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Monday, May 21, 2007

S.I.: Weisman: The Plague of Pierre

I love Juan Pierre, but I’d never want him on my team...that’s if I had a favorite team, of course.

Ever since their team hired Billy Beane disciple Paul DePodesta as GM, traded Paul Lo Duca and acquired Hee Seop Choi and J.D. Drew in 2004, Dodger fans have been split in two camps: Those who believe that statistics predominantly tell the story of a player’s value, and those who believe stats undervalue hustle and team chemistry.

Here in 2007, Juan Pierre can serve as the uniter.

After 44 games, Pierre has met the low expectations of those who thought he would be an offensive Three Mile Island, producing a .305 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage. The man with the five-year, $44 million contract entered Sunday’s games with the 11th-worst OPS among qualified batters in the National League, and neither his 10 net stolen bases (15 stolen bases, five caught stealing) nor his reputation for friendliness do much to boost his value. How often can you race from first to third on a single when you’re barely on first base to begin with?

Repoz Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:15 PM | 22 comment(s)
Related News: General, LA Dodgers

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1. 100 Years is Nothing Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:31 AM (#2372835)

The King of Outs is the bestest leadoff man ever! Thank God/Allah/Budda that the Cubs let him go in free agency.

Good luck the next 5 years...

2. Dewey, Local Boy and Soupuss Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:33 AM (#2372840)

I am shocked, shocked that the Juan Pierre signing was anything less than an astounding success for the Dodgers.

3. Dayton Moore is a Big Fat Idiot (AG#1F) Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:51 AM (#2372861)

I blame Paul DePodesta for Juan Pierre.

4. Walks Clog Up the Bases Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:59 AM (#2372865)

We can slam Jim Hendry all we want for the Soriano deal, but I'd much rather have that over re-signing Pierre for those figures.

5. ekogan Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:05 PM (#2372870)

Even though Pierre is not helpful for actually winning baseball games, he helps generate positive articles in the LA Times and so contributes to the team's bottom line. Kind of opposite of JD Drew, who helped win on the field but was hated by the public and the press. If you have too many of those kind of players, you need to counteract them with lovable mascot guys.

6. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:12 PM (#2372882)

Quibble: 15/20 SB is not a net of 10 SB. More like 5.

Here in 2007, Juan Pierre can serve as the uniter.

This sentence makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

7. Dewey, Local Boy and Soupuss Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:14 PM (#2372886)

I think he's saying that everyone can agree that Pierre sucks, Doc.

8. Los Angeles Softballer of Anaheim

Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:20 PM (#2372890)

Here in 2007, Juan Pierre can serve as the uniter.

Juan Pierre for President.

9. ghost of perros Posted: May 21, 2007 at 12:25 PM (#2372894)

Juan Pierre for President.

The Spanish first name would be a plus, the French surname a minus.

Good name for a pirate.

10. Superunknown Gary Geiger Counter Posted: May 21, 2007 at 01:04 PM (#2372912)

How is the guy on defense? He seems like a guy who'd be a good bench guy were he willing to accept the role.

11. scareduck Posted: May 21, 2007 at 01:18 PM (#2372935)

The Spanish first name would be a plus, the French surname a minus.

A burrito-eating surrender monkey?

12. AROM Posted: May 21, 2007 at 01:19 PM (#2372938)

Last year Pierre was very good on defense. Before that, middle of the pack despite his speed. So last year's ZR could have been a fluke. He's at least average at catching balls in center, probably a little better, but his arm is one of the worst in baseball, just as bad as any we've seen when the Yankees play the Red Sox (Bernie, Damon, Crisp - apparently the big spenders don't think a CF arm is worth spending on.)

13. retro-shiite Posted: May 21, 2007 at 01:25 PM (#2372946)

After 44 games, Pierre has met the low expectations of those who thought he would be an offensive Three Mile Island, producing a .305 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage. The man with the five-year, $44 million contract entered Sunday’s games with the 11th-worst OPS among qualified batters in the National League, and neither his 10 net stolen bases (15 stolen bases, five caught stealing) nor his reputation for friendliness do much to boost his value. How often can you race from first to third on a single when you’re barely on first base to begin with?

Shocking, I tell you. Sure, Pierre'll probably improve his numbers slightly, but what on earth did the Dodgers think they were getting?

14. NTNgod Posted: May 21, 2007 at 08:38 PM (#2373639)

Shocking, I tell you. Sure, Pierre'll probably improve his numbers slightly, but what on earth did the Dodgers think they were getting?

As I'm sure you recall, he's actually off to a HOTTER start with LA this year than he was last year with the Cubs.

He was hitting .235/.271/.291 on this date last year.

15. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: May 21, 2007 at 10:15 PM (#2373827)

Colleti would be a fool to get rid of Pierre.
I am not sure if everybody is paying attention, but the Dodgers main competition for a NL West pennant is the San Diego Padres. They couldn't throw out Cecil Fielder trying to steal with any regularity.

Ichiro went from first to third on his own, two or three times this weekend, standing up.
It was sad.

16. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: May 21, 2007 at 10:41 PM (#2373840)

The Diamondbacks are a game out and haven't started hitting yet. They will.

17. Gambling Rent Czar Posted: May 21, 2007 at 10:59 PM (#2373856)

The Diamondbacks are a game out and haven't started hitting yet. They will.

The Diamondbacks haven't started pitching yet either. (At least not like we are used to). They will.

I am not worried.
Go Padres.

18. Bunny Vincennes Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:06 PM (#2373859)

Colleti would be a fool to get rid of Pierre.
I am not sure if everybody is paying attention, but the Dodgers main competition for a NL West pennant is the San Diego Padres. They couldn't throw out Cecil Fielder trying to steal with any regularity.

Ichiro went from first to third on his own, two or three times this weekend, standing up.
It was sad.

Was Pierre catching?

19. 1k5v3L, Useless

Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:13 PM (#2373861)

The Diamondbacks haven't started pitching yet either. (At least not like we are used to). They will.

that's a dumb statement

20. Danny Posted: May 21, 2007 at 11:37 PM (#2373872)

Shocking, I tell you. Sure, Pierre'll probably improve his numbers slightly, but what on earth did the Dodgers think they were getting?

Pierre has a .301 OBP. Here are various projections for his OBP this year:

ZIPS: .341
CHONE: .335
Marcel: .342
Bill James: .339
PECOTA: .337

I would guess the Dodgers were expecting something around a .340 OBP, which is pretty different than .301.

21. Gold Star 4 Robot Boy Posted: May 22, 2007 at 12:32 AM (#2373896)

Quibble: 15/20 SB is not a net of 10 SB. More like 5.
Agreed, as 66% is the break-even (more or less, depending on era).
So, the formula is: SB - (2 x CS) = Net steals

22. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: May 22, 2007 at 11:16 AM (#2374124)

I think he's saying that everyone can agree that Pierre sucks, Doc.

Probably--but the "scrappy is good" folks won't find persuasion to the contrary in the stats, pretty much by definition. It's a very bad sentence.

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S.I.: Weisman: The Plague of Pierre

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