SB Nation - Jeff Kent

Rule 5 Applesauce - Rangers Sign Harden, Worrying About Pelfrey, Boras Speaks And Twitter Is Still Ridiculous

James Kannengieser — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:45:08 -0000

Former Rule 5 picks include Dan Uggla and our own Johan Santana, so you never know what gems might be found.

Meet the Mets

The Mets pick 7th in today's Rule 5 Draft. Check out Mark's list of potential picks from a few weeks back. MLBTradeRumors also offers up a preview.

Scott Boras says the Mets have the financial resources to sign any player they choose. He's probably right. The organization's real problem is determining which players to sign.

John Harper recently perpetuated the myth that Mike Pelfrey took a major step backwards in 2009, despite evidence that suggests otherwise. Ted Berg and Matt Cerrone weigh in on the topic.

Metstradamus riffs on the debunked Pat Burrell rumor and the possibility of signing Elmer Dessens. This had me laughing:

Funny how neither Dessens, Blanco, Pedro Martinez, Carlos Baerga, Mackey Sasser, nor anybody else with "intangibles" needed to be in the room to mentor Oliver when he signed that $36 million contract. Weird, huh?

Patrick Flood offers up his take on the inevitable Bengie Molina/Mets relationship.

Mets Police comments on the Sports Illustrated All-Decade team, which Carlos Beltran and Johan Santana were named too. MP also implies he would rather have Wally Backman on his team instead of Jeff Kent due to their respective effects on team chemistry. I'll take the probable Hall of Famer.

Around the NL East

Jayson Stark tweets that the Braves are only asking for prospects in return for Derek Lowe.

The Marlins traded Matt Lindstrom to the Astros for two minor leaguers and a PTBNL.

Federal Baseball wraps up the Nationals activity at the winter meetings.

The Good Phight is holding out hope for a Roy Halladay trade. Halladay, Lee and Hamels would be frightening and probably unstoppable.

Around MLB

The Royals offered Jason Kendall a two year contract. Umm, what?

The Mariners signed Corey Patterson to a minor league deal. Walkoff Walk has some advice for M's manager Don Wakamatsu regarding Patterson.

The Astros signed Brandon Lyon for three years, $15 million. Seems a bit excessive.

Mike Cameron's agent says his client has a special place in his heart for Seattle. Too bad the Mariners already have an awesome center fielder.

The Rangers signed Rich Harden and traded Kevin Millwood to the Orioles for Chris Ray. Evan Brunell at The Hardball Times weighs in.

Black Friday Random Astros Discussion Question

davoag — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:00:21 -0000

by Ben Margot - AP

Albert Pujols wins another MVP, crushes non-Cardinal fans souls...

View full size photo »

We haven't really discussed it here, but you may have seen a certain slugger from up north won another MVP award. No, not Joe Mauer, it's Albert "Killer of Dreams" Pujols. If you're counting, that's his third MVP trophy and eighth finish in the top five. In fact, the only season Pujols hasn't finished in the top five in his career was a ninth-place finish in 2007. That would be when the Dominican native hit .327/.429/.568 with 103 RBIs and 99 runs scored.

Did you realize that there have only been five MVP winners this decade in the National League? Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent, Pujols, Ryan Howard and JImmy Rollins are the only players to win the award in the 2000s. Obviously, Pujols is the only player from the NL Central to make the list, but what's remarkable is how often other teams in the Central have won the award compared to the Astros.

Take the Cardinals. In the 98 years the MVP award has been given out, 20 Cardinals have won. Cincinnati is next with 11 total MVP while the Cubs have 10. Pittsburgh has seven MVPs while Milwaukee has three MVP wins from its time in the American League. So, the Astros are last in the NL Central with only one MVP win in the franchise's 48 years of existence.

Obviously, if Pujols retired after next season, he'd be a sure-fire Hall of Famer. Since he's going into his Age 30 season, that seems unlikely. If it's not bad enough that The Soulcrusher is staying around for a while, there were nine other NL Central players that got MVP votes this season. Miguel Tejada was the only Astro to get a vote, and he was the lowest finisher of all 10 NL Central vote-getters.

So, the question of the day is this: why don't Houston players fare better in MVP voting and are there any players on the current 40-man roster with a decent chance at winning the award?

Astros Roster Breakdown: The Starters

davoag — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:49:44 -0000

More photos » by Dino Vournas - AP

Roy Oswalt, in a rare good mood

Browse more photos »

To lead off the starters section, I wanted to focus a little on Roy Oswalt. The soon-to-be 32-year old had his worst season as a professional, but was that a sign of aging and decline, or just a bump in the road?

His BABiP shows he wasn't unlucky in 2009 and was right in line with his career average. He also didn't throw more pitchers per plate appearance than he has in his career, while getting the most swinging strikes he's had since 2004. He did have a slight dip in his percentage of strikeouts that were looking, but since his swing and miss percentage didn't change, I think that was more statistical noise than anything.

You can't even blame injuries for hampering his stuff, because his fastball velocity was the same as it has been for the past few years. In fact, it actually ticked up a notch, but that's probably because of the only significant difference in his performance this season, a 5% drop in the number of fastballs he threw. Oswalt supplemented with more sliders and changeups. So, speed was not an issue...was something wrong with his movement? I wish I were smart enough to put together those cool scatter charts using the PitchF/X data, but I'm not there yet. I'd really like to see if he lost movement or late life on his fastball to determine if that's what the injuries robbed him of.

Other than possibly that, it appears his main problem may have been his attitude. Clashing so publicly and so often with Cecil Cooper, Roy just didn't give off the vibes of a guy playing his best. I'm sure he was playing his hardest, since he seems to have only one speed in that regard. But I wonder if he was mentally there this season. It's the one thing we can't really quantify, attitude.

Hear that, Brad Mills? Keep The Wizard happy next season and he'll bounce back.

Onto the rest of the starting rotation after the jump...

Roy Oswalt, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 8-6, 181 1/3 IP, 4.12 ERA, 30 GS, 19 HR, 138 strikeouts, 42 walks, 1.24 WHIP, 101 ERA+

FIP: 3.76

Average Game Score: 53

BABiP:.305

GB/FB: 1.21

Pitching Runs Created: 70

Notes: Since we've already talked about Roy-Boy's career trajectory, let's focus in on his 2009 season. Is this just the pitcher Roy is now? He struggled with getting any kind of decision all season, finishing with 16 non-decisions. His BABiP was right in line with normal luck, and he still got plenty of ground balls. The concerning part is his strikeout total, but as I said, that's been pretty steady for the past four seasons. His FIP shows he should have had a better ERA, but it would still have been his highest in his career. Roy was one of the main players disappointed in Cooper. Hopefully, he'll be motivated in 2010, because with Roy feeling right and Wandy pitching well, we will have a nice front end to the rotation. About that back end, though...

Wandy Rodriguez, LHP

2009 Season Stats: 14-12, 205 2/3 IP, 3.02 ERA, 33 GS, 21 HR, 193 strikeouts, 63 walks, 1.24 WHIP, 138 ERA+

FIP: 3.54

Average Game Score: 57

BABiP:.306

GB/FB: 1.21

Pitching Runs Created:100

Notes: Wandy was the best pitcher on the Astros staff last season. To put it in perspective, the difference between his and Roy's PRC was Mike Hampton. Maybe overly simple, but pretty amazing, no? Wandy's BABiP showed he wasn't just lucky to pitch this well and his strikeout total is very impressive, especially for a lefty. You'd like to see a few fewer walks, but that's just quibbling. The other interesting thing is his game scores. At 57, it was the highest of any of the starters and showed just how good he was game-to-game. His home/away splits were still very pronounced, though his strikeout rate was about the same. Two full runs of ERA though? For Wandy to take that next step to be an ace, he needs to perform better in road games.

Brian Moehler, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 8-12, 154 2/3 IP, 5.47 ERA, 29 GS, 21 HR, 91 strikeouts, 51 walks, 1.53 WHIP, 76 ERA+

FIP: 4.75

Average Game Score: 44

BABiP:.325

GB/FB: 1.25

Pitching Runs Created: 39

Notes: Moehler started the third-most games on the team last season. The trouble was, he did not perform like a third starter. Though his FIP was lower than his ERA and his BABiP meant he was a little unlucky, Moehler was more bad than good. His strikeouts and walks were both not where they should be. Though he had a good G/F ratio, his average game score shows he was a below league average starter in most of his outings. Much was made about a few of his starts at the beginning and end of the season blowing his ERA up too high. If you added 50 points to his total game score, he still would be well belew the the baseline. As a back-end starter? Moehler probably is useful, but will be recovering from a knee injury he had surgery on. Still, for 3 million? He's not a bad option.

Mike Hampton, LHP

2009 Season Stats: 7-10, 112 IP, 5.30 ERA, 21 GS, 13 HR, 74 strikeouts, 37 walks, 1.55 WHIP, 78 ERA+

FIP: 4.57

Average Game Score: 45

BABiP:.322

GB/FB: 1.78

Pitching Runs Created: 30

Notes: Hampy did just what we thought he'd do, getting a ton of ground balls and not really overpowering anyone. Oh, and getting hurt. He did that too. It's a little surprising Hampton gave up as many home runs as he did, but it did appear this experiment failed.

Felipe Paulino, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 3-11, 97 2/3 IP, 6.27 ERA, 17 GS, 20 HR, 93 strikeouts, 37 walks, 1.67 WHIP, 66 ERA+

FIP: 5.11

Average Game Score: 45

BABiP:.368

GB/FB: 1.08

Pitching Runs Created: 24

Notes: Obviously, anytime a hot, young prospect makes his debut and promptly posts a 6+ ERA, it's hard to be very excited. I still think his performance was somewhat affected by recovering from his 2008 injury, even if only slightly. His strikeouts numbers were great, though he gave up too many hits to win consistently. Paulino is too talented not to win more than three games next season, but it may take him a while to adjust. The Astros would pay more on the open market for a pitcher without nearly the upside of Paulino.

Russ Ortiz, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 3-6, 85 2/3 IP, 5.57 ERA, 13 GS, 8 HR, 65 strikeouts, 48 walks, 1.67 WHIP, 75 ERA+

FIP: 4.61

Average Game Score: 42

BABiP:.330

GB/FB: 1.62

Pitching Runs Created: 23

Notes: Ouch. The positives? Ortiz only gave up eight home runs and had a nice G/F ratio of 1.62. That's about it, though, as his nice start gave way to a rough time in the rotation. Ortiz wasn't as bad as his ERA indicated, but neither was he very good. He was hittable and probably was best as a swingman in the bullpen. He'll have to be that for some other team though, as I don't see the Astros bringing him back.

Bud Norris, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 6-3, 55 2/3 IP, 4.53 ERA, 10 GS, 54 strikeouts, 25 walks, 1.50 WHIP, 92 ERA+

FIP: 4.77

Average Game Score: 49

BABiP:.327

GB/FB: 0.87

Pitching Runs Created: 20

Notes: Norris had the most successful debut of any Astros rookie in 2009. He had some rough patches, obviously, but his average game score was still just a shade under average. He was a bit unlucky with his BABiP and gave up too many fly balls, but the strikeouts were there and the walks were minimized. I don't know whether he can get his control working well enough to be a permanent fixture in the rotation, but with his arm, he will have a place on the big league team for a while.

Yorman Bazardo, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 1-3, 32 IP, 7.88 ERA, 6 GS, 17 strikeouts, 22 walks, 1.84 WHIP, 53 ERA+

FIP: 5.00

Average Game Score: 34

BABiP:.323

GB/FB: 1.52

Pitching Runs Created:5

Notes: The Astros won a bidding war to sign Bazardo to a minor league deal in spring training. He joined with Bud Norris and, later, Polin Trinidad to form a potent rotation at Round Rock. Unfortunately, Bazardo may be the proverbial Quadruple-A guy. His strikeout rate has never been very good (5.3 K/9 in minor-league career), though he supplements that by not allowing too many walks. Bazardo does get a fair number of ground balls and his BABiP showed he was slightly unlucky in 2009. His ERA, though, doesn't really support the claim that his failure was all because of Tejada and Matsui. Bazardo should probably be given another shot, but he's a fringe fifth starter at most.

Wilton Lopez, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 0-2, 19 1/3 IP, 8.38 ERA, 2 GS, 9 strikeouts, 8 walks, 2.07 WHIP, 50 ERA+

FIP: 6.25

Average Game Score: 35

BABiP:.381

GB/FB: 2.32

Pitching Runs Created: 2

Notes: Lopez pitched eight games out of the bullpen, but did start two games, so he ended up in this list. A pickup from the Padres, Lopez pitched relatively well for Corpus Christi before getting a late-season callup. Lopez had a good ground ball rate for his limited sample size and his FIP was lower than his ERA (though neither were very good). He profiles as a guy who could hang around Triple-A and help the Astros out in a pinch, but I wouldn't count on him contributing much in 2009.

Brandon Backe, RHP

2009 Season Stats: 0-0, 13 IP, 10.38 ERA, 1 GS, 10 strikeouts, 6 walks, 2.08 WHIP, 40 ERA+

FIP: 7.94

Average Game Score: 41

BABiP:.375

GB/FB: 0.77

Pitching Runs Created: 2

Notes:You'll find no bigger fan of the Galveston native than me. Jeff Kent's home run to beat the Cards in 2004 wouldn't have been possible without Backe throwing a whale of a game. Unfortunately, that's all we got from him. Tantalizing glimpses at potential that never really panned out in the majors. Backe ran into a wall of injuries and ineffectiveness in 2009, refused a demotion to Triple-A and was released.

Busting out in the Divisional Round: Alex Rodriguez and Jeff Bagwell

HighLeveragePerformer — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:00:37 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Browse more photos »

Story after story after story have been written in the past week about Alex Rodriguez' playoff redemption. For a player as maligned as Rodriguez, truly positive press can be hard to come by. After a season of high expectations for his team, the Yankee third baseman thriving outside of the spotlight- free agent signees Mark Teixeira, AJ Burnett and CC Sabathia, the resurgent Derek Jeter and their new baseball palace have stolen headlines that used to belong to A-Rod. If the result of this relative lack of exposure is the success we've witnessed over the first few games of the playoffs, then maybe Rodriguez could use some of that $300 million contract to force the NY beat writers to focus on Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Brett Gardner in 2010.

Besides the lessening of external pressure on the slugger, the lineup the Yankees have fielded this season is much stronger than those in playoff years past. Outside of 2004, his playoff performances have been well below his career averages. It's tough to judge a player based off of fewer than 35 AB, but it's the nature of the beast playing in New York, on baseball's biggest stage.

Jeff Bagwell never had to deal with the New York media, or the ire of the baseball public during his illustrious career. After four failed attempts to escape the first round the playoffs, Bagwell and the Astros finally managed to lay their collective demons to rest by beating the Atlanta Braves in the 2004 NLDS. Bags would see extended playoff ABs for the first time in his career, and he responded by posting a stupendous "triple-slash" of .318/.400/.682 in 22 ABs. No longer would he be forced to head into yet another off season coming off of tepid October performances.

Was there anything special about that October as compared to 1997, '98, '99 or 2001 (which in fairness was a solid, albeit short, postseason for Jeff)?

1997:

Position	Player	wOBA
C	Bradley	.305
1B	Bags	.428
2B	Craig	.410
3B	S. Berry/Spiers	.316/.404
SS	Bogar/Ricky	.315/.302
LF	Gonzo	.320
CF	Hidalgo	.373
RF	Abreu	.319

1998:

Position	Player	wOBA
C	Ausmus	.318
1B	Bags	.422
2B	Craig	.406
3B	Berry	.387
SS	Gutierrez	.301
LF	Alou	.416
CF	Everett	.359
RF	Bell	.373

1999:

Position	Player	wOBA
C	Eusebio	.320
1B	Bags	.422
2B	Craig	.368
3B	Cammy	.374
SS	Bogar	.294
LF	Javier	.374
CF	Everett	.416
RF	Bell	.296

Note: This season saw the likes of Daryle Ward (.336), Javier, and Matt Mieske (.333) start playoff games in the outfield. Yikes.

2001:

Position	Player	wOBA
C	Bradley	.270
1B	Bags	.408
2B	Craig	.364
3B	V. Castilla	.339
SS	J. Lugo	.303
LF	Alou	.397
CF	Hidalgo	.346
RF	Lance	.435

2004:

Position	Player	wOBA
C	Bradley	.271
1B	Bags	.364
2B	Kent	.369
3B	Ensberg	.321
SS	Everett	.313
LF	Craig	.349
CF	Beltran	.404
RF	Lance	.427

While the addition of Beltran and Kent in 2004 were huge additions, it wasn't as if the Astros became the '27 Yankees. In fact, this was Bagwell's worst season in his career (to that point), yet he had his best postseason ever. While A Rod's mates are clearly superior in 2009 than in seasons past, the same can't truly be said of Bags' bunch in 2004. Between his and Craig's declines, and the lowest output from 3B since 1997, this was a pretty good, but not superior lineup. What surprised me was that Jeff Kent, a power hitting second baseman throughout his career, posted Biggio-like numbers at second in 2004. Lance Berkman is great....like, "play for five more seasons and punch his ticket to Cooperstown" great.

If anything, I'd chalk up their 2004 NLCS appearance to not having to face Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Kevin Brown, and John Smoltz, and instead facing off against Jaret Wright, John Thomson, Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton. Wait a second...Ortiz? Hampton? Weren't they on the....this season? Damn.

The Giants and Minor League Evaluation

Grant — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:57:18 -0000

Not much time for a ton of writing today, so I'll just ask your help for possible posts down the road. I'm trying to make a list of examples of the Giants ignoring minor league performance in their hitter evaluation process in the Brian Sabean era.

Rich Aurilia -- Fine numbers for a AAA shortstop, blocked by Jose Vizcaino because he was the "get one free" part of the Jeff Kent trade.
Todd Linden -- Stellar numbers in AAA, never given a chance (note: this is a list of examples for better or for worse. It was almost assuredly a good thing that Linden didn't get a chance as a starter.)
Dan Ortmeier -- Very little power, contact, or on-base skills in the minors, fluked his way into a .497 slugging percentage in 157 major league at-bats, taken seriously as a candidate for a starting 1B job in the majors
Kevin Frandsen -- Career .317/.380/.452 hitter in the minors, blocked by vets and rooks alike. Also a career .241/.306/.342 hitter in the majors in over 450 at-bats, so this might be more of a Linden situation rather than a crime against player evaluation.
Nate Schierholtz -- Career .308/.355/.516 hitter in the minors, blocked by vets and rooks alike. Also a career .287/.318/.408 hitter in the majors in over 450 at-bats, so...hey, that reads familiar.
Brian Bocock -- A year after hitting .220 in A-ball, he was the Opening Day shortstop. Seriously.
Emmanuel Burriss -- Two years after hitting .165 in A-ball, he was the Opening Day second baseman. Seriously.
John Bowker -- Hit .342/.451/.596 with a reworked approach in AAA. The player standing in the way of a starting job in the majors hasn't hit a home run since April.
Buster Posey -- Isn't likely to have an on-base percentage below .300, which makes him a special offensive catcher in this organization's history. Needs to prove his worth to get a single start; won't get a single start until he proves his worth.
Eugenio Velez -- Nothing in his minor league career, other than a fine age-24 season in low-A, suggests he'll be more than a fine bench player. Because he had a ridiculously hot 80 at-bats when he was called up, though, he's a starting outfielder. And he's done just fine, mind you. But he also starts against left-handers, against whom he's hit .241/.288/.353 over his minor league career and .212/.287/.260 in his major league career.

No thesis, really. I'm just trying to figure out why the Giants completely ignore minor league statistics when they evaluate hitters. Actually, I guess I'm trying to figure out if they ignore minor league stats, and if that's even helped the team on a few occassions. Please help me fill in any gaps or omissions. Also let me know if I'm cherry-picking and/or making too much out of nothing. Also, feel free to ignore baseball entirely and talk about lunch, as that's what you're going to do anyways.

Giants/Phillies Series Preview

Grant — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:45:20 -0000

More photos » by Michael Perez - AP

Jamie Moyer throws a changeup on "Business Attire Night" at Citizen's Bank Park.

Browse more photos »

note: There's a thread for September callups just below this post. You can enter your guess into the "Whose Daughter Did Kevin Frandsen Diddle?" contest there.

Click this link. Do it. Mouse over, find out where the link sends you, and then go there with glee. Click the link, and let the joy wash over you. Tim Lincecum. Pablo Sandoval. Edgar M.F. Renteria. That was the last time a series was this important.

I guess they’re all important from now on. Every game in this newfangled "September" seems to mean something. My pappy used to tell me stories his grandpappy used to tell him, and there was once a time when the Giants used to play meaningful games in every September. He used to get some penny candy, ride the trolley to the games, pay his nickel, and watch players like "Barry Bonds" and "Jeff Kent" do something they used to call "hitting the freaking ball." It was probably pretty special. I’m looking forward to these "meaningful" "September" games.

The last Phillies/Giants series was a little bit of a test. Sure, the Giants could beat teams like the Padres and the Pirates – except when they can’t – but the Phillies? It was a bellwether series – a harbinger of doom to come if they couldn’t beat a good team at home. But the Giants did quite well, taking three of four from the Phillies. They might have even swept the series, too, if it weren’t for those meddling Indians giving Cliff Lee away.

This series is even more of a bellwethery harbingering, though. It’s a good team on the road. You might remember such fantastic road series like San Diego and Pittsburgh, where the Giants flopped against bad teams. That stunk. This could be even worse of a thumping….

…or the Giants can say "We are so totally in this thing for reals" by taking the series. As a devout member of the Church of Jeff Weaver, and one of the planners for the annual St. Podsednik parade for my church, I firmly believe that any team in the playoffs has a chance to win it all with a well-timed hot streak. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t feel better if the team at least pretended they could win on the road, though.

Pitcher to watch:

Brad Penny is a lump of unpleasantness, but he should be a good fit in San Francisco. In Philadelphia, though? Against Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and the rest of the NL All-Star team? Those 400-foot fly outs aren’t so cute in Philadelphia. And I’m a-feared of Penny’s debut.

On the Philly side, Pedro Martinez is going against Tim Lincecum. I can’t figure out what that means. The Giants usually shock us all by scratching out a couple of runs against the best pitchers in the world, but then they wither against the rehab projects, the low-K control specialists, and the gimps of the world. Martinez is an unholy combination of all of the above. He’s a fantastic pitcher when he’s right, which is good news for the Giants. But he could still be recovering from his layoff, hurting his velocity and command, which is bad news for the Giants. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

Hitter to watch:

Freddy Sanchez should have a whale of a series. I’m looking forward to it. (WalrusMan's Edit: :-( )

Also, Raul Ibanez is slumping hard. It was easy to defend against the Renteria "worst signing of the offseason" charges by pointing to Ibanez, but then Ibanez went nuts on the National League. Lately, he’s been more in line with preseason expectations, so hopefully he stays that way. Chances of that happening now that I’ve written that: 2%.

Prediction:

If the Giants lose this series, the season is over unless they find a way to win more games than the Rockies for the remainder of the season. Book it.

Jim Thome & The 300 Club

Eric Stephen — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:54:19 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Browse more photos »

Jim Thome comes to the Dodgers with 564 career home runs, the most by any player ever acquired by the club. Here is a look at every player with 300 or more career home runs that became a Dodger, with their numbers in blue:

Player	Age	HR Before	Dodger HR	PA	BA/OBP/SLG	OPS+
JIm Thome	38	564	???	??	???	???
Manny Ramirez	36	510	32	561	.345/.453/.631	182
Eddie Murray*	41	504	0	9	.286/.444/.286	103
Frank Robinson	36	503	6	405	.251/.353/.442	127
Fred McGriff	39	478	13	329	.249/.322/.428	99
Andruw Jones	31	368	3	238	.158/.256/.249	34
Boog Powell	35	339	0	53	.244/.415/.244	83
Eddie Murray*	33	333	65	1974	.278/.359/.440	125
Luis Gonzalez	39	331	15	526	.278/.359/.433	101
Jeff Kent	37	302	75	2146	.291/.367/.479	118

*Eddie Murray was actually acquired twice with over 300 home runs -- once in 1989 and again in 1997.

Jones and Powell cratered after joining the Dodgers, but the rest were reasonably productive wearing Dodger Blue. The Hall of Famers -- and I'm including Manny Ramirez here -- in the group all performed very well after joining the Dodgers. But Jim Thome, Hall of Fame resume or not, doesn't have to put up huge numbers to succeed.

Jim Thome won't be playing regularly. His job is to be the big bopper off the bench. The Dodgers gave up a non-prospect in Justin Fuller to get him If Thome can get a big hit here or there, especially in the playoffs, this trade is a sizable win for the Dodgers.

NL West parks: Advantage offense

Poseidon's Fist — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:09:48 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

If you thought AT&T Park was a pitcher's park, you would be wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Yer wrong!

Browse more photos »

The NL West has gotten a reputation for utilizing the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league. That reputation might not be so well-deserved. Here's a look at Baseball-Reference's park factors for the NL West stadia. Bold indicates the high mark of the data set, and italics indicate the low mark. Also, instead of showing the batting/pitcher park factor splits, I averaged the two for simplicity of presentation.

West	2009	Multi-year
AT&T Park	103.5	102
Chase Field	108	107
Coors Field	105.5	107
Dodger Stadium	94.5	99.5
PetCo Park	88.5	89
Average	100.0	100.9

Given that 100 is deemed neutral, it is interesting to note that the division's parks are playing at exactly neutral this season in spite of the blatantly manipulative ways of PetCo. Looking at multi-year factors, three parks are strongly on the offensive side (including the two most offensive in the league), while Dodger Stadium has historically been pretty neutral, though it has been acting particularly squirrely this season. How about we compare to the other NL divisions:

Central	2009	Multi-year
Busch Stadium	98	99
Great American Ballpark	104.5	104.5
Miller Park	97.5	100
Minute Maid Park	103	98.5
PNC Park	94.5	95.5
Wrigley Field	103	105
Average	100.1	100.42

East	2009	Multi-year
Citi Field	99.5	99.5
Citizens Bank Park	101.5	102.5
Land Shark Stadium	97	99
Nationals Park	101.5	101.5
Turner Field	101	99
Average	100.1	100.30

Check out the multi-year average among all divisions. The NL West favors offense more than the other two divisions. Granted, Coors Field and Chase Field are the top two offensive parks, which skews the numbers a bit, but PetCo does so in the other direction nearly by itself. The NL West may have a greater range of ballparks than the other divisions by double, but overall it favors pitching no more than the other division.

Naturally, regarding the Rockies only, the picture changes slightly. Eliminating Coors Field from the equation, the Rockies maintain the most pitching-friendly road schedule other than the Diamondbacks.

NL West Report

Arizona (59-72, 4th, W4, 19 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 1-2 @ Giants. 3-0 vs Astros. After winning just one of eight, the Diamondbacks have won four straight, their best streak since taking five straight at the Mets and Pirates in early August.

Pace: 73-88.

Divisional Change: No change.

This Week: 4 game road series @ Dodgers, 3 game home road series @ Rockies. If Colorado still wants the division title, Arizona could help out a lot by extending their win streak to eight before losing three in a row.

News: Luis Gonzalez has officially retired, and now will have a role as the D-backs' new special advisor. His retirement conference was Saturday.

AZ Snakepit includes a video interview in a game thread this weekend.

Conor Jackson's future with Arizona is in doubt. Jackson went from the Diamondbacks' primary cleanup hitter last season to missing nearly the entire season with Valley Fever. Now, he might be non-tendered at the end of the season, forcing his comeback to come with another team via free agency.

Conor Jackson

#34 / Left Field / Arizona Diamondbacks

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 07, 1982

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Conor Jackson	30	99	8	18	4	0	1	14	11	16	5	0	.182	.264	.253

Script is flipped for D-backs catchers. Miguel Montero has made the most of Chris Snyder's injuries as the new starting catcher for Arizona, which is making Snyder expendable. Look for the Diamondbacks to look for a trade opportunity with Snyder, who received a three-year deal in the offseason.

Chris Snyder's injury forced the club to call up catcher-of-the-future John Hester, who responded by homering in first Major League at-bat.

Transactions: Optioned LHP Daniel Schlereth and OF Trent Oeltjen to AAA Reno. Traded RHP Jon Rauch to Minnesota for a PTBNL. Called up C John Hester and OF Chris Young.

Injuries: Activated OF Justin Upton and placed C Chris Snyder (back inflammation) on 15-day DL. RHP Chad Qualls is day-to-day but might miss the rest of the season with a dislocated knee. He will have an MRI in coming days.

Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Eric Byrnes	hand	06/26/2009
Chris Snyder	lower-back	08/23/2009
Scott Schoeneweis	other-excused	08/10/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Conor Jackson	pneumonia	05/12/2009
Brandon Webb	shoulder	04/07/2009

News on the other three divisional teams after the jump.

Los Angeles (78-53, 1st, W2)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Rockies. 2-1 @ Reds. Los Angeles overcame an opening game loss to both series but overcame it both time to win both difficult road series as the Rockies dropped 5 of 6, thereby giving the Dodgersa comfortable cushion in the NL West.

Pace: 96-66.

Divisional Change: Gained three games on COL.

This Week: 4 game home series vs Diamondbacks, 3 game home series vs Padres. LA has an opportunity to add to their lead by beating up on the two divisional teams that have been looking to future season for months.

News: Dodgers Regain Control Of NL West. If you're a masochist, check how TrueBlueLA responded to arguably the biggest storyline in the division.

The Nationals traded former Rockie Ronnie Belliard to the Dodgers

Ronnie Belliard

#10 / Second Base / Los Angeles Dodgers

Height: 5-10

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 07, 1975

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ronnie Belliard	86	187	26	46	7	1	5	22	14	40	2	0	.246	.296	.374

True Blue LA reacts to the trade.

Belliard is not enough though. LA wants to improve their bench with a power threat, preferably from the left side. Kudos to Dan O'Dowd for scooping up Jason Giambi already, who is 7-for-16 wwith 5 BBs and 2 HRs in 5 games with Colorado Springs.

Peter Gammons doesn't like the Dodgers, citing their third starter and a trade deadline reliever as reasons for being a playoff team:

"If it weren’t for Wolf and the trade for George Sherrill, they would not make the playoffs."

Transactions: Optioned IF Tony Abreu to AAA Albuquerque and called up RHP Vicente Padilla. Acquired IF Ronnie Belliard from Washington for minor league pitcher Luis Garcia and a PTBNL.

Injuries: Transferred Jason Schmidt (shoulder) from the 15-day to 60-day DL. LHP Ohman threw an inning in AAA Aug 26 and could return in mid-September. Hiroki Kuroda threw a successful simulated game Saturday and should return within a couple weeks.

Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Will Ohman	shoulder	05/28/2009
Hiroki Kuroda	concussion	08/16/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Doug Mientkiewicz	shoulder	04/17/2009
Xavier Paul	ankle	05/21/2009
Jason Schmidt	shoulder	08/06/2009
Eric Milton	lower-back	06/28/2009

San Diego (56-76, 5th, L2, 22.5 GB)

Last Week: 4-2. 2-1 @ Braves, 2-1 @ Marlins. The Padres at least did their part in helping Colorado by winning both series against a couple Wild Card hopefuls.

Pace: 69-93.

Divisonal change: None.

This Week: 3 game home series vs. Nationals, 3 game road series @ Dodgers.

News: Jake Peavy is having injury problems for the White Sox in AAA. He took a line drive off his elbow August 24. He then pitched Saturday and left after just 68 pitches with elbow soreness.

In related news, MLB.com's Adam Roseberg writes that the Friars reap Rich-ard rewards of trade. Naturally, Richard went and got lit up for six runs in 2.1 IP against Atlanta after Rosenberg's column. That's the nature of the Padre rotation this year.

Clayton Richard

#41 / Pitcher / San Diego Padres

Height: 6-5

Weight: 240

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Sep 12, 1983

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Clayton Richard	3-1	6	6	0	0	0	0	29.1	33	17	17	3	20	22	5.22	1.81

A member of GasLampBall, aptly named plunkeveryone, wrote a fanpost noting that Kevin Kouzmanoff tied franchise record Wednesday. He is now the Padres' all-time leader in HBP with just 35.

Here's a Q&A with outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr, who is the only player in MLB with his unique situation.

Transactions: Recalled RHP Adam Russell, LHP Wade LeBlanc, and OF Drew Macias. Optioned RHP Cesar Carillo to AAA Portland.

Injuries: Placed RHP Mike Adams on the 15-day DL (shoulder) retroactive to Aug 22. Adrian Gonzalez is day-to-day with a sore biceps in his throwing arm but singled in a pinch hit AB last night. Kyle Blanks was set on the 15-day DL Saturday with a strained arch in his right foot. He is in a walking boot and is eligible to return Sept 13. I know how that injury feels. It's bizarre and annoying.

San Diego Padres Injuries

15-Day

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Brian Giles	knee	06/19/2009
Edgar Gonzalez	concussion	07/19/2009
Kyle Blanks	foot	08/29/2009
Mike Adams	shoulder	08/22/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mark Worrell	elbow	03/27/2009
Cha Seung Baek	forearm	03/30/2009
Shawn Hill	elbow	04/26/2009
Chris Young	shoulder	06/15/2009
Cliff Floyd	shoulder	06/18/2009

San Francisco (72-59, t-2nd, W3, 6 GB in Div, t-1st in WC)

Last Week: 5-2. 0-1 vs Rockies. 2-1 vs Diamondbacks. 3-0 vs Rockies. San Francisco took advantage of the first series of the season that Lincecum, Zito and Cain all pitched in to sweep Colorado and pull even for the wild card lead, a very commendable achievement after the gutpunch they received Monday night.

Pace: 88-74.

Divisional Change: Gained 0.5 in NL West (LAD), gained 3 games in WC (COL).

This Week: 3 game road series @ Phillies, 3 game road series @ Brewers. The Giants earned their way to top of Wild Card Mountain, and they'll have to continue to earn staying there. The Rockies get to face two NL creampuffs at home while SF hits the road to face the World Champs and fading but strong Brewers.

News: Jon Heyman tweets the Giants are interested in Brad Penny, along with the Marlins and Yankees.

John Perotto notes that the Giants are one of two favorites to land favorites to land Penny.

Fans cheer as Kent gets Giant honor, being enshrined in the Giant's Wall of Fame. Said Kent:

"The only place I ever cared about and gave my heart to was San Francisco." - Jeff Kent

The Big Unit is willing to return as reliever. After being on the 60-day DL for since July with a trapezius injury, Randy Johnson would be unable to contribute as a starter unless he had a long rehab assignment. The Unit coming out of the pen is a wild card if ever there was one.

Randy Johnson

#51 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-10

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: L

Born: Sep 10, 1963

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Randy Johnson	8-6	17	17	0	0	0	0	91.2	90	51	49	18	31	80	4.81	1.32

The Giants claimed Trevor Hoffman on waivers, though some have specualted it was more to prevent a team like the Rockies from claiming him. Regardless, Hoffman appears to be staying with the Brewers.

Transactions: Optioned Joe Martinez to AAA Fresno. Recalled LHP Alex Hinshaw and IF Ryan Rohlinger.

Injuries: Randy Johnson will throw from 90-100 feet Tuesday or Wednesday - the Big Unit hopes to return this season as a reliever. Rich Aurilia is set to come off the 15-day DL but indications are he won't join the big league club when he does. Bengie Molina has been available to pinch hit and will likely return to the lineup at some point in Philadelphia from his torn right quad. Freddy Sanchez will make a couple rehab starts and then return Sept 2.

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Freddy Sanchez	shoulder	08/18/2009
Rich Aurilia	ankle	08/12/2009
Andres Torres	hamstring	07/31/2009

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Randy Johnson	trapezius	07/06/2009
Noah Lowry	ribs	03/27/2009
Kelvin Pichardo	shoulder	06/28/2009
Henry Sosa	shoulder	08/05/2009

San Francisco Giants Injuries

15-Day

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Freddy Sanchez shoulder 08/18/2009

Rich Aurilia ankle 08/12/2009

Andres Torres hamstring 07/31/2009

60 Day DL / Out for the season

Player Injury Type Injury Date

Randy Johnson trapezius 07/06/2009

Noah Lowry ribs 03/27/2009

Kelvin Pichardo shoulder 06/28/2009

Henry Sosa shoulder 08/05/2009

Bloody Sox Laundry - 8/13/09

bs.uf15bosox9bears23 — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:07:22 -0000

More photos » by Elise Amendola - AP

WHAT IS THIS KID DOING?!?!?

Browse more photos »

Alright, most of you are probably reading the headline and asking yourself, "WTF is BS writing?" My job as an author on Over The Monster will be to do a daily links story so that we're all informed and OTM gets spread around the Web. This is the debut of said stories, which are going to be published under the title of "Bloody Sox Laundry", in honor of Curt Schilling's epic Game 6 performance in the 2004 ALCS. If anybody objects to this title, for any reason, email me or leave a comment. Also, a disclaimer: today's Laundry will have a lot more stuff than usual, just because I felt like making a big debut. Okay? Okay - let's get to it.

Everyone remembers the fracas from Tuesday, right? Youk gets intentionally hit for the second time in two nights, the first batter after Porcello had backed VMart up before retiring him to end the previous inning. Youk rushed the mound, threw his helmet at Kid Rick, and tried to tackle the young pitcher. Unfortunately for Youk, Porcello appears to be an UFC fan and was able to use Youk's momentum against him to him toss The Greek God of Walks into the ground, falling on top of him before the rest of the teams could pile around. Of course, some people took offense to this, but others decided to flash the comedy muscles, leading to this from Plunk Everyone:

Then later in the next inning, Rick Porcello hit Kevin Youkilis and that was the 5,925th time a batter born in Ohio was hit by a pitch. Youk was so excited by this, he wanted to celebrate and rushed out to the mound yelling "5925 for Ohio! WOoooOO! Give me a hug!" and Rick Porcello yelled "That's ridiculous! I'm uncomfortable with your affection! And that's not even a round number, why are you so excited about an arbitrary milestone like 5,925?" and the fans yelled "Yoouuuuuuuk" (because they do that no matter what he does), and his manager yelled "This is the inappropriate time and place to celebrate!". And the benches emptied and everyone jumped around trying to seperate the over-excited Youkilis from the uncomfortable Porcello. And then the umpire, misunderstanding the whole situation, threw both Porcello and Youkilis out of the game.

And now, for some sabermetric content:

Pedro Martinez Returns - Beyond the Box Score
A PITCHf/x review of Pedro's impressive return to action.

WAR Chart Design Input - Beyond the Boxscore
I've posted a couple WAR charts as FanShots and in comments. This is your chance to have input into what you'd like to see included in the standard form that several saber-blogs are trying to create.

Little League World Series - Beyond the Box Score
A look at the Little League World Series qualifying teams - anyone got any favorites? OTM's spread out pretty far, so maybe some of you have a connection to one of the teams, or played in the LLWS as a kid.

1984 Cy Young Race, Broken Down By WAR - Beyond the Box Score
Or, how the Baseball Writers Association of America robbed Doc Gooden. And, on a related note...

2000 NL MVP Comments by Neyer Declared Wrong by devil_fingers - Driveline Mechanics
I'll let d_f speak for his work:

A brief comment on Rob Neyer's claim that, despite Todd Helton's road numbers in 2000, Jeff Kent was still the better MVP candidate. Neyer is wrong.

PS: d_f recently became a father to Branyan Langerhans Fingers - why don't you congratulate him while you're over there?

BtB Power Rankings: 8/12/2009 - Beyond the Box Score
The Phillies fall from first, the Yankees are back on top, and the Diamondbacks may have found themselves in this week's installment of the BtB Power Rankings. Also, based on the leaders in this week's rankings, we will be lucky to make the post season.

Don't worry, MassGal & Co., not EVERYTHING is going to be sabermetrics.

The Hunt for Bryce Harper - Beyond the Box Score
RJ Anderson looks at teams who have a chance to "win" the first pick in the draft, which should be Bryce Harper, a catching phenom who's finishing high school a year early to enter the MLB Draft a year ahead of the stocked Class of 2011.

Bronson Arroyo Exhibits Some Honesty; Media Goes Berserk - Driveline Mechanics
The man who took a slap from ARod for us speaks about his use of various pharmacons.

BostonHerald.com's Clubhouse Insider - The strangest ejection ever
Tito was once ejected while being IBB'd. One of the weirdest stories I've seen in a while.

Jason Bay is going streaking - Extra Bases
Safe for work, I assure you. EB's got some interesting splits for Bay.

Epstein on trade deadline, Ortiz, and more - Extra Bases
Some interesting stuff from our GM, including this little revelation:

On whether the team was close to acquiring Jays ace Roy Halladay before the trade deadline:

Epstein: "I never got the sense that we were close, but we were pretty aggressive. We actually made J.P. [Ricciardi, Toronto's GM] an offer -- we actually made several different offers -- but our last offer was the most aggressive. It came the day before the deadline, and he said that it was a good offer, it was probably the best offer he had received, but that it wasn't . . . he was looking to get blown away, and it didn't blow him away.

I'm kinda hoping that Theo was just saying to this to appease those who were pushing for this deal to be made, but I don't know if that's the case. There's some other good quotes in there, as you can tell from the title in the link.

Tickets for Troops Ceremony - Extra Bases
Sox and season ticket holders made a nice gesture to military personnel - well covered on NESN and the national broadcast on MLB Network.

Red Sox Nation Looking Forward to RemDawg's Return - NESN.com
Get well soon, Remy. Even if it pushes Eck out of the booth and into Heidi's role.

Yankees Have Rotation Lined Up for Fenway Series - NESN.com
Pettitte, Burnett, Sabathia ready to go, it would seem. Looks like the offense is going to have a job on their hands.

Red Sox have to admit Yankees got it right - FOX Sports on MSN

It is perhaps just now dawning on the Red Sox exactly how much was lost when Teixeira opted for New York over Boston. General manager Theo Epstein pried Victor Martinez loose from Cleveland at the deadline to give his team's lineup an infusion, but not before aiming higher for San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Epstein was willing to part with a handful of top prospects to get Gonzalez, a slick-fielding run producer just now entering his prime.

Not saying I agree with the author here, but this is an interesting piece. Anyone have some thoughts about how Theo and the Front Office have done compared to their MFY counterparts?

Sun-Sentinel - Florida Marlins among the teams interested in John Smoltz

Oh. Well, maybe they will help relieve the salary due to him at least a little bit. I guess he's theirs...

John Smoltz headed to Dodgers or Cardinals? - Yahoo! Sports

Or not. I guess there is a market for this guy after all. I doubt anyone's going to give up anything of real value to get him though.

USG's Department - Do I have to do yer work for ya?

SoxProspects.com News: Player of the Week, August 3-9: Jorge Jimenez

SoxProspects.com News: Pitcher of the Week, August 3-9: Adam Mills

@SoxProspects - Duncan Removed From 40-Man Roster

General Baseball News

Baseball makes its pitch for '16 Olympics | MLB.com: News
@MLB had a couple of tweets on the subject:

Jayson Stark: Clock ticking on Washington Nationals and Scott Boras in Stephen Strasburg negotiations - ESPN
Here's the multimillion-dollar question: Will Stephen Strasburg -- the No. 1 pick in the June draft -- sign with the Washington Nationals? We'll soon find out.

NEW Hacks with Haggs - VMart Ready for Wake

And... that's it. If you find any cool links today, post'em in the comments. RIP LES PAUL

C'mon, Rob! Win Shares? On Rob Neyer, Todd Helton, Jeff Kent, Jim Edmonds, Barry Bonds, Mike Piazza, and the 2000 NL MVP

devil_fingers — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:53:14 -0000

Usual caveat: Rob Neyer is great. Really -- I'm among the many people out there who was first exposed to sabermetrics through his ESPN columns and "Rob and Rany on the Royals." He generally does a good job of keeping up with the latest stuff and getting it across in an easily-digested manner for his readers.

Moreover, MVP races are what they are -- a good idea for an award that often ruined by voters who seemingly don't have the faintest idea of what makes a baseball player valuable.

Still, I was a bit put off by Neyer's recent blog posting responding to a reader's claim that Todd Helton, not Jeff Kent, should have won the 2000 NL MVP (Helton placed seventh). Much of the debate, of course, is about the way Coors Field inflates hitters' numbers. The reader points out that Helton also had great numbers on the road. Let's skip to Neyer's conclusion:

Edmonds just edged Helton for fourth place. Maybe he shouldn't have. I certainly should not have dismissed Helton's road production, which was obviously considerable. But do you really want to argue -- with his road stats, anyway -- that Helton was better than Kent, Bonds, and Piazza? After including defense and baserunning?

Helton finished that season with 29 Win Shares. Kent finished with 37. The right man won the award.

Win Shares? Look, I'm not here to rip on Win Shares. Like Range Factor, VORP, skinny ties, and a geocentric cosmology, Win Shares had its time and place. But shouldn't a worldly guy like Rob Neyer (who, let's be honest, goes out of his way to flaunt his "progressiveness" every chance he gets) be a bit more circumspect when it comes to stuff like this? Who really should have won the 2000 NL MVP? Let's check in with Rally...

I'm not going to get into the ins-and-outs of Win Shares. Heck, I barely understand it -- and that's most of the problem. I think it's a great idea give the time in and purpose for which was conceived. If you want good criticisms of Win Shares, click here. But again, this isn't about Win Shares, it's about the 2000 NL MVP: How should we determine who "really" deserved it? Neyer's discussion (spurred by this reader's point that Helton wasn't just a Coors creation) focuses on the road stats of give players who finished high in that years MVP balloting, and so Neyer gives us this chart of road performances:

Player	Pos.	BA/OBP/SLG	Runs/RBI
Jeff Kent	2B	.333/.429/.624	61/65
Barry Bonds	LF	.291/.431/.633	65/48
Mike Piazza	C	.377/.459/.701	49/60
Jim Edmonds	CF	.295/.400/.556	66/51
Todd Helton	1B	.353/.441/.633	46/59

Again, seriously? We're going to go by by three-slashes (great for description, not so much for evaluation), runs scored and RBI? This is even worse than Win Shares. If only there was some "linear" fashion of "weighing" the relative offensive contributions of players that could include "adjustments" for "parks." I think we'd call it "location-sensitive relative massification" or something...

Granted, Neyer is writing for an audience with varyhing levels of knowledge of more recent (I hate the phrase "advanced metrics") stats and measures of player evaluation, so I understand this approach. But why bring up Win Shares? Outside of all the other objective criticisms, it's just so unnecessarily complicated.

So what would be a good way to decide which player was most valuable? What measure would account not just for offensive and defensive production, but also for position, and also the reality that runs at Coors are less valuable than they are at other parks... hmm... what could it be?

If you've been a reader here before, you know that the answer is Wins Above Replacement. It's been around in different forms for a while now. There are currenlty very good, freely accessible versions available at both FanGraphs (for 2002-2008, the seasons for which Ultimate Zone Rating is available using data from Baseball Info Solutions) and for all of baseball history at Rally's (AKA Sean "CHONE" Smith) incredible WAR database at Baseball Projection. You can read about the details behind the numbers here. Suffice it to say that Rally's database provides all the information we need: numbers for hitting (adjusting both for park and team context, so players don't get credit for more runs than their team actually scored), defense position, baserunning (not just steals, but also advancement), reaching on error, grounding into double plays, and playing time (replacement level adjusted for league and era). Sounds like exactly like the sort of "Uberstat" we're looking for. So what do Rally's numbers tell us about the five players mentioned in Neyer's chart duplicated above? The most important thing Rally's WAR tells us is that the list should be sorted differently.

Player	Hit	BsR	GIDP	ROE	Defense	Position	Replace	RAR	WAR
Todd Helton	61	1	0	2	18	-10	18	90	8.8
Barry Bonds	71	3	0	0	5	-6	16	89	8.7
Jeff Kent	65	-4	-2	1	1	2	18	81	7.9
Jim Edmonds	42	0	2	3	3	2	18	70	6.8
Mike Piazza	39	-2	-2	-1	-3	7	16	54	5.2

I didn't do a comprehensive search, I just took the five players Neyer listed. I think the chart speaks for itself.

The great thing about WAR is that, properly implemented, it takes all the "difficulty" and mystery out of comparing players in different run environments (parks/leagues), at different positions, of differing defensive skills, etc. It not only gets away from Runs and RBI (while still using replacement level as a playing time guide to avoid the limitations of pure rate stats), but also uses linear weights to evaluate offense in an objective way that the three slash simply can't do on its own (i.e., trying to figure out how to weight each of the components [1.75*OBP+SLG is a good start, by the way]).

Jeff Kent was probably less liked than Barry Bonds, but was still an outstanding player (and borderline Hall-of-Famer, but that's another discussion) who helped his teams a great deal. But he wasn't even the best player on his team that season, despite actually being okay on defense. WAR isn't terribly precise, so one could make a case for either Bonds or Helton, it seems to me. But getting back to context -- these guys are all in the same league in the same year, so those considerations are irrelevant. It all comes down to a guy as smart as Rob Neyer seemingly "overadjusting" for Coors Field so much that he focuses on "road stats" for some reason. Why not simply reference park-adjusted stats?

Neyer writes:

But do you really want to argue -- with his road stats, anyway -- that Helton was better than Kent, Bonds, and Piazza? After including defense and baserunning?

Defense: Let's see, even though he played the easiest/least valuable position of the five, after you account for defense+position, the only player close is Edmonds, whom Rob already admits wasn't as good. 18 runs is 18 runs even at first base. Baserunning: Bonds was the better baserunner, but Helton wasn't bad, and clearly better than Kent and Piazza.

This is clearly a two-horse race between Helton and Bonds. One could make either argument. But to imply that it's sort of crazy to think Helton should be in the race is way off, especially in comparison to Piazza and Kent (the actual winner, whom Neyer tells us is the "right man.")

My main point isn't about the 2000 MVP Race, which is undoubtedly forgotten by most of us other than Kent, Bonds (who wasn't very happy about the result), Helton, and Neyer's correspondant. The main issue is that Neyer, who continues to be an excellent writer and analyst, obfuscates the issue with. It isn't just the "road stats" red herring, which is at least understandable on the level of "this is something my readers might get." But if you're going to bring up a total value "Uberstat" like Win Shares, why not go with one that's simpler, more intuitive, and more publicly available like WAR? C'mon, Rob!

It's not a big deal, but hey, this is the blogosphere, where Little Things are a Big Deal.

NB: For another approach to MVP/Hall of Fame issues, see vivaelpujols' posts on Pennant and Playoff Probability Added.