Saturday, February 25, 2006
2006 Phillies Defensive Analysis
Ok, it isn't very in depth, but I wanted to get an idea of how Phillies players did last year defensively. I also include Polanco.
The two main stats used are Zone Rating (ZR) and Range Factor (RF). The good thing about ZR is that it protects you from your lying eyes sometimes. Stats, Inc. gives each position a zone of defensive responsibility. ZR measure how many of the balls you actually get to or make a play on. So your overall fielding percentage could be lower, but a better Zone Rating may show that you get to more balls than another player.
Range Factor is putouts plus assists divided by innings. This should give you an idea of how many plays the fielder was involved in.
I view Zone Rating as more important, but unless someone comes up with something better that's what I'll be using.
For catchers, I like to look at CERA. That's the ERA of a catcher's pitchers. This stat exemplifies why it is hard to judge performance within baseball to a high degree of accuracy. There is a lot of interdependence. Every catcher has a different pitching staff in this example. American League catchers have a DH. But I've included Todd Pratt's CERA to get an idea. If Pratt only caught for the ace (whoever that is) that would affect the differences between Pratt's CERA and Lieberthal's. For the record, Pratt was nearly a full run less than Lieberthal in CERA.
All stats were obtained from ESPN.
Remember, a double you take away with your glove is as valuable as hitting a double with your bat.
CF Rowand:
2nd in ZR (Lofton and Michaels combined would have been about 11th or so)
7th in RF
LF Burrell:
9th out of 18 ZR
17 out of 18 in RF
RF Abreu:
16 out of 19 in ZR
17 out of 19 in RF
3B Bell:
7 out of 19 in ZR
4 out of 19 in RF
SS Rollins:
10 out of 24 in ZR
23 out of 24 in RF
2B Utley:
2 out of 17 in ZR
9 out of 17 in RF
2B Polanco:
4 out of 17 in ZR
3 out of 17 in RF
1B Howard: Howard didn't qualify, but he would have been next to last in ZR.
All first basemen had a similar RF.
C Lieberthal: 2nd highest CERA in the National League (4.52)
C Pratt: 3.53 CERA
Summary:
Burrell seems adequate.
It's a good thing Abreu hits well.
Utley is a surprise with the glove. He may be the MVP of the team.
Howard doesn't seem good, but I doubt he'll do much harm at 1B.
Bell seems good, but his glove isn't nearly good enough to make up for his bat.
Rollins may be quick, but his Zone Rating keeps coming up as middle of the pack. Maybe his reaction time is slower and that is why he makes amazing looking plays. Maybe it is because his range isn't that great and Rollins must dive to get to some balls. I'm not saying he's bad. But the general Philly opinion is that he is great defensively. I'm unconvinced.
Besides looking forward to watching Rowand in CF this year, I'm very much looking forward to Lieberthal's contract running out. If memory serves, Gillick got a catcher who can play more this year. Hopefully, that will improve things with our pitching staff.
Ok, it isn't very in depth, but I wanted to get an idea of how Phillies players did last year defensively. I also include Polanco.
The two main stats used are Zone Rating (ZR) and Range Factor (RF). The good thing about ZR is that it protects you from your lying eyes sometimes. Stats, Inc. gives each position a zone of defensive responsibility. ZR measure how many of the balls you actually get to or make a play on. So your overall fielding percentage could be lower, but a better Zone Rating may show that you get to more balls than another player.
Range Factor is putouts plus assists divided by innings. This should give you an idea of how many plays the fielder was involved in.
I view Zone Rating as more important, but unless someone comes up with something better that's what I'll be using.
For catchers, I like to look at CERA. That's the ERA of a catcher's pitchers. This stat exemplifies why it is hard to judge performance within baseball to a high degree of accuracy. There is a lot of interdependence. Every catcher has a different pitching staff in this example. American League catchers have a DH. But I've included Todd Pratt's CERA to get an idea. If Pratt only caught for the ace (whoever that is) that would affect the differences between Pratt's CERA and Lieberthal's. For the record, Pratt was nearly a full run less than Lieberthal in CERA.
All stats were obtained from ESPN.
Remember, a double you take away with your glove is as valuable as hitting a double with your bat.
CF Rowand:
2nd in ZR (Lofton and Michaels combined would have been about 11th or so)
7th in RF
LF Burrell:
9th out of 18 ZR
17 out of 18 in RF
RF Abreu:
16 out of 19 in ZR
17 out of 19 in RF
3B Bell:
7 out of 19 in ZR
4 out of 19 in RF
SS Rollins:
10 out of 24 in ZR
23 out of 24 in RF
2B Utley:
2 out of 17 in ZR
9 out of 17 in RF
2B Polanco:
4 out of 17 in ZR
3 out of 17 in RF
1B Howard: Howard didn't qualify, but he would have been next to last in ZR.
All first basemen had a similar RF.
C Lieberthal: 2nd highest CERA in the National League (4.52)
C Pratt: 3.53 CERA
Summary:
Burrell seems adequate.
It's a good thing Abreu hits well.
Utley is a surprise with the glove. He may be the MVP of the team.
Howard doesn't seem good, but I doubt he'll do much harm at 1B.
Bell seems good, but his glove isn't nearly good enough to make up for his bat.
Rollins may be quick, but his Zone Rating keeps coming up as middle of the pack. Maybe his reaction time is slower and that is why he makes amazing looking plays. Maybe it is because his range isn't that great and Rollins must dive to get to some balls. I'm not saying he's bad. But the general Philly opinion is that he is great defensively. I'm unconvinced.
Besides looking forward to watching Rowand in CF this year, I'm very much looking forward to Lieberthal's contract running out. If memory serves, Gillick got a catcher who can play more this year. Hopefully, that will improve things with our pitching staff.
