Advocating Carlos Pena for 1B in 2012

[mikegallo]

Yeah, I'm not that optimistic about Davis myself. I'd still rather play him over Pena though.

Yeah maybe at 1st, 3rd should not even be an option....Really the more I look at our roster the more DHs we seem to have...Reynolds, NM, Reimold, even AJ its like our whole team besides Hardy and Wieters is a DH or close to..Thats whey Endy is much more valuable to us than almost any other team.

[Sports Guy]

Yeah maybe at 1st, 3rd should not even be an option....Really the more I look at our roster the more DHs we seem to have...Reynolds, NM, Reimold, even AJ its like our whole team besides Hardy and Wieters is a DH or close to..Thats whey Endy is much more valuable to us than almost any other team.

LOL...I can't figure which one it is but you either place way too much weight on defense and defensive stats or just don't know how to interpret them.

[mikegallo]

Its the fact that everyone refuses to acknowledge that our team D is horrible and some guys just shouldn't be where they are....AJ is not a CFer...he is a LFer with a good arm.

Reimold has shown himself to be a DH type, he looked passable last year but who knows this year he could be average in Left or a DH plain and simple..

NM is a below average RF with a decent arm...thats it he just doesn't have the range he used to and will likely get worse with age.

Reynolds is why the DH spot was made, he is a DH pure and simple anyone who thinks otherwise is lying to themselves..

So what problem do you have with those statements SG?

And to say I can't interpret stats is dumb I got a 5 on my AP test in stats in highschool in 11th grade (I was 16 now 22) which I recieved 6 credits for in college....Me and 1 other person got above a 3 (which is passing) in the whole school..Also got a 680 on my SAT in math which is like the 99.8 percentile. I am working on a BA in fiance which requires some math skills by the way.And I have been following these stats since they first came around..I know my stuff and anyone who thinks otherwise because I take out side the box stances in every thread is kidding themselves.

[Sports Guy]

Its the fact that everyone refuses to acknowledge that our team D is horrible and some guys just shouldn't be where they are....AJ is not a CFer...he is a LFer with a good arm.

Reimold has shown himself to be a DH type, he looked passable last year but who knows this year he could be average in Left or a DH plain and simple..

NM is a below average RF with a decent arm...thats it he just doesn't have the range he used to and will likely get worse with age.

Reynolds is why the DH spot was made, he is a DH pure and simple anyone who thinks otherwise is lying to themselves..

So what problem do you have with those statements SG?

And to say I can't interpret stats is dumb I got a 5 on my AP test in stats in highschool in 11th grade (I was 16 now 22) which I recieved 6 credits for in college....Me and 1 other person got above a 3 (which is passing) in the whole school..Also got a 680 on my SAT in math which is like the 99.8 percentile. I am working on a BA in fiance which requires some math skills by the way.And I have been following these stats since they first came around..I know my stuff and anyone who thinks otherwise because I take out side the box stances in every thread is kidding themselves.

Can you point out posts where people are saying this?

And you claim you know your stuff but I am sorry to say that a lot of your posts don't back that up.

[Frobby]

It's a little hard to judge how Pena would do back in the AL East. He had something of a bounceback year in 2011, but how much of that had to do with switching leagues? If I were to guess how he'd do back in our division, I'd bet on .750ish OPS with 20-23 HR.

[mikegallo]

Can you point out posts where people are saying this?

And you claim you know your stuff but I am sorry to say that a lot of your posts don't back that up.

I can point to many many posts in which AJ and NM our said to be good outfielders above average etc....But really that everyone comment was more directed towards everyone in the FO....DD and Buck have tried to make it seem as tho a Reynolds/Davis corner INF is a legit Major league one...Clearly it isn't.

[Sanfran327]

Reynolds really did make himself look pretty servicable at 1st last year. Hardy seemed to think so, anyway. But this discussion is exactly why we should have signed Adrian Beltre last year. His contract is very modest for what he's going to do for Texas - they got a great deal. Our left-side infield defense would have been amazing last year with Hardy and Beltre. Talk about a shot in the arm for the pitching.

[.500_OR_BETTER]

I can point to many many posts in which AJ and NM our said to be good outfielders above average etc....But really that everyone comment was more directed towards everyone in the FO....DD and Buck have tried to make it seem as tho a Reynolds/Davis corner INF is a legit Major league one...Clearly it isn't.

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[SammyBirdland]

Reynolds really did make himself look pretty servicable at 1st last year. Hardy seemed to think so, anyway. But this discussion is exactly why we should have signed Adrian Beltre last year. His contract is very modest for what he's going to do for Texas - they got a great deal. Our left-side infield defense would have been amazing last year with Hardy and Beltre. Talk about a shot in the arm for the pitching.

I think it all boils down to the fact that Reynolds doesn't handle batted balls well. When you're a 3B, there isn't a whole lot more to do other than handle batted balls and throw them to 2nd or 1st. But when you're a 1B, you don't get as many batted balls but you still get to be involved in a substantial number of plays making great scoops, etc. So, he's the same player with the same weaknesses in both positions, it's just that 1B suits his fielding skillset better.

[Lucky Jim]

I think it all boils down to the fact that Hardy doesn't handle batted balls well. When you're a 3B, there isn't a whole lot more to do other than handle batted balls and throw them to 2nd or 1st. But when you're a 1B, you don't get as many batted balls but you still get to be involved in a substantial number of plays making great scoops, etc. So, he's the same player with the same weaknesses in both positions, it's just that 1B suits his fielding skillset better.

Reynolds?

[SammyBirdland]

Reynolds?

Thanks, fixed. That was a lie that even Ray Charles could see.

[crawjo]

I don't think this would necessarily be a terrible idea on a 1-year contract. Pena draws walks...Duquette likes that and we need more of that. The strikeouts don't really concern me. He would improve our team defense, which is a big priority for me. That said, I don't see this happening.

[DrungoHazewood]

The performance we've received there is an embarrasment, and it wouldn't surprise me to find out it is the worst performance from a team at that position ever over the same time period.

That's hyperbolic nonsense. I'd be willing to bet that the O's first base performance over the last 5 years isn't among the 250 worst team performances at first base ever over a 5-year period. They probably don't even have the worst performance at first in the majors over the last five years.

Spend about 45 seconds of bb-ref before you go off typing crazy stuff.

[DrungoHazewood]

Its the fact that everyone refuses to acknowledge that our team D is horrible and some guys just shouldn't be where they are....AJ is not a CFer...he is a LFer with a good arm.

Reimold has shown himself to be a DH type, he looked passable last year but who knows this year he could be average in Left or a DH plain and simple..

NM is a below average RF with a decent arm...thats it he just doesn't have the range he used to and will likely get worse with age.

Reynolds is why the DH spot was made, he is a DH pure and simple anyone who thinks otherwise is lying to themselves..

So what problem do you have with those statements SG?

And to say I can't interpret stats is dumb I got a 5 on my AP test in stats in highschool in 11th grade (I was 16 now 22) which I recieved 6 credits for in college....Me and 1 other person got above a 3 (which is passing) in the whole school..Also got a 680 on my SAT in math which is like the 99.8 percentile. I am working on a BA in fiance which requires some math skills by the way.And I have been following these stats since they first came around..I know my stuff and anyone who thinks otherwise because I take out side the box stances in every thread is kidding themselves.

When I was 22 I thought I knew everything, too. Especially about baseball. What you'll probably learn over time is that the distinctions between opinions become blurred, and that you'll be forced to be a lot less absolute in your statements.

And no one is going to give your ideas any more weight because you got a 680 on the math SAT. There are lots of smart folks in the world. We'll consider what you say if you present it in a clear, concise, logical way, with facts to back it up. Preferably facts that are from multiple sources and points of view, couched in terms that make clear that your metrics aren't 100% accurate, but more like probability density functions with varying levels of accuracy.

[Lucky Jim]

When I was 22 I thought I knew everything, too. Especially about baseball. What you'll probably learn over time is that the distinctions between opinions become blurred, and that you'll be forced to be a lot less absolute in your statements.

And no one is going to give your ideas any more weight because you got a 680 on the math SAT. There are lots of smart folks in the world. We'll consider what you say if you present it in a clear, concise, logical way, with facts to back it up. Preferably facts that are from multiple sources and points of view, couched in terms that make clear that your metrics aren't 100% accurate, but more like probability density functions with varying levels of accuracy.

I hadn't read that post. Amazing.

Regardless, Drungo, this is good advice. Rather than swagger in with some messianic/martyr complex, I think posters would be wise to take this community of peers here on the board and make use of them in an appropriate manner: as a sounding board for thoughts and anaylsis. As people who will have (likely) considered things they're thinking about and who might see flaws, errors, or even new inputs for their arguments. There's a reason why communities are generally smarter than individuals and it's not because those communities have one guy who once got a 680 on his math SAT.

You don't need to "rely" on "hyperbole" to get a discussion: this place is lousy with discussion.