Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Outrage du jour
The all-star rosters came out and, surprisingly, the Phillies got some recognition. Starting at second base for the National League will be Chase Utley, the Phillies stupendous pivot-man. Joining him in San Francisco will be Cole Hamels, as the National League’s second starting pitcher, and Aaron Rowand as one of the reserve outfielders.
The Phillies three of the Phillies five strongest players – Hamels, Rowand and Utley – got recognition. Ryan Howard’s injuries and slow start cost him a roster spot, which was fair. What was not fair, however, was the voters decision to snub Jimmy Rollins.
First off, I am willing to concede that the voters did a nice job awarding the starting position to the Mets Jose Reyes. Yes, I get sick of all of the media attention lavished on players in New York, and I suspect that New York players have an absurdly unfair advantage when it comes to all-star balloting because they play in the media capital of the United States, however Reyes has done a nice job this season:
.399 OBP, 40 stolen bases in 51 attempts, 45 walks to 44 strikeouts, 8 triples, .324 BA/RISP (Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position) … He has 16 Win Shares right now, 9 Win Shares Above Bench … He’s your prototypical lead-off hitter, and he does a nice job at it. Tellingly, he leads all N.L. Shortstops in Runs Created per 27 Outs at 7.6 …
J.J. Hardy is a slugging shortstop. Thus far this season he has 18 home runs, and his slugging percentage is a robust .515. He’s a fairly one-dimensional player in that he has no speed whatsoever: zero steals in three attempts and one triple. He has 47 strikeouts to 24 walks … He’s a slugger with limited speed. Jimmy Rollins is a nice blend between Hardy and Reyes: a slugger with a lot of speed. Rollins has 14 home runs and his slugging percentage is just a tick below Hardy at .514. Impressively, Rollins has fifteen steals in eighteen attempts, and a whopping ten triples. Given what a lost art hitting a triple is, shouldn’t Rollins get some recognition for that?
The bottom-line, to me, is that Jimmy Rollins is a better player than J.J. Hardy, and is a more-deserving All-Star. I agree with the decision to vote Jose Reyes in as the N.L.’s starting shortstop. He deserves it, but not J.J. Hardy.
The Phillies three of the Phillies five strongest players – Hamels, Rowand and Utley – got recognition. Ryan Howard’s injuries and slow start cost him a roster spot, which was fair. What was not fair, however, was the voters decision to snub Jimmy Rollins.
First off, I am willing to concede that the voters did a nice job awarding the starting position to the Mets Jose Reyes. Yes, I get sick of all of the media attention lavished on players in New York, and I suspect that New York players have an absurdly unfair advantage when it comes to all-star balloting because they play in the media capital of the United States, however Reyes has done a nice job this season:
.399 OBP, 40 stolen bases in 51 attempts, 45 walks to 44 strikeouts, 8 triples, .324 BA/RISP (Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position) … He has 16 Win Shares right now, 9 Win Shares Above Bench … He’s your prototypical lead-off hitter, and he does a nice job at it. Tellingly, he leads all N.L. Shortstops in Runs Created per 27 Outs at 7.6 …
J.J. Hardy is a slugging shortstop. Thus far this season he has 18 home runs, and his slugging percentage is a robust .515. He’s a fairly one-dimensional player in that he has no speed whatsoever: zero steals in three attempts and one triple. He has 47 strikeouts to 24 walks … He’s a slugger with limited speed. Jimmy Rollins is a nice blend between Hardy and Reyes: a slugger with a lot of speed. Rollins has 14 home runs and his slugging percentage is just a tick below Hardy at .514. Impressively, Rollins has fifteen steals in eighteen attempts, and a whopping ten triples. Given what a lost art hitting a triple is, shouldn’t Rollins get some recognition for that?
The bottom-line, to me, is that Jimmy Rollins is a better player than J.J. Hardy, and is a more-deserving All-Star. I agree with the decision to vote Jose Reyes in as the N.L.’s starting shortstop. He deserves it, but not J.J. Hardy.
Labels: Hamels, Howard, Power-Hitting, Rollins, Rowand, Speed, Utley
Comments:
I would posit that Hanley Ramirez deserves the start over Reyes or Rollins - and at a minimum at least deserves a spot on the team over the likes of Fred Sanchez (wouldn't it have made more sense for them to take Snell or Gorzelanny as PIT's rep?)
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: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 8:40:00 AM
: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 8:40:00 AM
