Interesting result from Baseball Prospectus today: Dan Fox’s has ranked all fielders from 1957-2007 using his new fielding stat, SFR. The top three second basemen are all Athletics:
Name Span Balls SFR Rate
Dick Green 1963-1974 4281 102.0 1.18
Mark Ellis 2002-2007 2680 67.7 1.18
Mike Gallego 1986-1997 2117 50.5 1.16
Mark Lemke 1988-1998 3602 90.2 1.15
Jose Oquendo 1986-1995 2473 45.2 1.11
That’s highly unusual. Green, Ellis and Gallego are/were all fantastic fielders, but it makes you wonder if there’s some kind of hidden park factor going on here. Which would make sense if we were talking about first or third basemen with all the foul territory for popups (Eric Chavez is third amongst third basemen behind Brooks Robinson and Jim Davenport), but I doubt second basemen catch enough foul popups to make any difference here.
Maybe the first basemen play a step closer to the lines in Oakland in order to cover the foul territory? That would turn more balls that can normally be taken by either but are typically cut off by the first baseman into the responsibility of the second baseman alone. I dunno, that’s just a guess, though.
I wonder what would happen to those rankings if you split them home/road?
And speaking of road:
1. Rich Harden returns to his home away from home, and, no, I don't mean Canada.
http://tinyurl.com/47qals
2. 1 Ah, yes, but of course. I didn't believe for a second that once Harden missed Tuesday's start that he'd be ready for Saturday.
3. On the bright side, Dana Eveland has started well.
On the down side, so has Shaun Marcum.
4. On the radio, Ken Korach points out that Rod Barajas was a particular favorite of Buck Showalter's. Which, for all we know, is because Barajas, without fail, always wore his socks at the proper, Showalter-approved length.
Also, for a guy who was so eager to join a team that bunted more, Marco Scutaro doesn't bunt so well.
5. Meanwhile, I went in my car to pick up my daughter from her friend's house, and the A's scored a run.
Last night, I left for my soccer game in the bottom of the eighth, and I missed the A's scoring three in the ninth.
6. Alert Bob Timmermann! Catcher's Interference on Kurt Suzuki vs. Lyle Overbay.
7. We're being Marcoed.
8. Free baseball!
9. I officially recant my criticism of Travis Buck from a few days ago. And now I will turn my rhetorical flare toward Jack Cust.
10. I can't read lips, but I don't think Brandon League was praying.
11. I can't read my own lips, but I know I'm not praying.
12. Hooray! Sweeps!
13. I believe the appropriate way to ring the catcher's interference bell is to send me an e-mail.
14. 13 I assumed that since Kurt Suzuki is from Hawaii, you would have heard the news being shouted from the mountaintops around you.