Knuckle Curve » juan_pierre http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve Major League Baseball News from Spring Training to the World Series Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:16:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Rangers, Tigers Swap Spare Parts http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/rangers-tigers-swap-spare-parts/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/rangers-tigers-swap-spare-parts/#comments Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:17:09 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/rangers-tigers-swap-spare-parts/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> The Texas Rangers have traded outfielder Freddy Guzman to Detroit for catcher/first baseman Chris Shelton.

Who are these guys? Glad you asked.

Guzman once was known as Pedro De Los Santos and played second base in the San Diego Padres organization. Then when the visa crackdowns came along, his name changed and he aged a few years. Guzman has decent on-base skills and is fast. His ceiling is a poor-man’s Juan Pierre, but really, he’s a fourth outfielder. Actually, so is Pierre, but I digress.

Shelton spent all of 2007 in the minors after batting .273/.340/.466 for the Tigers in ‘06. The guy has some serious power from the right side of the plate. He came up through the Pittsburgh Pirates organization as a catcher but primarily has played first base in the big leagues, although he did log six games behind the dish back in 2004.

Neither of these guys should be impact players for their new teams, but both could contribute. Shelton has more offensive upside, while Guzman provides stronger defense.

Hey, they can’t all be blockbusters.

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]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/rangers-tigers-swap-spare-parts/feed/ 0 Dodgers Sign Andruw Jones http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/dodgers-sign-andruw-jones/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/dodgers-sign-andruw-jones/#comments Thu, 06 Dec 2007 21:43:36 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/dodgers-sign-andruw-jones/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed center fielder Andruw Jones to a 2-year deal worth a reported $36 million. That’s a little pricey for my taste, but not outrageous, and it’s only two years. The problem is, this signing leaves me with more questions than answers:

  • What happens to Juan Pierre? If he slides over to left, as some have speculated, he becomes even more worthless than he already is. Don’t get me wrong, as a Padres fan, I’d love nothing more than to see the Dodgers run Pierre out to a corner spot every day, but I can’t bring myself to believe that anyone would really do that. Then again, someone signed him to a 5-year deal in the first place, so what do I know.
  • What happens to Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp? If Pierre stays, then one of these guys has to go — or so it would seem. What will either of them fetch in trade? I’ve heard rumblings about an Erik Bedard deal, but right now the signal-to-noise ratio is very low in terms of rumors vs facts.

Jones certainly represents an upgrade over Pierre in center, but the Dodgers still have to deal with the latter’s contract in some way. Even still, assuming Jones rebounds from a poor ‘06 season, he’s a .260/.340/.500 hitter or so. That’s solid, but is it enough to “put them over the top”?

From a value standpoint, I can live with this contract. From a “what are the Dodgers trying to accomplish” standpoint, I’m left scratching my head.

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]]> http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/dodgers-sign-andruw-jones/feed/ 3 Worst of the Worst http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/worst-of-the-worst/ http://www.everyjoe.com/knucklecurve/worst-of-the-worst/#comments Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:49:48 +0000 Geoff Young http://www.knucklecurve.com/worst-of-the-worst/ Post from: Knuckle Curve

]]> With the season winding down, I got to wondering who’s stinking up the joint? Here are the players with the lowest OPS+ by position (minimum 430 PA, roughly what it would take to qualify for the batting title if the season ended now) and the pitchers with the highest ERA+ (minimum 140 IP for starters, 40 G for relievers):

Worst Position Players of 2007
Pos Name Team(s) BA OBP SLG OPS+
Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference and are through games of September 9, 2007.
C Jason Kendall Oak/ChN .245 .300 .313 63
1B Lyle Overbay Tor .239 .317 .397 85
2B Josh Barfield Cle .245 .273 .326 59
3B Nick Punto Min .199 .286 .255 46
SS Tony Pena KC .256 .276 .334 56
Omar Vizquel SF .239 .299 .295 56
LF Jason Bay Pit .253 .331 .424 95
CF Juan Pierre LA .290 .323 .347 73
RF Delmon Young TB .293 .322 .416 92

Quick comments:

  • Kendall and Pierre have humongous contracts. Kendall’s is up at the end of the ‘07 season, but the Dodgers get to pay Pierre a total of $36.5 over the next four years. Good times.
  • Punto’s futility at the plate borders on the historic. Since 1961, only seven players have had a worse OPS+ while qualifying for a league’s batting title; the most recent was Neifi Perez, playing for the Kansas City Royals in 2002.
  • There aren’t really any bad-hitting corner outfielders. It’s surprising to see Bay at the bottom of the left fielders. We’ll cut Young some slack due to the fact that he’s starting in the big leagues at age 21. That makes up for a lot.
Worst Pitchers of 2007
Pos Name Team(s) W-L ERA ERA+
Statistics are courtesy of Baseball-Reference and are through games of September 9, 2007.
RHSP Adam Eaton Phi 9-8 6.28 72
LHSP Scott Olsen Fla 9-12 5.76 73
RHRP Jose Mesa Det/Phi 1-3 7.36 61
LHRP Jay Marshall Oak 1-2 6.75 65

Kip Wells (6-16, 5.65, 76) could overtake Eaton, while Olsen’s lead over Dontrelle Willis (8-15, 5.27, 80) appears to be safe. Eaton is on pace to become the first pitcher to finish with a winning percentage while being at the absolute bottom of the ERA+ pile since Colby Lewis (10-9, 7.30, 68) did it in 2003 while “pitching” for the Texas Rangers.

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