Monday Afternoon Linkages

by Rox Girl on Feb 26, 2007 12:38 PM MST in Rockpile

Sorry, I'm getting to posting so late, I had an early conference call with a British client at my day job. At any rate, there's not much today. Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News gets Cory Sullivan's view of the Steve Finley signing. Sullivan says he's taking the news in stride, but the bar is being raised for him this Spring. Also at the News, Dave Krieger wiegh in on the Steve Finley signing, coming down in favor of signing 42 year old center fielders. Alright, maybe the Rockies really do need the wisdom of the sage Finley to get to the playoffs. However, if that's the case, you would have thought that last season, on a team full of proven winners, he and the Giants would have wound up more than a half game ahead of the Rox...

Hey, the Rockies are hiring. For all of you with professional voice over experience, here's your chance. I'll miss the golden baritone of Alan Roach.

Thomas Harding reports on Ian Stewart and a few other young players/prospects in camp. Stewart talks about his offense, but the interesting notes to me were the defensive work being done with Stewart (under Vinny's expert guidance) and Troy Tulowitzki (with the help of Mike Gallego). Offensively, these two talents will shine, but by honing their defense and insuring they stay put at their respective positions will really increase their potential opportunities for stardom.

Garrett Atkins, too, is working on his D. With Holliday, Atkins, Stew and Tulo all getting drilled in the fundamentals of run prevention this Spring, you'd think the team was trying to say something about our left side last season...

At the Post, Troy Renck connects Todd Helton to the Red Sox again (as others have this week,) despite the acknowledgement that talks have been "dead".

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Hiring

Tell me when they have an opening in the legal department. I might have an announcer's voice but probably not.

I've got a bad habit of picking losers... Rockies, Vanderbilt, Grizzlies...

by Rox Fan in TN on Feb 26, 2007 12:39 PM MST reply actions

I have a

face for radio/annoucing work. The voice not so much.

by Redhawk on Feb 26, 2007 1:54 PM MST reply actions

Stewart's defense is already stellar

Especially when you look at the numbers on his PECOTA page. He may not win a Gold Glove with Zimmerman around, but he's certainly a plus defender and makes the Eric Chavez comparison more apt. From watching him last season here in Tulsa, I concur with the numbers. He's got great latter quickness, boosting his range, was very good on fielding bunts and weak hits, and can flash a good arm, albeit I was more impressed with Tulo in this category.

Not saying Stewart can't hit good enough to play in the corner, but the difference between playing Stewart at third compared to Atkins could be 25-30 runs, a remarkably large number that you won't find in "Post" and certainly not in "News" write-ups...

by David OhNo on Feb 26, 2007 1:54 PM MST reply actions

I should emphasize

that those runs are "runs prevented."

by David OhNo on Feb 26, 2007 1:55 PM MST up reply actions

Not that I disagree,

I think Stewart's going to be a fine defender, although work with Castilla certainly wouldn't hurt. I wouldn't call him stellar just yet, but he's definitely on his way.

I've got trouble with BP's fielding metrics. They seem to be off kilter in with what's apparent visually sometimes (David Wright as a plus defender, for instance) and with what other defensive measures pick up. I like David Pinto's PMR, which has Atkins costing the Rockies about 18 outs over what would normally be expected from an "average" third baseman. This equates to a little bit better than BP's estimate of 14 runs, and means that his defense probably cost a game or two rather than three. Meanwhile, Stewart made an extra twelve plays an average third baseman wouldn't have, which probably means a win or two extra.

In all, the difference last season between them would be about 30 outs, or 18-20 runs. Even though it's not quite as big as the numbers you gave, it's still "remarkably large" and could have meant the difference between being tied for last and third place in the division last season.

by Rox Girl on Feb 26, 2007 3:26 PM MST up reply actions

I'm not disagreeing

on his work with Castilla being good for him, as every player could benefit from receiving feedback from other great defenders.

My biggest problem is this unspoken perception in the Denver Media that Stewart is somehow an average defender, whereas Atkins is an improving defender and may be more than average. The numbers suggest that Atkins is subpar defensively, and I'd be willing to assume that his defense will decline as he approaches 30. That isn't a bad thing when you consider that his best position would be first, but this isn't the side fans are given. Instead, we often read that Atkins is a "surprising" fielder closer to league average.

I've long held that Stewart is a great defender and needs to play third, and I don't fault Atkins if Stewart has to be moved IF the team won't make the difficult move of benching or moving the declining Helton (again assuming on the likelihood that his game has entered the decline phase).

by David OhNo on Feb 26, 2007 5:34 PM MST up reply actions

I see what you are saying

And though I hadn't thought about how the media has been clouding the issue, I completely agree that it could be a problem going forward given the difference between the two.

by Rox Girl on Feb 27, 2007 7:00 AM MST up reply actions

Not a Roache fan

Not sorry to hear he's going.

I mean, I don't wish the guy ill will or anything but his PA announcing makes my skin crawl.

by comedian on Feb 26, 2007 2:02 PM MST reply actions

Re: Roachg

Always thought Roach was - and is - one of the best in the business - certainly more preferable to any PA guy I've heard in my experience in ballparks around the country (granted, it's not a massive sample size, but still).

I'll miss his easily imitable style and the way he could make even the lowliest Rockies hitter sound fearsome on his way up to the plate.

Die-hard Rockies fan. On the bandwagon since 4/2/93. Not giving up my seat. EVER.

by Franchise26 on Feb 26, 2007 3:31 PM MST up reply actions