Aroldis Chapman signs 30MM contract with NLC club

[metsguy234]

Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander, Alex Avila, Miguel Cabrera, Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, Ryan Raburn, Magglio Ordonez

Ryan Raburn is better than Frenchy? Laughable.

Also, if "Alex Avila" was better than Jeff Francoeur I probably would have heard of him by now.

[HoustonGM]

[Jeffy25]

Rocket arm, great defense (OMG, everyone else will say, HIS UZR IS SO LOW HOW CAN HE BE A GOOD DEFENDER), very good hitting for contact and for power, and intangibles

Sounds like Austin Kearns, but he isn't even that.

not really trying to compare Kearns to Church....replying to MG's statement

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Sounds like Austin Kearns, but he isn't even that.

I don't know about THAT. Austin Kearns is pretty pathetic.

[metsguy234]

I actually would take Kearns to play 1B. Not too bad of a guy.

[HoustonGM]

Lol. 70 OPS+ first basemen. YES!

[200tang]

I don't know about THAT. Austin Kearns is pretty pathetic.

Austin Kearns is a very good defender.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Austin Kearns is a very good defender.

I know that, but that's all he's good at. He can't hit to save his life.

[200tang]

I know that, but that's all he's good at. He can't hit to save his life.

80 wRC+ with above average defense in CF. You could do much worse...like Scott Pods..

Off the bench is where his value is best, though.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

80 wRC+ with above average defense in CF. You could do much worse...like Scott Pods..

Off the bench is where his value is best, though.

He's listed as a RF though. I understand that he's still a very good defender, but the offense doesn't translate well from CF to RF.

Sure, I could stomach him off the bench. But being a semi-Nat's fan the past few years and seeing his "performance" (or lack thereof) at the plate has pretty much sealed it for me.

[haveacigar]

Every member of the Tigers outfield is better than Frenchy right now, with the possible exception of Austin Jackson and Casper Wells, if they make the team but struggle to make the adjustment to the bigs. Clete Thomas is about an equivalent hitter but light years ahead defensively. Magglio Ordonez is a better hitter and equivalent defender. Ryan Raburn is an equivalent fielder and better hitter. Carlos Guillen really doesn't count as an outfielder anymore, but he is about as good as Frenchy when he plays outfield, certainly not any worse.

You haven't heard of Alex Avila because you don't know anything about the Tigers farm system. Not that I would expect you to know anything about the Tigers farm system, but that has no relevance to his or anyone else's skill level. Avila is more talented than anyone the Mets have thrown out there at C since Piazza left.

I suppose that message is going to be stamped "return to sender" upon reaching MG's brain, so consider this message for the edification of others. Avila: talented catcher prospect. Clete, Raburn, Maggs, Guillen all > Frenchy. Jackson and Wells: probably better than Frenchy. Just in case any of you were wondering how the Tigers outfielders stack up to select dumb Mets outfielders who suck.

[Jeffy25]

Every member of the Tigers outfield is better than Frenchy right now, with the possible exception of Austin Jackson and Casper Wells, if they make the team but struggle to make the adjustment to the bigs. Clete Thomas is about an equivalent hitter but light years ahead defensively. Magglio Ordonez is a better hitter and equivalent defender. Ryan Raburn is an equivalent fielder and better hitter. Carlos Guillen really doesn't count as an outfielder anymore, but he is about as good as Frenchy when he plays outfield, certainly not any worse.

You haven't heard of Alex Avila because you don't know anything about the Tigers farm system. Not that I would expect you to know anything about the Tigers farm system, but that has no relevance to his or anyone else's skill level. Avila is more talented than anyone the Mets have thrown out there at C since Piazza left.

I suppose that message is going to be stamped "return to sender" upon reaching MG's brain, so consider this message for the edification of others. Avila: talented catcher prospect. Clete, Raburn, Maggs, Guillen all > Frenchy. Jackson and Wells: probably better than Frenchy. Just in case any of you were wondering how the Tigers outfielders stack up to select dumb Mets outfielders who suck.

Mags equal to Francouer defensively?

[HoustonGM]

Mags equal to Francouer defensively?

UZR, 07-09:
Ordonez: +7.0
Francoeur: +6.3

TotalZone + OFArm, 07-09:
Ordonez: -2.0
Francoeur: +2.0

And they both actually follow a similar pattern - very good in 2007, below average or worse in 2008 and 2009.

[haveacigar]

Mags equal to Francouer defensively?

Probably. He's got the speed of a glacier at this point, but he positions himself well so that he gets to enough balls to be slightly below average. He's also extremely fundamentally sound and sure-handed. Francouer has more speed but doesn't do nearly as good a job of handling balls he can field, so they even out.

[metsguy234]

Francoeur gets a lot of hate from basically everyone. I think it's more envy and jealousy though.