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Sometimes I think it is the "air-headedness" that bugs people the most about Manny. I have seen worse such as Jose Canseco. I would love to have him back in Cleveland however, warts and all.

He is a prodigious hitter who never, never has an off year. I'll never forget his first game for the Indians when he was 20 years old against the Yankees, and his whole family was there to watch him. All he did was hit two home runs and a double in his three at bats that night. The double missed being a home run by one foot below the top of the fence. He has never stopped hitting. Obviously, if Ortiz could play outfield, Manny would be the DH. He does posses a fairly strong and accurate arm however.
quote:
Originally posted by stangsbaseball24:
What was Manny doing when he "snuck" into the door at Fenway last week? Confused


On Baseball Tonight a few nights ago they said Manny told them he was relieving himself in a cup...... TMI

If the sox didn't already have the most awesome DH ( who can't field either) then Manny would make a good DH.
Admittedly, Manny plays a few outs into hits. The Zone Rating column illustrates that fact. Beyond that, Manny's defensive stats compare favorably to the ChiSox outfielders. Combining these stats with his offensive stats, Manny is clearly a more valuable player.

Hoping that these columns line up nicely. They rarely do. Dashes added to line the columns.

Manny:

GP INN - TC - PO A E DP FPCT RF --- ZR
91 739. 163 150 12 1 0 .994 - 1.97 - .759

Podsednik:

GP INN - TC PO A E DP FPCT - RF -- ZR
78 660. 171 168 2 1 1 .994 -- 2.32 .896

Dye:

GP INN --- TC - PO A E DP -FPCT RF -- ZR
81 711.2 - 151 142 4 5 1 - .967 1.85 .874

Rowand:

GP INN - TC - PO A E DP FPCT - RF - ZR
91 798. 216 211 2 3 0 .986 - 2.40 .927
Last edited by dbg_fan
quote:
I would be happy to sacrifice some defense to have his bat in the lineup

TRhit

Me Too.

So he is not the best defensive left fielder. Would you trade Juan Pierre for Manny straight up? I mean, he is much better defensively and gets hits and steals bases. Who would you put there instead on Manny on a straight up trade. I cannot think of anybody. I don't understand the need to find a reason to slam somebody for an aspect of his game. I could rave about someone elses defense, but would that make them a better player over all. The bottom line is that with the offense that he brings covers a few boo boos in the field.
quote:
If the sox didn't already have the most awesome DH ( who can't field either) then Manny would make a good DH.


Since when can't Ortiz field his position, and by the way Cong what is his position??? Did you happen to watch any of the 2004 World Series when he was scooping and starting double plays as they swept the Cards with him in the field? Ability is subjective and relative, but in my opinion your statement is completely incorrect.
Last edited by Dad04
quote:
Originally posted by Dad04:
Since when can't Ortiz field his position, and by the way Cong what is his position??? Did you happen to watch any of the 2004 World Series when he was scooping and starting double plays as they swept the Cards with him in the field? Ability is subjective and relative, but in my opinion your statement is completely incorrect.


Up to this season, Ortiz has played 211 games at 1B and 466 as a DH in the Bigs. I would say that managers and coaches far more suited to the decision that us have decided he is not that great of a fielder.

IMO, He played 1B in StL because they wanted to keep his bat in the lineup.

Opinions are all we really have. We can agree to disagree on our opinions.
I don't think there are ever any perfectly right or wrong answers in baseball. Some people value certain skills differently. I have seen Manny play close-up for many years in Cleveland and he was a key component to sending them to their first World Series appearances in over 40 years. He helped Boston win their first title in over 80 years. His last at bat as an Indian was a homerun and the fans gave him a standing ovation even though they knew he was going to Boston. We would love to have him back but are unfortunately too poor to have kept him Frown
It would be interesting if a defense-offense stat could be developed (though I don't think it could be; too many subjective variables, too many assumptions), answering the question 'are the miscues in the field outweighed by the offensive production?'.

How many errors or bad plays end up costing a run vs how many runs did that fielder drive in. Did the error allow The Opposing Stud to get to the plate in a crucial situation later?

Fans do tend to remember the bad/costly play more than the routine or even good ---- they also tend to remember the go-ahead home run a lot faster than the times they left men on base.

We had an CF in hs who would hold the ball, trying to figure out the play while two runs scored. He'd then hit a solo hr and the coach would go on about what a great game he had. Um...NO!
If I am not mistaken, Moneyball told of precisely that kind of defensive stat being developed by the A's.

They tabulated every ball hit to different points in the field, along with the velocity and trajectory, and figured out what the average fielder in the majors did with each type of hit.

Then they could compare the performance of individual fielders to the average. It was a much better measure of fielding ability than the subjective "errors" measure.

They found that on average, defensive prowess was overpriced by the major league market, and it was cheaper to "buy" more hitting ability than to "buy" defensive ability.

So let's say the objecive over the year is to have a 125 run difference between what your offense produces and what your defense allows. (I'm just pulling numbers out of the hat here, but as I recall they had a specific run differential in mind that they predicted would result in a 90 win season.)

The difference between a Manny Ramirez in left field and the average fielder might be, say, 12 runs during the year.

Manny might let in those 12 runs, but compared ot the average left fielder he'll produce far more than those 12 runs by productive at bats - so they are better off by their analysis.

The lesson from Moneyball was not that defense is unimportant - just that it is overpriced in the market vs. offensive skill.

And the A's did, in my opinion, come up with some innovative ways of measuring defensive ability AND offensive output that give a more accurate picture of actual value of a player to a team.
I also saw Manny playing in HS at George Washgington HS in NY. My son was part of that team ranked by USA today 3rd in the country in 1990, senior year of my son and junior year for Manny. I tell you that Manny was a 5 tool player. How many of you know that Manny ran under 4 seconds from home to first the year he was signed?. He also was the center fielder in this great HS team. Manny have been the player that the media says he is, he doesn't hustle, he doesn't worry about nothing, he is manny. How many of you know that when the media said that he was a hot dog because he didn't want to give interviews, what realy happened was that he was a very shy person with very poor english skills? Now that he has become a television claw, and have done some interviews, they are giving him some attention, and may be one of this years he will be elected league MVP, award that probably he had deserved more than one time in his carrear. Ask his teammates, and you are going to hear about a very different Manny Ramirez, that the one that you read in the papers and see at TV. Right know he is not the best defensive player of the big leagues, but I think that he is an average one, he sacrified his running and defensive skill to become a bigger and powerfull hitter, if you think that was a mistake, let me tell you that the millions are in hitting home runs, rbi's etc. and he is one of the best paid players in baseball.
Great article about Manny today in the Providence Journal. Talks about Manny being Manny....first alludes to his "suspect" play in LF and then goes on to celebrate his offensive talent.

Most teams run on Manny. He is the leader in outfield assists.....but he gets more chances.
The best outfielders, with the stongest arms
are leaders in that category, right?

This stat has a sub plot....
When Manny was in Cleveland I thought that he was a hot dog and not a good right fielder though he had a pretty strong arm. Since he joined the Sox and I've seen him every day I have come to respect him for a number of things. First, he may well be the hardest worker in the game. See what the other players say about his work ethic. Secondly, nothing bothers him. Strike him out three times, he'll kill you the fourth at bat. The ability to maintain your belief level in the face of pressure situations or failures is critical not only to him but to his teammates.

BTW, my favorite Manny moment was the day he was playing left with a bottle of water in his back pocket - classic.
quote:
BTW, my favorite Manny moment was the day he was playing left with a bottle of water in his back pocket - classic.



Did you like that better than him throwing a pop fly ball in the stands with a runner on and one out?

How about when he jogged down to second on a pop fly with one out and got doubled off first?

He sure is a Manny.
The media started a campaing about manny disconform in Boston. Apparently is very large the amount of people that can not swallow that Manny is one of the best hitter of all time in baseball. Year after year, he kill the American league pitching without giving signal of be bother for the negativism and bad intentional comments.
BEENTHEREIL,

So,just how much did you lose on the Sox/Sox series last weekend in ChiTown? Seriously, who the heck are you to be calling a major league outfielder who is a perreninal All-Star and MVP candidate, and absolutely, one of the top 3 hitters in the game over the past 8 years the worst outfielder in baseball history? Would you even know where to stand in the outfield? Or which hand to put the glove on? Your statement reminds me of the old saying: "It is better to remain silent and only thought to be a fool, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt" Or in this case, keep your fingers off of the keyboard!
3 goals...It is more important to read the earlier posts than to start responding without knowing what was written before.

NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT HIS OFFENSIVE SKILLS.

It is his defensive "lack of skill" that I have a problem with.

You surely must be one of 3 people in America that live in New Hampshire. How are the Green Mountain boys? Still around?

Happy to compare my experience in baseball and education and life (to yours) any day of the week.

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