Nothing's more fun than a link to a spreadsheet!

Weeell.... On the heels of crazy posts from everywhere and every angle on the Crisp-Ramirez trade, replete with the usual overheated rhetoric, anger, objective analysis, dubious appeals to authority, and demands to pledge allegiance Sluggerrr, I decided to take a break and do some actual work.

Just kidding. Actually, I went back to a "project" I started a while back and then set aside for home brewing total player value. Other people do it better, but there is a certain joy from doing something oneself.

It all started when I realized that UZR had Emil Brown as a good defender in 2005 and 2006. You can read how I used what stats where in notes to linked spread sheet. I used UZR for the most part because I had access to those stats. It would be nice to use Dewans, but only the leaders/trailers are posted publicly. For some 2007 players and all 2008, I had to go elsewhere for stats.

This started out as a chance for me to try "total player stuff" and see how good or bad Emil Brown really was in 2005 andn 2006. In that connection, at one point I posted yesterday or the day before that Emil Brown had been better than Jose Guillen 3 of the last 4 years (2005-2008 is the time frame of this stuff), and thought it was true based on my original calculations. It turns out he was only better 2 of the last 4, though, after I included outfield arms and prorated positional adjustments and replacement levels. Still, the comparison is quite interesting... Check out those totals.

This isn't "projective" on its own and isn't meant that way, although the stats could be, of course, used as part of a projection. Keep in mind that these stats are all gathered from elsewhere and combined as objectively as I could according to principles accepted by respected analysts. OF arms aren't available from THT for 2008 yet. You can disagree with stats (like the defensive stuff), but I did the best I could with what I could find out there for free.

Also included: 2005-2008 comparisons of KCs current (as of this writing!) top 4 OFs, an enjoyable "after-dinner" mint for KC fans, and, of course, an Ultimate Showdown for entertainment.

I hope you enjoy this little spreadsheeted march through recent history half as much as I (absurdly) did.

Update: Here's what Tango says WAR/year generally indicates as far a player quality (although it's clear some GMs don't get it:

0 replacement level/out of the majors

1 bench player

2 average player (might be closer to 2.5 for Al position players)

3 above average player

4 very good player

5 great player

6 one of the best players in the league