Milledge DFA

[Buehrle>Wood]

No one is going to claim him. He is going to Charlotte and will be back up if anything happens.

Probably. Just saying we have to wait regardless.

[hammerhead johnson]

After two seconds of research, it was easy to see that you only looked at total numbers. I'm talking about how he performs against lefties, and he hits them very well.

 

Except for in what was his only full season, 2008, where he put up a .757 OPS against righties and a .671 OPS against lefties.

 

In 2008, when he had just turned 23 years old?

 

I can't believe that Balta, of all people, is sleeping on these numbers:

 

2010: .926 OPS vs LHP

2009: .820 OPS vs LHP

 

Carlos Quentin is lousy against LHP. They let go of Andruw Jones (.931 OPS vs LHP in 2010), and now Lastings is gone. That's two cheap solutions to the Carlos Quentin problem, and they botched both of 'em.

 

LOL at defense. Carlos is an extreme butcher out there. How much of a drop-off would there be with Lastings? Pat yourself on the back if you even mentioned defense here, good god.

 

Now we get to see Quentin get his ass handed to him whenever there is a left-hander on the mound. Sounds like a great plan.

[elrockinMT]

No one is going to claim him. He is going to Charlotte and will be back up if anything happens.

 

I really have no problem with that, but do you think Gatrell might be making some waves and getting attention at Charlotte? I was kind of impressed with what I saw of him at ST

[elrockinMT]

I don't require people to agree with me to have an opinion. Lillibridge is a joke of a baseball player and I'm personally insulted by anyone who suggests otherwise. I mean like for real. My feelings are hurt.

 

 

Is there a tear in that there eye?

[ScottyDo]

In 2008, when he had just turned 23 years old?

 

I can't believe that Balta, of all people, is sleeping on these numbers:

 

2010: .926 OPS vs LHP

2009: .820 OPS vs LHP

 

Carlos Quentin is lousy against LHP. They let go of Andruw Jones (.931 OPS vs LHP in 2010), and now Lastings is gone. That's two cheap solutions to the Carlos Quentin problem, and they botched both of 'em.

 

LOL at defense. Carlos is an extreme butcher out there. How much of a drop-off would there be with Lastings? Pat yourself on the back if you even mentioned defense here, good god.

 

Now we get to see Quentin get his ass handed to him whenever there is a left-hander on the mound. Sounds like a great plan.

Career .773 OPS isn't great, but it's far from "getting your ass handed to you". He only has ~500 PA's against lefties for his career, so he could very well be better than his numbers have borne out. In fact, I'd suspect that they would be over the long haul. Overall, though, there's not that much of a problem to be fixed. Probably not worth a whole roster spot, either.

 

I get the Lillibridge hate -- he's pretty bad offensively and his baserunning skills leave a lot to be desired -- but seriously, if he were cut and Rios went down, who would play center? Teahen? The thought of that makes me want to gouge my eyes out.

 

Also, I'm not terribly in favor of this move, as someone who was hoping Milledge could break through with us, but why do a handful of people seem to have so much tied up in this guy? We all knew he was marginal. We just signed him to a minimal contract like a month ago on the hopes that we won the lottery, I don't get the outcry.

[hammerhead johnson]

Career .773 OPS isn't great, but it's far from "getting your ass handed to you". He only has ~500 PA's against lefties for his career, so he could very well be better than his numbers have borne out. In fact, I'd suspect that they would be over the long haul. Overall, though, there's not that much of a problem to be fixed. Probably not worth a whole roster spot, either.

 

Nice try, but he has barely cleared the Mendoza line in each of the past two seasons vs LHP. Do you watch these games? He looks terrible out there.

[ScottyDo]

Nice try, but he has barely cleared the Mendoza line in each of the past two seasons vs LHP. Do you watch these games? He looks terrible out there.

How is a citation of fact a "nice try"?

[hammerhead johnson]

How is a citation of fact a "nice try"?

 

Your citation of fact puts a lot of weight into his 2008 season. The league has figured him out since then. He can't hit lefties worth a damn.

 

[ScottyDo]

Your citation of fact puts a lot of weight into his 2008 season. The league has figured him out since then. He can't hit lefties worth a damn.

Your citation of fact puts a lot of weight into injury-plagued/mentally deranged seasons. The fact of the matter is we don't have enough data to definitively say "this guy sucks against lefties". 530 PA's isn't really all that much--it's akin to someone having a bad 3/4 of a season. It could happen to anyone.

 

Take a guess at Q's career BABIP against lefties.

 

Answer: .198. And he still put up an OPS over .750.

 

Come on, man, you just ribbed someone for not picking up on the numbers, but you're throwing batting average and the eye test out there.

[hammerhead johnson]

Your citation of fact puts a lot of weight into injury-plagued/mentally deranged seasons. The fact of the matter is we don't have enough data to definitively say "this guy sucks against lefties". 530 PA's isn't really all that much--it's akin to someone having a bad 3/4 of a season. It could happen to anyone.

 

Take a guess at Q's career BABIP against lefties.

 

Answer: .198. And he still put up an OPS over .750.

 

Come on, man, you just ribbed someone for not picking up on the numbers, but you're throwing batting average and the eye test out there.

 

Wow, maybe the organization thinks like you do, which is why we don't have someone who can fill in for Quentin against LHP. You think that BABIP is gonna come way up against lefties this year, huh? I guess it was just bad luck for him to hit in the .210 range against LHP in both 2009 and 2010.

 

The eye test means nothing, despite the fact that DVR capabilities = no games missed.

 

Keep telling yourself that it's gonna be okay.

[southsider2k5]

Nice try, but he has barely cleared the Mendoza line in each of the past two seasons vs LHP. Do you watch these games? He looks terrible out there.

 

Andruw Jones was just cited in this thread, right?

[hammerhead johnson]

Andruw Jones was just cited in this thread, right?

 

.931 OPS against lefties in 2010.

[Milkman delivers]

After two seconds of research, it was easy to see that you had only looked at Juan Pierre's handedness. I'm talking about how he performs against lefties, and he hits them very well.

 

With absolutely no power, which is a main point here.

[southsider2k5]

.931 OPS against lefties in 2010.

 

You were the one just using batting averages... Nice switch back.

[ScottyDo]

Wow, maybe the organization thinks like you do, which is why we don't have someone who can fill in for Quentin against LHP. You think that BABIP is gonna come way up against lefties this year, huh? I guess it was just bad luck for him to hit in the .210 range against LHP in both 2009 and 2010.

The eye test means nothing, despite the fact that DVR capabilities = no games missed.

 

Keep telling yourself that it's gonna be okay.

Luck is exactly what BABIP is measuring, to the extent possible. Luck. How else am I supposed to interpret that stat? A sub-.200 BABIP is unsustainable so I expect that, at some point, his average and OPS vs. lefties will rise, even though you have all of 300 PA's to support your point. Whether that happens this year, I have no idea, that's not how odds work.

[hammerhead johnson]

Luck is exactly what BABIP is measuring, to the extent possible. Luck. How else am I supposed to interpret that stat? A sub-.200 BABIP is unsustainable so I expect that, at some point, his average and OPS vs. lefties will rise, even though you have all of 300 PA's to support your point. Whether that happens this year, I have no idea, that's not how odds work.

 

So, it's not at all possible that he just consistently puts weak crap in play against left-handed pitchers because he's ineffective against 'em? Did that not occur to you? BABIP is not a straight measure of luck. Some players consistently post really weak BABIP averages.

 

And ss2k5, Andruw hit damn near .260 last year against LHP. The point is that he's a hell of a lot more valuable than Carlos against LHP.

[ScottyDo]

Also, if you really wanna get into how terrible TCQ is vs. lefties, the idea that his 2008 OPS is bringing up the mean to some crazy degree is unfounded.

 

Career OPS vs. Lefties: .773

2008: .937

2009: .716

2010: .764

 

His career splits more closely resemble his 2010 than his 2008.

 

Regardless, there just aren't enough PA's and there is too conspicuous a luck factor to make any broad conclusions about his ability to hit lefties, particularly when his numbers are counterintuitive (he bats righty). They DEFINITELY don't warrant a platoon.

[ScottyDo]

So, it's not at all possible that he just consistently puts weak crap in play against left-handed pitchers because he's ineffective against 'em? Did that not occur to you? BABIP is not a straight measure of luck. Some players consistently post really weak BABIP averages.

 

And ss2k5, Andruw hit damn near .260 last year against LHP. The point is that he's a hell of a lot more valuable than Carlos against LHP.

That hypothesis makes sense within a +/- of about 30 points. There is no way that he's so pathetically awful vs. lefties that he can consistently do nothing but pop the ball up to a .200 tune. Especially not with an above-average OPS.

[ptatc]

Also, if you really wanna get into how terrible TCQ is vs. lefties, the idea that his 2008 OPS is bringing up the mean to some crazy degree is unfounded.

 

Career OPS vs. Lefties: .773

2008: .937

2009: .716

2010: .764

 

His career splits more closely resemble his 2010 than his 2008.

 

Regardless, there just aren't enough PA's and there is too conspicuous a luck factor to make any broad conclusions about his ability to hit lefties, particularly when his numbers are counterintuitive (he bats righty). They DEFINITELY don't warrant a platoon.

 

Part of the overall team problem with lefties is that the middle of the order, PK, TCQ and Dunn all hit RHP better than LHP. So even though it looks like the lineup is balanced is isn't. This is why you see the lineup changed against LHP so often. As a team the Sox have problems with LHP especially the "soft tossing" ones.

[Rowand44]

Part of the overall team problem with lefties is that the middle of the order, PK, TCQ and Dunn all hit RHP better than LHP. So even though it looks like the lineup is balanced is isn't. This is why you see the lineup changed against LHP so often. As a team the Sox have problems with LHP especially the "soft tossing" ones.

Konerko hits lefties better than righties.

[greg775]

ever notice that his bat is way too big for him?

 

Yes. Drives me crazy. Use a smaller bat, now.

Edited April 8, 2011 by greg775

[T R U]

Does anyone else love when a bunch of nobodies try to say that someone in the MLB is "terrible" at baseball..

 

Seriously J4L, STFU, Brent Lillibridge would look like Albert Pujols compared to you.. Theres nothing wrong with having a player who can play up to 6 positions on the field and has solid speed to be the 25th man on your roster.. He is what he is, a guy who is gonna pinch run late or be a defensive replacement in the OF late in the game.. At least we can count on him to not walk after a ball he misplayed or to just have it bounce off his glove completely..

 

At least he is busting his ass, at least he can get a bunt down, at least he can be trusted to catch a routine pop fly.. Do I wish we had a bench that was full of .300 hitters? You bet your tits.. but no one does..

[justBLAZE]

Does anyone else love when a bunch of nobodies try to say that someone in the MLB is "terrible" at baseball..

 

Seriously J4L, STFU, Brent Lillibridge would look like Albert Pujols compared to you.. Theres nothing wrong with having a player who can play up to 6 positions on the field and has solid speed to be the 25th man on your roster.. He is what he is, a guy who is gonna pinch run late or be a defensive replacement in the OF late in the game.. At least we can count on him to not walk after a ball he misplayed or to just have it bounce off his glove completely..

 

At least he is busting his ass, at least he can get a bunt down, at least he can be trusted to catch a routine pop fly.. Do I wish we had a bench that was full of .300 hitters? You bet your tits.. but no one does..

 

Thank you.

[witesoxfan]

Does anyone else love when a bunch of nobodies try to say that someone in the MLB is "terrible" at baseball..

 

Seriously J4L, STFU, Brent Lillibridge would look like Albert Pujols compared to you.. Theres nothing wrong with having a player who can play up to 6 positions on the field and has solid speed to be the 25th man on your roster.. He is what he is, a guy who is gonna pinch run late or be a defensive replacement in the OF late in the game.. At least we can count on him to not walk after a ball he misplayed or to just have it bounce off his glove completely..

 

At least he is busting his ass, at least he can get a bunt down, at least he can be trusted to catch a routine pop fly.. Do I wish we had a bench that was full of .300 hitters? You bet your tits.. but no one does..

 

Golfclap.

[qwerty]

You can be a great player at some point, at some level, but no, you do not necessarily have to be at the major league level. Sure, in the grand scheme of things he is better than 99.9% of the world. We are not talking about a softball beer league, college, or the minors. We are discussing the major leagues. There are all different degrees of talent in the spectrum. This clearly goes for all sports. In the major leagues lillibridge has simply been a bad player, and i can't see how that can be disputed.

 

Barring a situation that presents itself, sometimes bad (or worse) players end up making a team... because said team can't find anyone better... at least in their eyes. Also, there really is only so much talent in the league, and someone has to have the brent lillbridge's of the world.

 

To me this is equivalent to saying a certain actor or actress ''can't act''. Are all of them automatically good and better? Do none suck? How can this be? When someone says someone can't act they simply mean in comparison to all the other examples they have witnessed before them. This actor that ''can't act'' on the big screen would blow the average person out of the water. This goes for writers, musicians, chefs. Compared to the rest of the world these professionals can write amazing, sing amazing, etc... i will in no way try to deny that. But to say they can't suck/be horrible comparison to the rest of those in their profession is just silly to me. Why do you ask? Because some honestly do. It's fair game to critique a players skill set in comparison to the rest of the league, i don't see how it can be any other way.