"[I like] the commitment that [Betancourt's] shown in wanting to improve his lateral range and get it back to where it was a few years ago. Because it's a little bit off, reportedly, from what it was when he first came up with Seattle," Hillman said.
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I know it won't happen but if somehow he could get back
to the ‘06-07 Yuni…KC fans would be glad to have him. Too bad that won’t happen
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
It is 2010
I know we have to hope that happens but I think a lot of us (at least I always do) fail to realize how long ago 2006-2007 was.
Anyway, I’m trying to get my mind ready to read all of these fluff pieces that will stream out in the next two months.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
betancourt
He won’t return to 06-07 form, but what would it take for you all consider him anything but a massive failure? .270 avg with at least average uzr? .260? Ugh. I guess the only way we will have a productive shortsop is if aviles returns.
I know he won't
return to ‘06-07 but I’m sure that’s what GMDM is hoping for.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
[insert 2006 joke here]
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 13, 2010 11:54 PM EST up reply actions
Better Than 2005?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 13, 2010 11:58 PM EST up reply actions
It just doesn't make sense.
When we got Yuni, management raved about his lateral range. Now, we’re suddenly hearing management say his lateral range isn’t what it was when he first came up.
Which is what everybody said when we acquired him.
Ummm. Really guys?
-
I love that it's "reportedly" not what it used to be.
Hillman can see for himself that Yuni sucks. Did these reports contain statistics? Do the stats guys in KC have to translate all reports before giving them to their bosses so that they don’t contain advance stats and, therefore, might be taken seriously?
He has to answer to Dayton
He doesn’t dare directly call him a liar
Chaim Mattis Keller New York City's # 1 Royals fan!
how old is he?
he’s 28, so maybe there’s something left…i think he will get better, but probably a regression to the mean…still doesn’t change the fact that it was a terrible trade to bring him in.
but hey, at least they guy sounds like he’s got a positive attitude and wants to maximize his potential, so that’s something.
"He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it felt...he lives vicariously...through himself- He is the most interesting man in the world"
by Home Run Tony Cogan on Feb 14, 2010 9:09 AM EST reply actions
"reportedly" kills me...
I really dislike this guy. I understand his bitterness, but he can’t help making digs at people whenever he possibly can.
It reminds me of the old MIchael Lewis profile of former and fully redeemed Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. He was considered “red-map” rich (as opposed to “blue-map” rich). The “red-map” rich are the business owners, the CEOs of industrial behemoths, the guys who have their feet to the fire every day and make and sell stuff we need. The “blue-map” rich are basically Wall St, hedge funds—anyone who makes money betting on the works of others. I like the distinction, and it makes sense to me because it puts the lie to the idea that Wall St is first and foremost a conduit for putting money where it can be used most efficiently. Maybe that was the case. But now a staggering percentage of Wall St profits come from making bets. Not disbursing capital, or funding new business. Making bets. I digress.
Many “red-map” rich are disdainful of “blue-map” rich because they feel that somehow their (the “blue-mappers’”) wealth is less honestly earned. Likewise (and here’s the point), Hillman and other “baseball men” are roundly disdainful of analysts, mostly because most analysts have never played at a high level, never coached, never seen practice put into effect. AlsoAnalysts are blue-mappers. They consider output rather than input.
The Royals “reportedly” sucked last year. Part of the reason was a terrible SS.
allegedly
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Feb 16, 2010 11:40 AM EST up reply actions
Why not Callaspo at 1B and Butler DHing
That has to be one of the better alignments. It’s better than Gordon at 1B and Callaspo at 3B except it doesn’t give them the ability to market Callaspo’s ability at 3B to other teams.
I don’t think anyone will displace Yuni at SS until Aviles is healthy, but assuming Guillen continues to suck I’d prefer Callaspo at 1B and Butler at the DH spot.
That is a pretty fast lineup, with the only really slow guys being Butler and Kendall. Yuni is still an idiot tho…
I Haven't Seen
Any evidence that Callaspo would be better in the field than Butler, and Butler will play 1B for at least the next few years. No one, including the Royals, wants to see Callaspo at 1B for any length of time. Hillman needs to bite the bullet and DH him with the occasional 2B 3B relief appearance. I don’t know where that leaves Fields, but Callaspo is better at 3B both in the field and at the plate.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 14, 2010 1:40 PM EST up reply actions
So the Royals have remade the outfield by adding Ankiel and Podsednik and by moving David DeJesus from left to right, bumping Jose Guillen to designated hitter.
“It’s not a difficult equation to understand — we’ve got better foot speed out there,” Hillman said
…
In Hillman’s view, the right side of the infield should improve two ways — by using Getz at second base instead of Alberto Callaspo and because Billy Butler is adjusting rapidly to first base, a new position for him last year.
“Chris Getz is rangier than Alberto is, and hopefully that’ll give us more lateral range and [Getz] can step up to the degree that we think he can in playing most of the time at second base,” Hillman said. “[We’re] not trying to cut Alberto out of the mix, because we’d like to find a way to get that .300 hitter in the lineup.”
On the left side of the infield are holdovers Gordon and Yuniesky Betancourt, …
I’m sure there is a Process® by which the Royals can get Callaspo’s bat into the lineup, with all positions in the infield and outfield covered and Guillen at DH.
Since we’re too dumb to understand The Process® I guess we’ll just have to trust the Front Office.
by Steve Nelson on Feb 14, 2010 3:58 PM EST up reply actions
Do We Really
Have “better foot speed out there” than we did with DDJ, Mitch and Teahen? Hell, we’re probably not better offensively with the current arrangement, either. Oh, and Hoagy needs to be taken for a ride in the country.
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 14, 2010 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
Sounds like we need to start talking about The Equation
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 14, 2010 5:49 PM EST up reply actions
Bullshit x Bullshit = Total Bullshit
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 14, 2010 5:58 PM EST up reply actions
Negative + Negative = Parade at The Plaza!
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 14, 2010 10:29 PM EST up reply actions
You've unraveled the key equation underlying the Process®!!!
It’s suddenly so clear now!!!
Moore knows that multiplying a negative times a negative makes a positive. So The Process® is based on acquiring negative WAR players and playing them off against each other. As the negative WARs multiply they produce positive WAR.
Total, utter brilliance. This ranks right up there with the discovery of the Mooreian Primes.
++++
Folks, we need to admit that we’ve completely underestimated GMDM. Looking at the OF acquisitions this off-season The Process® is suddenly crystal clear.
Can you appreciate how totally stupid I feel right now?
And you, BrRoyal, unraveled it for us. Hats off to you, good man. Well done, sir. Well done.
by Steve Nelson on Feb 15, 2010 12:11 AM EST up reply actions
"it's a little bit off, reportedly, from what it was when he first came up with Seattle," Hillman said.
That’s like saying “Columbus was a little bit off, reportedly, when he landed in Hispaniola and thought he was in India.”
Here's a 4-year old (Feb 2006) roundtable discussion at USS Mariner discussing YuBet
Position Roundtables: Starting Shortstop
Lots of interesting stuff to look at there in retrospect.
I was looking for – but couldn’t find – a comment of Dave Cameron’s from about that time that I recall in which Dave observed that Betancourt’s value was almost totally tied up in his speed and reflexes. And since those are physical gifts that actually begin diminishing by age 25, Dave thought there was a good chance that Betancourt would have a pretty short career arc.
But I think it arced a lot faster than anyone had expected. Of course, if Betancourt really wasn’t 25 when he arrived ….
I think we can trust a shortstop frum Cuba
I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at FanGraphs.
Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.
by Matt Klaassen on Feb 14, 2010 6:21 PM EST up reply actions
even if he was 25,
he got here made money and ate. I call it the Andruw Jones diet.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
yeah...
because andruw jones really sucked once he got paid…
Fire Everyone
by billybeingbilly on Feb 15, 2010 5:18 AM EST up reply actions
Comparing Betancourt to Larkin:
The difference between Larkin and the guys who never developed into hitters? He commanded the strike zone, even from a young age. He didn’t walk a ton, but he always had more walks than strikeouts, and he wasn’t making easy outs on pitches well out of the strike zone. Right now, Betancourt doesn’t have that kind of plate discipline. He’s a hack, a free swinger who would rather chase a pitch outside and foul it off than stand there with the bat on his shoulder. And that puts massive limits on how good of a hitter he can be.
Seems like the Royals already tried that approach with a previous shortstop.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
Well,...
we do need some more relief pitching help. Perhaps Yuni can do that?
Air Cassel - approved for takeoff
Always in motion is the future.
-- Yoda
we will know for sure once he starts trying the one handed swing approach
"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell
From The Comments
I like having Betancourt in the lineup when I go to games for the same reason I liked going when Griffey, Cameron or Vizquel played, the possibility of seeing a jaw-dropping, I can’t believe what I just saw kind of play.
Now we do the same, right?
I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.
by philofthenorth on Feb 14, 2010 7:24 PM EST up reply actions
I think the comment of Dave's that I was looking for may be this one in the comments to this article:
Dave on February 9th, 2006 6:10 pm:
He doesn’t have to walk to be valuable. Like I said, I’ve argued that he’s a valuable player right now, and I wouldn’t swap him for Tejada straight up. But I think its important people realize that Betancourt’s pretty darn close to being as good as he’s going to be. Defense degrades over time, so he’s almost certainly as good with the glove as he’s ever going to be, and a huge majority of his value is tied to his work in the field.
by Steve Nelson on Feb 14, 2010 8:03 PM EST up reply actions
Toward the end of Betancourt's time in Seattle ...
… the Mariners sat him on the bench to try to get his attention about being more selective at the plate. When YuBet came back, sure enough his walk rate increased.
At first thought, one might think the message was received and that Betancourt was being more selective. One of the good authors at Lookout Landing, though, created a nice graph showing that Betancourt actually wasn’t being more selective. He was simply taking more pitches, regardless of where the pitch was thrown.
The reason Betancourt was walking more was because pitchers all knew that Betancourt would chase anything hittable, no matter what the count. They had learned that it was silly to feel a need to throw a strike with a 3-ball count because Betancourt would chase the pitch anyway. So when Betancourt suddenly stopped swinging at any pitch, no matter where it was thrown, when he had three balls, he started collecting walks.
Of course, as soon as pitchers realized he wasn’t swinging on three-ball counts they started throwing him strikes, which he promptly took as called strikes.
Now, there probably isn’t a single thing in the world that has more power to change Betancourt’s behavior than does having a strike called against him while the bat was on his shoulder. Taking a called strike must summon up the foulest Balrogs from the deepest recesses of his soul, and he without a Gandalf the Gray to fend them.
So in less than a week Betancourt was back to swinging at everything, his soul was reclaimed by the Balrogs, and order was restored in Betancourt’s universe
+++++.
Shortly thereafterJack Zduriencik was scrolling through his phonebook to see who he hadn’t talked to in awhile. The entry for Dayton Moore appeared, and Jack Z paused, stroked his chin, and extended his finger toward the “dial” key.
by Steve Nelson on Feb 14, 2010 7:28 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
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