I wouldn't say ignorant either... if they know how the game works, like sacs are good and stuff, they are normal... while saber knowledge goes towards expertise.
2011 OBP:
Barney: .321
Soriano: .299 (WTF? I didn't think it was that low!)
Sacs are good? That's news to me.
I said walks at the same rate as Soriano, not gets on base. Kudos again on the whole reading thing.
2011 OBP:
Barney: .321
Soriano: .299
NL Average OBP: .319
MLB Average OBP: .320
So he's average, not terrible at getting on.
He is average. However, let's look at OPS or wOBA and you will see that he is below average.
I don't think he is a good fielder for LF. Just because there are other bad fielders playing LF doesn't mean Soriano is good. I say that based upon watching him play. He was always a guy that relied on athleticism more than instincts and not that a lot of that athleticism is gone he looks really bad out there.
Stats also don't paint a pretty picture. UZR of 0.8 is really pretty bad. There are worst ones out there, but he isn't good at fielding. His 4 errors isn't exactly great either with only Juan Pierre having more amongst LFs.
OBP is one of many tools to measure a player's worth. Here is another measure 2011 SLG:
Barney: .359
Soriano: .529
Having a high OBP is always a good thing, and my preference would be to load the team with guys with high OBP. However, it isn't the only necessary skill, and guys that can hit for power have value even if their OBP is really, really low.
I would disagree with that statement. It's all in comparison to the position. In comparison to the position, Soriano is above average.
Yeah, 4 errors is 2nd most for LFers, but consider in relation to Soriano himself. Since 07, he has been worth -7.9 runs because of his errors. The next person... -3.6. He has made 12 more errors than anyone else in LF in that time span. So considering that he has been worth more than -1 runs(-0.9 I believe) from errors, that's really saying something. But, a UZR of 0.8 is average. That's not bad at all.
No that's the only that needs to be said. Pujols has been the best hitter for the last decade. Soto had 2 decent years and 2 crappy years.
I said that he was a beast last year. Not his career.
Braun is NOT a shitty LF. He can hit a lot more than Soriano can dream of. He's not the best fielder, but his bat more than makes up for it.
We're talking about defense here. Bats are irrelevant. Braun is a shitty LFer. He makes Soriano look like a God.
Soriano missed 3 weeks this season. It's like saying Blake Dewitt has 0 errors in the outfield, so therefore he is a good LF
Soriano has also missed time in each of his other seasons with the team.
I think Barney has decent plate discipline that he can take a walk if it's there. The problem is that when he's in the #2 spot and you know he probably won't get more than a base at a time on a ball in play, you might as well pepper the strike zone and hope for the best. That's part of the reason I think he's not walking as much.
Barney said something along the lines of "I take walks in strides." That right there gives me no confidence in his ability to take a walk. I will believe that one when I see it.
