Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
I'm just commenting on how there's always something.
Willy Taveras' 2007 is a fluke because of his BABIP. However, many posters love the idea of Bradley because he can mash, and they are high off his 2008 career season. However, they fail to see that his BABIP was even higher than the 2007 Taveras metric.
But that's ok because his career line is _____. But when it is shown that Juan Rivera, who many think is a waste of time, is somewhat similar, then that doesn't matter because of his walk rate. Add in the fact that Bradley will probably require a more serious committment, then it might be a wash.
A lot of times there is one stat that can either "prove" or "disprove" a theory. Kind of gets old after a while.
That's right. While a bunch of guys off the street could do it. Amazing!Wait... first it was Bowden, then O'Brien and then Krivsky... now Jocketty is no longer capable of running the Reds?
Or it could be that each player has a different skill set and there's a number of variables that go into evaluating a player. One specific stat for player X may tell us a lot, while the same stat for a different player tells us very little. And you still have to evaluate the entire game: hitting, base running, defense, etc meaning you still have to pull back from micro to macro to make a judgement. And that's before you even get to contracts & money.
Kookie stuff, I know.
Not exactly, because Rivera's skillset isn't like that of most guys with a similar difference. He doesn't swing and miss as much, while still having power. He isn't Brandon Phillips. He isn't Carlos Lee either. He is somewhere in the middle. There aren't many guys like him, but he gets lumped into a group of guys that aren't really on the same level of him.
Juan Rivera and Willy Taveras are 2 guys I want the Reds to stay far far away from.
Milton Bradley, however, I want the Reds to sign sign sign.
Bradley has offensive value to offset his defense.
Taveras arguably (and this might be a stretch) has defensive value to offset his offense.
Rivera is a summation of negative value of both offense and defense.
Milton Bradley has equaled or bested his career OBP in each of the last three seasons -- in the last two seasons, by a substantial margin.
Juan Rivera has failed to equal or best his career OBP in 3 of the previous four seasons (admittedly, his leg injury plays a part with this).
If you're going just on the basis that both guys will play to their career averages, the debate is close. If you look at the recent history of each ballplayer, it's Bradley in a landslide. The question becomes: will Rivera, at age 30, ever replicate his .310 / .362 / .525 season from 2005, or will he settle into the player he was in 2004 and 2008 -- a sub-.320 OBP guy that is a threat to dip below the .300 mark?
Simply put, that's not a gamble I want the Reds taking for the next 2 to 3 years. That's why Rivera is a "stay far, far away" in my book.
Cincinnati Reds: Farm System Champions 2022
MB played a combined 157 games in 2005-2006. In 2007, he had a BABIP of .388.
MB was DFA'ed from Oakland in 2007 and was then dealt to SD, where his season ended when he tore his ACL after going after an umpire.
He then went to Texas, where he played in ballpark notorious for pumping up the home team's stats. His numbers were no different. He also played the vast majority of his season as a DH.
Agreed, and agreed.
Recent history might project a landslide, if the following were true:
- Cincy used a DH
- Bradley were to stay healthy all season
- Cincy played in Arlington
- Bradley were to hit close to .400 on balls in play, again
While Rivera has some questions, so does Bradley. But for both it is difficult to look at only the recent history to project what might happen this year. And it is even more difficult to assess when you factor in likely committment you will need to make to both ballplayers.
MB will likely see a dip in production compared to 2008 where Rivera will likely see production rise over the same time period. The only question is whether the gap will close a little or a lot.
If Bradley is "buy, buy, buy", as some might say, I can't see Rivera being the polar opposite.
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