Thursday, February 02, 2006
Dodgers - Well, he used to be a Dodger
The Boston Red Sox, appauled by the idea of a skilled defensive shortstop, have been looking around. They have been looking around ever since the 2003-2004 offseason. When they were pursuing A-Rod, they essentially signaled that they were not satisfied with Nomar, then the face of the Red Sox. They then shuffled around, not re-establishing the team at that position. Now they are dissatisfied with Alex Cora, which may mean he'll be a Dodger again in a couple of years.
Unfortunately, there's not a lot on the market without a trade. And with Miggy for Manny unlikely, Boston has been reduced to looking at Alex Gonzalez. The Alex Gonzalez who played for the Marlins in 2003.
The problem is, he's barely a step up over Cora. In fact, he's more likely to be a step down. By the numbers:
Career Stats (from Baseball-Reference.com)
Batting AVG
Cora: .244
Gonzo: .245
Slugging
Cora: .349
Gonzo: .391
On Base %
Cora: .310
Gonzo: .291
Strikeout-Walk Ratio
Cora: 1.83 to 1
Gonzo: 3.95 to 1
Fielding % (at shortstop)
Cora: .970
Gonzo .968
***
One final statistic: quality of pitchers who gave up their most famous home run. While Gonzales has been known to pop a few more than Cora, neither is known as being a power hitter, or much of a hitter at all with career batting averages under .250. Gonzales' most famous home run was off Jeff Weaver in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, which granted was a great clutch move. Cora's was at the end of an 18-pitch at bat off Matt Clement. Comparing the performances of those two pitchers last year:
Weaver 14-11, ERA 4:22, 35 HR
Clement 13-6, ERA 4.57, 18 HR
And Weaver pitched in the NL West, a much weaker division than the AL East, where Clement pitched.
Gonzo may not make the team. Cora may have his best year yet. Either way, the Red Sox will face a challenge from Toronto, who made good moves in the offseason, Baltimore, who has Leo Mazzone to work on 4 starting pitchers born in the 80s, Tampa Bay, who will try to start a fight with them again for no reason, and the Yankees, who will sign Barry Bonds as their DH in 2007 for $100,000,000. Granted, though, it is expected that Boston will try to hit grounders up the middle and go for doubles, provided that Johnny Damon does not pull a reverse Sampson and become stronger after cutting his hair.
Unfortunately, there's not a lot on the market without a trade. And with Miggy for Manny unlikely, Boston has been reduced to looking at Alex Gonzalez. The Alex Gonzalez who played for the Marlins in 2003.
The problem is, he's barely a step up over Cora. In fact, he's more likely to be a step down. By the numbers:
Career Stats (from Baseball-Reference.com)
Batting AVG
Cora: .244
Gonzo: .245
Slugging
Cora: .349
Gonzo: .391
On Base %
Cora: .310
Gonzo: .291
Strikeout-Walk Ratio
Cora: 1.83 to 1
Gonzo: 3.95 to 1
Fielding % (at shortstop)
Cora: .970
Gonzo .968
***
One final statistic: quality of pitchers who gave up their most famous home run. While Gonzales has been known to pop a few more than Cora, neither is known as being a power hitter, or much of a hitter at all with career batting averages under .250. Gonzales' most famous home run was off Jeff Weaver in Game 4 of the 2003 World Series, which granted was a great clutch move. Cora's was at the end of an 18-pitch at bat off Matt Clement. Comparing the performances of those two pitchers last year:
Weaver 14-11, ERA 4:22, 35 HR
Clement 13-6, ERA 4.57, 18 HR
And Weaver pitched in the NL West, a much weaker division than the AL East, where Clement pitched.
Gonzo may not make the team. Cora may have his best year yet. Either way, the Red Sox will face a challenge from Toronto, who made good moves in the offseason, Baltimore, who has Leo Mazzone to work on 4 starting pitchers born in the 80s, Tampa Bay, who will try to start a fight with them again for no reason, and the Yankees, who will sign Barry Bonds as their DH in 2007 for $100,000,000. Granted, though, it is expected that Boston will try to hit grounders up the middle and go for doubles, provided that Johnny Damon does not pull a reverse Sampson and become stronger after cutting his hair.
Labels: Dodgers
# posted by StolenMonkey86 @ 4:35 PM 
