February 10, 200521 yr Chicago White Sox The Import/Export Business: Claiming to fulfill his vow to reinvest the salary saved when Carlos Lee was traded to Milwaukee, GM Kenny Williams signed Tadahito Iguchi from the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks of Japan. Iguchi is a 30-year old right-handed hitting second baseman with impressive power numbers. Here are his stats for the last four seasons: Year AVG OBP SLG HR BB SO -------------------------------- 2001 .261 .346 .475 30 61 117 2002 .259 .317 .423 18 27 84 2003 .340 .438 .573 27 81 81 2004 .333 .394 .549 24 47 90 In Baseball Prospectus 2004, Clay Davenport refined his translations for the Japanese leagues, finding that while batting average translates pretty well, players coming back from Japan show a dramatic loss in power playing in the major leagues. Using Iguchi's statistics through 2003, Davenport translated Iguchi to a .269/.337/.446 hitter stateside--essentially Orlando Hudson (who hit .270/.339/.438 in 2004). Like Hudson, Iguchi also has a golden defensive reputation, and in addition he also steals 30-40 bases a season. Iguchi and his two-year, $5-million contract will replace Willie Harris (.262/.337/.323), relegating the latter to bench duty where he can play both infield and outfield when needed. If Iguchi plays like Hudson did in 2004, the Sox can expect a nice boost from the new second baseman, a jump from Harris's VORP of 5.2 to around Hudson's 27.4, or about two wins. The Sox have claimed that they are using the roughly $8 million saved by sending Lee to Milwaukee on several of their recent free-agent signings, including Iguchi, A.J. Pierzynski ($3.5 million), and Orlando Hernandez ($3.5 million in 2005). Leaving out Hernandez for a minute, we can see quickly if the new hitters acquired have improved the Sox. Because Scott Podsednik's defense has been lauded as one of his strong suits, WARP3--a stat that combines both batting and defense into one stat--is a better measure of what the Sox have gained. Here's everyone's 2004 numbers with Hudson's WARP3 substituted for Iguchi's. Player WARP3 Player WARP3 Net --------------------------------- Lee 8.4 Podsednik 3.6 -4.8 Harris 2.9 Iguchi 6.7 3.8 Davis 0.9 Pierzynski 4.1 3.2 --------------------------------- TOTAL 2.2 Add in Luis Vizcaino (acquired in the Lee deal) and Hernandez and the Sox do look to have come out on top so far this offseason. But there are quite a few variables in play as well. Hernandez pitched well in 2004, but he missed all of the previous season and will likely grab a red light in the upcoming Team Health Reports. Likewise, Iguchi may not prove to be the gloveman that Hudson is and will fall short of that 6.7 WARP3. Toss in Pierzynski's well-rumored clubhouse troubles and there are a few more question marks than normal. But give Williams credit: he appears to have taken the Lee money and put it back in the team rather than just passing it along to ownership. Whether or not the team could have afforded to keep Lee while bringing in Hernandez, Iguchi and Pierzynski is anyone's guess, but it makes for a nice rationale for shipping out one of the team's best hitters.
February 10, 200521 yr Its kind of interesting to see that the sox got better sabermetrically, especially considering that all of the espn big shots (neyer, stark) who are moneyball and billy beane lunatics, have been blasting the sox. Shows how much those morons know. Anyways, the ways that the sox got better this offseason go beyond the numbers as well all know, so it should definately be an interesting regular season. only a week til ST
February 10, 200521 yr i can live with .269, .337,.446, 10-15 hr's, 30-40 sb's, and gold glove caliber defense. oh, hes also a switch hitter. all i know is that i rather have him starting than Harris.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 06:30 PM) i can live with .269, .337,.446, 10-15 hr's, 30-40 sb's, and gold glove caliber defense. oh, hes also a switch hitter. all i know is that i rather have him starting than Harris. Switch hitter?
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 06:30 PM) i can live with .269, .337,.446, 10-15 hr's, 30-40 sb's, and gold glove caliber defense. oh, hes also a switch hitter. all i know is that i rather have him starting than Harris. Did he just learn how to hit left handed?
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(qwerty @ Feb 10, 2005 -> 12:33 AM) Did he just learn how to hit left handed? maybe she is talking about his exual preference?!
February 10, 200521 yr Anyways, the ways that the sox got better this offseason go beyond the numbers as well all know, so it should definately be an interesting regular season. only a week til ST Man!with all the moves k-will made, it would be a HUGE dissapointement if the sox didnt win the division. it gives me shivers thinking about. that will be great for the sox to win the division and have them celebrating at the cell
February 10, 200521 yr i thought he was a switch hitter. on the whitesox.com message boards everyone was talking about him being a switch hitter
February 10, 200521 yr i just checked, yea he bats right only. i read it on the whitesox.com board...
February 10, 200521 yr maybe she is talking about his exual preference?! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Unbelievable, are you nuts, will you please relax.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(JimH @ Feb 10, 2005 -> 12:45 AM) Unbelievable, are you nuts, will you please relax. You know what I am saying
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Feb 10, 2005 -> 12:45 AM) i just checked, yea he bats right only. i read it on the whitesox.com board... Thanks for checking...
February 10, 200521 yr i just checked, yea he bats right only. i read it on the whitesox.com board... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Melissa, I have frequented all three main boards associated with the White Sox. This one, by far, has the most knowledgeable fans. Even quickman can be knowledgeable at times. Sit back, relax, read all the threads and you will soak up a lot of knowledge. The main White Sox board has some decent posters but also a large number of people who think they know what they're talking about but don't.
February 10, 200521 yr Thanks for checking... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Be nice, I know it's hard for you. See my post above for a good example.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(JimH @ Feb 10, 2005 -> 12:48 AM) Be nice, I know it's hard for you. See my post above for a good example. Yea I saw your nice comment about me being nice. Take your own advice chief.
February 10, 200521 yr Yea I saw your nice comment about me being nice. Take your own advice chief. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> All I said was you can be knowledgeable at times, that would be true, yes? I thought about putting that in green, but now that wouldn't be nice ... would it? Are you nuts?
February 10, 200521 yr You misunderstood strong vs both RH & LH for switch-hitter. His splits are posted in another thread somewhere. Where Harris sucks vs LH Iggy is pretty damn good. They both are about even vs RH. Considering the dominant LH pitching in the ALC (Santana, CC) I hope he comes through for us.
February 10, 200521 yr That's one remaining stat analysis I've not looked at. How this team matches up vs both LH & RH pitching vs the 04 team. I think KW's made major gains in that area.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(JimH @ Feb 10, 2005 -> 12:56 AM) All I said was you can be knowledgeable at times, that would be true, yes? I thought about putting that in green, but now that wouldn't be nice ... would it? Are you nuts? Your so sweet.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(JimH @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 06:48 PM) Melissa, I have frequented all three main boards associated with the White Sox. This one, by far, has the most knowledgeable fans. Even quickman can be knowledgeable at times. Sit back, relax, read all the threads and you will soak up a lot of knowledge. The main White Sox board has some decent posters but also a large number of people who think they know what they're talking about but don't. so ive noticed this is the best board...last time i go on the whitesox.com board...
February 10, 200521 yr JMHO, but .269/.337 would be the bottom of the spectrum for Iguchi (if it's true that he switched his stance two years back, improving his AVG/OBP). IIRC, the only correlation (and it's a reach, cause it's such a small sample size) is that BA and OBP go down about .030 percentage points each -- so if you used that correlation to his two past years in Japan, wouldn't he still be about a .300/.380 guy? Personally, I'm predicting right around a .280 AVG/.350 OBP, with 15 homers.
February 10, 200521 yr QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 07:36 PM) JMHO, but .269/.337 would be the bottom of the spectrum for Iguchi (if it's true that he switched his stance two years back, improving his AVG/OBP). IIRC, the only correlation (and it's a reach, cause it's such a small sample size) is that BA and OBP go down about .030 percentage points each -- so if you used that correlation to his two past years in Japan, wouldn't he still be about a .300/.380 guy? Personally, I'm predicting right around a .280 AVG/.350 OBP, with 15 homers. i hope your right. although i could live with .269/.337 i would prefer 280 or so. .269/.337 is a down grade from what willie did last yr.
February 10, 200521 yr Author QUOTE(Melissa1334 @ Feb 9, 2005 -> 07:54 PM) i hope your right. although i could live with .269/.337 i would prefer 280 or so. .269/.337 is a down grade from what willie did last yr. :banghead .446
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