Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, on defensive metrics
"I do not buy numbers defensively. At all," Amaro said. "I look at fielding percentage. But that other business? I don’t buy it a lick. I think defense is subjective. You know, if you watch a guy, whether he has range or not. You can’t study a guy’s routes to the ball by the numbers. It doesn’t happen.
"We subscribe to what our guys see with their eyes, especially when it comes to defense."
10 months ago
jasondg
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Ruben might want to re-think that
Feliz and Werth’s play in the 7th was hard on the eyes, but was like a 10000000 in the new Grission Method of Defensive Metrics.
by TBlz on May 7, 2009 3:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Eh.
He’s wrong, of course. But I have some issues with defensive metrics too.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on May 7, 2009 3:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sure, most of the metrics have one issue or another
But that quote should disqualify him from running a team.
by jasondg on May 7, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Raul Ibanez, come on down.
We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!
by kingcritical on May 7, 2009 4:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
the one
where he spikes the ball into the ground is even better.
by jasondg on May 7, 2009 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
this.
We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!
by kingcritical on May 7, 2009 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hahaha -- yes
So, I agree with ol’ Ruben: there’s a play that I can see with my own eyes and know that it sucks.
by jasondg on May 7, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The official term
is lawn dart.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on May 7, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's AWFUL.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on May 7, 2009 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm all for scouting type analysis
But Mr. Amaro better pay attention, because we’re pretty much watching new defensive metrics prove themselves to be the best new thing to come around for team building in a long time. Sure, they’re far from perfect, especially on an individual player-to-player basis, but they also go a long way in taking a lot of the formerly “unpredictable” aspects of pitching and putting them on team defense.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on May 7, 2009 4:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It's really the part
where he says:
“I look at fielding percentage. But that other business? I don’t buy it a lick.”
That’s ridiculous.
by jasondg on May 7, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yes
That is absurd. Encouragingly absurd, lol.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on May 7, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ruben Amaro: the silent killer
Even though Ibanez has looked like a world-beater so far, the process that led up to signing was poor and will erode the Phillies foundation over time. Look at the Geoff Jenkins decision: he decided to cut bait on an $8M player who was the only legitimate reserve outfielder on the roster so the team could carry a redundant player like Miguel Cairo.
Say whatever you want about Omar’s inability to value players correctly or fill out a roster properly, his team-building ethos is conducive to progress.
by All Shook Down on May 7, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
So you would say our team has gotten better in the last three years?
I’m not saying he’s worse than Amaro.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on May 7, 2009 6:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
The team has plateaued since '06
The team has played at an 88-91 win level since 2006 (they were lucky to win 97 games with that pitching staff) and that’s due to poor valuation of talent which has hamstrung the team’s ability to add payroll. He gets really bad marks there.
But Omar’s put an emphasis on OF defense and OBP — Santos aside, there’s no hackers on this team! He hasn’t purged the farm system for temporary fixes. And most importantly he’s valued youth. Remember that the team is likely to have Wright, Reyes (get him re-signed!), Santana, Beltran, K-Rod, Pelfrey, Parnell, Maine and Murphy under control for the next several years, with F-Mart, Jon Niese, Reese Havens, Josh Thole, Nick Evans and Brad Holt around to be sprinkled in at various points in the coming years. This is going to be a winning team for a long time to come. Minaya just needs to be more judicious when adding players to this roster. Allocating big bucks to marginal upgrades — Castillo, Perez, Cora, Marlon Anderson, Schneider — is not prudent.
by All Shook Down on May 7, 2009 11:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Omar values youth?
He traded Heath Bell, Royce Ring, Matt Lindstrom, and Henry Owens for Jason Vargas, Jon Adkins, and Ben Johnson. He chose to keep Alay Soler and Julio Franco over 22-year old Jesus Flores.
by BobbyV_Incognito on May 8, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ALAY SOLER
Oh my god i never want to see/hear that name ever again. I had pretty much forgotten his name up until now.
Just looked up his stats—he had crazy good numbers in the minors. wtf happened?!
by gogomets on May 9, 2009 3:33 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ummm...
Those were two very bad trades by any measure, but you do realize that he swapped out two older right handers for two younger left handers in the FLA/NY trade?
by All Shook Down on May 11, 2009 6:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ibanez
You have to admit the guy has played much better even in the field than any of us thought he would. Hopefully it won’t last.
by Endys Game on May 7, 2009 4:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I admit that.
But those clips from Lookout Landing remain effing hilarious.
We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!
by kingcritical on May 7, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Lawn Dart remains
One of my all time favorites. Sure to make me laugh till I cry every time I see it. That and Manny’s cut-off of Damon’s throw. Utterly priceless.
by TBlz on May 7, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a ballpark help a player on both sides of the field quite this much. Its like he has just enough range to cover his tiny little area, which is basically just a few square feet between Torino, the outfield fence, and the foul line.
"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet
What a fool I was to defy him"
-HST
by Mark Himmelstein on May 7, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm really excited for the Ruben Amaro Jr. era
of course, I’d be more excited if I had any faith that our GM wasn’t reading this, nodding his head, and saying “damn right.”
"This is the beauty of baseball. In basketball, at the end of the game, you want to put the ball in your best scorer's hands. But in baseball, it's up to a rookie like McGlinchy and a journeyman like Franco with the entire season on the line. Baseball history is dotted with names like Al Weis and Brian Doyle, men who have taken their name out of the agate type and placed it into the headlines, because it was simply their time."
by cjmulrain on May 7, 2009 4:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
But at least
we have a kid statistical analyst who impresses on Omar the value of OBP versus AVG.
by jasondg on May 7, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
"OBP, Omar!"
Omar: On base average? I think I’ve heard that before, I just don’t get it.
Stat-Lacky: Slow down there, cowboy. This is on-base percentage, only the most advanced of stats. It’s importatn.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on May 7, 2009 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Even if he thinks that
why would he ever admit it publicly. Knowing other teams value these stats, and having any sense that you might be wrong, he’s just opening himself to be totally screwed over in a trade. He’s not just stupid or cocky, he’s cocky about being stupid.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on May 7, 2009 6:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Maybe
he’s pulling Omar Minaya’s patented “Make it known Ollie is my first choice when in reality Lowe is my first choice but I want everyone to think Ollie is my first choice” trick. Which turned out not to be a trick at all, unfortunately.
by James Kannengieser on May 7, 2009 6:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
.
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on May 7, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
can we can one of those for when theres a rain delay?
ITS A TARP!
HELLO HELLO MR WILPON. WE WANT THE MANSION NOT THE CONDO.
by kendynamo on May 7, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't make this
King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president
by Sam Page on May 8, 2009 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
that's the best GIF I've ever seen
"This is the beauty of baseball. In basketball, at the end of the game, you want to put the ball in your best scorer's hands. But in baseball, it's up to a rookie like McGlinchy and a journeyman like Franco with the entire season on the line. Baseball history is dotted with names like Al Weis and Brian Doyle, men who have taken their name out of the agate type and placed it into the headlines, because it was simply their time."
by cjmulrain on May 8, 2009 5:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Ah noes! Damn you Reddit!
It WAS funny though.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
by squid92 on May 8, 2009 8:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
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