Luis Hernandez

[Eli Eon]

How many more plays will Hernandez make than any other shortstop you could pull out of AAA?

Just about any player who is still a shortstop in the high minors is not exactly a defensive liability.

It doesn't necessarily have to be Hernandez to replace Tejada, I would just very much favor a better glove at that position thats the short of it (I know that was bad)!

[now]

I think the 2004 Red Sox are a pretty good example of what you are saying. From a statistical standpoint Nomar Garciaparra's offense made up for his defensive shortcomings, but given the heavy-hitting makeup of that particular team it turned out to be better to have a defense-first shortstop, so they traded Nomar and won the World Series.

Hard to argue with those results, but I don't think it follows logically from "Offense outweighs defense." In fact it would make more sense to say that the difference in offense would outweigh the difference in defense even with a heavy-hitting team, since W/L is still dependent on RS/RA.

The other point about "a run saved is worth more than a run earned" is also valid; so an offensive upgrade is less important to a heavy-hitting team like the Sawx than to a light-hitting team like the Orioles; but here we're talking about finer points, more microscopic differences.

Overall a large gain in offense outweighs a large gain in defense no matter what position or team is benefitting.

[Eli Eon]

Hard to argue with those results, but I don't think it follows logically from "Offense outweighs defense." In fact it would make more sense to say that the difference in offense would outweigh the difference in defense even with a heavy-hitting team, since W/L is still dependent on RS/RA.

The other point about "a run saved is worth more than a run earned" is also valid; so an offensive upgrade is less important to a heavy-hitting team like the Sawx than to a light-hitting team like the Orioles; but here we're talking about finer points, more microscopic differences.

Overall a large gain in offense outweighs a large gain in defense no matter what position or team is benefitting.

Again, speaking in generalities. I think the focus needs to be on the one key position (other than catcher and CF) which is shortstop. That particular position has the opportunity to make more game influencing plays than any other except catcher during an average game. That is why you need the best glove man and also range guy you can get out there. Ever since Bordick retired the Orioles have not been great defensively at short and I believe it has hurt the team significantly. This has become extremely evident with Tejada out. The team is actually playing better than they were with him!

I applaud the thread by Frobby which is specifically addressing this aspect.