For Better Or Worse Skip Schumaker Left to Field At Second Base
by Tommy Rancel on May 11, 2009 10:08 AM EDT
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PrintThe transition from corner outfielder to second base isn't going as smooth as the Cardinals or Skip Schumaker wanted. I know this is shocking news, but after making the switch less than three months ago, Schumaker ranks amongst the worst defensive second basemen in the major leagues. His UZR of -5.1 ties Dan Uggla of the Marlins for worst in the league and his -5.6 RngR is dead last. Surprisingly, he only has one error and a .990 fielding percentage, but I'll save that stuff for Ruben Amaro Jr. to build his team off of.
After the Cardinals sudden release of Adam Kennedy, who caught on with the Tampa Bay Rays and has now replaced Mark Ellis in Oakland, the Cardinals were in need of a second basemen. With too many outfielders, they picked Schumaker to make the transition. To this point Schumaker has been above average with the stick hitting .307/.366/.406, but the negatives on defense out weight the offensive numbers and Schumaker has had a negative value (-0.4 WAR) overall in 2009.
The Cards do have a few players in Joe Thurston and Brendan Ryan, who project to be above average or at least average second basemen, but Ryan isn't much of a hitter and Thurston has been the primary starter for the team at third base. Unless St. Louis tries another radical change and move Thurston to second base and Schumaker to third, it looks like the outfield to second base experiment will continue. Of course to be fair to all parties involved, less than 30 games is a small sample size, and it still has chance to succeed with more time, however the results thus far have been less than satisfactory. Who knew?
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Hey Look
I think Mark Grudzielanek is unemployed (defense) and Ray Durham (offense)
by Hambone Willis on May 11, 2009 11:00 AM EDT reply actions
They could've probably asked the Rays for Kennedy back since they are already paying him ~4 mil.
www.draysbay.com
by Tommy Rancel on May 11, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions
YA!
We’ve already got another tumor (TLR)!
Future Redbirds - tracking Cardinal prospects for Cardinal Nation
I don't either
St. Louis Cardinals... defying win expectancy since 2008
by vivaelpujols on May 11, 2009 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Agree
It’s painful to watch any or all of the following:
-Letting starters stay in way too long in innings 1 -5, just to ‘get the W’
-Starting players based on small-sample head-to-head matchups
-Hit-and-run (in general)
-Starting guys when they are obviously struggling
-“Giving a breather” to guys who are on hitting the ball well
-Referring to injuries as either “barking” or an “ouchy”
Anyone else can feel free to add on. For these and other reasons I can think of, I’ve started referring to him as “Hunchy.” He’s Hunchy LaRussa (hlr).
Not a Cards fan,but I've heard of
using Trever Miller vs. RHB and you can’t be serious on
Referring to injuries as either "barking" or an "ouchy"
www.draysbay.com
by Tommy Rancel on May 11, 2009 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions
let LOOGYS be LOOGYS
what also bothers me is his fixation with lineups. i’ve read he stays up all night sometimes, figuring out a lineup for the next game. as most of us here know, they don’t matter all that much.
godfather of futureredbirds.net
Forgot about Trever Miller
There was a game a few weeks ago in Chicago where Miller faced to RHB and gave up a double and a home run, allowing the Cubs to come back into the game (and eventually win).
Wow I really don't understand all the hatered twoard Tony here
Wow what has Tony ever done while managing the Cardinals except win? He has taken the Cardinals to 2 world series and numerous playoff berths. Basically equaling what Cox has done in ATL with far less talent. The pitching that the Cardinals have given him to work with is ridiculous. Not to mention the million crappy bench/reserve players he has had to plug in year after year, and guess what the Cardinals keep winning.
Lets see about the list of lightbulb’s complaints:
-lets starts pitch too long; really any actual proof to that or does he just try to not ware out the bullpen in April?
-small sample sizes; at least he has a menthod, I would rather Mather play against a guy hes 9-12 lifetime against then Skip who is 0-10. Guess what small sample size or not sometimes guys can just hit certain pitchers
-Hit and run: really? that’s a complaint!
-starting guys who struggle; (only applies to good players by the way) Yes I guess you would rather the player sit on the bench to work out of a slump?
-Not sure if you meant breathers to guys hitting well or not so I can’t respond
-the injury thing is ridiculousness and is an organization problem from head to toe not just TLR
He has taken the Cardinals to 2 world series and numerous playoff berths.
You are confusing La Russa with Albert Pujols. And Chris Carpenter. And Scott Rolen.
Get it?
Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting
don't forget Edmonds
St. Louis Cardinals... defying win expectancy since 2008
by vivaelpujols on May 17, 2009 1:32 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't know enough specifics to make significant points here...
But 9-12 lifetime vs. 0-10 lifetime really is meaningless. Go with the better hitter modified for L/R and GB/FB platoon splits.
Isn’t another complaint that he pisses off a lot of players?
And I’m not a fan of the 2 WS arguments. One, the playoffs is a crapshoot and two, his Cards made the playoffs with 82 wins. You don’t get much credit for that accomplishment, just how that team did compared to what you’d have expected it to.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
...
Not to mention the million crappy bench/reserve players he has had to plug in year after year
He doesn’t “have” to plug them in, he elects to. A perfect example of that is this year when he had an opening day roster with 5 middle infielders on it, when guys like Mather, Craig and Barton were in AAA.
St. Louis Cardinals... defying win expectancy since 2008
by vivaelpujols on May 17, 2009 1:35 AM EDT up reply actions
Where are you getting or how are you calculating his WAR?
And what is Kennedy’s?
Can we please stop making assumptions based on 25 games of UZR data?
You should well know that even a full season UZR rating isn’t conclusive (MGL even said 2 seasons of fielding = 1 season of hitting), and updating UZR ratings in “real time” is foolish. I have watched pretty much every Cardinals game this year, and while Schumaker hasn’t looked great, he definitely hasn’t looked as bad his -30 UZR/150 would indicate. I would cautiously call him a -5>X>-10 run defender, which coupled with slightly above average offense and the positional adjustment for his time at second, would make him roughly a league average player.
St. Louis Cardinals... defying win expectancy since 2008
Thats why we put
Of course to be fair to all parties involved, less than 30 games is a small sample size, and it still has chance to succeed with more time.
www.draysbay.com
by Tommy Rancel on May 11, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd believe
the -5 range runs, though. This might get better if his jumps on balls improve, but overall I feel like he might end up at -12.5 runs on defense because of his limited range.
Now, I recall reading about Chase Utley’s ridiculous +/- last year and reading that his positioning had much to do with that inflated stat. Maybe the Cards could work around Skip’s defensive liabilities somehow.
"Never judge a taco by its price" - Dr. Gonzo
UZR is conclusive on what has been done, it’s just not necessarily predictive.
The UZR/150 calculations are based off DG, which is based off the distribution of balls in play. It’s actually a little different, because DG isn’t exactly the same for ARM and DP as the one shown on the site, and there’s not really room to show those, so UZR/150 is actually not possible to replicate using only the stats available to you on the site.
At the beginning of the season people were noting stuff like +UZR and either + or – UZR/150, and that comment was posted in response to it. I originally assumed that UZR/150 was a simple extrapolation of the player’s current UZR to a 150 game rate, but apparently it isn’t.
how did you come to that conclusion
based on what you quoted, here?
- "I went at it and didn’t slow down, so it kind of bounced off me." -Lil' Dunc
It sort of is.
But you have to define what a “game” is. In UZR terms, a game is a set number of defensive opportunities, different for each position. Two players might play in ten real games, but receive a different number of fielding opportunities, so one gets credited with 8 UZR “games” and the other with 12 UZR “games”.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
Has anyone actually watched him play?
I have seen quite a few cardinals games this year and he just doesn’t look that bad. I really can’t remember ever yelling about him not getting to a ball he should have. In fact it looks like he has pretty decent range for someone who has been a 2nd basemen for 3 months. Not to mention the guy has a huge arm for a 2B.
The opposite for me...
He’s looked really really bad. His range is nonexistent, he dives for balls that other 2bs would just bend over and get, and every time he throws to Albert, I hold my breath.
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