"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
I like Figgins for the M's, and the free agent market in general so far seems pretty rational. But it's early.
"Reality tells us there are no guarantees. Except that some day Jon Lester will be on that list of 100-game winners." - Peter Gammons
So the Mariners finally bit the bullet and released Figgins, who managed a .585 OPS (including back to back seasons hitting under .190) over 3 years with Seattle. Given that we have heard in the past scary rumors about the Reds being interested in him, I wouldn't be shocked to see Walt pick him up on a minor league deal.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
I suspect the Reds are looking for a utility guy who can play SS, which probably takes Figgins off the table. I'd hope the Reds wouldn't offer him more than a ST invite.
Figgins turned out to be one of the worst free agent signings ever. He's a reminder that playing in Seattle intensifies whatever flaws you might have as a hitter. He's also a poster boy for not splashing cash based on the one-year mirage effect of new age defensive stats (and if you do, at least play the guy at the position where he posted the stats).
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Figgins had been a significantly above average player in 5 of the 6 seasons he was a starter prior to hitting free agency. Seattle paid him as if they expected him to be a league average player during his time in Seattle.
This was just one of those things that went horribly wrong for whatever reason.
"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
"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
So he did go to the Carousel !!
My favorite thing about RedsZone?
Jack Zduriencik posts here.
C'mon, jojo -- that's funny.
There were plenty of reasons.
1) He was a dead average hitter during his time with the Angels, generating more value with his legs than his bat. A guy like that heading into his 30s is generally a shaky investment.
2) Outside of 2009 he never was a standout defender.
3) Outside of 2009 he never posted a gaudy BB rate.
4) Age and Safeco robbed him of what little power he had, and once that was gone pitchers overpowered him.
As an aside, I certainly hope the Mariners didn't pay him $9 million a year to be average. Seattle had the worst offense in the AL in 2009 and needed to spend on players who could improve that sorry state of affairs.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
I would have been happy if the Reds had signed Figgins instead of Seattle, and I would have been wrong. While he would have had more success in Cincinnati than he did in Seattle, I would guess that he still would have been trending downward, and he wouldn't have been worth the money.
He was a player I liked a lot at the time, though.
It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.
"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
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