OOZ breakdown as of July 5, 2008 between TB/BOS/NYY

by websterjtc on Jul 5, 2008 2:35 PM EDT

Here is a positional breakdown

1b
pena/hinske/aybar - 32
Youk/Casey - 25
giambi/duncan/betemit - 21

2b
iwamura - 20;
pedroia - 18
cano - 16

3b
longoria - 30;
lowell/youk - 29
arod/ensberg combo - 21

ss
bartlett - 29;
lugo/cora - 28
jeter 19

lf
crawford - 39;
damon/matsui 39
manny/elsbury - 19

cf
upton - 52;
elsbury/crisp -41
cabrera - 33

rf
drew/moss/elsbury - 40
gross/hinske/haynes - 22
abreu - 9

c
there are no OOZ stats available for catchers, but here are the CS%.
Navarro - 39%
Posada - 19%
Tek - 18.5%

Aside from RF, we nearly have a clean sweep.

This post was written by a member of the DRaysBay community and does not necessarily express the views or opinions of DRaysBay staff.

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Comments

Question:

For platoons did you average it out or simply add?

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 5, 2008 2:42 PM EDT reply actions

added...using the hardball times stats

9 = 8

by websterjtc on Jul 5, 2008 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions

is that the wrong way to go about it?

9 = 8

by websterjtc on Jul 5, 2008 7:18 PM EDT up reply actions

No.

I was just curious.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 5, 2008 9:40 PM EDT up reply actions

it's correct

OOZ plays are good, so you might as well add them up for each position. What would be more useful is: (in-zone plays plus out-of-zone plays)/total balls in zone.

by Sky Kalkman on Jul 5, 2008 8:02 PM EDT reply actions

Totals
Rays —- 224
Bosox-—200
Yanks—- 158

9 = 8

by websterjtc on Jul 5, 2008 10:27 PM EDT reply actions

also, it was kinda a casual list, so i omitted some OOZ's where a sub was, like, i think Aybar only had one OOZ at 3b, or Gomes had an OOZ in LF

9 = 8

by websterjtc on Jul 5, 2008 10:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Upton does a great job going side to side

His struggles are at balls hit right at him. That’s the most difficult ball to judge and I’d imagine it will improve with experience.

by tallyray on Jul 6, 2008 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

I just want to use this opportunity, tangent though it may be,

to restate a point about Upton. Some accuse him of being lackadaisical on certain plays, but I am not so sure that is valid. Again, it may be more a matter of style, a smooth gliding toward the ball rather than a lurching kind of running that gives the impression. (I think his swing is similar; it looks effortless because it is so quick and smooth, and when it’s a line drive is a thing of beauty but when a ground out it may seem to be lazy.)

I am not terribly impressed by public statements; they are usually canned responses and not reliable. But sometimes you can speculate reasonably from the type of statement a player makes. Look again at what Upton says about that terrific over the shoulder catch he made on Wednesday against Youkilis. It read to me like a player who goes all out, and I don’t think only on that play.

His reputation coming up was of a very hard worker who constantly tried to improve. Although it did not work out, nobody ever suggested he was not dedicated to improving his shortstop defense.

by bobr on Jul 6, 2008 10:18 AM EDT reply actions

People always accuse the most talented of being lazy

I don’t think I’ve ever seen people criticize Jonny Gomes for being lazy when he misplays a ball, or Jason Bartlett not caring when he airmails a throw or takes strike three. Upton is likely the best or the second best positional player on this team and people make him an easy target because he doesn’t “hustle”.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 6, 2008 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions

That has nothing to do with talent level

I can give you tons of players that have tons of talent that look like they are trying hard, and I can also give you tons of talented players that look like they can care less. It is simply a style of play.

I do not doubt that Upton gives near 100%. I think his mistakes are mainly because he just isn’t a good centerfielder yet. He is a great and fluid baseball player, and that makes up for his lack of skill playing the position. He’ll learn the position over time, but if he doesn’t we have a spot in RF for him.

by matthan on Jul 6, 2008 5:33 PM EDT up reply actions

A good comparison would be Ankiel

Upton is a much better player, but their play in CF is similar. Both can make tremendous plays based on pure baseball skill, but they make some extremely boneheaded plays primarily due to inexperience.

by matthan on Jul 6, 2008 5:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Both are above-average CFs

At least according to Justin’s compilation of zone rating metrics. And I’d put both on my All-Star team.

by Sky Kalkman on Jul 7, 2008 10:53 AM EDT up reply actions

"Nothing to do with talent level"

I highly, highly doubt that. People wouldn’t say a player is dogging it if they simply suck.

by R.J. Anderson on Jul 6, 2008 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree

There is an assumption that a great player should never make a mistake, so when they do it is chalked up to attitude rather than fallibility. Obviously this is gross generalization and does not apply to all fans or players, but I do think it is often the case, at least until the star becomes accepted as above reproach-like Mays. Early in his career, Mays was often criticized as a hot dog.

Mantle also was perceived early on as a player who was not dedicated to the game; only later was the emphasis placed instead on his incredible courage to play through so much pain.

Actually, the best example is Hank Aaron. Through the 50s, he was often labeled a lackadaisical player with no fire in his gut. Of course, later he was so lionized that those early assessments were forgotten and when he made a mistake it was forgiven immediately. But not earlier in his career.

by bobr on Jul 6, 2008 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions

It's the same for us with Ichiro

the casual fans tend to dog him because he never looks like he’s going all out, doesn’t dive for balls in the OF, isn’t clutch, say he only cares about his own stats, etc. etc. and prefer a utility guy like Willie Bloomquist because all he does is hustle.

The only reason Ichiro doesn’t look like he’s trying really hard is because he’s so talented that he genuinely makes the game that look that effortless. Moral of the story – casual fans are idiots.

by seattlebruin on Jul 7, 2008 5:53 AM EDT up reply actions