tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post3377343633864692013..comments2023-12-15T07:22:02.492-05:00Comments on The Tao of Stieb: 30 Jays in 30 Days - Edwin Encarnacion's Offense Is His Best DefenseTao of Stiebhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12459135109404905466noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-65150659851646723162012-03-15T14:25:57.296-04:002012-03-15T14:25:57.296-04:00Today's version of Rico CartyToday's version of Rico CartyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-33562301482965473732012-02-29T09:26:40.304-05:002012-02-29T09:26:40.304-05:00The odd thing about EE is that everyone seems to e...<i>The odd thing about EE is that everyone seems to expect him to have a monster breakout hitting year every year, yet he is remarkably consistent at the level he performs at. Which is a good (not great) level.<br />Where these expectations come from I'm not sure I understand</i><br /><br />selective sample sizes -- see above for an example of this. for some reason Jays fans think, every year, THIS is the year EE maintains it over the course of a whole season. <br /><br />There is no rational basis for having a high degree of confidence that EE can be a + offensive player over a whole season. The evidence is to the contrary.mike in bostonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-12446361804743123852012-02-29T06:42:35.233-05:002012-02-29T06:42:35.233-05:00Again, my point wasn't to try to say that EE a...Again, my point wasn't to try to say that EE and Lawrie are roughly equivalent. <br /><br />On the other hand, we're comparing pretty small samples, so going to UZR/150 based on 273-380 innings is a bit of a misuse of the stat.<br /><br />I think that EE is probably not quite as bad in the field as people think (though still very much below average), and we just don't really know what Lawrie is going to be. He could be a Gold Glover, or he could be a butcher. We just don't know, and anything we say at this point is a guess based on happy thoughts.Tao of Stiebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12459135109404905466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-5529018670379884512012-02-29T02:08:13.659-05:002012-02-29T02:08:13.659-05:00Fielding percentage may not be a great stat, but i...Fielding percentage may not be a great stat, but its a direct counter-argument to, "We’ve heard more than a few fans bemoan the fact that Encarnacion didn’t care about his eight fielding misplays at third, but somehow Brett Lawrie’s six errors are forgiven because he appears dutifully upset by them."<br /><br />You compare the numbers 8 and 6 and make it seem like they both just made a bunch of errors, when in reality EE was almost 3 times as likely to make an error as Lawrie was.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-89274983997004517522012-02-28T23:50:23.470-05:002012-02-28T23:50:23.470-05:00This is totally qualitative and anecdotal, but I n...This is totally qualitative and anecdotal, but I noticed that EE smiled a lot more last season, specifically in the 2nd half. Happy EE is probably my favorite person ever. Easily the team leader in smiles above replacement.Tyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11878921441543129555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-40366040675317927582012-02-28T23:14:20.786-05:002012-02-28T23:14:20.786-05:00I'm not saying that EE is as good a fielder as...I'm not saying that EE is as good a fielder as Lawrie. (And get that fielding percentage garbage out of this discussion, by the way.)<br /><br />My point is just that people are now cynical about EE's defense, which gives him no margin for error. Maybe that's reasonable, as you note, because of their relative levels of experience.<br /><br />And yeah: I though EE did a really good job on the basepaths. You ever see him round third? It was quite a sight.Tao of Stiebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12459135109404905466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-90419189445686295972012-02-28T20:12:13.966-05:002012-02-28T20:12:13.966-05:00We saw Edwin play 3B 2 years ago, it was awful and...We saw Edwin play 3B 2 years ago, it was awful and everyone knew it. He was old enough and played enough 3B that we also knew it wasn't going to get better. When they signed him again we were promised he wouldn't play 3B, just 1B and DH, but then he did and proved everyone's expectations right.<br /><br />Brett Lawrie was young, in his first season ever playing the position. It was expected that he'd make a few errors, but given time he will get better. That's the difference in the comparison.<br /><br />That and the fact that Lawrie posted a .963 fielding percentage compared to a .892 for Edwin. Lawrie also had a range factor of more than 1/game over Edwin and a UZR/150 of 15.7, compared to -37.0 for Edwin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-11069463567450423092012-02-28T17:08:43.527-05:002012-02-28T17:08:43.527-05:00I don't think EE has a problem playing in the ...I don't think EE has a problem playing in the field when he doesn't have the burden of being the starter. He looked quite creditable at third later in the season as well as at first; I'd be happy to see him giving Lawrie the occasional day off from the field.<br /><br />Lrxst is quite right that EE looked very good and smart on the basepaths last year, taking the extra base and stealing bases opportunistically; and it sounds like he's in great shape this spring as well.gabrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14807352308804721979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-47965023692377745502012-02-28T14:12:09.363-05:002012-02-28T14:12:09.363-05:00So you're saying I shouldn't be cranking u...So you're saying I shouldn't be cranking up the expectations?<br /><br />I TAKE IT ALL BACK ZOINKS!Tao of Stiebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12459135109404905466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-47238168011132940462012-02-28T13:27:59.587-05:002012-02-28T13:27:59.587-05:00The odd thing about EE is that everyone seems to e...The odd thing about EE is that everyone seems to expect him to have a monster breakout hitting year every year, yet he is remarkably consistent at the level he performs at. Which is a good (not great) level.<br /><br />Where these expectations come from I'm not sure I understand, but I think it has a lot to do with his lack of popularity by the home crowds.sporklesshttp://www.twitter.com/sporklessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-17146295428814429562012-02-28T13:12:31.579-05:002012-02-28T13:12:31.579-05:00And what do you win Bakatron?And what do you win Bakatron?DGAPAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-4330352094154379922012-02-28T09:23:32.341-05:002012-02-28T09:23:32.341-05:00i was probably very high when i made this bet over...i was probably very high when i made this bet over the internet but as long as EE does not field, i see him posting ortiz like numbers. <br /><br />if i lose the bet, my friend gets a jays hat. i have no regrets giving it but i wouldnt mind winning the bet.Bakatronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09810281182840416081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2484762138483195409.post-50641060652665145932012-02-28T09:02:34.432-05:002012-02-28T09:02:34.432-05:00There are worse players to have DHing, that's ...There are worse players to have DHing, that's for sure. When he first arrived from Cincinnati he drove me nuts, probably in no small part due to the fact that he was replacing Scott Rolen. Talk about a comedown. But I think the general perception of him among Jays fans is really unfair. He's done everything the team has asked him in terms of losing weight etc., he legs out doubles that a guy his size doesn't seem to have any business making, and it's awfully fun when he hits three-quarters of his seasons home run total in a two-week span.<br /><br />What I'm saying is that if he had been born in Riverside, CA and not La Romana, DR he'd be huge in this city. HUGE.Lrxstnoreply@blogger.com