Ben and Sam discuss Austin Jackson’s excellent catch, whether he’s the best defensive center fielder in baseball, and whether it’s even possible to decide one way or another, then dissect Seattle’s eight-game winning streak to see if it’s the start of something good or a fluke that will soon be forgotten.
Answers to some of the most unanswerable and most easily answerable questions about baseball on the internet.
Ben and Sam discuss the fallout from the Ryan Dempster debacle and a fascinating factoid about the Phillies’ staff.
BIS addressed one problem with their defensive metric that was making Brett Lawrie look better than he is.
Max crunches the numbers and comes up with the top 10 catchers of the 2012 season based on overall value both at and behind the plate.
Is the shifty Brett Lawrie truly the amazing fielder that some defensive metrics claim he is?
He’s no Josh Hamilton, but Rangers outfielder Craig Gentry might be better than you think he is.
Some musings about who’s fielding the ball.
While third base is often considered an offense-heavy position now, last year proved to be a major down season.
Regarding saving $160 million (or more) through prudent contract management, MS (and many others) writes:
How on earth is Jeff Bagwell at $6.5 million a waste of a roster spot, time, money, etc.? Sure, his power numbers are way off, but he’s got an 872 OPS, and baseball can’t work that with the first signs of your best player ever showing a little decline, you release or trade him…. He’s still an above-average offensive player, and bound to turn it around in the next couple of months.