Three Facts: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 13, 2009 11:50 AM EST

And now for something completely different.

Laaofdefense_medium

The y-axis is the sum of fielding (bUZR) and positional runs. In this case, the longer the bar, the worse the defense. That means, of the Angels five outfielders and their last 25 defensive seasons, only six times did those players manage to finish above zero runs contributed. In the last three years its happened only once.

The Angels also have Reggie Willits, but with five millionaire outfielders and only four spots (including DH) to play them, how much time is Willits going to possibly see? On any given day the Angels could field two players worth an average of -20 runs over the last three seasons and three players between -5 and -8 runs.

The Angels had a better staff ERA (4.00) than FIP (4.12) last season. I wouldn't bet on that repeating.

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Comments

yikes!

I see doubles.

I'm starting to like our bullpen......Wuertz and all.

by scatterbrian on Feb 13, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions

I swear I didn't hit "Post" twice

And I didn’t preview either. Maybe I refreshed a page? Or hit the “back” button?

by NorCalRangersFan on Feb 13, 2009 3:54 PM EST reply actions

the Angels play the game the right way!

Toriii Hunter is one of the best players out there! He was one of the best four center fielders in the AL Central when he was in MIN!

He was such a big loss to that division!

To demonstrate Hunter’s awesomeness and total non-overratedness, here’s (selected) AL Central CF War (via Fangraphs, of course)

2005:
G-Size 5.1
David DeJesus 4.2
Aaron Rowand 4.0
Toriiii Hunter 2.4

2006:
Grady Sizemore 7.5
DDJ 4.0
Curtis Granderson 3.8
Toriiiii Hunter 2.1

2007:
Curtis Granderson 7.5
Grady Sizemore 5.8
Toriiiiii Hunter 3.1
David of Our Lord 2.6

2008:
G-Size 6.8
Curtis Granderson 3.5
Don’t Mess With Dejesus 3.0
Toriiiiiii Hunter 2.3

Bringing you more-or-less replacement level analysis and commentary since sometime in 2008.

by Matt Klaassen on Feb 14, 2009 1:41 AM EST reply actions

As a Twins fan, I was sad to see Hunter go, but I knew his contract was far above and beyond his value. Behind those numbers you post above, Hunter has been consistent offensively, posting wOBA of .351, .353, .353 the past three years, batting runs around +11 to +13.

Hunter’s fielding has fallen off sharply. UZR/150 of -12.8, -6.1, -13.0 those last three years.

Another comparison from fangraphs:

Torii Hunter: +13.3 batting, -11.3 fielding, +20.3 replacement, +1.1 position = +23.4 RAR / +2.3 WAR
Carlos Gomez: -15.8 batting, +15.4 fielding, +20.5 replacement, +2.4 position = +22.4 RAR / +2.2 WAR

Save $16M in salary and take a 1 run hit in value…there’s one reason the Twins didn’t miss Hunter very much in 2008.

by Adam Peterson on Feb 15, 2009 7:46 AM EST up reply actions