D-FENCE!

SPORTING GOODS

Manny Ramirez is the worst fielder in major league baseball. At least that according to a new analysis done by David Gassko over at Hardball Times.

Defense is sort of the last frontier for statistical analysis, because there are less concrete measures to define what a player should and shouldn't get to, how good his arm is, etc. So all defensive stats need to be taken with a grain of salt, and they can be very hard to understand some times.

But that said, I found this observation interesting:

"four guys end up with a projection of below .230, which is something like a threshold for playing defense at all (replacement level, if you will). Those players are Russ Adams, Manny Ramirez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Michael Young. Adams and Young should be moved to easier positions; Ramirez and Griffey should DH."

And of course, the kickers:

"position-adjusted, Ramirez would be the worst fielder in the MLB."

and

"The Cincinnati Reds, for example, probably have no idea that Ken Griffey Jr.’s defense completely negates his offensive contributions."