Wednesday, January 26, 2005
1B Or Not 1B...
… that is not the question, at least for the Diamondbacks.
The D-Backs signed Tony Clark to a one-year, $750,000 contract. This means that the Diamondbacks finally have a "true" first baseman on the team. Of course, they have no less than four "faux" first basemen in their starting lineup -- Troy Glaus, Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, and the starting first baseman (for the first time), Chad Tracy -- so the purpose for the signing is not entirely clear to me. According to Win Shares, Tony Clark is, surprisingly enough, average (8 Win Shares, 1 WSAA, or 0 WSAA if you adjust Win Shares for Pythagorean totals, which inflate every 2004 Yankees player total by nearly 12%). Of course, Clark's offensive VORP is just 5.7, so there's a limit to his averageness. Again, I'm not quite sure what the point is, given this surplus of potential first basemen. There may be another shoe or two left to drop.
Given Clark's signing, it seems like Robbie Hammock is destined to start the season at Tucson. Why have another utility infielder? Of course, that means that Kelly Stinnett might actually be in Phoenix come April, which means that Cintron or Kata might be starting the season at Tucson, too (if not in some other organization as part of a CF trade, though that possibility seems to fade away daily).
I'll try to have some more stuff throughout the week, so check back...
The D-Backs signed Tony Clark to a one-year, $750,000 contract. This means that the Diamondbacks finally have a "true" first baseman on the team. Of course, they have no less than four "faux" first basemen in their starting lineup -- Troy Glaus, Shawn Green, Luis Gonzalez, and the starting first baseman (for the first time), Chad Tracy -- so the purpose for the signing is not entirely clear to me. According to Win Shares, Tony Clark is, surprisingly enough, average (8 Win Shares, 1 WSAA, or 0 WSAA if you adjust Win Shares for Pythagorean totals, which inflate every 2004 Yankees player total by nearly 12%). Of course, Clark's offensive VORP is just 5.7, so there's a limit to his averageness. Again, I'm not quite sure what the point is, given this surplus of potential first basemen. There may be another shoe or two left to drop.
Given Clark's signing, it seems like Robbie Hammock is destined to start the season at Tucson. Why have another utility infielder? Of course, that means that Kelly Stinnett might actually be in Phoenix come April, which means that Cintron or Kata might be starting the season at Tucson, too (if not in some other organization as part of a CF trade, though that possibility seems to fade away daily).
I'll try to have some more stuff throughout the week, so check back...
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