Betemit is a bizarro pickup for NYY. With Cano, Jeter and Rodriguez around the IF, what's he going to do? Play 1B? I guess the Yanks are prepping for A-Rod to leave and want an option at 3B other than hauling Graig Nettles out of retirement.
Still, that's a really nice return for an average Joe middle reliever like Scott Proctor!
More from Jamey Newberg:
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, Texas has agreed to trade closer Eric Gagné to Boston for lefthander Kason Gabbard, center fielder David Murphy, and teenage outfielder Engel Beltre, a high-profile Latin America signing two years ago. It’s unclear whether Gagné has consented to the deal, as he has the right to veto a trade to the Sox.
Also, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports that the Mark Teixeira trade has been finalized, with lefthander Matt Harrison being confirmed as the fourth player – and a fifth player, Class A lefthander Beau Jones, being added to the deal as well. Jones has gone 5-0, 2.96 with three saves for Low A Rome (48.2 innings, 38 hits, 12 walks, 46 strikeouts) and 0-0, 15.26 in five appearances for High A Myrtle Beach. The hard-throwing reliever was a first-round pick in 2005 (41st overall) out of a Louisiana high school.
Well, I just woke up (on nights) and was disappointed to see that the Jays didn't make any moves at all. I was really hoping to get on the internet and find that Glaus was out, LaRoche was in, and that the Jays had traded some pitching for a ready-now minor league SS. (Cleveland wanted relief help, I thought something might happen).
Oh well. I still think this team is better than their record suggests, but not 98 wins better, more like 87-91. Something has to be done, but I guess now I'll have to wait until the off season.
Those cagey Pirates have landed Matt Morris.
Okay, so maybe Sabean isn't an idiot. Well, at least not as big an idiot as Littlefield, anyway.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/article.jsp?content=20070731_193948_5836
New news isn't always good news...
Betemit is not the second coming of A-Rod. Neither Atlanta or the Dodgers have been willing to give him a lot of playing time. Betemit has a reputation for "doing his own thing" and scouts believe his swing gets long when he plays every day. Betemit is a nice bench player but no-one is suggesting he will replace A Rod if the Yankees need a new third baseman next year.
The Dodgers obviously believe Proctor is better than Frasor, if indeed Frasor was offered. Would you offer something better than Frasor for Betemit to close the deal? What if the Dodgers asked for Janssen or Lind? That could be that it would take.
For Betemit, the Dodgers got Scott Proctor , who is better than Frasor, or Downs, or Tallet, or "a prospect".
Proctor is better than Frasor, but Downs or Tallet? Both have better ERA, WHIP, K/ip, K/bb, and BAA. Proctor's pitched a few more innings, and has slightly more of a track record than Tallet, but that's the only thing in his favour.
Am I missing something?
pessimism
Not mention Mystique and Aura.
Not mention Mystique and Aura.
If you're going to start naming X-Men in a discussion about Scott Proctor, Pyro is the name you want to drop. The Dodger brass better have Rick Monday on standby, to protect against their newest arsonist potentially charcoaling a national symbol (though Proctor may well be in his legal rights -- I don't know where the American law stands on that front these days).
The Dodgers are looking to win this year. Given Frasor's struggles, I believe they would prefer Proctor, whose career ERA quoted above is inflated by poor performances in 2004 and 2005. This year and last he was very solid. I can't for a second imagine the Dodgers taking Frasor over Proctor. Tallet has done well this year and last in a more limited role than Proctor. I think Proctor wins in the Dodgers' eyes.
Downs you can make a case for. Maybe LA would see him as more of a lefty specialist, I don't know.
Having said all that, I wouldn't trade Downs for Betemit, who I think is way overrated here. He has a decent bat and is awful defensively. Where do you put him?
Well, I'm not disagreeing with you, Mike, in terms of fundamental sabermetric analysis. The subject was how the Dodgers perceive Proctor vs. Frasor.
And Mike, if you emailed Ned Colletti your analysis above, I think he would immediately forward it to Paul DePodesta with the note "I think this was left over from when you were here."
And can you imagine the roasting he would get in the LA press if he chose Frasor? "We were offered Scott Proctor and we got this guy?"
I don't know where the American law stands on that front these days).
Don't worry about it. Neither does the U.S. Supreme Court.
Two big things wrong with this:
First, Frasor has only "struggled" for one 4 day stretch, covering three apperances since early. May In point of fact, from May 8 to June 26 Frasor gave up TWO runs in over 21 IP. And after that three game bump, he's pitched will in very very limited useage since.
Second, Proctor would be viewed by the Dodgers as a better bet for one and only one reason - he pitches in the center of the media universe. Any GM worth his salt could look at their respective stats, even this year (go check there relative BAA and OPSA THIS season) and realize that Frasor is easily the better pitcher (and the less overworked one).
If Proctor had been pitching for, for instance, Minnesota, we would not even be having this discussion.
It seems clear to me that there is no evidence JP even ask about Betimit. which is a shame.
Far from being overrated, Betimit has almost EXACTLY the same OPS as Troy Glaus. AND, while being a switch hitter, his offensive prowess is as a lefty, which we DESPERATELY need. no, he's not over-rated.
BTW, who says his defense is "awful"?
WillRain: re Betemit's defense.
The Hardball Times has zone rating numbers, and Betemit's are terrible for his career, and especially putrid at shortstop. Range Factor is given at baseball-reference.com and he's bad there too (of course, range factor is inferior to play-by-play methods). I don't know his UZR, but it comes from the same data as as zone rating, so I doubt it's any good. I have Dewan's Fielding Bible, which is also a play-by-play methodology, but the book is at home, and I'm, uh, not there at the moment.
If defensive numbers don't do it for you, consider this. When Furcal left Atlanta as a free agent, the Braves thought so highly of Betemit as a shortstop solution that they traded Andy Marte, who at the time time was supposed to be one of the top 2 or 3 prospects in baseball, so that they could bring in Edgar Renteria.
