A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
A couple of baseball quotes from 2005
It seems like it is raining every day now. But spring will come and they will be playing baseball again soon. In this post I would like to dissect 2 quotes. Both of which I read in print, and can't guarantee the accuracy. If they are real, I think they have some interesting consequences.
Here is a quote from Tony LaRussa concerning David Eckstein:
"David Eckstein could be our MVP in 2005"
The interesting thing about this quote is the Cardinals have Albert Pujols, the 2005 NL MVP. If you go to baseballreference.com and look up Albert Pujols, you see some of the best numbers in history for the first 5 years of a career. In fact he is similar a bunch of Hall of Famers and most similar to Joe Dimaggio. David Eckstein has lower than average baseball skills, but his mentality and baseball sense are said to be off the charts. He is about a 1 and a half tool player with his one tool being speed and his half tool is that he can hit a little. But he is a leadoff hitter, a tough out, he works the count, he takes some beanballs for the team. I can just about defend Tony on this. I am glad he is no longer in the AL west.
Next interesting quote, from Erubiel Durazo:
"I love playing here, Billy Beane knows that."
Ruby was Billy's holy grail only a few years ago. He was never able to put together the 35 hr 100 rbi season we had hoped for. But he did seem happy here, after having problems in AZ. And he might just have that 35/100 season in him. The A's didn't offer Ruby arbritration, and it seems like the right move. But somehow it seems too bad that Ruby's time in Oakland is over. I have never yet seen a situation where a player is not offered arbitration yet still comes back to that team after May 1, but the Astros and Roger Clemens have been talking about it, and in Ruby's and possibly Hatteberg's case, maybe this would be a move for them too. If someone offers either of those guys a big contract or any contract they should take it rather than do nothing until May 1, but those guys have been good and would be good to have around. I think sometimes arbitration and its consequences forces teams to cut loose players they might have liked to keep around. There are a lot of worse alternatives than having a guy like Erubriel Durazo or Scott Hatteberg available off the bench.
It seems like it is raining every day now. But spring will come and they will be playing baseball again soon. In this post I would like to dissect 2 quotes. Both of which I read in print, and can't guarantee the accuracy. If they are real, I think they have some interesting consequences.
Here is a quote from Tony LaRussa concerning David Eckstein:
"David Eckstein could be our MVP in 2005"
The interesting thing about this quote is the Cardinals have Albert Pujols, the 2005 NL MVP. If you go to baseballreference.com and look up Albert Pujols, you see some of the best numbers in history for the first 5 years of a career. In fact he is similar a bunch of Hall of Famers and most similar to Joe Dimaggio. David Eckstein has lower than average baseball skills, but his mentality and baseball sense are said to be off the charts. He is about a 1 and a half tool player with his one tool being speed and his half tool is that he can hit a little. But he is a leadoff hitter, a tough out, he works the count, he takes some beanballs for the team. I can just about defend Tony on this. I am glad he is no longer in the AL west.
Next interesting quote, from Erubiel Durazo:
"I love playing here, Billy Beane knows that."
Ruby was Billy's holy grail only a few years ago. He was never able to put together the 35 hr 100 rbi season we had hoped for. But he did seem happy here, after having problems in AZ. And he might just have that 35/100 season in him. The A's didn't offer Ruby arbritration, and it seems like the right move. But somehow it seems too bad that Ruby's time in Oakland is over. I have never yet seen a situation where a player is not offered arbitration yet still comes back to that team after May 1, but the Astros and Roger Clemens have been talking about it, and in Ruby's and possibly Hatteberg's case, maybe this would be a move for them too. If someone offers either of those guys a big contract or any contract they should take it rather than do nothing until May 1, but those guys have been good and would be good to have around. I think sometimes arbitration and its consequences forces teams to cut loose players they might have liked to keep around. There are a lot of worse alternatives than having a guy like Erubriel Durazo or Scott Hatteberg available off the bench.
