Tejada is back and killing us again!

[YardBirds13]

Per the same number of games? I think not because he was on the DL for a month. No wonder he had fewer errors. Gimme a break before stating matter of factly I am wrong!! :rolleyes

Every defensive stat, (and a good number of posters on this board's opinion) says Tejada is average to above average at short. Just because you see him make a "dumb" or "bad" play, that doesn't mean he is terrible. Tejada is a much better shortstop than Derek Jeter, teh Golden Boy. But I guess since you've seen Jeter dive into the stands on Baseball Tonight, that makes him better right?? Give me a break.

Everyone ragging on Tejada really makes me sick. Is he Belanger or Bordick out there? Of course not. But he hits a hell of a lot better than any other shortstop option we have, and is NOT TERRIBLE in the field.

[blueberryale77]

That's a pretty good point. A face of the franchise shouldn't equal leader, but that's probably a good portion of the problem here.

It's not that he's "not a leader." Nobody is trying to force him to be a Kevin Millar style rah-rah guy. Well maybe a few people are but that's not the major criticism. The thing is he came in to Baltimore and proclaimed himself a leader, then proceeded to mope, complain, and display various bad habits which have gotten under people's skin. A guy who's a big star and makes a ton of money for his superior skills doesn't have to be a rah-rah guy or even get along with his teammates... but he should run hard to first base, work hard on his defense especially if he's going to play a premium defensive position, and not humiliate the team with stunts like his offseason trade demands or his pathetic one-handed bunt in order to continue his streak. People remember things like that and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth which makes it more annoying when he does a little thing wrong like GIDP on the first pitch or make a throwing error.

[gallden]

I can't belive this thread is still happening.

[Eli Eon]

Gomez never would have been able to get the ball to 1st in time to get Pedroia. Tejada probably couldn't either, and it was an unneccesary risk on the throw. That said, it wasn't a dumb play to call off Gomez, only to not put the ball in his pocket.

And are you gonna make any response to my point about the plays he makes that Gomez/Fahey/Hernandez can't make or just continue to leave your head buried in the sand?

I already have you must have missed it. I stated that I would rather not have a roller coaster type style of play like Tejada, where he makes a great play, routine play, and then boneheaded play. Give me a steady, consistently shortstop like Hernandez, Fahey, or Gomez any day. They may not make the great plays in the whole that sometimes Tejada does on ocasion but they also wouldn't botch as many routine plays or make as many boneheaded throws and plays either!

[Frobby]

This is kind of like arguing about religion. Has anybody changed their mind during this endless argument over the last week?

[SilentJames]

Cal wasn;t a "leader" either. Many people wanted to try and force him into that role, but he never wanted to be the Millar-type leader that we seem to be asking of Tejada.

This IS Eddie Murray all over again.

[TGO]

Per the same number of games? I think not because he was on the DL for a month. No wonder he had fewer errors. Gimme a break before stating matter of factly I am wrong!! :rolleyes

Then look at the stats and do some 4th grade math. Jeter has more errors per innings played and more errors per total chances.

That being said errors don't tell the whole story anyway.

[SilentJames]

I already have you must have missed it. I stated that I would rather not have a roller coaster type style of play like Tejada, where he makes a great play, routine play, and then boneheaded play. Give me a steady, consistently shortstop like Hernandez, Fahey, or Gomez any day. They may not make the great plays in the whole that sometimes Tejada does on ocasion but they also wouldn't botch as many routine plays or make as many boneheaded throws and plays either!

Then your team would be terrible. Because I guarantee that if those guys were playing everyday they would have just as many errors as Tejada. Probably more.

[The Wedge]

It's not that he's "not a leader." Nobody is trying to force him to be a Kevin Millar style rah-rah guy. Well maybe a few people are but that's not the major criticism. The thing is he came in to Baltimore and proclaimed himself a leader, then proceeded to mope, complain, and display various bad habits which have gotten under people's skin. A guy who's a big star and makes a ton of money for his superior skills doesn't have to be a rah-rah guy or even get along with his teammates... but he should run hard to first base, work hard on his defense especially if he's going to play a premium defensive position, and not humiliate the team with stunts like his offseason trade demands or his pathetic one-handed bunt in order to continue his streak. People remember things like that and it leaves a bad taste in their mouth which makes it more annoying when he does a little thing wrong like GIDP on the first pitch or make a throwing error.

I agree with you on the streak lengthening stunt right before his DL stint. However, his other antics I can't really blame him for. He was sold a bill of goods when he signed and the FO fell way short of it. He either wanted action, or wanted out. His reaction was really no different than our reaction to the FO's incompetence, except that he plays for the team.

[Eli Eon]

So? Jeter had 10 going into Miggy's DL stint.

Miggy had 6.

Now Miggy has 7 and Jeter 13

Once again research and numbers.

I don't care about Jeter, he's not an Oriole, so it isn't relevant. What is relevent is there are at least two, possibly three better fielding shortstops already on the Orioles roster that are better than Tejada. If they are also better than Jeter I could care less, and so should you!

[Mackus]

Per the same number of games? I think not because he was on the DL for a month. No wonder he had fewer errors. Gimme a break before stating matter of factly I am wrong!! :rolleyes

Tejada is 13th among SS in fielding percentage. Ahead of Jeter, Furcal, Hanley Ramirez, and others. Fielding % certainly isn't the most important defensive stat, but he's around the middle of the pack if not higher in almost all of them.

18th in Range Factor, 5th in Zone Rating, and a 99 Rate (100 is average, so he's been 1% worse than average according to Baseball Prospectus). There really isn't one end-all be-all defensive stat, but if you look at everything you can find, you can certainyl get an idea of the trends, and Miggy is right around average.

If you want an elite defensive SS, Miggy isn't your guy, but Miggy will win you more games than most of the elite defensive SS because most of those guys can't hit their weight.

[The Wedge]

I don't care about Jeter, he's not an Oriole, so it isn't relevant. What is relevent is there are at least two, possibly three better fielding shortstops already on the Orioles roster that are better than Tejada. If they are also better than Jeter I could care less, and so should you!

It's relevent because Jeter is an everyday SS, where the three guys on our team are, you know...not.

[Eli Eon]

Then your team would be terrible. Because I guarantee that if those guys were playing everyday they would have just as many errors as Tejada. Probably more.

You have no way of knowing that unless you use a crystal ball! If so, tell me what the Lotto numbers are going to be tomorrow!

[Mark Carver]

Not to pile on, but that's because he missed a month.

And Mora hasn't...

Markakis - 106 games, 15 GIDP

Mora - 79 games, 15 GIDP

Tejada - 78 games, 11 GIDP

[The Wedge]

What are the VORP numbers on The Holy Trinity?