Using Baseball-Reference.com's RC numbers, Rivera has been worth about 1.5 more runs per 100 PA's then Hopper over their careers.
Using Baseball-Reference.com's RC numbers, Rivera has been worth about 1.5 more runs per 100 PA's then Hopper over their careers.
WMP = can't make contact at any kind of successful rate.
JR = Can make contact at a very successful rate.
Thats just simply a terrible comparison. Top it off that Juan Rivera has a track record, even if it was 2004-2006 of providing above average offensive value that was repeatable, while when WMP was showing he was 'good' was striking out over 30% of the time he stepped to the plate. Rivera strikes out around 11-12% of the time he steps to the plate.
But I would love for you to project me each player on the team then tell me why they will have such a season, and then show how we 'need' a player of Dunn's ilk to have a winning season, assuming Rivera is in your left field for 500 PA.
For the group of Votto/Bruce/Phillips/Encarnacion/Dickerson/Hernandez these are the two combined projections:
Marcels seems a bit more realistic than the James projections, but even still, thats a fairly solid line from those 'starting 6'. The problem that Marcels has Bruce getting 426 PA, Dickerson just 261 and Votto just 503, which those guys are looking at more than that. Still, the overall AVG/OBP/SLG looks strong. So we still need a SS, other platooning CF and then a LF. If we can get league average guys from SS and LF that gives us another 500 PA of .334OBP/.408 SLG from the SS and a .352OBP/.461SLG from the LF. Those two look like they will keep the projections from Marcels pretty close don't they?Code:Player PA H 1B 2B 3B HR R RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG Marcels 2806 690 443 137 11 99 352 364 235 480 .275 .341 .456 James 3718 939 582 190 19 148 496 501 334 699 .280 .349 .480
So now I guess I have to ask, is there a problem with these rate stats for the 6 starters listed above according to Marcels that you see?
The only one that stands out as not really likely is Dickerson's slugging and maybe his AVG slightly, although I figure he can be close given he likely doesn't face lefties to often.Code:Player AVG OBP SLG Votto .296 .365 .493 Encarnacion .271 .351 .453 Phillips .272 .313 .448 Bruce .271 .336 .464 Hernandez .259 .323 .410 Dickerson .282 .367 .485
So if they can get just league average type production out of SS and LF, where do they need more offensive help at?
You believe that Juan Rivera will post a .290/.335/.500 line. What you don't know is that line just doesn't happen. Something has to give, BA, walks. Guys don't slug that high with a paltry .045 IsoD and that type of BA.
Five players out of over 4,000 in 50+ years of data. That's 0.125 percent.Code:SEASON 1955-2005 AVERAGE >= .290 OBA <= .335 WALKS displayed only--not a sorting criteria PLATE APPEARANCES displayed only--not a sorting criteria SLG YEAR SLG AVG OBA BB PA 1 Matt Williams 1993 .561 .294 .325 27 619 2 Alfonso Soriano 2002 .547 .300 .332 23 741 3 Garret Anderson 2002 .539 .306 .332 30 678 4 Robin Yount 1980 .519 .293 .321 26 647 5 Ellis Valentine 1977 .504 .293 .331 30 541
Lottery ticket players are something I steer away from. Juan Rivera is a truckload of scratches and sniffs.
The Lost Decade Average Season: 74-88
2014-22 Average Season: 71-91
And yet players within small fluctuations of that line do exist. From 1990-2007 with 350 AB's there were 45 guys who hit between .280-.300/.325-.345/.485+.
Its a rare breed, but not nearly as rare as you originally made it out to be. A guy with power who makes lots of contact certainly has the potential to put up that kind of line in GABP. Maybe not an exact replica of what I said, but something quite similar.
Yep, a whopping 45 in 18 years. That's 2.5 per year. Not to mention your comparison is invalid once you lumped in guys with an .065 IsoD. That's a different breed of player than a .045. As I said, a rarity.
Hell, Rivera will ground into a double play for every two walks he takes. But that's another story itself.
If you like lottery ticket players, feel free. I'm tired of losing so I'm not interested.
The Lost Decade Average Season: 74-88
2014-22 Average Season: 71-91
“And when finally they sense that some position cannot be sustained, they do not re-examine their ideas. Instead, they simply change the subject.” Jamie Galbraith
I think a problem with this conversation is the lack of discussion about how chance works. This is another in a line of parlay bets.
We argue about each bet independently. Ramon Hernandez might bounce back to form. Juan Rivera might do what he's done a few years back. Jerry Hariston Jr. will put it together. Corey Patterson might find his stroke. Mike Lincoln's arm still has some life in it. Etc. Sure, a decent argument can be made supporting the optimistic side of any of those arguments.
The problem is that some people want to build a team that can only succeed if they win each bet in the parlay. Unfortunately, 50%*50%*50%*50%*50% is not 50%; it's 3%.
Sure, sometimes Jerry Hairston, Mike Lincoln, Jose Guillen, Joe Randa, or Jeremy Affeldt put up good numbers. But with equal or greater regularity, Josh Fogg, Rheal Cormier, Corey Patterson, Paul Bako, Mike Stanton, Tony Womack, or Joe Mays don't work out. The team falls way short of winning. Some fans blame Corey Patterson for not being Jerry Hairston. But the problem was needing the production of Jerry Hairston to begin with.
If you have to rely on ?? production at more than a small number of spots to win this year don't waste your marginal resources on lottery tickets in a most likely futile attempt to hit the jackpot. Save your money and start truly addressing the number and scale of ?? to begin with.
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.
But the whole thing in a nutshell is this, those guys you mentioned for the most part when given the opportunity have largely not produced much (sans Rivera and Guillen). Rivera has produced and quite well when given the chance and when healthy. He has done what we would ask of any Red which is to have a good OBP% and a good Slg%. But because he doesn't simply take enough walks we are to assume that he can't possibly repeat it? Their have been many a player who has had the skill set to get on base at a high clip without walking as much as many would like. Why is it a stretch to believe that Juan Rivera isn't one of those players who has the skill set to hit for a high average consistenly? I'm not gonna state he is as good as a Pete Rose or a Tony Gwynn but they had both higher averages and higher OBP%'s than what I am speculating for Rivera, no he's not that repeatable but he has proven to have a .290+ repeatable stick.
The guy has proven it IMO, he has had a .300+ career average in the minors along with a .350/.485 line, he has also produced a .285 career major league line despite inconsistent playing time and 2 freak injuries (neither of which seem like the re-occuring type) with a .331/.468 OBP/SLG. I don't think it's a stretch to say that this same guy can have a .290/.340/.480/.820 OPS. Now is that enough for a middle of the order hitter, surely not ideal and arguably even respectable for a #4 type. But combining that line with good defense, cheap salary and being he's from the Angels likely good baserunning he's a very, very good value.
Or to put it another way he may not be what we should be looking for but unless another Holliday type becomes ava. he is the most reasonable solution for the money/years that's ava.
Last edited by Mario-Rijo; 12-11-2008 at 08:03 PM.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Cyclone, let me ask this.... Give a guy 500 PA who strikes out 12% of the time, walks 6.5% of the time and has a career IsoP of .184 and put him in Cincinnati and what do you see him doing?
My math tells me we will see that guy strikes out 60 times, walks 33 times and puts the ball in play 407 times. So basically it comes down to what kind of power do you think he is going to show over that time.
Given the 500 PA, 12% K rate and 6.5% BB rate here is what he would do, AVG wise depending on the HR output/BABIP
So basically, to me at least, it comes down to whether you think he can have some power in his bat to the tune of a HR every 24 AB's or so which has been his career average. If you think that and he carries a league average BABIP of .290-.310 he is going to hit about 20 HR and hit you .283-300 and likely slug .450+. If you think his power will increase by coming to Cincinnati, then odds are you think his average will be in a slightly higher range if his BABIP is normal. If you think he has no power, then you feel he is going to hit much lower than that.Code:PA K BB AB BIP (inc HR) 500 60 33 467 407 Non HR Hits with 10 HR 15 HR 20 HR 25 HR AVG W 10 HR 15 HR 20 HR 25 HR BABIP 0.270 107 106 104 103 0.251 0.259 0.266 0.274 BABIP 0.280 111 110 108 107 0.259 0.268 0.274 0.283 BABIP 0.290 115 114 112 111 0.268 0.276 0.283 0.291 BABIP 0.300 119 118 116 114 0.276 0.285 0.291 0.298 BABIP 0.310 123 121 120 118 0.285 0.291 0.300 0.306
Added
So lets just go ahead and say he can be league average in BABIP at .300 and he keeps his 2B/AB career rate and his HR/AB rate. That puts him on page to hit .291/.338/.478 over those 500 PA. Is that really out of reach?
Last edited by dougdirt; 12-11-2008 at 08:48 PM.
If this team isn't going to get the players it needs to thrust them into the next level right now, then Juan Rivera is the type of guy they need to target as long as the terms of the contract do not hinder them in any way moving forward.
Rivera had a very solid 2006, then gets injured in early 2007. They bring him along slowly in 2008, only getting 95 PAs in the first half.
The second half sees him post a phenomenal July, a solid Sept and a miserable August (where, some might say, he was quite the unlucky one with a sub .200 BABIP).
The guy has upside. I'm not sure why some choose to ignore that.
I don't think anyone ignores that. Unfortunately, the reality is that low-IsoD hitters like Rivera simply don't project well and they don't age well either. He doesn't have scary power. He's not fast. He really doesn't have a singular special skill set that would somehow project to compensate for his pitiful IsoD.
I have no problem throwing a million or two (no more) for a year at a Juan Rivera as long as it's for him to be a backup OF who can spell Bruce or Dickerson against a tough LH SP or for him to jump off off the bench late in the game to hit against one of these scary LOOGY's I keep hearing we need to be worried about. And if he goes all Jose Guillen while filling in for an injured starter, then more power to him (and more trade power to the Reds).
But to spend real money on a guy like that as part of a master plan is the kind of silly risk the Reds need to start avoiding if they're serious about winning baseball games sometime this century. And I think we agree on that point.
"The problem with strikeouts isn't that they hurt your team, it's that they hurt your feelings..." --Rob Neyer
"The single most important thing for a hitter is to get a good pitch to hit. A good hitter can hit a pitch that’s over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a ball in a tough spot.”
--Ted Williams
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
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