OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Yet Another OOTP6 Dynasty, Year 2: One Flew Over the Pale Hose

cknox0723 · 04-27-2006, 09:41 PM

It is quite startling how the sudden improvement of the Pale Hose as a whole coincided with the improvement of the ballplayers covering the entirety of the middle of the diamond. We have seen some great pitching whereas last year we had "Jon Moo" and "The Art of Suck", and we have seen some monster home runs instead of Joe Crede's whiff-fest, but we have also found something from four positions that last year gave us little more than nothing. A year's time yielded a huge upgrade at the backstop position, and as of this writing (July 2007, OOTP time), we've seen the same improvement from both the second base and shortstop positions. The funny bit is that one of the players manning those positions is still around in an everyday role; despite the improvement, he's still the same old ballplayer we had contributing mightily to last year's 93-loss fiasco.

Put on your analytical cap and take this stat line on for size for a second. These are four seasons of a player's career.

Code:

AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
.339	.408	.465	.873
.267	.327	.361	.688
.266	.337	.334	.672
.245	.312	.360	.672

Those low-power batting lines scream out "MIDDLE INFIELDER" like the

screams out Michael Nannini, fifth starter extraordinaire, but that first one also screams out "BATTING CHAMP", which ain't a bad thing to have. Trouble is, when the bat slows, you'll find yourself with a guy hitting 100 points lower, and ain't no championship ballclubs built solely around .240 hitters. This is obviously a player who is aging; first the bat speed went, when the average dropped from the mid-.300 range to .267, and then the power went. Maybe he moved to a more favorable park to keep the OPS at an even .672 the second time around, but you still don't have a hitter to slot in much higher than sixth in the order.

Or do you?

Those stat lines belong to our very own Ramon Vazquez, except the very first line are his numbers this season, with the ones below it representing seasons '04, '05, and '06 in order. His uptick in batting average has been consistent across the seasons, as he's batted at a .300 rate in every month, and he has been a dynamo at the top of the order in games too countless to even start to mention.

Vazquez is playing shortstop regularly and playing it well by the observation of my admittedly untrained eye; last year he was at second. It would be too easy and too convenient to attribute his success to the positional switch; maybe he is a little better than a .260 hitter when he is on the pine against southpaws as he has been all of this year, but that doesn't explain the 80-point uptick in batting average (and with it, OBP and SLG). Really it is just chance; maybe the cyber-Ramon realizes that this is his walk year, and he may get $3 million a year in free agency from some team thinking this is a new level of performance, rather than $1 million or whatever it is that a .260 hitter gets. The optimist in me would like to believe. Certainly Ramon has displayed that he has more virtues than the San Diego Padres ever thought.

But he is one guy on this mishmashed collection of ballplayers that will head on to greener pastures.

Hector Made is his likely replacement and is not dissimilar; Adam Kennedy will without a doubt be the second baseman next year. Because the computers are being shutdown in the library in nine minutes, I'll leave you with these tidbits and perhaps expand later.

Kennedy's numbers for the season are a .293 average, .348 OBP and .386 slugging, with 19 two-base hits a nice boost for the resume. In April, he hit .408/.438/.579, with 10 doubles. If he does that again next April, we will be able to dance all night long. If not...I hope he's hitting eighth.

His defensive virtues, however, make him worth having in the lineup even when he is swinging a weak stick. He has aided Vazquez's transition to short, I am short, and he will do the same for Hector Made, who is also a shortstop who makes a better second baseman. His ascension to a possible major league job merits further explanation than six minutes can give it, so I will leave it at that with a promise to be back soon and finish my thought.

04-27-2006, 09:41 PM	#740
cknox0723 All Star Starter Join Date: May 2003 Location: NJ Posts: 1,957	the (not-so) middling infield It is quite startling how the sudden improvement of the Pale Hose as a whole coincided with the improvement of the ballplayers covering the entirety of the middle of the diamond. We have seen some great pitching whereas last year we had "Jon Moo" and "The Art of Suck", and we have seen some monster home runs instead of Joe Crede's whiff-fest, but we have also found something from four positions that last year gave us little more than nothing. A year's time yielded a huge upgrade at the backstop position, and as of this writing (July 2007, OOTP time), we've seen the same improvement from both the second base and shortstop positions. The funny bit is that one of the players manning those positions is still around in an everyday role; despite the improvement, he's still the same old ballplayer we had contributing mightily to last year's 93-loss fiasco. Put on your analytical cap and take this stat line on for size for a second. These are four seasons of a player's career. Code: AVG OBP SLG OPS .339 .408 .465 .873 .267 .327 .361 .688 .266 .337 .334 .672 .245 .312 .360 .672 Those low-power batting lines scream out "MIDDLE INFIELDER" like the screams out Michael Nannini, fifth starter extraordinaire, but that first one also screams out "BATTING CHAMP", which ain't a bad thing to have. Trouble is, when the bat slows, you'll find yourself with a guy hitting 100 points lower, and ain't no championship ballclubs built solely around .240 hitters. This is obviously a player who is aging; first the bat speed went, when the average dropped from the mid-.300 range to .267, and then the power went. Maybe he moved to a more favorable park to keep the OPS at an even .672 the second time around, but you still don't have a hitter to slot in much higher than sixth in the order. Or do you? Those stat lines belong to our very own Ramon Vazquez, except the very first line are his numbers this season, with the ones below it representing seasons '04, '05, and '06 in order. His uptick in batting average has been consistent across the seasons, as he's batted at a .300 rate in every month, and he has been a dynamo at the top of the order in games too countless to even start to mention. Vazquez is playing shortstop regularly and playing it well by the observation of my admittedly untrained eye; last year he was at second. It would be too easy and too convenient to attribute his success to the positional switch; maybe he is a little better than a .260 hitter when he is on the pine against southpaws as he has been all of this year, but that doesn't explain the 80-point uptick in batting average (and with it, OBP and SLG). Really it is just chance; maybe the cyber-Ramon realizes that this is his walk year, and he may get $3 million a year in free agency from some team thinking this is a new level of performance, rather than $1 million or whatever it is that a .260 hitter gets. The optimist in me would like to believe. Certainly Ramon has displayed that he has more virtues than the San Diego Padres ever thought. But he is one guy on this mishmashed collection of ballplayers that will head on to greener pastures. Hector Made is his likely replacement and is not dissimilar; Adam Kennedy will without a doubt be the second baseman next year. Because the computers are being shutdown in the library in nine minutes, I'll leave you with these tidbits and perhaps expand later. Kennedy's numbers for the season are a .293 average, .348 OBP and .386 slugging, with 19 two-base hits a nice boost for the resume. In April, he hit .408/.438/.579, with 10 doubles. If he does that again next April, we will be able to dance all night long. If not...I hope he's hitting eighth. His defensive virtues, however, make him worth having in the lineup even when he is swinging a weak stick. He has aided Vazquez's transition to short, I am short, and he will do the same for Hector Made, who is also a shortstop who makes a better second baseman. His ascension to a possible major league job merits further explanation than six minutes can give it, so I will leave it at that with a promise to be back soon and finish my thought.