As Horrible Horace once said: “We are just statistics. Bourne, to consume resources.”
If that was all Bourn brought to the table, it would be plenty. In the last four seasons, he has averaged 93 runs, 54 stolen bases and a .348 on-base percentage. Still, in Bourn’s case, there’s much more.
He has one of those happy, infectious personalities that wears well during the grind of a baseball season. If Bourn has ever had a bad day, he has never let anyone know it.
He shows up with a smile and believes in the old-fashioned ideas of working hard and never taking anything for granted. Branch Rickey once said it’s impossible to really know a player until you have him on your team. That’s how it is with Bourn. Some team is going to get a first-rate player, but it’s going to get an even better man.
... At 29, he’s not as good as he believes he can be. He hasn’t said that, but I know him well enough to know that there’s some part of his game—bunting, throwing, running, something—that he’s committed to improving this offseason.
According to Baseball-Reference.com, Bourn’s 6.0 Wins Above Replacement number was tied with Chase Headley for sixth-best in the National League, just 1.2 points behind leader Buster Posey.
Whether you buy that number or not, there’s no question some team is going to do a really smart thing in the next few weeks when it signs Bourn. That team is going to know it’s getting a good player, but that’s just going to be the beginning of what it’ll be getting.
Repoz
Posted: November 24, 2012 at 10:27 PM |
11 comment(s)
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1. Boxkutter Posted: November 25, 2012 at 01:57 AM (#4309035)Bourn-CF-L
Desmond-SS-R
Zimmerman-3B-R
Morse-1B-R
Harper-RF-L
Werth-LF-R
Espinosa-2B-S
Ramos-C-R
PITCHER
People have a misconception that Minute Maid Park is a high run scoring environment, which is not true. In 2012, MMP was the 11th lowest run scoring ballpark in the majors, with a park factor of 0.937. MMP has a high HR factor for the short LF wall, but that is offset by a very large and deep CF and an average distance to RF. Bourn is a LHB and, therefore, his slugging wasn't helped by the LF distance. Bourn has hit as many as 34 doubles in a year and as many as 12 triples in a year. Combine that with his base stealing ability, and his offensive value is pretty good for CF.
Sounds like it should be followed by "two sets of steak knives and a sixteen-piece measuring cup set."
This does seem to be the most obvious "Bourn's agent is paying for my drinks all year" sort of hackery.
Carl Crawford...c'mon on down! I'm pretty much in agreement with #3. As a CF he provides more value then Crawford ever did, but I think the lovefest is overkill and he will be overpaid this off season.
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