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| B.J. Upton |
I keep reading the contract agreement the Atlanta Braves struck with
outfielder B.J. Upton today is a sweet deal for the Braves, but I'm not really
seeing it that way. Sure Upton has some power and provides a right-handed bat in
the Braves' lineup chock full of lefties, but the center fielder's numbers are
a bit sporadic.
Old-school stat guys might yell tommyrot at a .246 hitter –
that's what the 28-year old hit last season in Tampa – getting a contract worth
$75 million over five years. And I tend to agree.
Upton hasn't hit .300 since 2007 – he hit exactly that number that year –
and he hasn't come close to sniffing that mark sense. Upton's on-base
percentage is nothing great, but his OPS remains strong.
You can also argue that Upton is a good stolen base guy, and you'd be
right. He swiped 31 this season, but that number has steadily declined each
year from 44 in 2008, to 42 each in 2009 and 2010, to 36 in 2011.
And what about Upton's plate discipline? His walks fell to 45 this season
from 71 in 2011. That's the second time he has had a drastic drop in walks.
Upton fell from 97 in 2008 to 57 in 2009. But, to be fair, you can also note
the Virginia native walks jumped from that 57 mark to 67 in 2010 and to 71 in
2011.
On ESPN's
Sweetspot blog today, David Schoenfield notes Upton is swinging at a lot more
balls outside the strike zone, from 17 percent in 2008 to 30 percent in 2012.
See what I mean? Bossman Junior is a bit sporatic!
*****
As I finished writing the above post, I noticed a tweet from MLB Network
saying it is carrying live the Braves' press conference announcing the Upton
signing. Pish posh. (What is it with me and these old school words today?)
*****
Speaking of the Braves, is there anything more annoying than that stupid
tomahawk chop? Yes, yes, I know. I'm a Nationals fan.
*****
Happy birthday to Vin Scully, who turns 85 today. I could listen to Vin
talk about bowel movements, but I'd prefer he didn't. But at his age, bowel
movements may be trending pretty high on the list of his daily thoughts and
conversations. Heck, I'm 41 and I talk about… never mind.
*****
I was looking through some old baseball cards the other day and, as I
looked at the back of my '58 Topps Pee Wee Reese card, was reminded of the
greatness of those old cartoons that once appeared on the backs of ball cards.
After doing a little research, I found Jim Caple had written about the subject.
Caple's column was published in the summer of 2011, so you may have already
read it. But if you're slow getting to things like I can be, here's
the link.
*****
I wrote yesterday in favor of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens being inducted
into the baseball Hall of Fame while at the same time thinking there's no way
those two will be going to Cooperstown anytime soon. We've been hearing for
years the baseball writers will not vote in Bonds and Clemens with all the
suspicions of their performance enhancement drug use. However, it seems a lot
of other people, perhaps thinking a little clearer with PEDs not so fresh on
our minds, are learning toward inducting the two super star players.
*****
I was listening to Mike and Mike do a SportsCenter update as I was parking
my car at work this morning. At the end of the update, Mike Greenberg mentioned
two baseball stories; one was the Upton signing and I forget the other. But it
struck me the negativity in which he mentioned those two stories. That seems to
happen a lot on ESPN Radio. God forbid there be baseball news in the middle of yet
another conversation about elite quarterbacks. Just stick with your Colin Kaepernick / Alex
Smith debate, guys. We can find our baseball news elsewhere without hints of
disgust.
Let me just
say this: I love Mike and Mike. They have an excellent show, but the football
talk, and I really like football, tends to be a little over done.
*****
On the positive side of the talk radio spectrum, I tuned in to WFAN this
morning and, here at the end of November, caught a little baseball conversation.
That'll happen a lot on WFAN, particularly overnights. Sure, it can be a lot of
David Wright contract talk, but it's still baseball talk, and a good alternative
when you need a break from ranking the elite QBs.
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