SB Nation - Todd Hollandsworth

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Right Field)

Jabberwocky — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:05:06 -0000

Hawpe is the poster child for the value of defensive metrics.

Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF I CF

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at the right field position.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database (not Fangraphs) to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fabulous Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of how WAR is calculated.

Right Field, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a rank of -7.5, equal to that of a left fielder. While right field requires a stronger, more accurate arm, more balls on average are hit to the left fielder. In either case, most MLB clubs rely on corner outfielders for offensive production, deemphasizing their defensive contributions--though indications are that the traditional view is changing.

Right fielders are expected to not only to catch fly balls but also are especially expected to deny baserunners advancing to an extra base. Particularly desired traits for right fielders are arm strength and accuracy (as they are farthest from third base) as well as instincts (depth perception and tracking skills).

As this applies to the Rockies, right fielders in Coors have a smaller area to cover in the outfield relative to left and center field, making arm strength and accuracy more important than range.

Only three players have played in right field for over 100 games in Colorado's franchise history (Larry Walker, Brad Hawpe, and Dante Bichette--who was included as a left-fielder), rendering this position group fairly shallow in quantity, much like first base. Also like first base, one player shines well above the competition. However, there is still some room for surprises on the list.

Right Fielders

Note: most if not all of these players played multiple outfield positions with the Rockies. I have placed these players in this category subjectively on the basis of where I believe they provided the greatest impact to the Rockies. In case of an average rank tie, career WAR is the tiebreaker.

1. Larry Walker

Career WAR: 44.1 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 18.3, 1997-1999 (1st)
Top Season: 9.0, 1997 (1st)
Average Rank: 1

Walker is far and away the greatest Rockies outfielder ever. He was signed before the 1995 season, just in time for Coors Field to open and the formation of the Blake Street Bombers. Walker remained with the Rockies until midway through the 2004 season, when Colorado essentially traded him for salary relief (which was then used to sign Dexter Fowler). While with the Rockies, Walker made four All-Star games, won five Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and the 1997 NL MVP award.

His MVP campaign in 1997 was his best year with the Rockies (the best season by a Rockie, period). Walker was unconscious, hitting .366/.452/.720/.494 with 49 HRs, 130 RBI, 33 SB, and 409 TB! That's flat out amazing as a hitter (59 BRAA), but it gets better--according to Smith's metrics Walker was an asset on the bases (7 Bsr), avoiding hitting into double plays (2 GIDP), in the field (5 TZ), and with his outfield arm (5 OFarm). In all, he was worth 9.0 WAR in 1997.

That was Larry Walker--the total package as a baseball player, as well as a class clown.

The argument isn't that Walker wasn't great. It's obvious that he was. No, the question is if Walker is the greatest Rockie ever (Todd Helton obviously being his main competition)? I looked at Helton's career a few weeks back.

Let's look at Walker's Rockies career (average is per Rockies PA):

Year	wOBA	WAR
1995	.418	3.5
1996	.393	1.4
1997	.494	9
1998	.461	4.9
1999	.486	4.4
2000	.392	1.8
2001	.461	7.4
2002	.431	5.9
2003	.388	3.8
2004	.432	2.0
PA Adj.	.442	.009197

What does this mean? On a per PA basis during his Rockies career Walker was worth about 0.1 Runs Above Replacement. In other words, Walker was good for one WAR per every 109 PA--stunning production. If extrapolated over a 600 PA season, Walker averaged about 5.52 WAR as a Rockie. On this measure and by PA wOBA he bests Todd Helton (.421 wOBA and .007573 WAR/PA--4.54/600 PA season), but as they say, health is a skill.

While Helton has accumulated (through 2008, a period of 12 seasons) 7117 PAs, Walker got only 4795 PAs as a Rockie over ten seasons. This was due to Larry having minor (and major) injuries nearly every season he was with the Rockies (he only had 600 PAs in two of his ten Colorado seasons). It's the old counting stat vs. rate stat argument. Which is more important, longevity or per PA production?

According to my methodology, Helton's grades out higher in career WAR (53.9-44.1) and 3 year WAR (21.9-18.3) while Walker leads in one season WAR (9.0-8.8).

As such, I'll call this one for Todd Helton as the greatest Rockies position player ever. If Walker had stayed healthy, he would probably top this list (as his superior rate stats show).

Considering his Montreal and St. Louis seasons, Walker's total career WAR was 67.1, putting him squarely in Hall of Fame consideration. In fact, his MVP award and sustained excellence gives Walker arguably a stronger argument than Helton for the Hall of Fame.

2. Brad Hawpe

Career WAR: 2.0 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 4.4, 2005-2007 (2nd)
Top Season: 2.7, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 2.33

Brad Hawpe was an eleventh round selection out of LSU in the 2000 draft. The converted first baseman moved quickly through the system, making his debut in 2004. Since 2005, Hawpe has been the team's primary right fielder, meaning that he has the second most games played in right field in franchise history (665 and counting).

Surprised to see Hawpe with only 2.0 career WAR? This is especially surprising given that Hawpe produced 4.4 WAR between 2005-2007. Unfortunately, both 2004 (-0.7) and 2008 (-1.7) were awful years for Brad. Why is this? A historically bad year in the field in 2008, the worst that I've seen in this study (closest was Dante Bichette's 1999, in which he had a TZ of -31).

In 2008 Hawpe had a nice year at the plate (.283/.381/.498/.379), worth 14 BRAA, but his TZ was -36 and he wielded a -7 OFarm! In 2007, Hawpe had enjoyed a TZ of 2 and in 2006 his strong outfield arm was worth 8 runs, but both of these trends turned ugly in 2008. His defense this year has been better than last year, but by no means does it approach league average, while his hitting is about at last year's level.

The 30 year-old Hawpe is likely in his prime years, meaning that his offensive and defensive numbers will only decline from here on out. Given this fact, his $7.5 million price tag next year (with a $10 million club option for 2011), and the glut of talented young outfielders the Rockies possess, it is probably time for the Rockies to move Hawpe for whatever they can get for him in the offseason. His bat simply is counteracted by his bad defense (he's got 45 career BRAA and a -53 career TZ). And yes, I've been advocating this for a while now.

3. Jeffrey Hammonds

Career WAR: 2.4 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 2.4, 2000 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.4, 2000 (3rd)
Average Rank: 2.67

I have fond memories of Jeffrey Hammonds (he was very useful to my first ever fantasy baseball team), who was acquired in the Dante Bichette trade following the 1999 season. Despite having the unenviable task of following the popular Bichette, Hammonds succeeded in filling in for an injured Larry Walker and in all three outfield positions. The 29 year old Hammonds hit 20 HRs and had 106 RBIs while batting .335/.395/.529/.395 while providing neutral fielding value and was selected to the All-Star game. It was by far the best year in Hammonds' career, after which the Rockies let the Brewers overpay for his services.

4. Jeromy Burnitz

Career WAR: 1.3 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.3, 2004 (4th)
Top Season: 1.3, 2004 (1st)
Average Rank: 4

Jeromy Burnitz, like Jeffrey Hammonds, was a one year mercenary for the Rockies that produced great results in place of Larry Walker (in this case due to him being traded). The burly 35 year old free agency acquisition (scrap heap department) actually played a decent amount of center field too, but the majority of his time was in right. Burnitz mashed 37 HRs with 110 RBIs as a Rockie while hitting .283/.356/.559/.380 that was mitigated somewhat by his TZ of -7 in the field. The end result was a slightly below league average season.

Unfortunately for Burnitz, he had priced himself too high for the Rockies (plus, Gen R needed to be implemented), so he signed with the Cubs for three times the money he earned with Colorado.

5. Gabe Kapler

Career WAR: 0.8 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 0.8, 2002-2003 (5th)
Top Season: 0.7, 2002 (6th)
Average Rank: 5.33

Gabe Kapler is an interesting case in that he was good before he came to Colorado as a 26 year old as part of the Todd Hollandsworth trade in 2002 and performed well after the Rockies sold him to the Red Sox midway through 2003, but didn't particularly benefit from the Coors Field effect.

Over what equated to a third of a season's worth of plate appearances, Kapler was merely a league average player in part time duty spelling Walker. For these services Kapler actually made the largest salary of his career (much of which was picked up by the Red Sox). Kapler was out of MLB after 2006 (and was managing a Red Sox minor league affiliate), but somehow caught back on with the Brewers in 2008, posting one of the best years in his career, which still endures with Tampa Bay this year.

Other Rockies right fielders that contributed positive value to the club were: Mark Little (0.7), Mark Sweeney (0.6), Dustan Mohr (0.4)

Now that I've completed the lists of position players, I'll be tackling over the next few weeks relievers and starting pitchers, and then I'll conclude with the all-time greatest Rockies teams.

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Center Field)

Jabberwocky — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:04:49 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Spilly makes the cut....find out who joins him below the fold.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS I LF

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at the center field position.

Center Field, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a rank of +2.5, ranking center field as the most difficult outfield position to play defensively--which makes sense given the extra amount of territory they are expected to cover.

Center fielders are expected to not only to catch fly balls but also to deny baserunners advancing to an extra base. Particularly desired traits for center fielders include speed, instincts (depth perception and tracking skills), and quickness to react to the ball--not to mention the best combination of any outfielder of speed and arm strength/accuracy. The center fielder is also the captain of the outfield, orchestrating the action to avoid imminent collisions.

Due to these defensive requirements, center fielders usually possess great speed and a strong arm, but also often hit less for power at the plate. As a result, these speedy players are often thrust into the leadoff role regardless of their ability to work counts or hit the ball due to their speed.

The defensive capabilities of a center fielder are especially important--and are especially taxed--in the cavernous outfield of Coors Field. As such, most of the players that the Rockies have trotted out to center have fit into this defense-first, speedy mold.

As for the Rockies, center field is one of the weaker positions that I've measured in this series. It has a high turnover (I ranked 22 players and none of them played longer than four years with the club) and therefore a low production rate--similar to but slightly better than Colorado's catchers. A potential reason for this low production rate might be that defensive metrics haven't quite solved the Coors Field center field conundrum--Rockies centerfielders consistently post horrible defensive rankings on advanced defensive metrics.

Interestingly, only one of the five players that lead the franchise in games played at the position even makes the top five here (largely because Ellis Burks was categorized as a left fielder). This list will probably surprise you.

Center Fielders

1. Juan Pierre

Career WAR: 3.0 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 3.0, 2000-2002 (1st)
Top Season: 2.4, 2001 (1st)
Average Rank: 1

Juan Pierre tops the list of Colorado centerfielders, largely on the strength of a fine 2001 season. He was drafted in the 13th round of the 1998 draft out of South Alabama and he moved quickly through the minor leagues, making his major league debut in August 2000.

In 2001, his first full season, a 23 year-old Pierre batted .327/.378/.415/.353 with 46 SBs. Pierre's MO with the Rockies was his low walk and strikeout rates (41 & 29 respectively in 683 PAs in 2001) as well as his good range on defense (TZ of 9 in Coors). If it weren't for his famously poor arm (-5 OArm), he'd fit the Coors CF mold to a T. In all, Pierre produced 2.4 WAR in 2001, one of just two above league-average seasons by a Rockies center fielder.

After a disappointing 2002 campaign (0.4 WAR), the 24 year-old Pierre was the currency necessary for the Rockies to rid themselves of Mike Hampton and His Contract for a trade package from the Florida Marlins, including Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson, which wasn't a bad deal when one considers the salary relief Colorado got.

Since then, Pierre earned a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003 and cashed in on a 3.3 WAR 2006 with the Cubs to receive a 5 year, $44 million contract from the Dodgers to be their fourth outfielder. Let's be happy that the Rockies never overpaid for Pierre's services.

2. Willy Taveras

Career WAR: 2.8 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 2.8, 2007-2008 (2nd)
Top Season: 1.9, 2007 (3rd)
Average Rank: 2.33

Well, this ranking certainly surprised me. For as much deserved crap as Willy T has gotten on this site over the last two years, he remains a phenomenal defensive player with elite speed--traits that were perfect for Coors Field. Unfortunately, Taveras doesn't really possess the patience and hitting gene to go with his prodigious athletic gifts. The upside of this equation is that with even offense that approaches a mediocre level a player with Taveras' skill set becomes a valuable one.

The Rockies acquired the 25 year old Taveras after the 2006 season in the famous Jason Jennings trade and he responded with an excellent 2007. Willy T hit .320/.367/.382/.344 with 33 SBs (worth 1.8 WAR) and helped to propel the Rockies to the World Series with a fantastic diving catch in the NLCS.

Unfortunately, Taveras could not sustain this offensive success (he benefitted from a .371 BABIP in 2007) in 2008, producing one of the worst-ever offensive seasons by a full-time Rockie starter (-30 batting runs), but his excellent baserunning (68 steals leading to 12 runs above average) and defense (TZ of 5) actually balanced out his poor batting line in the end (0.9 WAR). This wasn't enough to save Taveras from being non-tendered after 2008--but he suckered in the Cincinnati Reds into taking him for 2 years and $6.25 million.

3. Ryan Spilborghs

Career WAR: 1.7 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 1.7, 2006-2008 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.1, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 2.67

While his function with the team has varied often throughout his four year career and he is now mostly a corner outfielder, Spilly has started more games in center field than anywhere else. Spilborghs was drafted by the Rockies in the 7th round of the 2002 draft out of UCSB and made his debut in July 2005 (the only game he played in 2005).

Spilly's 2006 and 2008 campaigns were actually found by Smith to have negative value due to poor performances in defensive metrics, but his 2007 season was good for second-best in franchise history by a CF. In 300 PA, Spilborghs hit .299/.363/.485/.366 with 11 homers and a good fielding season (TZ of 8).

Deciding what to do with Spilborghs will be an interesting topic of discussion for the Rockies' front office after this season. The 30 year old Spilborghs will be entering just his first year of arbitration eligibility, so he has some value to opposing teams, but the Rockies could opt to trade the more pricey (and less productive, but that's another article) Brad Hawpe and keep the cheaper outfield.

4. Mike Kingery

Career WAR: 1.6 (T-4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.6, 1994-1995 (4th)
Top Season: 1.7, 1994 (5th)
Average Rank: 4.33

Ah, Mike Kingery, a man who I have irrationally fond baseball memories of.

I'm unsure of his relation to the Rockies' radio play-by-play man, but Mike played two seasons for the Rockies in the pre-humidor era after signing with them as a free agent as Ellis Burks insurance in the twilight of his career--one at Mile High Stadium and one at Coors. His 1994, in which he hit .349/.402/.532/.392 in 346 PA, was a career year offensively (14 BRAA) and led to 1.7 WAR. Kingery was worth -0.1 WAR in a poor 1995 and was not re-signed.

5. Tom Goodwin

Career WAR: 1.6 (T-4th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.6, 2000 (T-4th)
Top Season: 1.6, 2000 (6th)
Average Rank: 4.67

Tom Goodwin (not to be confused with Curtis Goodwin, who also played center field for the Rockies) only played 91 games in 2000 for the Rockies after signing as a free agent before being traded at the deadline to the Dodgers in exchange for a package headlined by Todd Hollandsworth. However, the 31 year-old Goodwin maximized his time with the Rockies (which made him a valuable enough trade asset for the Dodgers to want him).

He hit .271/.368/.394/.350 for the Rockies in what was one of the finer seasons in his 13 year career.

6. Preston Wilson

Career WAR: 1.4 (6th)
Top Three Seasons: 1.4, 2003-2004 (6th)
Top Season: 1.8, 2003 (4th)
Average Rank: 5.33

I made this list six names long to include Wilson, because not only did he play regularly for the Rockies for the equivalent of two seasons but also because there's a large dropoff in quality after him.

Wilson, acquired with Charles Johnson in the Juan Pierre-Mike Hampton trade, had his best Colorado year when he was healthy in 2000, hitting .282/.343/.537/.374 with 36 HRs, a league-leading 141 RBIs, and a place on the All-Star roster.

After an injury marred 2004, Wilson was losing steam in 2005 while making $12.5 million. This fact was astutely recognized by Dan O'Dowd, who traded Wilson to the Nationals for Zach Day, J.J. Davis, and cash (essentially a salary dump). Had Wilson kept up his 2003 pace and stayed healthy, he would probably have led this list.

Others of Note

These players started for the Rockies in center field for the majority of at least one year: Cory Sullivan (-1.4), Darryl Hamilton (0.5), Quinton McCracken (0.6), Alex Cole (-0.1)

Bottom of the barrel: Choo Freeman (-1.5), Steve Finley (-1.1)

Next week: Right Fielders

WAR Lords of the Diamond (Left Field)

Jabberwocky — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:30:09 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Matt Holliday? Yeah, he's pretty good.

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Previous Sessions in the WAR Lords Series:

C (with methodology) I 1B I 2B I 3B I SS

For the next step in my ongoing quest to quantify the greatest Rockies ever by position, I'm revealing the best performers at the left field position.

Once again, I'm using Sean Smith's historical WAR database to compile these numbers (with a big assist to the fabulous Baseball Reference; here is the glossary of the terms Smith uses and an explanation of how WAR is calculated.

Left Field, according to Tom Tango's positional adjustment scale, is given a rank of -7.5, meaning that left field is an easier position to play defensively relative to short stop or center field. The main responsibility of left fielders is not only to catch fly balls but also to deny baserunners advancing to an extra base. Therefore, arm strength and accuracy are desired traits of left fielders.

However, since left field in a ball park is usually the area that requires the shortest throws (and the smallest area to cover) of all the outfield positions, arm strength, accuracy, and range (speed, often) is usually placed on the back burner and offense (particularly power) is emphasized in the major leagues. That is why we get players like Manny Ramirez, old Barry Bonds, Ryan Braun, and Adam Dunn at the left field position.

Of course, there are several excellent defensive left-fielders (Carl Crawford comes to mind) today, and with an increased emphasis on improved defense we might see some better fielders slotted into left.

As for the Rockies, their top five players in games played at left field comprise the top five slots in the rankings...though not completely in order. This is the most productive positional group for the Rockies since the Todd Helton show at first base.

Left Fielders

1. Matt Holliday

Career WAR: 16.9 (1st)
Top Three Seasons: 15.9, 2006-2008 (1st)
Top Season: 7.3, 2007 (2nd)
Average Rank: 1.33

Big Daddy is atop this list, and for good reason. His 2007 season, in which he batted .340/.405/.607 with 36 HRs and 137 RBIs (winning the batting title and the RBI crown) with a .428 wOBA while providing excellent left field defense (TZ of 14) and 7.3 WAR, ranks as the second best season in Rockies history from a left fielder (more on that later). His fine 2006 (.326/.387/.586/.409, 34 HRs, 114 RBI, 3.8 WAR) and 2008 (.321/.409/.538/.418, 25 HRs, 88 RBI, 4.8 WAR) campaigns solidified Holliday as the cream of the crop in left field.

Holliday was acquired in the seventh round of the 1998 draft out of Stillwater High School in Oklahoma (where he also excelled as a quarterback) and well, you all know how he left--as a trade asset, Holliday kept giving to the Rockies, netting Carlos Gonzalez and Huston Street, key components for the contending 2009 Rockies and hopefully beyond.

2.Ellis Burks

Career WAR: 10.8 (2nd)
Top Three Seasons: 10, 1996-1998 (2nd)
Top Season: 7.6, 1996 (1st)
Average Rank: 1.67

The reason that Burks is rated as a left fielder and not in center field (where he played more games) is that in his career season (1996) he played mostly in left field. That and the next best guy in these rankings would be Butch Huskey with 0.8. Burks was acquired by the Rockies through free agency on a five year, $18.6 million contract after the 1993 season after six excellent, though injury-plagued seasons (the first five with Boston). The injury bug continued to bite Burks during the 1994 campaign, limiting Ellis to 42 games played, and the rest of his Colorado tenure (though he played in over 100 games in his subsequent four seasons with the team).

Burks qualifies in my mind as a charter member of the Blake Street Bombers, bashing over 30 home runs in both 1996 and 1997, his healthiest years with the team. His 1996 season in particular was the greatest ever by a Rockies left-fielder. Burks put up an insane batting line of .344/.408/.639 with 40 HRs (93 XBH), 128 RBI, 32 SB, and an astounding .449 wOBA. Add in his stellar defense (TZ of 12) and Burks produced 7.6 WAR in 1996. Burks was elected to the All-Star game (one of two such selections in his career), won the Silver Slugger, and finished third in MVP voting.

Burks was traded at the 1998 trade deadline to the San Francisco for Daryl Hamilton and Jim Stoops. Ellis produced very well for the Giants and later the Indians (17.1 WAR after leaving Colorado) before retiring in 2004 with the Red Sox and getting a World Series ring.

Burks' career with the Rockies remains a little disappointing--if only the outfielder had been healthy, he could have surpassed even Holliday's accomplishments with the team.

3. Jay Payton

Career WAR: 3.8 (3rd)
Top Three Seasons: 3.8, 2002-2003 (3rd)
Top Season: 2.4, 2002 (4th)
Average Rank: 3.33

Jay Payton was only a Rockie for a short while--he was acquired at the 2002 deadline with Mark Corey and Robert Stratton from the Mets in exchange for John Thomson and Mark Little and stayed through the 2003 season--but he was very productive for the Rockies, enjoying the best years of his career in Colorado.

In particular, Payton played extremely well in August and September of 2002, posting a .335/.376/.606/.413 line over 181 PA--which combined with his solid defense came out to a WAR contribution of 2.4 for two months of work. Payton followed that up with a very solid 2003, in which he batted .302/.354/.512/.369 with 28 HRs and 89 RBI, after which time the Rockies granted Payton free agency.

4a. Todd Hollandsworth

Career WAR: 3.5 (4th)
Top Three Seasons: 3.5, 2000-2002 (4th)
Top Season: 1.3, 2000 (5th)
Average Rank: 4.33

The 1996 Rookie of the Year winner, Todd Hollandsworth was traded to the Rockies at the 2000 trade deadline with a couple of prospects for Tom Goodwin and cash. Like Payton, the other Todd did well in his first two months with the team, batting .323/.365/.569/.396.

Hollandsworth only played 33 games in 2001 and after an average half season in 2002 he was traded at the 2002 trade deadline, when he was traded with Dennys Reyes to the Rangers for Gabe Kapler, Jason Romano, and cash.

Did you know? Hollandsworth is current Rockies reliever Matt Herges' brother-in-law.

4b. Dante Bichette

Career WAR: 1.8 (5th)
Top Three Seasons: 3.3, 1993-1995 (5th)
Top Season: 2.7, 1993 (3rd)
Average Rank: 4.33

Bichette was acquired in the 1993 expansion draft from the Milwaukee Brewers and was the Rockies' starting left (or right) fielder until after the 1999 season, when he was traded to the Reds with cash for Stan Belinda and Jeffrey Hammonds.

In the mind of many Rockies fans, Alphonse Dante Bichette is the greatest ever Colorado left-fielder, or at least on par with Matt Holliday. Theoldgrizzlybear profiled Bichette in an edition of Rockies Retro. His 14th inning walk-off home run to christen Coors Field in 1995 is an integral piece of Rockies lore. Dante rocked a mullet and wore a "Bichette Happens" T-Shirt--what more was there to love? Heck, Bichette was a charter member of the Blake Street Bombers, belting over 20 HRs in each of his seven years with the team.

Then why is he ranked so low according to WAR? Bichette's 1.8 WAR with the Rockies would be about league average over one season, but it is horrible production over seven full campaigns. Dante is an excellent case study on where the advanced stats and the traditional baseball stats severely diverge.

Take Bichette's final season with the Rockies, 1999. Dante hit .298/.354/.541/.376 with 34 HRs and 133 RBI, yet the net result was a WAR of -2.8, by far the worst season that I've measure for any Rockies player. A lot of this has to do with Bichette's historically awful defense (TZ of -32!) and poor baserunning (-6 RAA), but not all. After all, Bichette finished with -1 batting runs above average--in other words, his production was below league average at the plate as well. From Sean Smith's glossary:

Bat runs - This is park adjusted linear weights batting runs, using customized weights at the team level to ensure that total runs credited to players will equal the actual runs scored for that team.

In other words, Bichette was the ultimate Coors Field creation, his gaudy numbers almost entirely the product of one of the greatest hitting environments in ML history. Bichette's best year outside of Colorado was 0.5 WAR. Actually, due to the park factor built into the WAR calculation, Bichette's best season was his first with the Rockies in 1993, in which his line of .310/.348/.526/.377 with 21 HRs and 89 RBI (plus average defense) at Mile High Stadium was worth 2.7 WAR.

Bichette's excellent first season was cancelled out by his awful last season. In other seasons with the Rockies he never had more than 0.7 WAR. Rockies fans, I'm sorry for soiling your good memories of Dante Bichette, but it needed to be said--he just wasn't that good.

Other Rockies left-fielders that posted positive WAR for the club are Butch Huskey (0.8), Jerald Clark (0.7), Ron Gant (0.5), and Seth Smith (0.4).

Now that I've ruined your positive perception of Dante Bichette, I'll be moving on to center fielders next week.

Let's Try This Again, With Sunshine: Cubs vs. White Sox Preview, Wednesday 6/17, 1:20 CT

Al — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:00:27 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

There will be no scenes like this today.

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There's one scenario that wasn't discussed involving making up last night's rainout. Twice, Mets/Yankees games were rained out and they played split doubleheaders, one at each ballpark in New York. Since the Cubs can't play home night games on Friday or Saturday, the only way this could be done this year in Chicago would be to ask the White Sox to move their Friday, June 26 or Saturday, June 27 game at the Cell to a 7:05 start and play at Wrigley that day at noon.

That'd be fun, but I doubt the Sox would agree to do that. So the most likely makeup date is Thursday, September 3 -- the Cubs are finishing a homestand the day before with a day game vs. Houston before leaving for New York, and the White Sox play a day game at Minnesota on September 2, then return for a home game on Friday. I suspect this is what will happen, and the Cubs will lose another home night game date (one was lost already when the night game on April 19 was rained out and rescheduled for a day game on July 12).

Speaking of rainouts, the Cubs have four of them already -- none of which have been made up yet (the first will be Monday at Atlanta). That's more postponements, in less than half a season, than the last three years combined. They have played 60 games -- no other team has fewer than 62, nine teams have played 65 and the Indians lead the majors with 67 games played through yesterday. This could be a real advantage to the Cubs as they get players healthy, and presumably, playing up to career norms.

The rotation has been adjusted -- Ryan Dempster, who was to start tomorrow on an extra day's rest, will go today instead on his normal four days' rest, and Carlos Zambrano throws tomorrow. Randy Wells' turn is being skipped, which means he'll likely be available in relief today and tomorrow. Of course, Lou won't use him, or at least won't use him properly.

If you can stand some more Sammy Sosa talk, here are some comments from some former teammates. Former Cub and current CSN broadcaster Todd Hollandsworth, I think, sums it up best:

"The thing that's bothered me the most out of this is you hear that it's the superstars," Hollandsworth said. "And my thing is would these guys have been superstars, would these guys have been getting Hall of Fame consideration [without] what they've done? Or did they need them to become those guys?

"Would these guys have been 30-home run guys their whole career and had to play 20 years to get to 500? Or were these guys going to be able to hit 50, 60 in a year and get to 500 faster than anybody?"

The other side of that is: most of the superstars either named or suspected were probably Hall of Famers without a single PED. Barry Bonds certainly would have been; same with A-Rod, and probably Sosa, too. The whole thing is just a shame.

Today's Starting Pitchers


Ryan Dempster Cubs	vs.	John Danks White Sox

4-3	W-L	4-5
3.87	ERA	4.81
68	SO	61
29	BB	26
9	HR	10
vs. Sox	--	vs. Cubs

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Ryan Dempster	4-3	13	13	0	0	0	0	81.1	73	39	35	9	29	68	3.87	1.25

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - John Danks	4-5	12	12	0	0	0	0	67.1	69	38	36	10	26	61	4.81	1.41

Since May 1 Ryan Dempster is 3-2, 2.98 in eight starts, with 15 walks and 43 strikeouts in 51.1 innings and 5 HR allowed -- numbers quite comparable to his 2008 season. This time frame roughly corresponds to when his baby daughter was airlifted fron Phoenix to Children's Hospital in Chicago, making it much easier for Ryan to be with her and his wife. That's for anyone who thinks that external factors don't affect a player's performance. He faced the White Sox twice last year, in back-to-back starts on June 22 at Wrigley and June 27 at the Cell. The first was one of his best starts of 2008; the second was probably his worst. Those are his only two career starts vs. the White Sox. The only current White Sox to homer off Dempster is A. J. Pierzynski, who did it on July 1, 2006, when Dempster, then a closer, was within one out of wrapping up a win for the Cubs; A. J.'s three-run shot won the game for the Sox. No repeats today, please.

Just to repeat last night's Danks preview: John Danks' only start vs. the Cubs was last June 20, in which he gave the Cubs only five hits and one run before the Sox bullpen blew it and Aramis Ramirez won it with a walkoff HR. A-Ram's not available, of course, and Danks hasn't been very good this year. The only Cub to get more than one hit off him is Kosuke Fukudome, who was 2-for-3 in that game a year ago.

Today's game is on two Chicago channels. Today, WGN, the national feed has Steve Stone -- but to hear him, you also have to listen to that other guy. Len & Bob have the call on CSN Chicago this afternoon. For other games today see the MLB.com Mediacenter.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

SB Nation game preview

Visit our SBN Sox site at South Side Sox for some knowledgeable Sox talk.

Overflow comment threads will post today at 2:15 pm, 3:15 pm and 4 pm CDT.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

The Cub Can Of Worms: Kyle Farnsworth

Al — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:30:38 -0000

Dr. Tightpants (named for how he wore his uniform trousers). Heartthrob of Lincoln Park Trixies. Owner of a million-dollar arm that could throw a baseball 100 MPH. And owner of a ten-cent brain that prevented him, most likely, from becoming an elite closer.

Farnsworth first came to the majors with the Cubs in 1999, and was put into the rotation for that really bad team. He made 21 starts that year, and on August 29, 1999, he threw a two-hit shutout against the Dodgers in Los Angeles (oddly, the two hits, both singles, were made by future Cubs: Mark Grudzielanek and Todd Hollandsworth).

The next year Farnsworth was moved to the bullpen and struggled again, posting a 6.43 ERA. But in 2001 he started to dominate, striking out 107 batters in 82 innings and his ERA dropped to 2.74. This started a strong alternate-year pattern which lasted through 2006 -- good in the odd-numbered years, bad in the even-numbered years.

But he had a reputation for being a late-night partier, hanging out in one bar that stayed open till 4 am, and supposedly was caught sleeping in the clubhouse one day in 2002 when interim manager Bruce Kimm was looking for him to pitch. If memory serves, this is the game in question -- Kyle came in and faced five batters, walking three of them. The Cubs won the game anyway.

It was the next year that Dr. Tightpants endeared himself to Cubs fans forever. On June 19, 2003, in a game vs. the Reds at Cincinnati, Kyle threw an inside pitch to Reds pitcher Paul Wilson, who was trying to bunt. Wilson started yelling at Farnsworth, and the result was a bloody takedown by Kyle.

The Cubs lost the game, but Farnsworth won over fans who had previously been up and down about him because of his up and down pitching. The following year, Farnsworth turned on a fan and kicked it. I say "it" because the fan in question was one used to cool down the dugout. That came after this massive meltdown against the Astros on August 27, 2004. He sprained his knee and spent a month on the DL. (He had, earlier in the season, hurt himself and missed a couple of games fooling around kicking footballs around the Wrigley Field outfield. Maybe he should have tried the NFL as a career.)

That tantrum, along with a pitching meltdown in the disastrous eighth inning of game six of the 2003 NLCS, got him sent out of town -- traded to the Tigers for the guy many of us called "Spanish for Kyle Farnsworth", Roberto Novoa (and also Scott Moore and Bo Flowers). Kyle's tenure in Detroit lasted four months; he was traded to Atlanta at the 2005 trading deadline, but not before showing off his pugilistic skills again on July 17, 2005, a game he wasn't even pitching in.

Here's the description from the Retrosheet boxscore linked above (Kyle's in this photo, hidden behind the Royals' Jeremy Affeldt):

TIGERS 6TH: Guillen was hit by a pitch; the second pitch hit Guillen's helmet; Guillen yelled at Hernandez and the two charged each other; both benches and bullpens cleared; no punches were thrown and it appeared to be over when Farnsworth charged Affeldt and threw him to the ground; KC ejections: Runelvys Hernandez, Emil Brown, Alberto Castillo, Mgr Buddy Bell; Detroit ejections: Carlos Guillen, Jeremy Bonderman, Kyle Farnsworth

Two weeks later, Farnsworth was traded to Atlanta. After the 2005 season, he signed a three-year deal with the Yankees worth $17 million. His production was poor -- ERA's over 4 all three years -- and by the middle of 2008, the Yankees had had enough, and shipped him back to the Tigers. He's currently a free agent, and with the 100 MPH fastball no longer there, turning 33 in April, Farnsworth may not find too many suitors ready to sign him, except maybe for WWE.

If only he'd had a brain to match that arm.