The Ol' Ballfield

It's Officially the Offseason: Brian Cashman Finally F***s Up (And, Amazingly, So Does Terry Ryan)

The Yankees have, pending a physical, agreed to a short-term contract with first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. This move ostensibly helps the Yankees' defense by giving Jason Giambi more opportunities to DH. How good a fielder, though, is Mientkiewicz really? The one thing he's always had to his credit was the 2001 Gold Glove Award, but as we've learned, Gold Gloves, especially at first base, are pretty flimsy awards at best, because they're voted on by managers that don't see people play unless they're in the opposing dugout. But is his professed prowess enough to make up for what the Yankees would lose in offensive production? Let's look at some stats (BRAR=Batting runs above replacement; FRAR=Fielding runs above replacement):

Mientkiewicz BRAR, 2006: 12
Giambi BRAR, 2006: 55

So Mientkiewicz gave the Royals about one win with the bat last season, Giambi gave the Yankees about five and a half.

Mientkiewicz FRAR, 2006: 0
Giambi FRAR, 2006: -4

That's right; Prospectus says that Mientkiewicz was actually a AAA-level fielder in 2006. The difference of 33 runs in batting is not nearly made up for by the four runs in fielding. Let's look farther back:

Mientkiewicz BRAR, 2004-06: 21
Giambi BRAR, 2004-06: 121

That's including an 80-game 2004 for Giambi.

Mientkiewicz FRAR, 2004-06: 4
Giambi FRAR, 2004-06: -1

This is telling me that Mientkiewicz--who had three great seasons from 2001-03 before his production took a big hit--is not that much better a fielder than Giambi (compare 7 errors in the past two seasons to 14; twice as many, but not a huge figure cumulatively), while being a far inferior hitter. His batting stats actually took a jump in Kansas City; he EqA'd .265, giving him an above-average figure for the first time since 2003. Giambi, of course, has not EqA'd less than .300 in a full season since 1998.

Of course, a good argument for getting Giambi off of first is durability; more games DHing means more games he's not straining his hand, or whatever. But this is money wasted when Andy Phillips could be giving the Yankees their replacement-level hitting and fielding for cheaper. Hell, if people are so up in arms about Melky Cabrera having nowhere to go, teach him to play first, or Hideki Matsui, as has been suggested. Dumb move in New York.

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Twins agree to minor-league deal with Sydney Ponson

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?!

Ponson, since 2003:

Seasons with an ERA under 5.30: ZERO
Seasons with an ERA+ over 100: ZERO
Seasons with a WHIP under 1.55: ZERO
Seasons with above-average pitching runs: ZERO
Number of judges assaulted in his native Aruba: One

The numbers don't lie.

posted by Carnival @ 1/04/2007