from Amazon
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Ibanez, the fielder
Some great image links to Ibanez playing the field. Open up that page, and search “really, really, really, really, REALLY bad”. Fun stuff. Reminds me of Lonnie Smith.
Kudos to the site for making it super easy to read, and that article was also a pleasure to read.
When it comes to discussions about fielding, there is no, and I mean no, reason to listen to a single person about his observations. Really. Just because somebody says that Dunn isn’t that bad or Ibanez is horrible doesn’t mean we give it more weight because it’s on a blog, in print, or on the radio. That person’s observation is simply one in a pool, and I give it its due respect. Reds fans hated Dunn in 2007. And just as much in 2006. Though they didn’t hate him as much in 2005. And they saw him as an average corner OF in 2004. These observations actually mirror UZR fairly closely for those 4 years. From 2003-2007, Adam Dunn has the 4th worst total in UZR for outfielders. And Ibanez is also terrible in UZR. There is a 3 win difference between Endy Chavez and either of these guys with the glove. That is not something to sneeze at.
1) Thanks, Tango. I should note that those images were created by a user at Lookout Landing and more can be found at that site in the Ibanez sidebar on the left side of the page.
2) I am obviously more concerned with entertainment and readability than comprehensive defensive analysis. i wouldn’t know where to begin with that. I feel like a fraud quoting just one metric, when several other metrics might say something different, and what the fans think certainly is a reflection of reality as well, as you’ve shown.
3) As sabermetrics moves into the mainstream, its conclusions are inevitably mangled. One example, perhaps a wrong-headed thought of early sabermetrics, though I could be wrong, is the idea that a good hitter can’t be so bad at defense as to negate his offensive contributions; nor a fielder so good with the glove than even his anemic bat doesn’t make him a net detractor.
Now we are beginning to understand just how important good defense is, and are getting better at quantifying its effects. We see how Tampa Bay has improved considerably just by switching from worst-to-first in defense at shortstop.
But the mainstream understanding lags behind, and laughs at the idea (formerly popular) that a below average hitter can more than make up for it with the glove, and an above average hitter and give it back and more in the field.