Interesting Numbers
I thought I would take a look at our shortstop situation to see how we’re making out so far, so I took a look at both Renteria and Cabrera’s numbers. I also took a look at Eckstein since he was the third piece of the 3-team shortstop switch in the off-season.
Renteria Cabrera Eckstein
Games 94 81 97
Runs 58 31 50
Hits 103 74 103
Doubles 16 14 12
HR 6 4 2
RBI 34 25 29
SB 8 9 7
BA .272 .247 .271
OBP .339 .299 .351
Errors 18 4 11
Fielding% .955 .988 .977
Contract 4yr/40m 4yr/32m 3yr/10.25m
It’s tough to compare Runs and RBI because they all hit in different spots in the lineup and have different hitters around them, but if you go by BA and OBP it’s clear that Renteria has been better than Cabrera. I’m not sure if he’s 8 million dollars better but he’s definitely been more productive.
Cabrera’s numbers so far this year with the Angels are not nearly as good as what he put up for us in 58 games last year, and they’re all well below his career averages. That combined with what I’ve seen of him at the plate this year tells me that he may be on the downslide and may not ever produce at that level again.
Meanwhile Renteria, although he started off slowly and has been a little streaky, will come close to matching his career averages in most categories. He’s also looked much better lately.
As far as defense goes, it was a given that Cabrera was the better defender. The decision to sign Renteria was based on offense; although Renteria has been pretty solid and had won a couple of gold gloves himself. Surprisingly, he’s leading the league with 18 errors at the SS position, but he’s been good at getting the double play turned and making some tough plays, and I don’t think we’ve been hurt very much by all of the errors.
Overall, I think we got the better player for this year and it looks like we will make out much better on the deal in the long run. I think Theo made the correct move in spending the extra money to get Edgar over O-Cab. I expect Renteria to continue to be solid and come up with some clutch hits for us, particularly in the playoffs.
The strange thing about it all to me is that the Cardinals, after losing Renteria and not being able to sign Cabrera, ended up “settling” for the discarded Eckstein, and they may have gotten the best deal of them all.
Renteria Cabrera Eckstein
Games 94 81 97
Runs 58 31 50
Hits 103 74 103
Doubles 16 14 12
HR 6 4 2
RBI 34 25 29
SB 8 9 7
BA .272 .247 .271
OBP .339 .299 .351
Errors 18 4 11
Fielding% .955 .988 .977
Contract 4yr/40m 4yr/32m 3yr/10.25m
It’s tough to compare Runs and RBI because they all hit in different spots in the lineup and have different hitters around them, but if you go by BA and OBP it’s clear that Renteria has been better than Cabrera. I’m not sure if he’s 8 million dollars better but he’s definitely been more productive.
Cabrera’s numbers so far this year with the Angels are not nearly as good as what he put up for us in 58 games last year, and they’re all well below his career averages. That combined with what I’ve seen of him at the plate this year tells me that he may be on the downslide and may not ever produce at that level again.
Meanwhile Renteria, although he started off slowly and has been a little streaky, will come close to matching his career averages in most categories. He’s also looked much better lately.
As far as defense goes, it was a given that Cabrera was the better defender. The decision to sign Renteria was based on offense; although Renteria has been pretty solid and had won a couple of gold gloves himself. Surprisingly, he’s leading the league with 18 errors at the SS position, but he’s been good at getting the double play turned and making some tough plays, and I don’t think we’ve been hurt very much by all of the errors.
Overall, I think we got the better player for this year and it looks like we will make out much better on the deal in the long run. I think Theo made the correct move in spending the extra money to get Edgar over O-Cab. I expect Renteria to continue to be solid and come up with some clutch hits for us, particularly in the playoffs.
The strange thing about it all to me is that the Cardinals, after losing Renteria and not being able to sign Cabrera, ended up “settling” for the discarded Eckstein, and they may have gotten the best deal of them all.
posted by Bob at 7/29/2005 01:56:00 PM
1 Comments:
When you factor in the wacky handshakes, Cabrera is the better man. I miss his defense too.
Maybe he hit so well last year because of the Sox lineup. As you pointed out, it helps everyone in the order to have big bats, like Manny's around.
CC
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