew.
As for transactions, the Braves signed former Royals minor league pitcher Juan Abreu to a major league deal.
For whatever it's worth, MLB Daily Dish thinks Ben Sheets will end up as a Mariner this offseason.
It's no secret that the Braves would like to deal Derek Lowe this offseason. The Ghost of Moonlight Graham has a look at the market for his services, and thinks the Brewers made the right decision by not trading Corey Hart for him.
If you'd like something to overanalyze today, here's a candidate: Recent Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman has decided to switch agents, dumping the agency that helped get him out of Cuba, and Jon Heyman says at least one exec sees the move as a potential character issue. Obviously, the agency lost some money on the deal, but I'm having a hard time getting worked up over it.
Something else to think about this afternoon, in Sporcle form: How many of Kenny Lofton's teams can you name?
Friend of the site Stephen C. Smith of SpaceCoastBaseball.com has a post-mortem on the Florida Winter Baseball League, which lasted all of a few weeks, despite telling staff it had enough financial resources to last for multiple seasons (h/t Rattler Radio). Meanwhile, if you're one of the seven people who purchased tickets to a FWBL game and didn't get to use them, the Brevard County Manatees will allow you to use them next season.
On this day in 1969, Dave Bristol was hired to manage the Seattle Pilots. A few months later the team would move to Milwaukee and Bristol would become the first manager of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Happy birthday today to Cal Eldred, who turns 42, and Ben McDonald, who also turns 42.
On and it's probably a little late to help you today, but this cereal flow chart might make tomorrow morning a little easier. (h/t C. Trent Rosecrans)

Drink up.

Albert Pujols is unanimous 2009 National League MVP selection; Phillies Howard, Utley, Victorino, and Werth receive votes.

WholeCamels — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:05:31 -0000

Albert Pujols was named the 2009 National League Most Valuable Player today. And it wasn't really even a mild surprise that the vote was unanimous.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard finished 3rd; Chase Utley 8th; Jayson Werth 17th; Shane Victorino 18th.

Congratulations, Mr. Pujols.

Results after the jump.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Points
Albert Pujols, Cardinals	32										448
Hanley Ramirez, Marlins		15	5	3	3		2	3	1		233
Ryan Howard, Phillies		6	8	7	5	1	3	1			217
Prince Fielder, Brewers		5	9	7	3	1		3	1	3	203
Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies		3	6	5	5	5	1	1			172
Andre Ethier, Dodgers		2		3	2	5	4	5	3		113
Pablo Sandoval, Giants			1		2	5	5	6	1	4	89
Chase Utley, Phillies			2	2	1	5	4		3	1	84
Derrek Lee, Cubs		1			3	3	2	2	5		66
Matt Kemp, Dodgers				2	1	2	3	1	1	2	49
Ryan Braun, Brewers					3	1		2	4	6	43
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres				1		1		3	2	5	30
Todd Helton, Rockies			1	1		1	1		2		28
Chris Carpenter, Cardinals					1	2	1		2	1	25
Adam Wainwright, Cards					1			2	1	2	16
Matt Holliday,Cardinals				1			1		2		15
Jayson Werth, Phillies					1		1				10
Shane Victorino, Phillies							2				8
Tim Lincecum, Giants							1		1	2	8
Yunel Escobar, Braves					1						6
Mark Reynolds, D-backs								1	1	1	6
Joey Votto, Reds							1				4
Yadier Molina, Cardinals								1			3
Miguel Tejada, Astros								1			3
Huston Street, Rockies									1		2
Justin Upton, D-backs									1		2
Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals										2	2
Jeremy Affeldt, Giants										1	1
Chris Coghlan, Marlins										1	1
Brad Hawpe, Rockies										1	1

Just when you thought it was safe to feel good about Michael Bourn's Gold Glove

HighLeveragePerformer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Some people can't leave well enough alone, Michael.

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Astros fans probably aren't going to have all that much to cheer about in the coming seasons. We've come to accept that. Accept the losing, accept the fact that Drayton McLane, Jr. is still pulling the strings. It comes with the territory.

This week's announcement that our own Michael Bourn has won a Gold Glove sort of gave us a jolt of life. It was good news after a season of poor play and a botched hiring process for a manager. A week's vacation of sorts.

Damn it all, I was feeling good. I knew Bourn had a nice season, but this gave him and the team some positive national recognition. There were a ton of sketchy choices for the award (as there always is) but Bourn seemed like a legitimate choice.

Not so fast. Good 'ol Joe Sheehan weighed in on the situation, and per usual didn't mince words when talking about an Astro:

The NL awards were marked by a lot of turnover, unusual for an award of this nature. The turnover was unnecessary. Michael Bourn wasn't a better defender than Mike Cameron was, and Matt Kemp and Shane Victorino certainly weren't.

That may be true. Cameron was statistically the best centerfielder in the NL in 2009, at least going by one measure. Advanced defensive metrics are still in their relative infancy, and nobody can seem to decide on which one is the best at ascertaining true defensive ability and skill. Yes, by both measures linked by me Cameron was better than Bourn...barely. Better by such an small amount that you could hardly criticize Bourn's selection over Cameron.

If this isn't the ultimate picking of nits and splitting of hairs, I don't know what is. I understand that the apparent theme of his article "I know more about baseball than most everyone on earth, especially the simpletons who dole out the Gold Glove Award" mandated that he denigrate most every selection, but come on. This act of telling people how smart you are and how much information you have to bestow on us is getting old.

Maybe I'm the one splitting hairs and am being overly sensitive. Yes, Sheehan does say you can make a case for Bourn winning (thanks for throwing us a bone, Joe). From the general tenor of his articles, to his nearly constant implicit reminders that: 1) we're not as smart as he is, and 2) we need to be taught on a near daily basis that we aren't, I am beginning to grow weary of that website. Yea, yea, yea: I know a lot of people love BPro, and they don't need Evan Hochschild's readership to get by. I understand. The simple fact that the great majority of Sheehan's articles are negative and quasi condescending frustrates/angers/befuddles me. Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get this off my chest.

(Yes, I saw he said something positive about Jason Castro...within a thinly veiled pot shot at the Astros' having selected him over Justin Smoak.)

Gold Glove vs. UZR (NL Edition)

SFiercex4 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:13:54 -0000

More photos » by Manuel Balce Ceneta - AP

Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley (26) is congratulated by bench coach Pete Mackanin after scoring during the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Mackanin later voted for Orlando Hudson (not seen lacking range in this photo) for the Gold Glove at second base. The latter sentence may or may not be true. Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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Yesterday, I took a look at the American League Gold Glove recipients vs. the UZR leaders for the AL at each position. This time, I'll take a look at the National League awards. Here was the list:

Player	Team	Position
Adam Wainright	STL	P
Yadier Molina	STL	C
Adrian Gonzalez	STL	1B
Orlando Hudson	LAN	2B
Ryan Zimmerman	WAS	3B
Jimmy Rollins	PHI	SS
Matt Kemp	LAN	OF
Michael Bourn	HOU	OF
Shane Victorino	PHI	OF

The rules are the same as yesterday: I'll take the 2009 bUZR leader and the Gold Glove winner and compare them using a three-year weighted Marcels projection, using 75% UZR and 25% Fans Scouting Report. I regressed 75 defensive games of average for infielders, 100 games for outfielders, and 125 games for catchers. For any players with a lack of playing time the previous year, I passed up on them and moved on to the next player on the UZR leaderboards. No pitchers were measured. Let's dive right on in.

First off, the recipients of the Gold Glove awards.

Player	Position	Defense
Yadier Molina	C	+7
Adrian Gonzalez	1B	+1
Orlando Hudson	2B	-1
Ryan Zimmerman	3B	+12
Jimmy Rollins	SS	+7
Matt Kemp	OF	+2
Michael Bourn	OF	+6
Shane Victorino	OF	+4

Without looking at any other lists or numbers, it would seem to me that the voters nabbed a few pretty good choices. Molina is well renowned among the Fans as the best defensive catcher in the game, and now he has added a reasonable bat to the comparison as well, making him a very good player. The voters nabbed the best third baseman in the National League in Ryan Zimmerman, who had an excellent bounceback season after consecutive injury-plagued campaigns in 2007 and 2008. It is difficult to argue with Rollins at shortstop, as he has consistently been one of the best shortstops in the National League and has posted an above average UZR total over the three year span measured here. The outfield is solid as well, though Victorino is helped by the fact that he primarily played right field in 2007 and posted very good numbers that season; my lack of positional adjustments helped his weighted average.

The only position with a major question mark is second base, where Orlando Hudson won despite a projected defensive contribution of one run below average. UZR has had him at -5 runs per 150 games over the last three seasons, but because of the Fans vote, his tally became a much more bearable -1 run per 150 games. Still, the combined method has him as a below average fielder, and below average fielders definitely should not be winning these awards, especially given the alternatives in the National League.

The Numbers Guys

Here are the guys I selected for comparison from the UZR leaderboards.

Player	Team	Position	Defense
David Ross	ATL	C	+2
Derrek Lee	CHN	1B	+4
Chase Utley	PHI	2B	+13
Casey Blake	LAN	3B	+1
Jack Wilson	PIT	SS	+6
Mike Cameron	MIL	OF	+6
Randy Winn	SFG	OF	+9
Nyjer Morgan	PIT/WAS	OF	+17
Tony Gwynn, Jr.	SDP	OF	+8

As I did yesterday, I presented four outfielders for consideration as well. However, only Cameron played center field exclusively over the three year span, so again, defensive contributions in the corner outfield positions were weighed evenly with those in center.

The one egregious error is the one we all immediately noticed and sort of knew was coming. Chase Utley was shut out of an award again despite being the UZR plus positional adjustment leader over the 2007-2009 time period. Last season, Utley was shut out by Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, who also rated very well over this three-year span thanks to comparable UZR totals. Nevertheless, neither player took home the award, as Hudson shelves his third Gold Glove in four years.

Another point of contention was perhaps the voting of Adrian Gonzalez over Albert Pujols, not listed above. Among qualifying first basemen, Gonzalez and Derrek Lee were essentially tied at +4 runs in UZR, but Lee rated a bit better than Gonzalez thanks to better three-year UZR totals. It's worth noting of course that Pujols projected at +8 runs at first base, pacing both players.

The final disagreement may lie in the ridiculous season that Nyjer Morgan posted in 2009. Morgan is the only player listed in either this article or the previous one that had no Fans Scouting Report data incorporated; his projection was strictly using UZR. Typically I would have tossed him out of the exercise, but his season was anomalously good that I just had to include him to see how he compared. His +17 projected/regressed runs tops the National League but was very heavily influenced by this year's UZR totals.

The rest of the field is mostly clean. If I had to make replacements to the given list, I would knock Victorino and Kemp out and replace them with Morgan and Mike Cameron. I would also put Pujols and Utley in the place of Gonzalez and Hudson. But getting half of them close to right is not bad given the weak methodology the coaches use to select these players. They can't always be wrong, of course.

Conclusion

The voters this season were not bad, but they did make some large errors in judgment at certain positions in both ballots. But again, the method for choosing these players is so flippant that it is a surprise when the results come out halfway decent. Overall, I would say that the Gold Glove awards this season nailed six out of 16 positions (not including pitchers, which they might have gone 1-for-2 on), with two more positions being "good enough" in that the regressed numbers show two or more players who were very close at the top, one of whom was selected for the Gold Glove. Maybe if they ever updated the process, the voters could get an even better percentage correctly. Until then, however, this award will mostly remain a joke due to the large misses and the weak methodology.

Rollins, Victorino win Gold Gloves

WholeCamels — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:39:42 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

I want some Graham Slam! (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek, File)

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It's a joke of an award, and I pretty much hate it, but here we go anyway.

Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino were named National League Gold Glove Award winners today. It's Rollins' third straight, and Victorino's second.

The rest of the National League winners:

Pos	Player	Team	GG
P	Adam Wainwright	StL	1st
C	Yadier Molina	StL	2nd
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	SD	2nd
2B	Orlando Hudson	LA	4th
3B	Ryan Zimmerman	Was	1st
SS	Jimmy Rollins	Phi	3rd
OF	Matt Kemp	LA	1st
OF	Shane Victorino	Phi	2nd
OF	Michael Bourn	Hou	1st

2009 NL Gold Glove Awards Announced

Eli Greenspan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:23:28 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

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MLB announced the 2009 recipients of the Gold Glove Award, which features a young group of players with not too many gold gloves under their belt:

C Yadier Molina, Cardinals - second Gold Glove

1B Adrian Gonzalez, Padres - second Gold Glove

2B Orlando Hudson, Dodgers - fourth Gold Glove

3B Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals - first Gold Glove

SS Jimmy Rollins, Phillies - third Gold Glove

OF - Matt Kemp, Dodgers - first Gold Glove

OF - Shane Victorino, Phillies - second Gold Glove

OF - Michael Bourn, Astros - first Gold Glove

P - Adam Wainwright, Cardinals - first Gold Glove

Seems like a pretty good group of players to receive this award. How do you think they match up with the AL Gold Glove winners?

Kemp, Hudson Win Gold Gloves

Eric Stephen — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:59:20 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

The Bison took home his first Gold Glove award today, joining teammate Orlando Hudson

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Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers are among the National League Gold Glove winners, to be announced later today. This is the first award for Kemp, and the fourth for Hudson, who also won from 2005 to 2007 with both the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks. Here are the full list of winners:

Pos	Player	Team	GG
P	Adam Wainwright	StL	1st
C	Yadier Molina	StL	2nd
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	SD	2nd
2B	Orlando Hudson	LA	4th
3B	Ryan Zimmerman	Was	1st
SS	Jimmy Rollins	Phi	3rd
OF	Matt Kemp	LA	1st
OF	Shane Victorino	Phi	2nd
OF	Michael Bourn	Hou	1st

This is the first time the Dodgers have had two Gold Glove winners in the same season since 2004, when Cesar Izturis and Steve Finley (who was acquired at the trade deadline that season) took home the hardware.

Kemp, who led all major league center fielders with 14 assists and four double plays (tied with Nate McLouth), is the ~~first~~ second full-time Dodger center fielder to take home a Gold Glove, joining Willie Davis (1971-1973). Finley played center field for the Dodgers in 2004, but only for 55 games. Kemp is also just the ~~fifth~~ sixth Dodger outfielder to win the award, joining Wally Moon (1960), Davis, Dusty Baker (1981), Raul Mondesi (1995, 1997), and Finley.

The only other Dodger second basemen to win a Gold Glove award were Charlie Neal in 1959, and Davey Lopes in 1978.

Thanks to Kensai at Memories of Kevin Malone for the scoop.