I always liked Alex when he was with the Marlins. Seemed like he always had some big hits and Homers.
I always liked Alex when he was with the Marlins. Seemed like he always had some big hits and Homers.
Bottom line, shortstop traditionally has not been a big offensive position. But it is a very important defensive position. No one questions this guy's defense. For that reason, I say it is a very good signing. We have not had a good defensive SS since Barry. We are now awesome defensively up the middle with Gonzalez and Phillips. If Gonzo hits 260 and plays great defense, I will be very happy. Now let's see what happens next to improve the offense and the pitching. Let's give Wayne some more time this offseason to see what else he does. We all have seen that he is not afraid to make a move.
Seriously though, did it really take that much money to sign a guy who can't hit?
Here is Wayne's quote after the July debacle. I'm guessing we see a quote like this during the signing announcement. My changes are in parenthesis:
Said Krivsky: "We had to upgrade the bullpen (defense). You can see by the price we paid what the market is. I think for us to compete in the second half (2007), we had to upgrade the bullpen (defense). It's very difficult to get quality pitchers (defenders) for the back end of the game (middle infield) like a Bray and Majewski (Gonzalez). We think they're (he's) two (one) key pieces for our bullpen (defense)."
2006 Redzone mock Draftee's- 1(st) Daniel Bard(redsox), 1(st sup)( Jordan Walden (Angels), 2(nd) rd.- Zach Britton(Orioles), 3(rd) Blair Erickson(Cardinals), 3(rd) Tim Norton( Yankees),(cuz its a Tim Hortons thing
Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory... lasts forever.
The only other free agent shortstop that the Reds could have signed was Julio Lugo. Lugo is going to make at least twice what Gonzalez will make. Is Lugo twice the player? No. Gonzalez should have won the GG in the AL this season. Lugo is just not as good defensively. As far as hitting goes, Lugo's career OPS is just 58 points higher than Gonzalez. The Reds got Gold Glove defense and slightly less offense for half the price of what Lugo would cost and who's to say Gonzalez won't be better this year playing in GABP? Look at Gonzalez's 2003-2004 seasons, he's got some pop in his bat. You can't have fantasy studs at every position offensively. Look at Cesar Geronimo's offensive numbers the BRM years. Not real good but the Reds had a Gold Glove centerfielder. Look at Johnny Bench in 1976. Pretty wretched OPS there but you have the best defensive catcher ever behind the plate. So you accept the numbers and know that God help the runner who wants to steal on Johnny Bench. Hitting, pitching, and defense are all equal parts of a winning franchise. You can't sacrifice defense for offense all the time. And when you do sacrifice the defense, the pitching suffers. It's all equally important. Wayne Krivsky made a smart signing, the kind a good GM makes.
I like this signing. 5M per year is a decent deal for Gonzo. The main problem is 3 years, but in today's market, even 35 year old relievers get 3 year contracts. Hopefully Gonzo's range doesn't go too far south for the remainder of the contract.
Like others have said, if Krivsky is trying this hard to improve the defense, then Griffey better be moved out of CF. Otherwise our defense is still going to be a problem.
It's a bit of risky deal, but based on the alternatives to play 2nd/SS, I think this move helps us the most and isn't terribly expensive. Plus we don't have to move Phillips to SS, which will also give us a boost defensively at 2nd base compared to the alternatives.
WK addressed the SS position, which he had to do. He obviously decided that a trade wasn't the way to go and he probably took the best available option. We'll see how it works out.
With all due respect, give me a break.
1) No problem with Geronimo, but let me know who fills the roles of Morgan, Bench, Rose, Perez and Foster on the 2007 team.
2) In 2004, Gonzalez had 23 HRs and hit .232. How many .250 hitters does this team need? Is there anyone on the team right now who we can say has a more than 50% chance of hitting .300?
3) Do you honestly believe that Lugo is going to get $10 million per year?
4) I don't have as much as a problem with Gonzalez as I do with the contract offer. $5 million per? That's a lot of money for a team with payroll constraints. AGon won't help Kyle Lohse on the mound, unless he can play in the bleachers.
When I see the 2016 Reds, I see a 100 loss team and no direction.
I'm not of the mind, as many are here on RZ, that it's a given the Hatteberg will suck next year. I understand that he's advancing in age and it's getting to be late in his career.
Now that said, I don't necessarily think he'll be the starter all next season. I fully expect Votto (and Homer too) to start in Louisville out of spring training and perhaps debut during the '07 season. I still think Wayne doesn't much care for skipping levels. We'll see if that is what happens.
Gonzelez hit 23 homers in '04? The Reds have only had two shortstops with that many or more - Lopez in '05 and Larkin with 35 in 1996. Twenty-three dingers is not shabby.
You're right. You can't get every thing from every position, and if you're going to go for defense only somehwere, SS is a good place to do it. However, the problem is that Krivksy current isn't getting the offense he'll need from 1B, nor RF (if Griffey moves there). Let's look at that '76 team (which scored 857 runs(
Notice the absolute machine that is Joe Morgan. Dunn's career OPS was closer to Bench's in 76 the Morgan. Notice that everybody's OPS was above league average, including Bench's. League average OPS was .709. Notice that 5 guys got on base at a .362 clip or better. That team had all world defenders at 4 positions: C, 1B, 2B, SS. In fact, if you look at that team, you'll see it may have been one of the most well balanced Reds offenses in team history.Code:Pos Player BA OBP SLG OPS SB CS OPS+ --- -------------------+ +----- +----- +----- +--- +--- +----+ 2B Joe Morgan 0.320 0.444 0.576 1.020 60 9 187 OF George Foster 0.306 0.364 0.530 0.894 17 3 150 3B Pete Rose 0.323 0.404 0.450 0.854 9 5 141 OF Ken Griffey 0.336 0.401 0.450 0.851 34 11 140 OF Cesar Geronimo 0.307 0.382 0.414 0.796 22 5 125 1B Tony Perez 0.260 0.328 0.452 0.780 10 5 118 C Johnny Bench 0.234 0.348 0.394 0.742 13 2 109 SS Dave Concepcion 0.281 0.335 0.401 0.736 21 10 107
Meanwhile, Alex Gonzalez, in his best year, has an OPS+ of 100 (exactly league average). His career OPS+ is 78 -- 22% worse than the league average. This isn't a guy who is just below average, or mediocre, offensively. He's plain ol' bad -- and most defensive metrics show that he's not as good a fielder as his reputation. I know our options are limited. I know he improves our defense. But I'm not yet convinced that the value he adds defensively makes up for his offensive shortcomings. I'm willing to see the full picture of WK's offseason. However, if we're unable to get another competent arm because we're 5 million short, I'll be the first to complain.
Last edited by RedsManRick; 11-18-2006 at 07:34 PM.
Games are won on run differential -- scoring more than your opponent. Runs are runs, scored or prevented they all count the same. Worry about scoring more and allowing fewer, not which positions contribute to which side of the equation or how "consistent" you are at your current level of performance.
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