And In This Corner

by Augie's Army on Apr 18, 2008 3:47 PM EDT

I have always been a big fan of comparing numbers of unknown players, choosing one based on their numbers and then forming an unbiased opinion. Anyone want to play along? I know it is still way to early in the season for any definite conclusions but small sample sizes are no excuse for a little discussion.

Player A

(BA,SLG,OPS)

.302/.540/.920

Player B

.244/.556/.926

Player C

.214/.411/.736

Player A

Eric Byrnes

Eric just signed a brand new contract that should have him in LF for the D-Backs thru 2010. I am sure everyone has figured out Player B is Carlos Quentin and Player C is Scott Hairston. The thing to watch over the next couple of years is if the D-Backs kept the right guy. Of course he brings a lot more on the base paths and the "intangibles" to the locker room than Quentin or Hairston. My only worry that Byrnes' best tool is his speed and that tool is often the first one to diminish as a player ages.

Player B

Carlos Quentin

Carlos is on a tear as he currently is 4rth in the AL in RBI's, 5th in HRS and 7th in R's. Perhaps I am being liberal using the word tear, seeing how he is hitting .244 but Carlos is driving the ball. Of course, AL pitchers might adjust over the course of the season and Carlos could struggle as he did for the Snakes last year after his solid second half of '06. At only 25 I think the Snakes made a mistake in letting Carlos go in favor or Byrnes. It might not be noticeable this year but come 2010, I feel we will really regret this decision.

Player C

Scott Hairston

I think Scott is a solid guy of the bench but not an everyday corner OF.

What does everyone think?

Poll

Which hitter would you want for your lineup? (Based on the 2008 numbers to date)

Player A-Eric Byrnes

15 votes

Player B-Carlos Quentin

11 votes

Player C-Scott Hairston

0 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 15 comments | 0 recs |

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Comments

Q's start

A hot streak. I think all of the White Sox are preforming over their expectations. But, if he can bring his Average up closer to 300 and get the OBP a little, getting on base as well as bringing it home, then i’d buy into the fact that we shouldn’t have given up on him.

Plus, the pitching the sox have been facing in the AL central is preforming horribly to this point.

by Captain D Bag on Apr 18, 2008 5:16 PM EDT reply actions

As noted

Far too early for anything meaningful to be drawn. Basically, until the end of April, sample sizes are so small as to be effectively impossible to draw any sensible conclusions. Thus far, this is obviously, a no-brainer. Byrnes has the best stats, though I must say Quentin’s power intrigues me. However, perhaps a less clear-cut and possibly more pertinent question is, which hitter would you want for your lineup for the next three years?

Eric Byrnes for $30m
Carlos Quentin for 2 x league minimum and his first year of arb
Scott Hairston for the same?

[I’m not sure whether Quentin has accumulated a full year on a major-league roster. so I’m not certain is his first arb year will be 2010 or 2011] Outside of the salary, we would also have to think that Byrnes (now aged 32) will probably get worse, Quentin (25) get better and Hairston (28 next month) is close to his peak.

Good point on Byrnes’ speed, but he is also the one with the longest track-record, so predicting his future performance is a lot easier than someone like Hairston, who has barely 350 ABs in the majors since the end of 2004, or Quentin, 440 ABs lifetime. You get certainty with Byrnes, as well as someone to act as the public face for the franchise, and attract fans in a way the rookies probaby can’t do quite yet. Though if Special K continues to hit long bombs… :-)

by Jim McLennan on Apr 18, 2008 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

The New Face

You get certainty with Byrnes, as well as someone to act as the public face for the franchise, and attract fans in a way the rookies probaby can’t do quite yet.

I think this point can’t really be stressed enough. While it’s true that you don’t want the fans making all of your personnel decisions, you do need to have someone who draws them in. After all, if Arizona is ever going to have a devoted following who is dedicated to the hometown team above all others, they need those fans. After the public relations problems the Gonzo situation produced, I think signing EB to a long-term deal was wise. He came in and made the fans forget about Gonzo. The team could point at him and say, “See, this is why that decision was made.” To turn around and let him walk would have caused some PR damage that would have been difficult to combat, IMO.

by azshadowwalker on Apr 19, 2008 3:02 PM EDT up reply actions

+1

"I was tied to a chair and he had a baseball bat. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do."

by DbacksSkins on Apr 19, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

He was the face of the franchise last year but

the fact of the matter is that our young stars Upton, Jackson, Reynolds, and Young are quickly becoming the faces of the franchise. Phoenix is a sports town that supports a winner more than anything and come 2010 Byrnes will more than likely hurt that cause than help it.

by Augie's Army on Apr 20, 2008 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions

By 2010...

people won’t be thinking about letting Gonzo go, obstensibly because Byrnes could play left field, either. In 2007, they absolutely were. By 2010, a lot of things will have changed. That doesn’ t mean that, from a PR position, it would have been wise to let him walk, IMO.

If Phoenix is going to turn its back on the team so quickly, then they don’t really have to worry about having a long-term fanbase, anyway. They never will. They’ll always have Cubs fans filling the stadium during the playoffs.

by azshadowwalker on Apr 20, 2008 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Byrnes

While Q’s offensive potential is nice, he can’t compete with Eric when it comes to defense and baserunning.

by AZSEAfan on Apr 18, 2008 5:47 PM EDT reply actions

Disagree.

Q’s got a helluva arm out there, and doesn’t have bad speed either.

"I was tied to a chair and he had a baseball bat. Pissing him off was the smart thing to do."

by DbacksSkins on Apr 18, 2008 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Q

Obviously Byrnes is the best player now, but we committed the cardinal sin with Q: we sold at his absolute lowest possible value. I appreciate the message the FO was trying to send with the Byrnes signing, but it was a mistake. Probably not as colossal a mistake as I made it out to be, but it was still a mistake. Q will prove that decisively next year, if not this year.

"There are only two seasons: winter and baseball"
-- Bill Veeck

by njjohn on Apr 18, 2008 8:04 PM EDT reply actions

Wasn’t Q’s shoulder banged up when Byrnes got his extension? Q had a lot of uncertainty ahead of him at that point. There have been more than a few players that has never rebounded from shoulder surgery.

I have a real hard time believing that Hairston will outperform Bam Bam over the next three years when you take their all around performance into account.

by foulpole on Apr 18, 2008 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Q & Byrnes

I think Q will be a good ball player in the coming years. The real Q isn’t the guy we had last year. That being said, I think EB is the guy the dbacks need right now with the make up of our team. Even if they have the same stats at the end of the year EB is the better guy for our team now.

by DiamondbacksWIn on Apr 19, 2008 8:43 AM EDT reply actions

I agree

Byrnes is the win now guy. Q is the win in 5 years guy.

Baseball season, when everything becomes right in the world.

by seton hall snake pit on Apr 19, 2008 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

And as much as you need to have a future, you also have to win now, or the terrorist win (or some of equally witty saying).

by Captain D Bag on Apr 19, 2008 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Hairston is older than a lot of people think (oh, and by the way…he sucks) and Q was banged up.

With Bam Bam, CY and J-Up (the biggest question mark right now), we could have the best defensive OF in the NL for a few years. That’s pretty cool in a hitters park like the BOB.

by foulpole on Apr 20, 2008 9:13 PM EDT reply actions

Quentin is a 4th outfielder

who will show he can’t hit A.L. pitching any better than he could N.L. hurlers. Steve Stone will bury him soon enough as White Sox radio analyst. Remember Erubiel Durazo?

by davewillie on Apr 23, 2008 2:57 PM EDT reply actions