Saturday, April 17, 2004
RETROSPECTACLE
At the beginning of the offseason, Jeremy posted his offseason plan for the Mariners, a plan that I think was a great plan and what I thought was a completely realistic plan. No part of the plan ended up actually happening. Included in that plan is Jose Cruz Jr. We thought his presence would amount to sacrificing a little bit of defense. Pretty much any addition to the Mariner outfield would have been a subtraction from the defense. Of course, I'm not sure when Jeremy's post was made with respect to the Gold Gloves being handed out, because Jose Cruz Jr. did end up getting a Gold Glove for 2003. About a month after Jeremy's post, the Devil Rays picked up Cruz for 2 years and $6M. Jeremy was going to give him the same years and $5-6M. It should be noted that at that time, he would have given Miguel Tejada more money per year than he ended up getting from Baltimore. If Jeremy were your Mariner GM, Miguel Tejada would be a Mariner right now.
Then I posted my case for Jose Cruz Jr. in mid-January about a month after he'd signed with Tampa Bay. My impetus for pleading such a case was just one of many ill-minded quotes spewed forth during the offseason by Bob Finnigan of the Times.
Anyway, in a somewhat noteworthy comparison, though one that screams "small sample size," let's compare Raul Ibanez and Jose Cruz Jr. so far this year.
Raul Ibanez: 8-for-33 (.242), 2 2B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, .316 OBP, .364 SLG; 3yrs $13.25M
Jose Cruz Jr.: 13-for-33 (.394), 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 SB, .474 OBP, .697 SLG; 2yrs $6M
Cruz has also reached base in 29 straight games dating back to last year. Not accurately shown with any stats is the defensive supremacy of Cruz over Ibanez. Yes, I believe Cruz would have done just fine in LF or CF since Randy Winn's arm is crap.
I know it's early and everything but I know which team spent their money wisely -- regardless of how either of these players do -- when it came to these players signing, and the team name translates to Evilday Aysray in Pig Latin.
As for Raul Ibanez, apparently he's supposed to hit really well at the Safe, or that's what I've heard from all of his apologists for the entire offseason and into this season, though the talk has tailed off a bit lately, and rightfully so. Decent pitchers can make him look absolutely stupid and he loves to swing over the top of breaking balls.
Anyway, between the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Mariner game tonight, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs today (Canucks at 7pm), the sports slate is fairly full today (I'm not watching NBA Playoffs yet though, it just doesn't entice me).
Enjoy your Saturday full of sports as I do my stack of dirty dishes and attempt to clean up the apartment.
Then I posted my case for Jose Cruz Jr. in mid-January about a month after he'd signed with Tampa Bay. My impetus for pleading such a case was just one of many ill-minded quotes spewed forth during the offseason by Bob Finnigan of the Times.
Anyway, in a somewhat noteworthy comparison, though one that screams "small sample size," let's compare Raul Ibanez and Jose Cruz Jr. so far this year.
Raul Ibanez: 8-for-33 (.242), 2 2B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 6 K, .316 OBP, .364 SLG; 3yrs $13.25M
Jose Cruz Jr.: 13-for-33 (.394), 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 SB, .474 OBP, .697 SLG; 2yrs $6M
Cruz has also reached base in 29 straight games dating back to last year. Not accurately shown with any stats is the defensive supremacy of Cruz over Ibanez. Yes, I believe Cruz would have done just fine in LF or CF since Randy Winn's arm is crap.
I know it's early and everything but I know which team spent their money wisely -- regardless of how either of these players do -- when it came to these players signing, and the team name translates to Evilday Aysray in Pig Latin.
As for Raul Ibanez, apparently he's supposed to hit really well at the Safe, or that's what I've heard from all of his apologists for the entire offseason and into this season, though the talk has tailed off a bit lately, and rightfully so. Decent pitchers can make him look absolutely stupid and he loves to swing over the top of breaking balls.
Anyway, between the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Mariner game tonight, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs today (Canucks at 7pm), the sports slate is fairly full today (I'm not watching NBA Playoffs yet though, it just doesn't entice me).
Enjoy your Saturday full of sports as I do my stack of dirty dishes and attempt to clean up the apartment.
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