Langerhans era over at last
Wish you were here ... and be nice! | Braves
In the immortal words of Lenny Dykstra... "Great trade! Who'd we get?"
From DO'B:
LANGERHANS TRADED TO OAKLAND.
For cash or a player to be named. Braves are bringing up Willie Harris, who’s batting .362 with a homer and seven RBIs in 17 games at Richmond, and .412 vs. right-handed pitchers.
Bobby says doesn’t know how he’ll use him when I asked if it’d be platoon. But I think it will be.
Harris is playing well but is still Willie Harris, a 29-year-old career .238 .306 .294 hitter. But he can't possibly be worse than Langerhans. Things in Oakland must be worse than I thought. Looking it up, they're hitting .229 .309 .344 as a team and the only outfielder hitting at all is Travis Buck. Still, Langerhans could make it worse.
UPDATE: Full story... Langerhans traded to A's | ajc.com
posted by Mac @ 4/29/2007 06:35:00 PM
90 Comments
90 Comments:
Finally, at least Harris can play both OF and IF and steal bases.
MAC,
Thought you'd love this find:
http://www.ryanlangerhans.com/
Complete with stats "Up-to-date as of 6/08/05"!!!
To the anonymous guy on the last thread:
I liked Langerhans. In fact, I kept saying he would turn it around and I was cheering for him. I have my mind made up, and I still wish he could be a Braves as a fourth outfielder.
Now Willie Harris will get Langerhans' ABs, and equally suck. The only difference is Langerhans is a better outfielder, most likely. Willie Harris had been an infielder up until about 2 years, and it seems like he's picked up an outfielder's glove to get a paycheck.
Go Braves.
Whatever happened to the talk of Brandon Jones??
So, anyone else think a reliever is coming back our way?
Does anybody think Diaz looks like T-2000 playing the outfield?
He can't possibly be as bad as Langerhans. You underestimate the sheer volume of outs Langerhans has committed.
Personally, I would have saved the 40-man roster spot and called up Blanco, but I can understand going with Harris. The Braves don't need to rush Jones right now.
Was Harris on the ChiSox Roster when they won the World Series, i.e. did he get a ring?
I understand, Mac. I know he's been atrociously bad. But the Braves just did an excellent job of selling at the all-time low. Langerhans would have hit better than .071 (I think we can all agree with that), so his value couldn't be any lower right now. If Langerhans could have got something useful, then great, I'd be all for it. But we won't get anything, and his replacement is a 29 year old outfielder/infielder who can't hit. In fact, I think Langerhans' career BA line is better than Willie Harris', and I'm sure Langerhans plays better defense. I mean, I don't see where this helps the Atlanta Braves.
Anon 6:46, I am still advocating a Brandon Jones call up immediately!
Good to finally get a Kennesaw State guy on the team.
I was kind of curious if they would bring up McCarthy. Remember him? He's off to a good start as well. So too is Buddy Hernandez. I feel like I should go over to No Pepper to check it out.
Maybe the Oakland A's will send over enough cash with the PTBNL for us to be able to afford Andruw!
I think a point that can't be argued is that Bobby Cox gave Langerhans more opportunities than any other manager in the league would. And...he still only at three hits.
I know it's difficult when you don't play every day, but going three for forty-something is a sign that something isn't working. The baseball world is full of hungry players, so now we'll have to wait and see.
I think Diaz has the ability to hit well enough and field (this is a stretch) decent enough to deserve a shot at playing everyday.
I'm not sure any team can be a World Series contender by platooning two positions. It's what makes a team like the Mets so scary good.
I really don't like this move. I mean, the only way it makes sense is if Langerhans was out of options (which I suppose is possible) and Oakland is giving us something worthwhile as the PTBNL.
The Willie Harris callup sort of puzzles me, but I guess you try to ride the hot streak here....
Oh, and the loss was rather disappointing.
Does calling up Willie Harris create any chance that Chris Woodward goes away? Harris can play Utility IF, and Woodward is just awful.
Langerhans was out of options
This is an excellent move for Atlanta. Even though they lost today, I'm still happy, because now, Bobby Cox's unwavering loyalty to his players can't possibly allow him to play Willie Harris as much as he played Langerhans.
Diaz playing at least 80% of the games in LF is going to make us better.
How do you know Diaz will play 80% of the games. The Langerhans trade just means that Langerhans won't get the starts against LHPs, not that Diaz will.
bad trade. Langerhans was a quality deffensive sub.
bad loss today. and on top of that, the mets won and are in 1st place once again
I wonder if this deal says anything about Andruw. Langy was slated to be his replacement. JS has been busy signing deals. I will not be surprised if a long-term deal for AJ is announced soon.
Err, excuse me, RHPs, not LHPs. We've seen a lot of lefties so far, and that's why Diaz has played so much. If Bobby still goes with a platoon in left, Willie Harris will probably get a ton of at-bats.
use the AJ money for other players. Id rather have 3 good players then just 1 great player
Sell low, promote NRI garbage. Not excited, unless we could somehow get Halsey, who hates the A's org.
I'd imagine it would be more along the lines of Rich Scalamandre, though. Find the pitcher in the A's organization least likely to make positive contributions at the AAA level (let alone MLB), that's who we'll get. Won't be cash, we're talking Oakland, here.
I realize everyone needs someone to bash, and Langerhans has made it Britney-easy, but looking long-term (even just 2007 season-term), it's a downgrade, unless we do something decent with the empty spot. You don't improve by giving away a limited player with some degree of (quartz in the rough) usefulness and calling up a (tough to find) less useful player.
Of course, any negative impact is very limited, but it's more difficult to trust in the big moves when you can't in the small. Perhaps Bobby just would not have ever started playing Diaz (which is not a lot more than a lateral move for the 2007, all things considered), so maybe it was aimed towards that end in some ways. In that case (meaning that rational thought was involved), why Harris?
Langerhans wasn't going to hit .060 all year, though. If I had to guess, I'd say he hits right around his career averages for the rest of the year, bringing him to around .200, but the first 60 or so AB's aren't coming back, no matter what.
I know I'll be pulling for Harris to go something like 0-4, 3 K's, a FC and getting picked off, and maybe 2 errors for good measure. Anything to dodge the bullet of semi-regular playing time.
Unless this is a help the guy out trade I don't get it. Rob Cope said it best. Play Diaz all the time let Langerhans become the 4th OF. As I said in another thread, it was clear that he is not a starter. But he isn't this bad either. Better than Willie Harris for crying out loud.
Willie isn't going to get a lot of playing time. I think Bobby likes Diaz enough to give him the lion's share of time in LF.
Langerhans is flat out horrible. He was never anything more than a reserve outfielder. He's good defensively and horrible offensively. He's a career .240 hitter with no power. Diaz will hit for a better average with slightly more power and play an "adequate enough" defense to make up for the difference.
Let's face it, we've all been bashing Langerhans all year and now that he's gone, we're complaining still. I don't care if we get a box of barbie dolls in return for him, as long as he's gone and Bobby can't use him anymore.
I'm happy with getting rid of him.
Willie Harris is a career .238/.306/.294 hitter. Langerhans' career line is better than that. Langerhans' is also most like a better defender. Unless Diaz does indeed get the majority of the playing time and Willie Harris plays very little, this trade helps no one, perhaps not even the A's when Bradley, Swisher, and Kielty get back. The only way this trade can be profitable if this was the only way to get Diaz in there full-time, and even then, that was probably going to happen anyway and Langerhans will be a better fourth OFer than Harris.
What sucks is I have about 4 more pages of writing to do for two different classes tonight, and I can't get this boneheaded move out of my head. I hate baseball. :)
I haven't bashed him. Granted, I haven't been around much, but Langerhans is what he is, and that is not what he has shown in 2007. Bench him until he turns it around, perfect, but giving him away (again, unless we get Halsey) makes little sense to me.
If Diaz's offense only "makes up" for the downgrade in defense, then where does the improvement come from? I think I see what you're saying, but I also think it's easy to overrate the real improvement we'll see (not the improvement over 2-45 or whatever that crap was).
Diaz almost had more HBP than walks last year (11 to 9). If his average is hurt by facing righties, a lot of his offensive value is out the window.
He's OK at defense, but he could never do a cheap CF, like perhaps Langerhans could have if he'd turned it around and hit at his averages.
One problem with that idea is that Langerhans has mostly platooned. It was at least a fallback option, though.
Langerhans is the antithesis of a "Money ball" player. Damn they should have given us Charles Thomas back.
Man,...Langerhans is really the anti-moneyball player.
That's the last guy I thought Billy Beane would want.
well...i guess it was nice of bobby to start langy his last day as a Brave.
I'm kinda neutral on this trade. I don't think it really hurts us, or helps us that much. sure, we get the out-machine out of our lineup...but i'm not sure that it fixes the left field problem
Langerhans is undervalued as a CF. Not so good as a LF, obviously, but he does have on-base skills and average CF power when he's not scuffling.
He makes sense for Beane, perhaps not when viewed solely through the particulars of the book, but I would think so when viewed under the general theme of exploiting general market inefficiencies, as well as just picking up a guy who is at the low-point of his value.
Defense is the new OBP.
Eh, Langerhans is a cheap, under-valued player with a high isolated discipline (.094) and that is Moneyball in a nutshell. I may be wrong on that though; I read Moneyball my junior year of high school, so it's been a while. They made a big deal about Scott Hatteberg in the book, and Ryan Langerhans reminds me of him a little bit.
heh, it's kind of ironic. Langerhans finally has a decent day, 1 for 3 with an RBI, and he gets traded.
not that i'm complaining, i just think it's rather amusing
Is that the deal, drewdat? He likes to find under-valued things that still win ballgames (like high OBPs), but I didn't think that defense has taken its place. I suppose I can see it, but when guys like Omar Vizquel will most likely get into the Hall on defensive ability, I didn't think defense was such a market inefficiency.
Ryan's not a Moneyball player? He walked 50 times last year in 369 PAs.
I think money is the main reason why JS traded Langy. Langy will be a first year arbitration year player in the coming off-season, and JS isn't going to keep Langy if he is only good for being a fourth outfielder. Langy's value right now is probably as good as anytime because of his cheap salary this year and his apparent good reputation around the league. I see it as a move to save $1.5M for next season. Let's see what the Braves are getting in return before we make final conclusion on the trade...
...at the same time, I just want to think Wickman's struggle is due to the thin air in Colorado more than anything else. Please don't compare Wickman to Kolb and Reitsma because...Kolb and Reitsma suck so bad that we hardly had any hope. I still have a lot of faith in Wickman, and I just wish Bobby will stop over-using him.
Rob, are you comparing Langerhans to Omar Vizquel? Omar is one of the greatest defensive shortstops of all time, next to Ozzie Smith and a couple others.
Langerhans is a plus defender, but defensively, he's not even the best defensive outfielder on the Braves. Andruw has won how many gold gloves in a row now? Oh, and Francoeur has been playing a nice defense as of late too....and has a great arm.
Langerhans is good defensively, but you can't put him in Omar's class.
I knew this had to happen - I mentioned it yesterday in a post - but I was surprised it happened so soon. Does cash or a PTBNL mean that who we get in return is dependent on how Langerhans does for Oakland?
I don't quite understand those of you that think Langy should have been kept only for his defense. I've heard of this with SSs and catchers, but OFs that aren't base-stealing threats???
I hope this helps Langy turn his career around, but as someone mentioned, even if he would have made a complete turnaround, I couldn't imagine him hitting much over .200. I think Harris is a decent short-term option, but I expect more to come.
McCann the Man, read my post. I was talking about how I felt the value of defense hadn't depreciated since guys like Vizquel were getting into the Hall based on defensive prowess. Because of that, I felt like defense was being heavily noticed. Never did I compare Langerhans to Vizquel. Like I said, read my post. My goodness...
The idea is that if Langerhans can hit his career numbers, coupled with his defense, he can be a good fourth outfielder. In fact, because he walks and has fairly decent power, with just a slight improvement in his career numbers he could have stuck in center. That's where Oakland is using him, their manager said.
Got up and just found out about the Langerhans trade--and I agree with Rob Cope's view of it. Maybe we will get a good player, but I doubt it. Drewdat is right about the cash. I also believe that Langerhans would have turned things around and been ok in Atlanta. So, its hard to see anything positive for the Braves in this trade.
In addition, I would not be surprised to see Langerhans be a productive player for Oakland. I wish him well....
Before too much longer I think we will see either Blanco or Brandon Jones in Atlanta.
I hope tha KC is right that Wickman's struggles are a reflection of Coors Field....
Actually, I always thought Langy will be packaged with Salty and be sent to the A's for a starting pitcher...I guess that's no longer the case now!
Personally, I don't understand the trade at all except for money saving for next season.
Paronto is coming back this week...boy...do I miss the guy...
Ryan Langerhans never was and never will be a major league prospect or quality starter. He will hit 10-15 home runs a year. Big deal. Mike Hampton could seriously do that if he got 500 at bats. He does not hit for average...since when is .240 good? He stinks, period. I'm so thankful he won't be replacing Andruw in center, I think I could do a better job.
As for Vizquel/Langerhans thing...Omar is phenomenal defensively and actually can hit for a decent average and he used to be able to steal a few bases, meaning his average offense didn't matter because his defense is amazing. Langerhans' defense is not amazing and he SUCKS offensively. Can't hit for average or power and can't steal many bases. Good bye, Ryan...good riddance.
What's Ron Gant up to nowadays?
What worries me about Wickman is his inability to throw strikes so far this season. For his career he's had about a 2/1 K/BB rate, but it's been 9/7 this year, and that really worries me. You guys remember any other closers for Atlanta that couldn't throw strikes consistently? I'm not saying that will happen to Wickman, but the numbers are numbers.
Rob, you take away the five walks Wickman had in the series and you will get your 2 to 1 k/BB ratio. Before this series, did you have any concern on Wickman? Kolb and Reitsma sucked for more than half a season, so don't rush to any fast conclusion.
My main concern on Wickman is that Bobby has been over-using him. Wickman is on pace to pitch for well over 80 innings, and Wickman is the kind of closer who can only handle a 60-70 innings workload for one season.
You said it..move Mike Hampton to OF...I seriously believe that if he played OF full-time...he could hit .240 with 10+ HR's...same/better than Langy!
bamachum...lol
gotta love the intangibles Hampton brings to the team
Yeah, I got ya, kc. I didn't realize he was THAT bad this series.
Rob, I do share your concern. However, I hope it's Colorado's thin air and Bobby's recent mis-handling that lead to Wickman's struggle.
I guess Paronto's injury and Gonzo's elbow concern have led to increase of Wickman's workload. I really think the bullpen will revert back to a strength now that Gonzo is healthy and Paronto is coming back.
Even if Mike Hampton could play outfield--he cant'.
Langerhans has a chance to be the classic '4th'outfielder and while I don't think losing him really hurts the Braves, its hard to see any real upside from this trade.
KC--I never saw him going to Oakland, but I did think that he would be perfect as part of a package to pick up Baldelli.
I said it before and I'll say it again...the Chicago Cubs have a surplus of outfielders and we need one. Matt Murton, anybody?
I don't see the point of the Harris move. Probably better bet to call up Blanco.
I like Willie Harris on the roster, just not as a outfielder. he should be in Pete Orr's place, as pinch runner, and utility man who can play passably everywhere.
I don't get the hate for Langerhans. gave full effort, played super defence, and surprised us now and then with a hit. Good luck to him in Oakland
At this point, I'm with you McCann the Man about Murton. I don't know what it'll take to get him though.
Stephen, I have been thinking...is it more important to find a replacement for Andruw next season than to find another solid starting pitcher for this season and beyond?
Personally, I think finding more pitching is more important, but I can understand the other point of view as well.
Rob, I have no idea what we can do about getting a LF either, but dreaming about a LF other than Diaz and Langerhans is starting to become reality. I just hope JS can pull the trigger on a nice deal and surprise us all.
"Now and then"? Now was one hit today. Then was two occasions in the first ten days of the season. That's it.
Mac, sample size. Come on. Langerhans was in a slump. You know he wasn't THAT bad.
Hans was in a perpetual slump -since May of last year. .221 will simply not cut it. The sample size is 359 abs and 151 games. This is a big enough sample for me.
Willie Harris can be worse than Langerhans and...is. Great, a guy who can run and plays positions, but not particularly well. At least Langerhans can play defense.
I have no problem with this trade. I like the shake up, keeps everyone on their toes. I'd take another pitcher similar to the guy we got for Pena. Cash is always nice too, though it won't be much. We did trade langerhans after all...
A few points:
1. "I will not be surprised if a long-term deal for AJ is announced soon." Seriously, get real. Andruw Jones is not coming back. Some people need to stop acting delusional.
2. This loss hurts. Two come-from-behind losses in the past four games, meaning the 15-9 Braves could just as easily be 17-7. That really sucks.
3. The Braves promoting Willie Harris, who is garbage, shows me they're committed to more of the same, i.e. crappy play from leftfield. FREE BRANDON JONES ALREADY!
I wouldn't mind Willie Harris getting more playing time than Diaz. The only thing Matt had going for him last year was his batting average. He's the 2006 version of Francoeur when it comes to getting on base and he's hitting .000 in 10 at bats with runners in scoring position (last year he hit .227 in 79 at bats). He's pretty much useless when it comes to scoring runs and driving them in. Harris has speed, takes a walk and he sucks at hitting, which makes him almost as useless as Diaz. That said, I wouldn't mind Harris being the Braves utility infielder after they release Woodward and give Thorman the everyday first base job (this doesn't mean I'm an advocate of making Craig Wilson the everyday left fielder). Once they get that out of the way, they can package Craig Wilson and Matt Diaz together and trade them for a minor league prospect with a John Mabry upside and let him develop while Alan Butts holds down the fort in left field, because it's just silly to think about giving Gregor Blanco any playing time.
KC--I fear that the question is worse than that: the problem is that we need two starting pitchers as well as a way to replace Andruw.
Maybe Davies can become one of them, but I still think that he is probably better off at Richmond. I still hope that we can sign Andruw; one way to read (probably misread) the Langerhans trade is that it shows the Braves are not worried about the outfield. I want to hope that it means we will hear that Andruw is staying--but I reconize that this is probably fantasy.
I think that we can win if we have 5 quality starters and two adequate outfielders + Frenchy.
The good news is that there is a lot of help is on the horizon. The following starters are all off to good starts:
AAA Lerew
AA Harrision, Reyes, Smith (even if the Braves don't know he exists)
High A Stevens, Evans, Hernandez
A Hanson (super stats at this point)Gustafson, Heath, Jones
My list does not include pitchers like Parr, Lyman, Cofield, Cuevas and others who have high upsdies.
Obviously, these many--if not most--will not wind up as impact pitchers, but it seems probable that at least one will become a quality starter. In addition, they provide the means to make the trades which will be needed to replace Andruw and get a quality starter.
To sum up, it is hard for me to see how we can compete with the Mets with three effective starters.
Seriously, how can anyone complain about the Braves getting rid of Langerhans. He was horrible and not only this season. He alsways was but a five game stretch early last year. Good move, good move, good move. Jesus, guys!!
Anon -
Sample size on those Diaz RISP numbers.
I'm pretty sure Willie Harris would have to completely cordon off infield-to-wall, 2B-to the other wall to be a better option than Diaz. Harris's career OPS is .600, Diaz's is .786. OBP is .306 to .340, even with Harris's greater propensity for walking.
Diaz doesn't walk much, but he does have above average pop, and against all pitchers, I'd guess he'd hit at least .275 or so, roughly 40 points higher than a similar estimate for Harris. He also gets HBP'd quite a bit, which augments those low walk numbers. Maybe he'd take a few walks more playing everyday, but even at present he doesn't seem like a stupid batter. I think he generally finds something to hit, at least against lefties.
Ita Langerhans deletus est.
Langerhans has been hitting worse every year. It was time for him to move on. Even if the Braves just platoon Diaz and Harris, it should be a pleasant upgrade over what they've gotten so far from left field.
Now they just need to fix the backend of the starting rotation and prevent Bobby from turning Wickman into Reitsma.
1) I'll miss Langerhans and agree that we sold very low on him--however, I don't think we had much choice, since he's out of options and we simply need more production from that roster spot. I hope he turns it around in Oakland.
2) JC, it's interesting that you seem to be expecting an Andruw deal--where would the funds be coming from? I can see being without Wickman and Renteria next year, but it seems like those losses are offset by Smoltz and arbitration raises.
3) The Vanderbilt Commodores are the greatest baseball team in all the land. Collegiately speaking, of course.
The PTBNL will probably be someon on the DL
Re anonymous at 12:54 am: Once they get that out of the way, they can package Craig Wilson and Matt Diaz together and trade them for a minor league prospect with a John Mabry upside and let him develop while Alan Butts holds down the fort in left field,
Dude, you must have been dreaming.
Re the Langy trade: I'm a little sad to see Langerhans traded, but it's probably a move that will improve the team. I expect Harris for Langy in LF to be a wash--an offensive upgrade but a defensive downgrade. (BTW, don't assume Harris will be on the club the rest of the year--he could be holding a place to allow Brandon Jones or another player more time to develop.)
The plus part of the trade will be if the PTBNL is a better pitcher than Redman or Davies. This would not be difficult to imagine.
JC, it's interesting that you seem to be expecting an Andruw deal--where would the funds be coming from? I can see being without Wickman and Renteria next year, but it seems like those losses are offset by Smoltz and arbitration raises.
I would say "expecting" is a bit strong; I wouldn't be surprised. Without a bump up in payroll, it won't happen. Locking up McCann saved some money, and I do expect a payroll to go up with the new owners. A big bump isn't necessary either. AJ is making $13.5 million this year. Throwing $5-6 mil on top of that isn't much. Who else is going to play center? You're going to have to find someone on the free agent market.
It may not happen, but you don't have to be delusional to think it might.
What about the fact that Smoltz just got a $6 million raise? If that wasn't JS kissing Andruw goodbye, I don't know what it was.
Hudson also gets a $7 million raise in '08. Bye, 'Druw.
I also think a deal with Andruw is possible because Renteria and Hampton's contracts will be off the book after next season. They can structure the deal with Andruw like Hudson's back-loaded contract.
HOWEVER, it is a question of whether a team wants to commit 20% of the payroll to ONE player. Personally, regardless of how much I love Andruw, committing 20% of the payroll to one player is simply not wise...unless the payroll is increased to $90M as JC said...which is not likely...sigh...
I thought we had to deal with Hampton for one more year. Maybe we are getting insurance money for him this year and will use it for the next year budget, is that possible?
Good luck to Langy in Oak...
Has anyone noticed the alarming fact that all of our relievers except for Yates, Villareal, and Soriano have more walks than K's? I'm not counting Colyer here...
I'd like to volunteer to play left.
Hampton's insurance paid Smoltz's signing bonus
I think it's a bad trade. I never thought Langy was that good-a fourth outfielder at best--but he is not as bad as he has shown. He certainly wouldn't hit below .100 for the season and he is a good outfielder. And he was starting to hit the ball a little better. If they were replacing him with someone better, that would be one thing, but Willie Harris? I don't think addition by subtraction works in this case because the new guy sucks just as much.
But I never saw Langerhans as Andruw's replacement.
You guys kill me. the brave's gave hasn every chance to show he had what takes to play in the bigs. While he is a good outfielder he has far from the second coming...well of anyone. He was dreadful at the plate, and while he was bound to hit better what was that gonna be .221? So we traded him for someone else who probably won't make it and some cash, cool that's more than we would've got by releasing him.
Willie is not a great replacement, we can hope for something better down the road.
I wonder if this means that Thorman is going to play everyday and Wilson and Diaz will share time in left.
I don't think Wilson can play left right now because of his shoulder.
For those looking to call up a legit prospect (i.e. Brandon Jones), consider that the team may be waiting until after June 1. That would save a year on his arbitration eligibility clock. And that is a smart move.
Langy's passing is water off a duck's back. He is replacement level at best.
Besides, Harris has done (extremely) well in AAA thus far, so maybe he plays decently/well enough for a month until we're ready to attempt an upgrade. So far he's hitting .362/.467/.603. for Richmond.
Up until yesterday, we had the most wins in MLB (now we're 2nd in Wins and only a 0.5 game back of NYM), so there's no need to panic and throw away a year of a legit prospect on the off-chance that the rookie does well right off the bat. They don't always do that. See Kouzmanoff, Kevin; Gordon, Alex; Marte, Andy; etc.
--Cary
folks want to bring up Brandon Jones even though he has only played a couple of games at AA. Get real. From everything that I have read he is a great athlete but definately not ready for the big club.
We won't miss Langerhans until Andruw tweaks an oblique or something and that one game that Harris or Francouer plays center a ball into the gap beats us.
Johnny,
i think Frenchy would be fine in center
Langerhans has been ridiculously unlucky this year. His Batting Average on Contact (H/(AB-K)) is .107 this year. The last two years, its been .339 and .347. If balls on which he made contact were falling in at the same rate, he'd be batting .227 this year. Batters have more control over BABIP than do pitchers (see DIPS discussions), but luck plays a huge role in whether a ball, once put into play. Ryan's luck has been bad, all bad.
Is a .220 BA good? Of course not. But with his plate discipline and defense, its *at least* as good as Die-azz has been so far this year.
Basically, we just gave away a useful player - not a star, certainly - for absolutely nothing while at the same time filling the void with a career washout or expanding the role of a player who doesn't project to be any better than the guy walking out the door.
Even worse, this doesn't begin to address the real needs of the club. Right now, the Braves are second in the league in runs scored, but 12th in both runs allowed and ERA. We need to improve our defense, including both fielding and pitching. Instead, we gave away arguably the best fielder on the entire team. The starting pitchers have ERAs of 1.22, 3.96, 4.73, 6.75, and 10.13. Our so-called big three relievers have ERAs of 1.93, 3.97, and 4.38. With a league ERA of 3.98, basically, we have one key reliever and one starter who have been better than league average, a pair right at average hurlers, and a bunch that are dragging the club's numbers down.
Ryan Langerhans is not the problem nor is trading him for nothing the solution.
Wow, bamadan put it perfectly. Umm, I say what he says.
Dan, I understand the statistic but when I've watched Langerhans on TV his contact outs have been far from the unlucky kind. Unlike KJ when he wasn't hitting his first year with the club and earlier this year Langerhans wasn't making good contact. Slow dribblers to the middle infield, slow lazy popups and the like. Not frozen ropes right at an opponent. All that being said I still think that it was a mistake to just cut bait on him.
Yeah, that's the thing -- he's not making good contact, and while you'd expect some of them to start dropping even .220 seems a stretch.
well, either way we don't have to worry about it anymore. Now it's time for Diaz to show if he can hang as we face a rebounding Phili team. The Redman match up should be brutal...maybe Bobby will rest some guys that day.
Willie Harris ain't much, but he's hit extraordinarily well in spring training and at Richmond. I agree with the poster upthread that he's likely a temporary solution anyway.
I rooted for Langerhans right up until the end, but he hasn't shown any ability to hit like a major league OF.
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