Thursday, Aug. 26, 2004
One of my many geeky facets, posted at 9:21 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com This is one of many similar conversations I seem to have about baseball and my Detroit Tigers every single day. This one's on my Tigers listserve that I've been a part of since 1995. I wrote this, one of a few missives sent off this evening, while writing my Go Tell It On the Mountain quiz and while watching the Tigers/Red Sox game on WebTV. I don't have much of a life, I think you'll agree.***
Other guy says: I agree on CF not being a huge priority. Our OF situation isn't that bad at all; I'm not sure why that seems to be a refrain from the media.
I said: It's because our outfield, right now, is full of journeymen, players having good years that are not seen as building blocks. Rondell White is 7th out of 10 qualifying left fielders in the AL this year in OPS, and he's pretty bad defensively. Higginson is 8th out of 10 qualifying right fielders in OPS. I like both of them, but White really is too wobbly defensively to be a solid everyday outfielder (I'm fine with him splitting off as DH), while Higginson, Marcus Thames, Alex Sanchez, and Craig Monroe are all inconsistent or wild cards - guys that are probably 4th outfielders. Excellent 4th outfielders, but 4th outfielders nonetheless.
Outfield is one place where we have a lot of solid players, but no stars. Outfield is the only area where legitimate stars are available this off-season (JD Drew, Beltran), so the media is focusing on them. I don't believe there are any first basemen that are an upgrade over what we have available in the free agent pool, and third base is fairly weak as well (although not as weak as what we have).
He said: The rotation of Monroe, White, Thames, Inge, Logan (or a healthy Sanchez) and even the recently revived Higgy has been fine. I'm not against an upgrade, don't get me wrong, but it's hardly the first priority. It's quite obvious that the corners are the weakest link besides the bullpen.
I said: I don't think it's that obvious. Pena is currently 7th out of 11 AL first basemen in OPS; Higginson is 8th at his position and White is 7th. I like them both (even Higginson still), but, let's face it, they're both pretty average. Pena is younger, cheaper, and better defensively than either of them.
He said: I don't share (Epiphany)'s excitement about Pena. I think this recent streak is just another "tease" from him though I hope I'm wrong. The Delgado comparison is damning with faint praise - Delgado has been pretty bad this year. Again, I submit that the Tigers should move Munson to first - or maybe even platoon Munson and Pena there - and find a new 3rd baseman (for defensive reasons too).
I said: Why would you move Munson to first base? His offensive output has been behind Pena for the last two seasons, and his defense can't be that great there considering that most of his problems with third base deal with his handling of ground balls and hard shots - not his arm. I think Munson has pretty much played himself off the team this year; I'll be surprised if he's back. The man is hitting .223 with a .765 OPS, hardly the type of numbers you want to keep around, especially if he's can't catch water if he fell out of a freaking boat.
He said: ...In short, Dombrowski really does deserve some serious credit. He didn't just spend to get out of this (though I don't think he would have ever predicted the seasons from Inge, Guillen and Infante).
I said: Almost hate to say it, but Randy Smith and even Luis Pujols deserve some credit for their patience with Inge and Infante. We kept hearing for years about Inge's athleticism, and finally it's coming to frutiion.
(Note: OPS is On-Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage. It's considered to be the best way to evaluate a single player's offensive skills. Most newspapers have not caught up yet. I highly recommend the book Moneyball if you have the slightest interest. Which you probably don't.)
***
I guess we know now why I'm single. Yup, I'm just a complete and total pointy-headed geek.
I'm off to take a 9:30pm trip to the gym.