Wednesday, September 15, 2004
PART II?
I got sucked into the World Series of Poker last night and well…the second half is never coming. It was going to be tooling on Tom Verducci’s article about the Sox in SI. It is similar to other mainstream articles about the trade. In short, just read Joe Sheenan’s pay-per-view article on Baseball Prospectus.
As was their intent, the Sox have allowed many fewer runs, nearly one per game, since acquiring the two defensive specialists. They've also hit a bit better:
RS/G RA/G
Before (101 games) 5.67 4.88
After (37 games) 6.19 3.92
He goes on to say that…
Now, I didn't like the trade, and I still think that pointing to it as the primary cause of the Sox' good play since it happened is wrong. (I believe the Latin term for the fallacy is post hoc ergo propter hoc; just because A came after B doesn't mean that A caused B.)
There is no denying that the Sox are a better defensive club with Cabrera and Minky rather than Nomar and Millar. It should also be noted that the return of Bill Mueller helped in the field/run prevention, as well. The Sox pitchers in defense independent stats have performed better since the deal - most notably, BB/9 is down a full walk. It has been a combined effort in preventing runs.
Back to the new infielders, Cabrera has certainly had an impact, but Minky has no bat and by starting only 15 games has not added significant value in the field, either. The Sox had better internal and external options - Dave McCarty and John Olerud, respectfully – over Minky. The Twins were desperate to part with the first baseman’s salary and attitude with Justin Morneau ready to rock in the dome. With Millar's option vested for next season, the Sox have plenty of corner outfielders/DH/1B options for 2005. The only reasoning for acquiring Minky – the Twins did not have to be a part of the deadline deal – was for the gold glove spin.
When is the spin cycle going to end?
I got sucked into the World Series of Poker last night and well…the second half is never coming. It was going to be tooling on Tom Verducci’s article about the Sox in SI. It is similar to other mainstream articles about the trade. In short, just read Joe Sheenan’s pay-per-view article on Baseball Prospectus.
As was their intent, the Sox have allowed many fewer runs, nearly one per game, since acquiring the two defensive specialists. They've also hit a bit better:
RS/G RA/G
Before (101 games) 5.67 4.88
After (37 games) 6.19 3.92
He goes on to say that…
Now, I didn't like the trade, and I still think that pointing to it as the primary cause of the Sox' good play since it happened is wrong. (I believe the Latin term for the fallacy is post hoc ergo propter hoc; just because A came after B doesn't mean that A caused B.)
There is no denying that the Sox are a better defensive club with Cabrera and Minky rather than Nomar and Millar. It should also be noted that the return of Bill Mueller helped in the field/run prevention, as well. The Sox pitchers in defense independent stats have performed better since the deal - most notably, BB/9 is down a full walk. It has been a combined effort in preventing runs.
Back to the new infielders, Cabrera has certainly had an impact, but Minky has no bat and by starting only 15 games has not added significant value in the field, either. The Sox had better internal and external options - Dave McCarty and John Olerud, respectfully – over Minky. The Twins were desperate to part with the first baseman’s salary and attitude with Justin Morneau ready to rock in the dome. With Millar's option vested for next season, the Sox have plenty of corner outfielders/DH/1B options for 2005. The only reasoning for acquiring Minky – the Twins did not have to be a part of the deadline deal – was for the gold glove spin.
When is the spin cycle going to end?
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Thank you - Red Sox!
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