Interview with ESPN’s Rob Neyer
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:49 pm by SJK
SJK: Matsui/Damon/Melky versus Johnson/Granderson/Gardner: Who wins that triple-tag team match?
RN: I'll take the youth and the defense of the latter troika.
SJK: With the addition of Javier Vazquez, it looks like Joba Chamberlain may be put in the bullpen once again. What is your opinion on how the Yankees have handled Joba since being called up to New York?
RN: I don't have a single argument with how the Yankees have handled Chamberlain, if only because it's almost exactly what I would have done. Which of course doesn't make it right...
SJK: Who do you think actually has better potential as a starter: Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain?
RN: In his career, Hughes is 8-9 with a 5.22 ERA in 28 starts. Chamberlain is 12-7 with a 4.18 ERA in 43 starts. Seems pretty cut-and-dried, doesn't it? But you know, I've always been a big believer in Hughes' talents, and I have to admit that all the doubts about Chamberlain have gotten to me a little. Which of them is more likely to win 100 games, or even 200? I won't say it's impossible to say with any precision, because I think almost anything is possible. But I'm glad I don't have to decide between the two.
SJK: In every single article we've read, no one has mentioned the idea of moving Granderson to LF and making Gardner, who was one of the best CFs in baseball last year, head up the outfield defense. We've been advocating that idea for over a month now. What do you think about that idea and do you think there's a chance it could happen?
RN: I think it's a fine idea, in a vacuum. But the Yankees don't play in a vacuum. For one thing, a lot of people would wonder why they traded for -- and why they'll spend at least $26 million on -- a left fielder who doesn't hit a ton.
But I think it's more than that. If you do move Granderson, you're essentially announcing to the world that Granderson's not good enough to play center field. Which is fine ...until you decide that Brett Gardner's not good enough to play every day (or two-thirds of the days), either.
Keeping Granderson in center field today might cost the Yankees a few runs over the course of the season, but it also leaves the Yankees' options wide open. Down the road -- this summer, next year, whenever -- if the Yankees want to pick up a center fielder, they can do that and move Granderson. But if they want to pick up a left fielder, they can do that, too.
SJK: Andre Dawson - Great Hall of Famer or the Greatest Hall of Famer?
RN: Is there a third choice? I wouldn't have voted for him, but he's far from the worst outfielder in the Hall of Fame. He does have the worst on-base percentage (by a lot!) among Hall of Fame outfielders, and it was a little frustrating to read his supporters among the voters suggesting that OBP should somehow have been off-limits when evaluating Dawson's career.
SJK: With the proliferation of sabermetric websites and research, do MLB teams know anything major that fans don't about evaluating players and strategy?
RN: Sure. Every team knows lots of things that fans don't know. But the odd thing is that there are still plenty of teams that don't care to know things that you and I know. There is still this willful ignorance that some baseball executives wear as a badge of honor.
SJK: Seems like defensive value is gaining more and more traction among baseball nerds everywhere. And it seems like we can see it gaining momentum among MLB teams, especially when you look at what Boston has done with Cameron and Beltre. Do you expect this trend to be a secular one, and do you think defense is as important as hitting and pitching?
RN: It's absolutely not as important as hitting or pitching. Not close. What makes it particularly important, though, is that there's far more uncertainty surrounding defense than hitting or pitching, which means there's still a competitive advantage to be gained there, with a little hard work.
SJK: Best move of the offseason / Worst move of the offseason?
RN: Lots of candidates for best moves ... Just off the top of my head, I think the Twins made a great move in trading Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy (who's primed for a huge comeback), and of course you have to love the Mariners somehow adding Cliff Lee and Chone Figgins.
Among the worst was the Astros signing Brandon Lyon for three years and $15 million. Obviously that's not a great deal of money; it's just silly and suggests that the organization doesn't have any idea what it's doing.
SJK: In Bloodsport, Ray Jackson refuses to listen to Frank Dux when he tells him to go for Chong Li's gut. Why was he so ignorant?
RN: I think Jackson was more stubborn than ignorant. After all, he'd been well-trained in the tradition of vale tudo - anything goes. Jackson wanted to do things his way, and it almost got him killed.
SJK: After this season, the Yankees will face the mother of all contract negotiations as Derek Jeter becomes a free agent. What type of contract do you envision him receiving?
RN: I don't believe the negotiations will be difficult at all, because everyone's going to start with exactly the same end-point: paying Derek Jeter a great deal of money and ensuring that he never wears another franchise's uniform. Exactly what that means in terms of dollars and years, I don't know. But I think it's smart for the Yankees to wait until after this season, because Jeter's unlikely to duplicate his 2009; his value will only drop (a little). Everything will come out okay in the end, though.
SJK: Do you have any new projects in the works?
RN: As always, I've got a half a dozen books kicking around in my head that I would like to write. But right now I'm jazzed about Rob Neyer Baseball, which I'll humbly submit is the most sophisticated, accurate, and playable simulation game you're going to find. So I'm doing my best to 1) spread the word, and 2) learn the game to the point where I'm not routinely getting waxed by the guys in my league who've been playing a lot longer than I have.
Thanks to Rob for checking in with NoMaas.
*Props to Moses Hightower, Louis Winthorpe III, Vizzini, Jake Fratelli, Marshall Seymour, Mick Shrimpton, and Reginald Cornelius III for also contributing to this inteview.
Tags: interviews, neyer
There’s something positively sexy about Rob Neyer.
You’re comment that moving Curtis Granderson to Leftfield implies that he is not a good Centerfielder is not sound! The Yankees are moving Curtis to Leftfield because they already have one of the best, if not THE best,Centerfielder in Baseball in BRETT GARDNER. So moving Curtis to left gives us a far better Leftfielder than we had lasr year with Johnny Damon. His offense will also more than adequatley make up for the loss of Damons.
Neyer makes an interesting point though about keeping Granderson in CF. I certainly hadn’t considered that before. Good interview. Hopefully this will quiet some of the incessant bitching around here.
Worst move = adding Javier Vazquez to rotation.
(S)ources : 2004 season
Really, all this insanity about Granderson not hitting “a ton” needs to stop. Smart people not doing their homework.
1) Granderson – Career on the Road: .284 /.353/.516 = .869
2) Granderson – 2009 on the Road: .267 /.345/.516 = .861
The basic fact (with over 1400 plate appearances each at home and on the road) is Comerica was his Cryptonite – some years more than others. The good news is he’ll see Comerica for exactly four games all season.
And Vinny, Vazquez pitched just fine in 2004 before he got hurt.
10-5, 3.56 ERA, 118.2 IP, 1.154 WHIP, 7.2 k/9, 2.97 k/bb
The best part is he’s expected to a be a number 3 or 4, even as he can turn in Ace numbers.
Good points by Phil re: Granderson. I’m surprised Neyer thinks that because it’s really wrong.
Great get by nomaas though.
How come when I made that point about Granderson everyone killed me for it.
I did make that exact point when you guys brought this up. You don’t trade for an all star CF and move him to LF. It’s just not logical.
I understand what you guys are saying, even though I don’t agree, about Gardner…but to Granderson it would be a slap in the face…no matter what he says.
I still also believe that Granderson is better in the field. I know what the UZR says…but until you see this kid play every day…don’t be so quick to judge him yet. I watched a lot of his games last year…and his ability to make the biggest plays…at the biggest moments is unmatched. Not only does he make them….he makes them look easy.
fair enough, butcher.
but stop being so whiney.
Solid interview. Very funny graphic.
you aholes did not invent the concept of granderson to LF.
NOBODY CALLS THE SENSEI AND HIS DOJO-MATES A-HOLES!!!! *SMASH*
i KNOW that Rickey has still got some nitrous in the tank.
Seriously, Greg Cadaret and Luis Polonia?
Then Polonia for Rich Monteleone and 33 games worth of Claudell Washington?
Why? Why!!!
I know, it was 23 years ago.
But we didnt have the internets back then.
I had nowhere to vent.
Really, Steinbrenner, really was it because he claimed that he would break the THREE MILLION DOLLAR threshold as a free agent?
Is there anyone else there who will simply never get over this?
You guys just personally attack anyone with a different opinion…unless it’s some espn guy. How come you didn’t call him names and insult his intelligence?
I’m a loyal Nomaas fan too! Been reading for years!
No one is attacking your opinion, just you. You’re a whiny bitch. Event if your point of view is logical or even 100% right. Just state your case and be done with it.
(sorry, 21 years ago)
Seriously.
Bob Quinn. GM in 1989.
Was Bob Quinn actually in charge?
Do we have Bob Quinn to blame?
You know, the Xpos traded Tim Raines after 1990…… for IVAN CALDERON.
We could have had an OF of Rickey, Raines, and Roberto Kelly
(Kelly wasnt great, but he was fast as fuck, and the Groupies who sat in my section of the RF bleachers sung a song about his nine-inch-dick).
Steve Sax still stealin.
Lure Boggs over in his FA year.
Ok, we still would have had No Pitching At All, but seriously, what the fuck were they thinking?
The Braves needed a rightfielder. Bet we could have traded Barfield for Galvine or Smoltz.
Just sayin, Cashman may be just that – Cash Man – but whatever he is doing beats the shit out of Bob Quinn.
No one except Curtis Granderson knows how he feels about playing CF, so don’t go out and say “… to Granderson it would be a slap in the face.” We have no idea if he cares about playing CF at all. Maybe you think it is, but he hasn’t said anything to suggest that he’d be infuriated or even opposed to the idea of playing left field. If anything, he seems like a great guy who would put in the interests of the team ahead of his own feelings. But I don’t know that either.
Offense and pitcher > defense
I must agree.
I never called anyone a name…but the online tough guy here has to resort to it. Real funny someone hiding behind a computer calling someone else a bitch…that’s a bitch move if I’ve ever seen one!
LOL @ YOU MY FRIEND.
Lmao at the ticker at the bottom of the picture
No matter who plays LF or CF, the Yankees will have better defense in the OF in ’10 than they did in ’09, which is a good thing. I don’t see why the Red Sox felt the need to tighten up their outfield defense; their outfield is tiny… now they should have world class defenders to work that disaster they call an infield, and they did make strides there, so bully for them, but they ought to load their outfield up with sluggers… which they didn’t for reasons i can’t fathom. jackasses.
Randy Winn can lick my sack if he thinks he’s got a chance to beat out Brett the Jet.