Before the Houston Astros were wasting money on Brandon Lyon, they were a forward thinking team. General manager Gerry Hunsicker and head coach Larry Dierker employed a platoon of Sean Berry and Bill Spiers during the 1998 season.
The right-handed Sean Berry started 76 games and posted a .320/.390/.511 line in those games. Against right-handed pitchers in 222 plate appearances, he had a nice .276/.365/.458 line, but in 120 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, he posted an outstanding .383/.429/.598 line. The left-handed Bill Spiers started 89 games and posted a .291/.373/.422 line in those games. Against right-handed pitchers in 396 plate appearances, he had a solid .287/.370/.415 line. In contrast, he had 41 plate appearances (which was 41 plate appearances too many) against left-handed pitchers and put up a measly .143/.220/.200 line.
Combined as third basemen, they put up a .303/.380/.461 in 708 plate appearances line with 43 doubles, 5 triples and 15 home runs. They were also both 32 years old. For comparison Cal Ripken Jr. posted a .257/.329/.420 line in 718 plate appearances with 26 doubles, 3 triples and 24 home runs during his age 32 season.
What does this all mean? Sean Berry and Bill Spiers are not name-recognition baseball players. By themselves, they were okay hitters but nothing too spectacular. Spiers was atrocious against left handers while Berry was decent against right handers. Combined they put up all-star caliber numbers. The teams that can't field a great player without a platoon split at every position have to be creative with their rosters to get great season-long production.
For those keeping tabs, last year general manager Ed Wade employed Geoff Blum and Jeff Keppinger as their primary third basemen. The switch-hitting Blum posted a .252/.316/.368 line in 386 plate appearances over 100 games as a third baseman. The right-handed Keppinger posted a .243/.319/.374 line in 244 plate appearances over 65 games as a third baseman.
Combined as third basemen, they put up a .249/.317/.370 line in 630 plate appearances with 21 doubles, one triple and 15 home runs.
Showing posts with label Ed Wade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ed Wade. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Ed Wade Does Not Sign Miguel Tejada
In a surprising move, Houston Astros General Manager Ed Wade does not sign Miguel Tejada to a ten year extension. Finally Wade does something smart. Instead, the Baltimore Orioles bring back Tejada for one year at $6 million.
I get that Tejada will be a body to hold down third base until prospect Josh Bell takes over. I would also get this move if Tejada was signed for $1 million because if he somehow puts up okay numbers, he could be flipped for a B+ prospect. Hey, maybe the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom I am shocked didn't sign Tejada to a multi-year deal to begin with, would trade another nice prospect, a la Josh Bell. At $6 million, even at one year, it just seems like a waste of money. Who else wanted to sign him?
With the Houston Astros, where Tejada aged two years in one year, he put up horrible numbers. Don't let the two all-star appearances and the .313 batting average and 86 RBI fool you, like it fooled Orioles General Manager Andy MacPhail. Last year, he put up a 109 OPS+ and posted a 92 OPS+ the year before. In 2008, he had a .314 OBP, but he did improve to a .340 OBP last year. So last year, he had a .313 batting average and a .340 OBP. So we know that his on base skills are batting average heavy these days. He has a career .289 batting average, which is only .006 points above his 2008 batting average. What does this mean? It means that he is unlikely to post a .340 on base percentage at age 36 in the American League East. He will probably put up numbers closer to his 2008 rate stats.
If I was Chris Berman, I would nickname Andy MacPhail, Andy Mac-Epic-Phail. This signing, as it stands, looks bad, but if Casey Blake goes down for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think MacPhail might be able to get another prospect from the Dodgers...
I get that Tejada will be a body to hold down third base until prospect Josh Bell takes over. I would also get this move if Tejada was signed for $1 million because if he somehow puts up okay numbers, he could be flipped for a B+ prospect. Hey, maybe the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom I am shocked didn't sign Tejada to a multi-year deal to begin with, would trade another nice prospect, a la Josh Bell. At $6 million, even at one year, it just seems like a waste of money. Who else wanted to sign him?
With the Houston Astros, where Tejada aged two years in one year, he put up horrible numbers. Don't let the two all-star appearances and the .313 batting average and 86 RBI fool you, like it fooled Orioles General Manager Andy MacPhail. Last year, he put up a 109 OPS+ and posted a 92 OPS+ the year before. In 2008, he had a .314 OBP, but he did improve to a .340 OBP last year. So last year, he had a .313 batting average and a .340 OBP. So we know that his on base skills are batting average heavy these days. He has a career .289 batting average, which is only .006 points above his 2008 batting average. What does this mean? It means that he is unlikely to post a .340 on base percentage at age 36 in the American League East. He will probably put up numbers closer to his 2008 rate stats.
If I was Chris Berman, I would nickname Andy MacPhail, Andy Mac-Epic-Phail. This signing, as it stands, looks bad, but if Casey Blake goes down for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I think MacPhail might be able to get another prospect from the Dodgers...
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