Dodgers' Furcal, Hudson Best in West
by Eric Stephen on Feb 25, 2009 3:56 PM PST
in Dodgers History & Records
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PrintThe acquisition of Orlando Hudson to play second base for the Dodgers gives the club a pair of formidable 31-year olds to man the middle infield in 2009. Thanks to the amazing Fangraphs, I decided to look at the 2009 projections for Hudson and Rafael Furcal, and compare them to the other middle infields of the NL West.
On Fangraphs, there are four projection systems on display: Bill James, CHONE, Marcel, and Oliver. I looked at all four projections for the middle infielders of the NL West, then averaged them out. To figure OPS+, I used the lgOBP and lgSLG from 2008 for each team. It may not be scientifically reliable, but it gives us a rough idea of what will happen this year.
I also added in the combined 2008 plus/minus (per 2,000 innings; 1,000 for each fielder) and UZR/150 to give us an idea of the defensive acumen of these middle infielders. The Giants' 2B job is up for grabs, but for sake of comparison I used Kevin Frandsen, since he had the best numbers offensively and defensively of the trio.
| Team | 2B/SS Combo | BA/OBP/SLG | OPS+ | +/- / 2000 inn. | UZR/150 |
| Dodgers |
Hudson/Furcal | .282/.351/.415 | 101 | -6.7 | -23.9 |
| Rockies | Barmes/Tulowitzki | .270/.326/.423 | 90 | +19.3 | +10.0 |
| Giants | Frandsen/Renteria | .281/.338/.406 | 93 | -13.2 | +9.1 |
| D-Backs | Lopez/Drew | .271/.335/.422 | 92 | -18.3 | -23.5 |
| Padres | Eckstein/Rodriguez | .270/.334/.356 | 91 | -6.8 | -11.3 |
I'd like to think if both Hudson and Furcal are healthy, they will be even better both offensively and defensively. Of course, that's a huge "if." Still, with catcher Russell Martin and centerfielder Matt Kemp joining Hudson and Furcal, the Dodgers are as strong up the middle as they've ever been.
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Best in the West
ain’t nothing to be bragging about but hopefully by the end of the year these boys can sit in the top three against all of the NL teams. If healthy we may only be sitting behind Utley/Rollins and Uggla/Ramirez. Others in the running might be Weeks/Hardy, and Fontenot/Theriot. I need to see the Cub duo do it again before I believe in them. Dark Horse could be Belliard/Guzman. Belliard quietly had the highest average after Aug 1st. Per Baseball HQ
.It may be surprising to hear that no other player in major league baseball had a better BA after August 1st last year than Ronnie Belliard (INF, WAS). Among players with at least 50 plate appearances, Belliard’s .408 BA was tops. Because his overall line (.287-11-46-37-3) is on par with or below prior years, it may be easy to overlook the good things Belliard did last year:
For some bizarre reason I’ve often enjoyed watching the roly-poly Belliard play baseball. His BABIP was quite high but his XBA was still a solid .305. The power and patience were not normal but he did show those skills in the past.
I like Belliard too
He physically looks like a mini-Manny Ramirez.
I’m hoping we can settle in to the #3 spot behind Phillies and Marlins. We can perhaps pass Florida if the defense comes through to close the offensive gap.
by Eric Stephen on Feb 25, 2009 4:56 PM PST up reply actions
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