NFBC Message Boards

1. Marlon Byrd is Gary Matthews Jr.



Although Byrd did not receive the long term contract that Matthews Jr did, does anybody expect him to repeat his numbers this Year?

Me neither.



2. Prince Fielder went from first to third on one single of 45 last year.



As a Prince owner, you may cringe that he doesen't get in scoring position more. But look at the bright side, he played in every MLB game last year, no sense in the big guy getting hurt



3. Only two guys taken in an NFBC first round this year will be past the age of 30. Who are they?

Answer at the bottom of the post



4. Jack Cust hit a fair ball in just over 50% of his plate appearances...amazing in and of itself. Here is something that should drive Cust owners and his agent crazy...He hit .577 on first pitches! 30 for 52! Get a little more aggresive, Jack!



5. Over the last two years, Delmon Young has had more ground balls than line drives and fly balls.....combined!



There has to be a batting coach out here that can work with this guy, right?



6. John Lackey was signed for more money than Felix Hernandez.



Somebody got a bad deal here and it ain't Lackey, and it ain't Felix, and it's certainly not the Mariners



7. Over 90% of ground balls hit off of Mariano Rivera last year were outs.



This total was the highest in the major leagues, although luck factors into this figure, my mind flashes back to a lot of weak balls that even Derek Jeter had the range to get.



8. The two best shortstops in baseball are not fantasy relevant.



John McDonald has been the best shortstop in baseball for the last three or four years. Great hands, great range, for those that still enjoy the fielding aspect, take in a Toronto game on DIRECTTV when he is in the starting lineup. Brendan Ryan of St. Louis gets better and better at shortstop as well. Hitting behind the pitcher sure deflates his fantasy value, but a joy to watch on the field



9.Bengie Molina and Aubrey Huff together on the Giants.



I so look forward to this. Molina has provided a lot of entertainment for me on the bases. I believe, one year that he set a record by not scoring from second on a single one time, I'm not sure of that fact, I'll have to look it up.

Anyway, together with Huff, who I consider one of the most aloof and lazy players in baseball they should be very comical on the bases together. And they're behind a Fung Fu Panda!



10. Alot of us are probably the "local baseball expert".



I was asked last year who the worst player in baseball was last year. Usually a fringe player or someone that goes up and down from AAA come to mind, not now.

Yuni Betancourt does not help a team much offensively, he is probably on everybodys list for one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball, getting a -56 rating over the last three years fom Bill James. On top of that, he was also the worst base runner among shortstops (again, see Bill James)...It is no wonder that Kansas City traded for this guy!





The answer to the question is ARod, 34 and Chase Utley, 31. In their case, the hips are the first to go.

One more-



Joe Blanton is asking for over 10 million dollars from the Phillies.



Is his agent going to bring the NFBC Message Board Joe Blanton thread to the arbitrator?

Nice work doughy..

I like to add my two cents. Thanks for putting up with me. I don't think the Lackey and Hernandez contracts are comparable. Lackey was a free agent. Hernandez had arbitration years to go through where the Mariners could have signed him for far less money than free agents and put up virtually no risk because they're not on the hook for years. In order for the Mariner's to give up arbitration payments and take on the risk of a long contract while handing Felix the security of a long contract, Felix had to be willing to give a significant discount over what he'd have gotten on the market.



Just an editing note: I think any defensive numbers you got from Bill James would be borrowed from John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions.

Originally posted by Quahogs:

Nice work doughy.. Thanks Q, I miss the pictures

Originally posted by bjoak:

I like to add my two cents. Thanks for putting up with me. I don't think the Lackey and Hernandez contracts are comparable. Lackey was a free agent. Hernandez had arbitration years to go through where the Mariners could have signed him for far less money than free agents and put up virtually no risk because they're not on the hook for years. In order for the Mariner's to give up arbitration payments and take on the risk of a long contract while handing Felix the security of a long contract, Felix had to be willing to give a significant discount over what he'd have gotten on the market.



Just an editing note: I think any defensive numbers you got from Bill James would be borrowed from John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions. First, I like the two cents and don't "put up with you". I enjoy the comments.



The observation on Lackey's and Hernandez contracts may be true, but still doesen't change my conclusion, The Red Sox will regret that contract to a 31 year old pitcher with two years of dl problems. But then again, not earth shattering, as most clubs regret five year and beyond deals with pitchers.



James not not give Dewan or Baseball Info Solutions credit, unless I missed it.

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

quote:Originally posted by bjoak:

I like to add my two cents. Thanks for putting up with me. I don't think the Lackey and Hernandez contracts are comparable. Lackey was a free agent. Hernandez had arbitration years to go through where the Mariners could have signed him for far less money than free agents and put up virtually no risk because they're not on the hook for years. In order for the Mariner's to give up arbitration payments and take on the risk of a long contract while handing Felix the security of a long contract, Felix had to be willing to give a significant discount over what he'd have gotten on the market.



Just an editing note: I think any defensive numbers you got from Bill James would be borrowed from John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions. First, I like the two cents and don't "put up with you". I enjoy the comments.



The observation on Lackey's and Hernandez contracts may be true, but still doesen't change my conclusion, The Red Sox will regret that contract to a 31 year old pitcher with two years of dl problems. But then again, not earth shattering, as most clubs regret five year and beyond deals with pitchers.



James not not give Dewan or Baseball Info Solutions credit, unless I missed it. [/QUOTE]BJ has +/- figures on his site. They are courtesy of Dewan. Same for the handbook. Looking in the Table of Contents, everything from The Fielding Bible Awards down through 2009 Fielding Statistics is by John Dewan. In the intro to the +/- leaders where Betancourt appears, it mentions that the stats are from the Fielding Bible (which is authored by Dewan).



Not to make such a big deal out of it, but the dude spends colossal amounts of time and money to gather together the most complete defensive metric available (with a nod to UZR); we should give him some credit. Also, no offense to James or anything, but saying he did it makes it sound like it was haphazardly thrown together using pseudo-math in his basement.

You are correct, I do see the acknowledgement.



I don't delve into fielding as much as I want, mostly because it doesen't relate to fantasy much. At the same time, it is nice watching a guy like McDonald or Ryan playing shortstop.

Also, it'll be interesting to see what the BABIP will be vs. clubs like the Mariners, who are acquiring players with defense on their minds.

Here's insight from Walla Walla. Seattle finally has figured out how to win. 1.If your in the best pitchers park in the Majors get good pitching.

2. Since no one will hit a ton of homeruns at home go for speed and defense. Bingo!!!

The Dodgers did this in the 60's when thier park was built for pitching. Seattle finally figured it out.