Tangotiger's Defensive Rankings

Tangotiger is one of the most well-respected figures in the stats/sabermetrics scene. In August of 2007, he put the ballots out for fan-scounting reports on defensive players. Here is the result.

My thoughts...the league average in agreement level is .71. Of the 16 players who were looked at, 11 were given a reasonable agreement level. I'm going to look at the handful that weren't.

Ryan Langerhans - .64 aggreement - Langer is an interesting case. Defensively, he looks extremely solid, but his defensive metrics have never been that wonderful. Of criticism seems to be his throws - every step of them. Range-wise, he seems to have it down pat and has great instincts, but while he doesn't have a Juan Pierre noodle arm, he doesn't have a great one either.

Chipper Jones - .59 agreement - For Chipper, it's always been the old debate that we see with our own eyes. He does one thing particularly well, or so it seems. He can charge the bouncer and make an accurate throw. This much appears true. And his instincts, possibly the reason he started at shortstop and stayed there for so long, are solid. He just has slow reaction time. I've heard anywhere between "horrible" to "Gold Glove calibar" defense when describing Chipper this year. I think he's a bit below-average, but he was as good this year as he has been in some time. Still believe he's more of a Vinny Castilla type, though.

Chris Woodward - .53 agreement - Talk about a guy who doesn't really do anything well. They grade Woody at third, but you can essentially grade him the same at any position. I have never seen a former shortstop turned utility man who can't play any position with any sort of talent. Usually, they were playing short for a reason. Not Woody. He was horrid. What was there not to agree with? Maybe some felt he sucked even more.

Julio Franco - .62 agreement - Juliold is the kind of guy who is well valued by his manager and talked up too much. If you ever watch Julio attempt to field, one thought goes through your head. "This is why they invented the DH." When I heard people talk up his defense on his return, I was flatout shocked. Did they actually believe Julio was going to provide much of a defensive lift? Seriously, this is where the disconnect between Bobby and the fans needs to be. I'm not sure whether Cox actually believes Franco is so good defensively or he was dire need of something good to say when asked about the old man, but he sucks.

Scott Thorman - .60 agreement - In truth, I think Thor is as defensively inept as Franco. I think he displays better instincts, though I agree Franco is a better thrower and does the 3-1 throw better. Too many times, Thor was throwing it at the pitcher, not leading the pitcher.

When looking back at 2006's scouting reports, a player who saw a good amount of change was Matt Diaz. In '06, he was graded a 28. This year, a 34. While not a massive improvement, I admit, the one big thing is that his instincts were graded much higher. This allows him to take much better routes. If defense was keeping him out of the lineup, at least he is closing in the gap.

Anyway, I'll be likely working till the end of the week so I'll continue my reviews and such then.

A-Z Reviews: L

Ryan Langerhans
-There is no bow to put on Langer's season in which he was traded twice and designated for assignment once. I had some high hopes coming in for Langer. After his rookie season of '05 in which he hit .267/.248/.426 was followed by a much worse year in '06, I was hoping he could rebound in '07. What happened...was horrible. After an incredible spring, Langer went 3 for 44 with the Braves before his trade to the A's, who traded him a few days later to the Nationals. Overall, Langer hit .167 last year. I have certain hope in Langer, built by him making an All-Star Game for me in OOTP and the fact that he was getting benched for the likes of Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi in '05. I still miss him a bit.

2008 Outlook: Langer is in a very tough place. One, the Nationals will likely attempt to be players in the free agent market to open their park with a flourish. Two, Langer is arbitration eligible and after a season like he just had, you tend to close the door and move on. But I'm hoping Langer signs somewhere that will let him have a real shot at winning a fourth outfielder job.

Wilfredo Ledezma
-In a strange deal last year, Schuerholz traded Macay McBride for Wilfredo Ledezma. It almost seemed like he said, "ya know, what the hell? I like alfredo sauce and his name rhymes." Friends don't let friends make deals under the influence. Ledezma, who was never that good the Tigers got worse after the trade, posting a 7.71 ERA, before the Braves said bye bye and DFA'd him. A few days later, he was packaged with Will Startup in another "huh?" deal for Royce Ring. The traded netted the Braves a LOOGY...for a potential LOOGY and another guy. Maybe Ledezma is code for really messed up deals.

2008 Outlook: He sucks, who cares? Though, knowing the Braves, how much you want to bet he turns into an average starter that Braves fans look at as an actual improvement over what we start? (see Minor, Zach) I couldn't actually find a picture of Ledezma as a Brave...so...I used this nice picture of a black hole because...he might be in there.

Anthony Lerew
-Lerew was masterful in his first start on May 8th against the light-hitting Pads, striking out seven and allowing just two solo homers over six innings. However, that was only good enough for a no-decision as the Braves would win later 3-2. However, he failed to even pitch six innings in his next two starts, sucking against the Pirates (oh, vey) and the Red Sox (understandable) before a sore elbow was reported and Lerew hit the DL. Two months later, after it hadn't got better, he went the Tommy John way. Before his callup, Lerew was *decent* with Richmond.

2008 Outlook: He likely is targeting a September '08 return. His second half is shot and he will have to work his way back into the team, unlike players like Hampton and Gonzo, who if healthy are on the team. If he appears in one major league game, he has had a remarkable year.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe...

Ryan Langerhans comes back with a fury!!!!!

Four days after scoring the winning run in a Nationals walk-off victory as a pinch runner, Langer attempts to start a seven-run rally all by himself with a two-out triple in the bottom of the ninth. Unfortunately for the Nationals, they only have one Langerhans and lost 9-2 to the Braves, but the message was clear.

Ryan Langerhans is back and better than ever.

Yes, technically, Langer was only around for Tuesday's astonishing victory over Florida. He entered after Dimitri Young had walked and scored on a Jesus Flores double, but Langer is one of those guys whose impact is best explained by the unexplainable.

He is to baseball what Larry the Cable Guy is to bad redneck humor. Without him, baseball is incomplete.

Welcome back, Langer. Just when we thought the world was without saviors, Langerhans shows us all that greatness is just a recall away.

A Hug for Langer

Ryan Langerhans is one of those players I can't help but wish good things for. Jeff Francoeur can struggle, succeed, whatever...Yunel Escobar can continue to hit...whatever. But Langer? Man, I never stopped hoping he could get it going this year.

Well, chances are bad for it to happen now. The Nationals designated Langer for assignment Saturday. He will likely either be waived or sent to the minors as it's doubtful the Nats will work a trade for him. He's hitting just .158 on the year with 7 doubles, a triple, and 5 homers, spending most of the year with the Nats. He did post a good OBP and if he could fix whatever holes have developed in his swing, he could still be, at the very least, a good fourth outfielder.

However, struggles like this truly kill a fringe player's career. He will be way down on the depth chart of any franchise he joins, destined to be a AAAA outfielder who won't be on anyone's 40 man roster and will have to have a great Willie Harris type year to get another shot.

But Willie's showing that he could get another shot.

Hopefully, for me, he gets that shot like Willie. With the Braves.

Why I Love Billy Beane

Billy Beane needed outfield help and being the genius he truly is, he basically turned cash into Chris Snelling. The same Snelling who, at just 25, still has a chance to touch his minor league potential (.084 IsoOBP, .164 IsoSLG). And in doing so, he used one of my favorite ballplayers (and irrational man-crush) in Ryan Langerhans.

Last Sunday, the Oakland Athletics traded cash or a player to be named later for Langerhans, allowing the Braves to close the book on the guy they never seemed to truly want to give a real chance to in the first place. In 2005, rather than recognize Langer as the younger and better option, Bobby Cox started Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi around Andruw Jones. If the outfield is a burger, the prime meat was surrounded by soggy buns.

Langerhans would eventually get Cox's trust, or so we thought, but then for no reason, he started Jordan in Game One of the 2005 NLDS against the Astros. Sure, Andy Pettitte was on the mound for the Astros, but if you are going to play that L/R game on me (and don't make me slap you), Langerhans's line against lefthanded pitchers was .293/.369/.431. Jordan's? .263/.329/.408. Langerhans did everything short of fluff Bobby's pillows (take that in anyway you feel necessary).

The next season, more of the same. Langerhans, who played his best after Jordan's injury in 2005 forced Bobby to play him regularly, was put back into a platoon situation and he struggled.

And then, this year. Okay, he sucked. But his value was higher than the Braves got for him. The A's took advantage of the situation and grabbed a slumping outfielder whose value was lower than his production. Billy Beane does that better than anyone. He then turned Langerhans into a better option in Chris Snelling, a former fast-riser in the Seattle organization that was a key part of the Jose Vidro trade to the Mariners. Snelling was hitting .204/.361/.327 for the Nationals in part-time action (47 AB).

Once again, Billy Beane invested $200K-$300K or a fledgling minor leaguer into a former star prospect who has suffered some injuries and put up a 109 OPS+ in limited action last season in his own division.

He's brilliant.

He also got Jack Cust, the perfect DH, to replace Mike Piazza in the lineup after Piazza was hurt. Cust is the classic example of a player in need of an organization and manager perfect for his capabilities to showcase himself. Despite a minor league career in which he has posted an .144 IsoOBP and .229 IsoSLG coming into this year, Cust has a grand total of 144 AB in 70 G to show for his career. He was killing the ball this year for San Diego's AAA club and finally will be given a chance to start at the major league level.

To many who follow the game, the twin Langer deals and trading for Cust mean so little. But look at the moves. Billy Beane made out like a bandit and may have added the offense that his A's club needs so badly. In the meanwhile, just making the deals is not akin to them actually working and proving productive.

Nevertheless, every GM could learn a bit about using market value to their advantage instead of working with market value.