Were the Florida Marlins really smart when it comes to Dan Uggla or just really lucky?
The squat keystoner was released by the Braves last week after a year-and-a-half of hitting your IQ. With no takers on the market and a solid replacement in rookie Tommy LaStella, Atlanta dumped Uggla and will eat the $18 million left on his contract.
The Uggla whom Atlanta swapped infielder Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn to acquire in 2010 appeared only in brief flashes, mostly during his first season in a tomahawk uniform. Whereas he batted .263 with 31 homers per 162 games for the Marlins, he slumped to .209 and 26 homers per 162 with Atlanta. Since moving north, his batting averages have headed south -- .287-.233-.220-.179-.162. That is what we call "trending poorly."
To make matters worse, Uggla is slow-footed and iron-gloved. Without his stick working, he's a muscled beer vendor.
Drafted by Arizona in '01, Uggla didn't make the Majors until he burst on the scene with Florida in 2006, hitting .282 with 27 bombs. Four similar seasons followed, exposing him to free agency as the fastest second baseman in history to reach 100 home runs and the first keystoner ever to smack 30-a-year for four consecutive seasons.
It's not like Miami brass knew Uggla had peaked, offering him a four-year, $48 million deal, which he wisely rejected. That's when they shipped him to Georgia.
Following a fifth straight 30+ home run season in Atlanta, Uggla inked a four-year, $52 million contract with the Braves at the age of 31. But the Marlins had sucked out all his talent had to offer, enjoying 19 wins against replacement over five years for the MLB equivalent of a dinner and a movie ($14.2 million).
For $61 million, the Braves salvaged 2.4 wins against replacement of value from him, worse than any one of his three best seasons in Miami. So today, at 34 and without a team, Dan Uggla will be some contender's pinch hitter, hoping a few well-timed hits, particularly in a playoff situation, can earn him another year in The Show.
For the Braves, the only salvation is that by paying Uggla not to play, they maximize his value (i.e., minimize his damage) and open up a roster spot. And the Marlins get to laugh and wipe their brows in relief.
Showing posts with label Mike Dunn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Dunn. Show all posts
22 July 2014
06 July 2014
More Fun With Game Write-Ups
More evidence you can't spell "dumb" without "AP."
At the bottom of the wrap-up of a 6-5 Marlins win over the Cardinals, most of which reasonably features Jeff Baker's pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth and Casey McGehee's game-tying hit following a courageous 11-pitch at-bat, the AP mentions the following:
Mike Dunn (6-4) worked a scoreless eighth and Steve Cishek finished for his 19th save in 21 chances.
It's true that Dunn and Cishek worked a scoreless frame each, relinquishing a single each. It's true that Dunn is credited, according to antiquated rules developed during the Taft Administration, with six wins and four losses on the season, though anyone with even a glancing knowledge of the game recognizes that reliever W-L records are as illuminating as a Ryan Braun quote. It's also true that the flying speed of an African Swallow is roughly 29 mph if it's unladen.
Here's what else is true: Before Dunn entered the game, Sam Dyson hurled two pristine innings, allowing no hits and fanning three batters. He coaxed as many outs as Dunn and Cishek combined and was far more effective doing so.
And before Dyson, failed starter Jacob Turner entered the game in the fourth inning with runners on, a four-run deficit and the game one safety from breaking wide open. He ended the threat with a strikeout and then pitched a perfect fifth, after which the Marlins plated three runs to tighten the score.
No one has created a phony measurement to describe the contribution Dyson and Turner made to the win, and so the AP appears unable to explain their value. But it was significantly greater than either Dunn's or Cishek's; indeed it's greater than both of theirs combined.
Because we have these utterly worthless and time-worn numbers we can assign to Dunn and Cishek, they can read their names in newspapers across America. The real pitching heroes, Sam Dyson and Jacob Turner, get the consolation prize of a mention in a sad little blog read by few comely and available young women.
At the bottom of the wrap-up of a 6-5 Marlins win over the Cardinals, most of which reasonably features Jeff Baker's pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth and Casey McGehee's game-tying hit following a courageous 11-pitch at-bat, the AP mentions the following:
Mike Dunn (6-4) worked a scoreless eighth and Steve Cishek finished for his 19th save in 21 chances.
It's true that Dunn and Cishek worked a scoreless frame each, relinquishing a single each. It's true that Dunn is credited, according to antiquated rules developed during the Taft Administration, with six wins and four losses on the season, though anyone with even a glancing knowledge of the game recognizes that reliever W-L records are as illuminating as a Ryan Braun quote. It's also true that the flying speed of an African Swallow is roughly 29 mph if it's unladen.
Here's what else is true: Before Dunn entered the game, Sam Dyson hurled two pristine innings, allowing no hits and fanning three batters. He coaxed as many outs as Dunn and Cishek combined and was far more effective doing so.
And before Dyson, failed starter Jacob Turner entered the game in the fourth inning with runners on, a four-run deficit and the game one safety from breaking wide open. He ended the threat with a strikeout and then pitched a perfect fifth, after which the Marlins plated three runs to tighten the score.
No one has created a phony measurement to describe the contribution Dyson and Turner made to the win, and so the AP appears unable to explain their value. But it was significantly greater than either Dunn's or Cishek's; indeed it's greater than both of theirs combined.
Because we have these utterly worthless and time-worn numbers we can assign to Dunn and Cishek, they can read their names in newspapers across America. The real pitching heroes, Sam Dyson and Jacob Turner, get the consolation prize of a mention in a sad little blog read by few comely and available young women.
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