A 26 year old leadoff hitter who put up a .360 OBP and a .753 OPS, while being 40/51 (just under 80%) stolen bases? I'd give that a good number of at bats too.

 

That's like Florida Juan Pierre, not a bad player to have lead off in the NL.

MB is not a elite starter and really is overvalued by Sox fans, he is a mediocre innings eater .500 pitcher at this point. Let MB go somewhere else.

 

3.4 average WAR over the past 5 years and 3.8 this year is not elite, but it is far better than mediocre, and he was 4 games over .500 pitching for an offense that scored the 4th fewest runs in the AL.

 

He may not be worth the salary he is going to command, but it's insane to think the 2012 Sox will be better without him than with him.

Absolutely.

 

And Buehrle is used to that his whole career. Many people still ask how the hell does a guy with mediocre stuff (and even that is being nice) have 2 no hitters (1 was a perfect game) in his career.

 

I have never understood the idea that Mark Buehrle has mediocre stuff. Individually, all of his pitches are mediocre (or worse), but collectively his "stuff" works extremely well and, coupled with his magnificent command, is what makes him an incredible pitcher. He doesn't have #1 "stuff" - he has #3 "stuff" - but it's not mediocre.

 

He has really bad off days because either he is not locating his fastball (and thus, about 2 other pitches due to that) or his command in general is off. That is why he is capable of throwing 2 no hitters, including a perfect game.

A 26 year old leadoff hitter who put up a .360 OBP and a .753 OPS, while being 40/51 (just under 80%) stolen bases? I'd give that a good number of at bats too.

I incorrectly attributed his success in 2011 to a higher walk rate. His walk rate was pretty much in line with the rest of his career. His strong 2011 actually was a result of a .372 BABIP. So, back to his career OBP of .328 next year most likely.

 

 

What on Earth do you have to do to qualify as Type A? Mark Buehrle threw 205 innings with a 3.59 era.

What on Earth do you have to do to qualify as Type A? Mark Buehrle threw 205 innings with a 3.59 era.

 

Is it only based on the last season?

It is based on the last two seasons. Explanation below was found on mlbtraderumors:

 

All players (not just free agents) are put into one of five groups as seen below. Position is designated as the position at which the player appeared the most over the last two seasons.

 

Group 1: first basemen, outfielders, and designated hitters

Group 2: second basemen, third basemen, and shortstops

Group 3: catchers

Group 4: starters

Group 5: relievers

Here are the stat categories used for each of the five position groups.

 

1B/OF/DH: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI

2B/3B/SS: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI, Fielding percentage, Total chances at designated position

C: PA, AVG, OBP, HR, RBI, Fielding percentage, Assists

SP: Total games (total starts + 0.5 * total relief appearances), IP, Wins, W-L Percentage, ERA, Strikeouts

RP: Total games (total relief appearances + 2 * total starts), IP (weighted slightly less than other categories), Wins + Saves, IP/H ratio, K/BB, ERA

 

So I suppose that wins and strikeouts knocked Mark down from A to B.

Is it only based on the last season?

Probably not. Carry on, all.

MB is not a elite starter and really is overvalued by Sox fans, he is a mediocre innings eater .500 pitcher at this point. Let MB go somewhere else.

This is just absurd.

This is just absurd.

 

Yeah, that's pretty bad.

This is just absurd.

 

I think Soxfest has been hanging out with Nolan Ryan or something.