Archive for the 'Jason Bartlett is looking for glove' Category

Mar 19

MVP! MVP! MVP! Marc Topkin Once Again Stirs The Pot

Jason Bartlett, Jason Bartlett is looking for glove, Marc Topkin Cork Gaines 12 Comments »

The local basbeall writers took a lot of heat when Jason Bartlett was voted the team MVP last season (we actually kinda supported the idea). And Marc Topkin took a lot of grief when he wrote Jason Bartlett’s name on his AL MVP ballot as the fifth most valuable American Leaguer in 2008.

Well, Topkin is back in 2009 and he brought his fastball. He once again addresses the issue of Bartlett’s MVPness, but this time he brought more than a laptop. He brought the big gun, Joe Maddon.

For any of the Internet bloggers or hundreds of message board posters who had issues with shortstop Jason Bartlett’s selection as the Rays’ most valuable player last season, manager Joe Maddon has a few choice words of his own.

“We don’t win last year without him playing shortstop. Period,” Maddon said Wednesday. “It’s pretty simple — it just doesn’t happen.”

And he brought the Cat Carlos Pena.

“You can’t always go to a number,” first baseman Carlos Peña said. “I go on plays made. And he changes the game. Instead of a base hit, it’s an out. Instead of a double, it’s a single. Things like that are huge for the success of the team, and with his defense he contributes in such a substantial way. So he’s crucial to our success.”

So there you have it. Topkin just brought some big guns to a knife fight. Your turn internet bloggers. Whatcha got?

Tampa Bay Rays say shortstop Bartlett has value that is hard to measure [St. Pete Times]

Jan 13

[THE HANGOVER] Rays May Have Helped Red Sox Save Money

Andrew Friedman, BJ Upton, Gabe Kapler, Jason Bartlett is looking for glove, Jason Bay, Pat Burrell Cork Gaines 1 Comment »

It was 41 years ago today that Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison. So the iPod will be all Johnny Cash, all day. But if listening to too much Johnny Cash seems depressing, worry not. Today is also Rubber Duckie’s Birthday! Too much information?

DEVIL DOGS WEBTOPIA…

  • Rob Neyer agrees that a healthy Jason Bartlett will be much better in 2009 which should help the Rays avoid the “Plexiglass Principle.” [ESPN]
  • And the Baseball Crank delivers what we have been looking for. Pre-injury and post-injury defensive splits for Jason Bartlett. It is not an exact split, but Bartlett’s Zone Rating was .859 in late May. His Revised Zone Rating for the entire season was .807 (6th in AL). This suggests that his rating from June on was well below .800. [Baseball Crank]
  • Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe says the Pat Burrell contract will likely save the Red Sox money as they attempt to sign Jason Bay to a long-term deal. [Boston Globe]
  • Marc Topkin has some quotes from Gabe Kapler on his signing and notes that Kapler could play center field if BJ Upton is not ready to start the season. [St. Pete Times]
  • In the same piece, Marc Topkin notes that the Rays are negotiating with their 5 arbitration-eligible players and Andrew Friedman with the team’s self-imposed January 20 deadline looming. Friedman sounds confident that all 5 players will have new contracts prior to the deadline. [St. Pete Times]
  • Gabe Kapler’s 2009 salary will not be $1,000,018 as previously reported. It will just be an even $1 million. [The Heater]
  • David Chalk at Bugs and Cranks continues his countdown of the top 177 Devil Rays of all time. Today we are at #172. [Bugs and Cranks]

Jan 11

[JASON BARTLETT] More On Jason Bartlett’s Defensive Decline In ’08

Jason Bartlett, Jason Bartlett is looking for glove Cork Gaines No Comments »

Back in December, we addressed questions raised over Jason Bartlett’s sudden decline in defensive performance in 2008. At the time we speculated that in addition to the two injuries he played through during the season, playing with a gold glove-caliber third baseman may have directly impacted Bartlett’s numbers.

Using Baseball Musings’ “Probabilistic Model of Range,” we reasoned that the addition of Evan Longoria, who displays great range to his left (towards second base) may be taking away opportunities from Bartlett due to a significant overlap in their defensive range.

Now Baseball Prospectus (via Drays Bay), using a defensive plus/minus metric, shows us that Bartlett was just as effective moving to his right in 2008 and that his defensive decline was due entirely to fielding chances to his left.

…John Dewan’s other defensive number, Plus/Minus, had Bartlett at -1 in 2008 after seasons of +13 and +18 in 2006-2007. That’s a massive and sudden degradation, made even stranger since Bartlett was just as effective going to his right both years (+11); it was when going to his left (a drop from +4 to -11) that his defense became a problem for him in 2008.

So despite the significant overlap in range, Bartlett does not appear to have been impacted by the improved range of his third base partner.

Now it appears that his defensive decline was due entirely to his shoulder and leg injuries. While possible, it does not seem likely that a player’s defensive skills would erode so quickly. It may be that one or both injuries was more troublesome when Bartlett was moving to his left. The throwing motion alone, for a shortstop moving to his left, is considerably different and may have been difficult or painful for Bartlett.

Whatever the explanation, a healthy Bartlett in 2009 should go a long ways towards once again being one of the premiere defensive shortstops in baseball.

Possible Explanantion For Bartlett’s Defensive Decline In 2008 [Rays Index]

Dec 05

[LOOKIN' FOR GLOVE] Possible Explanantion For Bartlett’s Defensive Decline In 2008

Evan Longoria, Jason Bartlett is looking for glove, Minnesota Twins Cork Gaines 21 Comments »

Earlier today Drays Bay compared Jason Bartlett’s 2008 defensive metrics to previous years and wondered why he was “not as good as perceived” prior to the season.

Essentially every metric that had a crush on Bartlett prior to 2008 gave him the cold shoulder. That’s bad, namely because those same metrics gave us hope that Bartlett was a defensive wizard, and while he looked good, he apparently was not as good as perceived. The problem for us, and the Rays, is deciding whether this is indicative of a true talent change or simply an anomaly.

Other than the obvious explanations, such as his shoulder injury in April and the knee injury late in the season, there is another simple explanation for the statistical drop-off in Bartlett’s defense.

Evan Longoria.

Below you will see a graph representing Bartlett’s 2007 “Probabilistic Model of Range” as presented by Baseball Musings.


A couple of quick notes on the graph…

  • The far left portion of the graph represents the third base line, while the far right represents the first base line. “2B” represents the second base bag.
  • The peak of the graph in essence represents where Bartlett would usually be positioned. So anything to the left of the peak represents groundballs that Bartlett would have to move to his right (towards third base) to field. While anything to the right of the peak represents groundballs that Bartlett would have to move towards the second base bag to field.

As we can see, Bartlett fielded more groundballs in 2007 than would be predicted. However, Bartlett was much better moving towards third base (left of the peak on the graph). Bartlett’s actual outs were much higher than predicted on balls hit right at him and on groundballs to his right (towards third base). On groundballs hit to his left (towards second base) Bartlett was only average.

This is where Longoria comes in. Baseball Musings does not have Bartlett’s graph for 2008 yet, but we can compare the Probabilistic Model of Range for Bartlett’s third basemen in 2007 and 2008.

In 2007, Twins third basemen ranked 25th in baseball, making 13 fewer outs than predicted. On the other hand, in 2008, Longoria ranked 3rd in the majors in Probabilistic Model of Range for third basemen, making 17 more outs than expected. That is a difference of 30 outs by third basemen from 2007 to 2008.

This is important because a third baseman is closer to the batter and essentially has “dibs” on balls hit in the hole between the shortstop and third baseman. A third baseman with excellent range, like Longoria, means fewer balls are getting to the shortstop. And it is those groundballs that Bartlett feasted on in 2007.

A healthy Bartlett will go a long way towards reestablishing him as one of the premiere defensive shortstops in baseball (statistically), but as long as Longoria is manning the hot corner, Bartlett no longer has to be Superman.

On Bartlett’s Defense [Drays Bay]
Probabilistic Model of Range, Third Basemen, 2007 [Baseball Musings]
Probabilistic Model of Range, 2008, Third Basemen [Baseball Musings]