BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Washington Times: Zuckerman: Going deep (pockets)

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Monday, September 10, 2007

Washington Times: Zuckerman: Going deep (pockets)

Hey…when did Ryan Zimmerman become just a “complementary position player”?

And they have a nice core of complementary position players in Ryan Zimmerman, Dmitri Young (and/or Nick Johnson), Ronnie Belliard, Wily Mo Pena, Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez and Brian Schneider (and/or Jesus Flores).

What the Nationals don"t have, however, is a true offensive superstar. The kind of hitter a team can build its entire lineup around. A 40-homer, 120-RBI behemoth who has the respect of his teammates and strikes fear in opponents.

...But Kasten and Co. have insisted all along they plan to start acting like a big-market club as soon as they move into their new ballpark. Big-market clubs go after Andruw Jones. And winning clubs have a bona-fide bopper in the heart of their lineup, the kind of game-changer who can help a burgeoning young team take the next step toward contention.

Repoz Posted: September 10, 2007 at 11:21 AM | 12 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
Related News: General, Washington

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

Page 1 of 1 pages

1. Gainsay Posted: September 10, 2007 at 12:06 PM (#2518073)

This team is last in the NL in runs scored by a good margin. The only position at which they are set is 3B. I'm not sure that this team is close enough that signing an expensive CF on the wrong side of 30 makes a whole lot of sense. This is different from the Tigers situation with Pudge and Magglio Ordonez. When the Tigers did those signings, they also had some top notch prospects who were breaking into the majors and giving the team a boost. It's still going to be at least another couple of years before that happens for the Nats.

2. Chris Needham Posted: September 10, 2007 at 12:30 PM (#2518103)

Few points on the offense...

They've had a few players (Kearns, Lopez, etc) who are dramatically underperforming.

Then you have to account for the park; RFK kills anyone but extreme pull hitters.

That being said, they ARE something like 40 runs from next-to-last and that doesn't explain all of it. With a big bat (assuming Andruw gives a normalish season for him) and the change in park next year (dimensions seem like a pretty good hitter's park), they could be middle of the pack in runs.

Of course, the opposite happens to their pitching, and they're right back where they started from...

3. jmurph Posted: September 10, 2007 at 01:15 PM (#2518161)

I agree with the sentiment of the article, but I think Gainsay is right that Jones is not the guy for this team. With the exception of Zimmerman, no one should be unmoveable going into next year. They need to set out to aquire the best (preferably young) talent they can find, at any position.

4. HowardMegdal

Posted: September 10, 2007 at 01:47 PM (#2518184)

Big-market clubs go after Andruw Jones.

Smart teams, regardless of revenue, will go after the guy with a similar career line who is a year younger, plays better defense at this point, and is a far better bet to age well in a long-term contract in Aaron Rowand.

5. Toolsy McClutch Posted: September 10, 2007 at 03:14 PM (#2518281)

6. Keith Law Posted: September 10, 2007 at 03:49 PM (#2518320)

I'm not sure how you can build a bucket wide enough to put both Ryan Zimmerman and Ronnie Belliard in it. Do these players have anything in common at all?

7. HowardMegdal

Posted: September 10, 2007 at 03:56 PM (#2518326)

AJ, 115 OPS+, 6000 ABs
AR, 106 OPS+, 2500 ABs

AJ, 8 seasons with an OPS+ above 110
AR, 3 seasons with an OPS+ above 110

Regardless of revenue, I'm taking Andruw in a heartbeat and it isn't even close.

No, what they've done up until now isn't even close. You do realize contracts aren't retroactive, right?

I'll take the guy a year younger, playing better defense with a better offensive season and the obscene work ethic to boot over the fat guy when it comes to a contract that will pay both of them well into their thirties. This is at equal value, of course. Given Jones' track record, he may well end up making much more, making it even more advantageous to get Rowand.

8. The Buddy Biancalana Hit Counter Posted: September 10, 2007 at 04:00 PM (#2518331)

I'll take the guy a year younger, playing better defense with a better offensive season and the obscene work ethic to boot over the fat guy when it comes to a contract that will pay both of them well into their thirties.

Anybody familiar with The Gold Club has to take issue with your accusations of non-obscenity regarding Mr. Jones's work ethic.

9. Toolsy McClutch Posted: September 10, 2007 at 04:08 PM (#2518334)

Going forward, I take the guy who's only a year older but has a much, much, much greater track record of success. Part of it is I'm not sure I buy the whole "Andruw is slowing down" talk, I think it's too many people looking at his large rear. Are the metrics that down on him?

Work ethic is over rated, and impossible to measure in this context (obviously AJ must have some ethics or else he would have glided last season and gone for broke this year), so I choose to ignore.

10. J. Michael Neal Posted: September 11, 2007 at 06:48 AM (#2519517)

This is different from the Tigers situation with Pudge and Magglio Ordonez. When the Tigers did those signings, they also had some top notch prospects who were breaking into the majors and giving the team a boost.

Oddly, this is not what most people around here were saying at the time. I think Buddha and I were the only ones defending these two signings.

11. DCW3 Posted: September 11, 2007 at 06:53 AM (#2519518)

They've had a few players (Kearns, Lopez, etc) who are dramatically underperforming.

Kearns is "dramatically underperforming"? His OPS+ from 2004 to 2006 was 103. It's at 98 this year. I think he's just not that good.

12. rfloh Posted: September 11, 2007 at 08:02 AM (#2519525)

#10

Not just here, but pretty much everywhere. The only analyst I recall defending those signings was Nate Silver.

Page 1 of 1 pages

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Monday, September 10, 2007

Washington Times: Zuckerman: Going deep (pockets)

Reader Comments and Retorts

Support BBTF

Bookmarks

Hot Topics