Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Jose Reyes plays smallball, Alex Rodriguez hits longballs, which do you want?

While checking out Baseball Think Factory, I saw that they had posted something from Newsday:

Newsday posed the question to the experts - executives and scouts around the industry, although not from the Mets or Yankees - who were asked to keep in mind not only the players’ talents, but also their ages and contracts. Of the 16 officials from 16 clubs that responded, on the condition of anonymity, Reyes won in a blowout, 11 to 5.
Offered a scout: “I think that A-Rod is hypersensitive, and that affects his mood swings and performance swings. It appears from a distance that Reyes is less susceptible to these fluctuations.”
A second scout said that, despite A-Rod’s current run, he couldn’t shake visions of Rodriguez’s outward lack of confidence during slumps.
..."When you need a hit, he can come through with a bunt, a home run, a stolen base. A-Rod has got more power, no doubt about it. But if you tell me that it’s the ninth inning, and who you want to come into the plate to win the game for you? Between A-Rod and Reyes, I’ll pick Reyes.”
A scout, citing Reyes’ youth and speed as his deciding factor, said: “He can manufacture more runs than a home run streak. He’s tougher to pitch to with the switch-hitting ability, if you need a hit.


I'm at a loss for words at this stupidity.

Jose Reyes
Close and Late (2007)
.244/.370/.267
Monthly Splits (2007)
April: .356/.442/.596
May: .268/.349/.348
June: .330/.405/.425
July: .250/.318/.417
Runs Created/27 outs (RC/27 for short, basically, how many runs a lineup of Jose Reyeses would score)
6.25
has been pulled from two games for not hustling

Alex Rodriguez
Close and Late (2007)
.326/.396/.717
Monthly Splits (2007)
April: .355/.415/.882
May: .235/.361/.422
June: .406/.500/.781
July: .192/.288/.462
RC/27
9.50
has been pulled from exactly zero games for not hustling

I assume that these scouts/officials all looked at these numbers and concluded:
a. Reyes is the guy you want at the plate in the late innings during a close game
b. Reyes is less succeptible to mood/performance swings
c. Reyes can manufacture more runs than a home run streak

Way to reach smart conclusions. Since you guys don't want him, we'll keep ARod so he can keep kicking all of your asses.

And just for the hell of it, in case people want to talk about how Reyes was much better in the late innings of close games than ARod last year, Reyes was .264/.343/.396 in 91 AB and ARod was .237/.326/.368 in 76 AB. If ARod continued that same pace for another 15 AB, that would project to Reyes having 2 more hits. Whoopdy doo! He's more clutch! Blow me! (when you're done blowing Jose) Look, Reyes is good. He's getting on base a lot and playing pretty solid defense. THAT'S WHY HE'S GOOD. IT IS NOT BECAUSE HE STEALS BASES (btw, he's been caught 13 times for a 78% success rate = not that helpful) OR BECAUSE HE'S EXCITING. GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEADS, MORONS.

No comments: