Q:  So now you think that Curtis Granderson, Mike Cameron and Franklin Gutierrez are the New MVP?

A.  No, but I do think that impact defensive players who can hold their own with the bat ... those are players you can win a pennant with.

Since the year 1900, managers have intuited that you can win with no-stick, great-glove players at four positions:  C, SS, 2B and CF.

Shortstop and second base get 5 outs* per game.  Center field gets 3.  These guys are in the middle of the action.  They get lots of chances to change games.

You don't have to be Ozzie Smith or Willie Mays to win a game with your glove.  Any SS, 2B, or CF who is excellent among his peers, is a guy whose glove can carry his bat.

John McGraw believed that, Casey Stengel believed that, Earl "3-Run Homer" Weaver believed that, Bill James believe that, and Dr. D doesn't argue.  :- )

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That's a lot different than putting no-hit, good-glove players at the corners, running an 84 team OPS+ and calling it avant-garde.

Your glove carrying your bat in CF, sure.  Your glove carrying your bat in LF, don't be silly. 

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Q.  But you do admit now that Franklin Gutierrez is an 80 glove?

A.  No, but he doesn't have to be. 

He is better than most major-league CF's, and that's plenty good enough.  Give me a "plus" or "plus-plus" glove at CF, SS, or 2B and I will cheerfully agree that he is winning games with his glove.

If the Mariners could score J.J. Hardy, I wouldn't care too much whether his bat rebounded or not.  Those 6-3's would be reason enough.

Gutierrez' extra catches in the gaps are reason enough.  There doesn't really need to be an argument whether he's "80" or "65."  EITHER way, he's key to the new Mariner era.

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Q.  Suppose Gutierrez is a 65 glove and a 100 OPS+.  What do you have?

A.  You have a player you can win a pennant with.   Managers dreeeaaaaam about slick gloves at CF-SS-2B who can OPS+ 100.  Such a player is a big part of your pennant plan.

But in Gutierrez' case, you are ALSO talking about a guy making $455,000.

AWESOME that Cleveland baked the cake here.  They invested time in Gutierrez, kept him part-time, while he learned to hit, so here we are with a full-blown ML starter making minimum* wage.

A young player at SS-2B-CF who has a very slick glove, who can compete with the bat, making peanuts, has been brought along slowly... it's the perfect "Moneyball" storm.

And the "perfect storm" of value in CF is a big reason the M's are fighting for the pennant.

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Q.  Would you do the same thing at every position, if you could?

A.  If you had holes at CF, SS, or 2B, and you could somehow get a AAA glove specialist who really could OPS+ 100, then you would have 3 of those guys all the time.... provided you didn't have a true, bat-first blue-chipper there already.

You're not going to move a glove specialist ahead of Matt Tuiasosopo at 3B.  But assuming that you're thin at CF-SS-2B, and assuming you can get a true impact glove there for peanuts, sure.  It's a Moneyball opportunity.

Cheers,

Dr D