Nope it's neither Dunn, Phillips nor Harang in Dave Cameron's opinion.
Here's his thoughts on which Red it is:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...er-in-baseballhttp://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...er-in-baseball
Thoughts, comments, opinions?
Nope it's neither Dunn, Phillips nor Harang in Dave Cameron's opinion.
Here's his thoughts on which Red it is:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...er-in-baseballhttp://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...er-in-baseball
Thoughts, comments, opinions?
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
Thanks, jojo. That was a good article, and a very interesting comparison. To me, Kepp is very solid at SS. Makes all the routine plays. Hits. We could do worse, and have, pretty much all the time since Larkin.
Win some, lose some, some get rained out.
Not surprised in the least. Keppinger is no fluke. He skill set includes being among the best contact hitters in baseball by any metric you'd like to use. He walks twice as much as he strikes out. He doesn't swing an miss. That he can play a capable SS is icing on the cake. While he won't get the hoopla, he could prove every bit the find that Phillips was.
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.
Very interesting, thanks for the link. I'm sure a lot of folks will freak out with Kep being compared to Tony Gwynn.
What to do with a guy like Kep? To me, his bat screams to be in the lineup every day. I said in chat the other day that he's a total "anti-Red" hitter (lots of contact, high BA, low walks).
Also, when does his contract expire? Do you resign him?
Country Kepp is awesome.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
Kepp has shown the doubters that he can play SS quite well, add in his bat and he is quite the player.
BTW, that play in the hole to throw out Kemp last night was a beauty. He also had a great set of hands, I have not seen a bobble so far this year.
I tend to think of underrated players as players who have been around for awhile, perform well and get little publicity. Kepp hasn't been around for that long so it's difficult to think of him as underrated.
Originally Posted by Raisor
If I asked 10 baseball fans around here, in AL country, who Jeff Keppinger is I doubt more than one or two would know a thing about him. He is underrated by fans but I bet not by baseball people.
Jojo, you still think Kepp isn't an everyday player?
"My mission is to be the ray of hope, the guy who stands out there on that beautiful field and owns up to his mistakes and lets people know it's never completely hopeless, no matter how bad it seems at the time. I have a platform and a message, and now I go to bed at night, sober and happy, praying I can be a good messenger." -Josh Hamilton
I don't think he's an everyday shortstop on a championship caliber team. There are just too many balls that he cannot get to. He is, however, a guy you want in the batting order every day. It's better to also use his versatility as an asset and play him in multiple positions while keeping him in the lineup. If you can have a solid defensive team and he's the guy you put in to give players a breather, you've got something.Jojo, you still think Kepp isn't an everyday player?
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann
The Yankees seem to have done pretty well with a sure-handed, range-limited, offense-oriented SS. Just sayin...I don't think he's an everyday shortstop on a championship caliber team. There are just too many balls that he cannot get to. He is, however, a guy you want in the batting order every day. It's better to also use his versatility as an asset and play him in multiple positions while keeping him in the lineup. If you can have a solid defensive team and he's the guy you put in to give players a breather, you've got something.
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.
with a groundball staff that would be true, however, the Reds have a flyball high-K staff which makes his less than ideal range mostly a non-issue.
I think Dave likes to shock people while making insightful saber arguments.I don't think he's an everyday shortstop on a championship caliber team. There are just too many balls that he cannot get to. He is, however, a guy you want in the batting order every day. It's better to also use his versatility as an asset and play him in multiple positions while keeping him in the lineup. If you can have a solid defensive team and he's the guy you put in to give players a breather, you've got something.
It's not likely that Keppinger's true talent is a SLG of .470-.480 at the major league level (he hasn't consistantly slugged anywhere close to that for a prolonged period since giving up aluminum bats). As a player he's useful, even nice. As a starting shortstop, he's a compromise- somewhat of a defensive drag relative to his peers without the the uber offense to leverage as an advantage. His value to the Reds will ultimately be because of the context of their roster and the cost of his production IMHO.
"This isn’t stats vs scouts - this is stats and scouts working together, building an organization that blends the best of both worlds. This is the blueprint for how a baseball organization should be run. And, whether the baseball men of the 20th century like it or not, this is where baseball is going."---Dave Cameron, U.S.S. Mariner
Shortstops on recent championship teams: Julio Lugo, David Eckstein, Juan Uribe, Orlando Cabrera, Alex Gonzalez, David Eckstein, Tony Womack, Derek Jeter. Takes all kinds, I guess.
Last edited by blumj; 04-23-2008 at 01:30 PM.
"Reality tells us there are no guarantees. Except that some day Jon Lester will be on that list of 100-game winners." - Peter Gammons
Championship teams are borne of scoring many more runs than you allow. There are lots of ways to get there. The end.
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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