Monday, November 26, 2007

What Next? Shortstop

In a previous post I suggested that the Yankees switch Cano and Jeter's positions. However, WARP3's positional adjustments would make it harder to figure out what Cano's would be SS or Jeter's would at second. So, for the sake of simplicity I`ll project Jeter for the SS segment of these posts and Cano for the 2B segment.

Jeter quietly had a solid year but clearly declined from the last two. His .322/.388/.452/.300 (BA/OBP/SLG%/EQA) line was a decline from his MVP type 2006 but still very good for a SS. His defensive skills also have declined even worse. The many double plays he grounded into in the playoffs also earned him some criticism (shocking isn't it). He`s still a very good player and one of the best middle infielders in baseball but he`s declining. His range at shortstop is especially showing decline. Its time to switch his position with Cano.

His off-year last year was a start of a trend I think. It won't be a quick decline and I think he`ll essentially repeat last year next year. However, they need to do something about his terrible defense.

How many times did you see balls go up the middle that he missed that ended up being critical hits last season? On the other hand, how many times did you see Cano grab (base) balls going up the middle that otherwise would have been hits? The opportunites to save or allow those hits are more numerous at shortstop than at second. Derek is still a fantastic hitter but he can't field. Keep in mind this projection is just a ballpark figure made knowing generally how WARP3 is scaled but without knowing the actual formula for WARP3 or using an actual projection system.

2007 WARP3- 8.8

2008 WARP3- 8.8

Win Change- 0

No comments: