Last night FanHousers were debating if we'd want Jose Reyes or Hanley Ramirez as our shortstop. The vote went in Reyes's favor, though it was close, mostly because of defense. If you're going to talk about which one player you'd like to have, regardless of position, Ramirez ranks higher than Reyes. But does he rank higher than Reyes's teammate David Wright? Not to Bill James, who named Wright as the player he'd pick to start a franchise. That rankled Mike Beradino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
He accuses James of naming Wright because the Red Sox once traded Ramirez and then pulls out some bigger guns. Wright only has a better on-base percentage because he walks more, and as every writer knows that doesn't help at all, and isn't a better fielder. Beradino tears down the myth.
Defense? Wright won a Gold Glove last year, but only four third basemen exceeded his 21 errors. Ramirez won no fielding awards, but he made only three more errors than Wright while playing a more demanding position.Actually Ramirez did win a fielding award. He was named Worst Defensive Shortstop by the Fielding Bible. We'll likely have a cure for cancer before we have a universally accepted metric for evaluating fielders but using errors is the equivalent of using leeches.
You can defend a choice for Ramirez as the player you'd most like to have. He's got a ridiculously high ceiling, he'll move positions and defense will limit his value less and just plain homerism. But errors? Sheesh.
(H/T BBTF)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-03-2008 @ 4:54PM
claytor said...
Well...honestly, theyre both not exactly defensive wunderkinds, Wright and Ramirez. Id give my nod to Ramirez for two numbers, really.
One is 30. Which is just about as many homers as Wright pulled off.
The other? 50. The number of stolen bases this freak of nature is capable of reeling off, and the only reason he didnt go higher was he was hurt for a bit, and doesnt get the green light Reyes or Crawford do.
When Wright has this ability? Holluh.
For a 25 year old shortstop whos been in the majors for all of two years now, thats a ridiculous start.
Didnt we hail Griffey as god when he came up like this? And he didnt even match the sb totals.
Realistically in a potent lineup, Hanley would be your three hitter, and the potential for a .330avg/40db/10tri/35hr/120rbi/50sb season isnt far fetched.
That Bonds like and im talking b.s. (before steroids).
It bugs me when people tout Reyes as the be all end all. Rollins was a better all around fantasy producer, much less gimping on Hanley.
Oh, and for peeps who say he isnt that hot because he was traded by the BoSox? He only wound up in Florida for a couple of nobodies named Beckett and Lowell. If thats not a testament to his value, nothing is.
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4-03-2008 @ 5:09PM
JAlper said...
Claytor - As I said, I think you can make a strong case for Ramirez. You just did a better job of it than Beradino.
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