Alexei Ramirez

[Eminor3rd]

Defensive stats are very subjective. Official Scorers have their own agenda. Happened lat night. A one hopper hit to Pedroia, he muffed it, they gave the guy a hit because they wanted to keep Pedroia's error total down. Alexei would have gotten an error on same play.

 

That's one of the chief benefits of UZR -- it's calculated based on BIS records about the location of plays being made or not made.

[Steve9347]

I hope he and Beckham anchor the middle for a few more years.

He turns 32 in one month.

[Balta1701]

.289/.312/.376 for a n 84 wRC+. Consistent? Perhaps, but consistently 16% below league average.

 

Now, that doesn't mean he's not a solid player. If he plays the defense he's capable of, he's a 3 win guy, but it's not because of his bat. He's 32 and being paid market value, and we have a glut of MI prospects in AA/AAA that are going to need to get some consistent ABs as soon as next year. We've seen his best, and given we're the third worst team in baseball, we just aren't going to gain much paying him to play a little worse each year.

League average with the bat though would be one of the best run-producing shortstops in the league. Alexei is about 10th in MLB in OPS at the shortstop position.

[elrockinMT]

He turns 32 in one month.

 

 

32? Oh my gawsh. That's old He can do the job for a few more years me thinks

[elrockinMT]

Defensive stats are very subjective. Official Scorers have their own agenda. Happened lat night. A one hopper hit to Pedroia, he muffed it, they gave the guy a hit because they wanted to keep Pedroia's error total down. Alexei would have gotten an error on same play.

 

 

I saw that play and I think you are right. I think it occurred somewhere in the game between the constant A-Rod and PEDs conversation didn't it?

[Eminor3rd]

League average with the bat though would be one of the best run-producing shortstops in the league. Alexei is about 10th in MLB in OPS at the shortstop position.

 

Right, but this is in response to him as a cornerstone of the offense, or as someone put it "our most consistent hitter all year long." It's an 84 wRC+. It is nice out of the SS position but it is not a substantial part of a core offense.

[greg775]

Fans can be so unforgiving. As Balta said Alexei still can outshine anyone we have currently in the system. I think 2014 will be better and AR will have that focus again. You don't just throw the guy away because he has a difficult defensive year

 

Our fans have been very forgiving. Have you looked at the Sox record? These guys are sleepwalking through a miserable season. There's not been a lot of booing at the Cell. Comments on here have given so many players the benefit of the doubt.

[chw42]

Our fans have been very forgiving. Have you looked at the Sox record? These guys are sleepwalking through a miserable season. There's not been a lot of booing at the Cell. Comments on here have given so many players the benefit of the doubt.

 

Yeah Greg, let's boo everyone. BOOOOOOOOOOOO.

 

That'll surely help.

 

Nobody's happy the team sucks this year. But when a season is lost, it's lost.

[southsider2k5]

Our fans have been very forgiving. Have you looked at the Sox record? These guys are sleepwalking through a miserable season. There's not been a lot of booing at the Cell. Comments on here have given so many players the benefit of the doubt.

 

I am booing this post.

[witesoxfan]

Our fans have been very forgiving. Have you looked at the Sox record? These guys are sleepwalking through a miserable season. There's not been a lot of booing at the Cell. Comments on here have given so many players the benefit of the doubt.

 

OK, point them out. If you are going to say that people are essentially giving players a free pass and are not just blatantly calling out players they have biases against, then point them out to me. Do the research, copy the posts, and show us. Show us where people say "it's OK that Paul Konerko has had a terrible year, he's old" or "it's OK that Jeff Keppinger has been one of the worst players in the majors, he's just a bench player" or "Viciedo will get better because he's still young."

 

Nobody is HAPPY that the team has been terrible, but at this point, there's no coming back, so all we can do as fans is accept that the team is bad, look at the bright side, and move on. If you sit there and you pick and stress about how bad this team is in an already lost season, you're going to die young.

[greg775]

OK, point them out. If you are going to say that people are essentially giving players a free pass and are not just blatantly calling out players they have biases against, then point them out to me. Do the research, copy the posts, and show us. Show us where people say "it's OK that Paul Konerko has had a terrible year, he's old" or "it's OK that Jeff Keppinger has been one of the worst players in the majors, he's just a bench player" or "Viciedo will get better because he's still young."

 

Nobody is HAPPY that the team has been terrible, but at this point, there's no coming back, so all we can do as fans is accept that the team is bad, look at the bright side, and move on. If you sit there and you pick and stress about how bad this team is in an already lost season, you're going to die young.

 

I was just responding to el Rockin's line "fans can be so unforgiving." I think they are very forgiving re. the Sox. I didn't start a thread or anything calling for the booing of all the Sox. Nobody on here has buried Lexi despite all the key errors.

[witesoxfan]

I was just responding to el Rockin's line "fans can be so unforgiving." I think they are very forgiving re. the Sox. I didn't start a thread or anything calling for the booing of all the Sox. Nobody on here has buried Lexi despite all the key errors.

 

Alexei has a 2.5 fWAR and a 2.4 bWAR. Both are tops on the team amongst offensive players. You can list all of the "key errors" that you'd like, but Ramirez has more than made up for it doing everything else and has done more than anyone could ask of him to help this team win games.

 

Konerko, Keppinger, and Viciedo are the biggest culprits this year by far. Together, they've managed to combine for -3.2 fWAR. An average 3B, 1B, and LF - meaning 2 WAR each - and the Sox go from 49-74 to 58-65.

 

 

[pettie4sox]

Getting rid of sexy Alexei with out a proper replacement is foolish. The grass is not greener on the other side.

[cabiness42]

Alexei's saber-stats benefit from being position-adjusted and he happens to be playing a position that is rife with putridness. When a guy has a 289/312/376 line and is above average for his position, that's pretty scary.

[Balta1701]

Alexei's saber-stats benefit from being position-adjusted and he happens to be playing a position that is rife with putridness. When a guy has a 289/312/376 line and is above average for his position, that's pretty scary.

That's the shortstop position the way it has been throughout much of baseball history. There's this weird 10 year period where suddenly laboratory created monsters started replacing human beings at that spot.

[greg775]

I have no problem keeping him. I like him on the team. But he's got to cut the errors.

[witesoxfan]

I have no problem keeping him. I like him on the team. But he's got to cut the errors.

 

He's really been just fine defensively. He's probably going to set a career high, but not by much. Beyond that, errors are not the worst things in the world.

 

I'm also guessing that, if we had this stuff in the 50s and 60s, and we were both alive, you'd be b****ing about Aparicio too.

Edited August 20, 2013 by witesoxfan

[greg775]

He's really been just fine defensively. He's probably going to set a career high, but not by much. Beyond that, errors are not the worst things in the world.

 

I'm also guessing that, if we had this stuff in the 50s and 60s, and we were both alive, you'd be b****ing about Aparicio too.

 

Frankly, I'm just sick of losing and being one of the worst teams in baseball and IMO Lexi's errors have contributed to that greatly. He's not the only guy obviously whose weaknesses have turned the Sox into a joke of a team, though. Hope he excels next season.

[Eminor3rd]

Frankly, I'm just sick of losing and being one of the worst teams in baseball and IMO Lexi's errors have contributed to that greatly. He's not the only guy obviously whose weaknesses have turned the Sox into a joke of a team, though. Hope he excels next season.

 

He's been a +5 defender this year. He hasn't made many more errors than usual. Even those he's having a rough year, he's still been an above average defender overall.

 

EDIT: He's got 20 errors, his totals the last four years were 12, 16, 20, 20. Like wite said, it's more, but it's not egregiously more.

Edited August 20, 2013 by Eminor3rd

[witesoxfan]

Frankly, I'm just sick of losing and being one of the worst teams in baseball and IMO Lexi's errors have contributed to that greatly. He's not the only guy obviously whose weaknesses have turned the Sox into a joke of a team, though. Hope he excels next season.

 

I 100% believe your opinion is dead wrong and that Konerko and Keppinger have been the biggest reasons, if you want to single out individual players. I am going to prove you wrong too (because those are 20 isolated plays, odds are incredibly small that more than one directly affected the outcome of the game, but it's certainly possible)

 

I got about halfway through all his errors and found about 3 games where his error "contributed greatly," but this is not including plays where he gets to balls that normally would have been runs. This is also not including other players who have made errors, and is also not including other guys failing in spots where they should succeed. I'd be unfairly isolating the 20 very poor plays Alexei Ramirez has made this season. No, they have not been good for the Sox, but nobody is perfect.

 

The overall numbers say otherwise and suggest that he's been one of the most valuable players on the team.

[Quin]

I 100% believe your opinion is dead wrong and that Konerko and Keppinger have been the biggest reasons, if you want to single out individual players. I am going to prove you wrong too (because those are 20 isolated plays, odds are incredibly small that more than one directly affected the outcome of the game, but it's certainly possible)

 

I got about halfway through all his errors and found about 3 games where his error "contributed greatly," but this is not including plays where he gets to balls that normally would have been runs. This is also not including other players who have made errors, and is also not including other guys failing in spots where they should succeed. I'd be unfairly isolating the 20 very poor plays Alexei Ramirez has made this season. No, they have not been good for the Sox, but nobody is perfect.

 

The overall numbers say otherwise and suggest that he's been one of the most valuable players on the team.

 

More range = more errors

More range = more run saving plays

 

But the new members all agreed with Greg "The Pied Piper" 775.

[chw42]

More range = more errors

More range = more run saving plays

 

But the new members all agreed with Greg "The Pied Piper" 775.

 

Well in the eyes of pretty much all fans...

 

Errors during crucial situations = this guy sucks in the field

Great plays in not as crucial situations = this guy has range, but still sucks in the field.

[Eminor3rd]

Well in the eyes of pretty much all fans...

 

Errors during crucial situations = this guy sucks in the field

Great plays in not as crucial situations = this guy has range, but still sucks in the field.

 

To the eyes of most fans: He made a diving play, he has great range.

[TaylorStSox]

To the eyes of most fans: He made a diving play, he has great range.

This always cracks me up with outfielders. We can't see the play develop on TV so fans missed the Aaron Rowands of the world diving because they broke in on a ball that was crushed or vice versa. It shouldn't happen as much with infielders though.

[Eminor3rd]

This always cracks me up with outfielders. We can't see the play develop on TV so fans missed the Aaron Rowands of the world diving because they broke in on a ball that was crushed or vice versa. It shouldn't happen as much with infielders though.

 

The legend of Jim Edmonds