Tim Brown has decided that the estimable Omar Infante is the reason the Braves are in the playoffs.
Now, Omar’s having a good year. A career year, in fact. So good for him. And, sure, the Braves slipped in by a tiny enough margin that I guess you could say that anybody playing above replacement level is "the reason" they made it. But here’s Omar Infante’s career year for you:
.321 / .359 / .416 / .775, 111 OPS+, 8 HR, 29 BB, 2.9 WAR
Woo. Also worth 2.9 WAR in 2010: obvious first-ballot Hall-of-Famers Colby Rasmus and David DeJesus. And also Choke-Rod! That’s true. Wow, he’s having a really shitty year. A really shitty year that’s just as valuable as all-time Braves MVP Omar Infante’s best year ever. So let’s take a look at why it is that Omar Infante is suddenly the best player of all time, shall we?
The thing about October, and baseball in October, it’s not all about the broad shoulders and sizeable reputations.
That’s true. Mainly it’s about the hitting and catching and throwing. So get on with telling me about why Infante’s shoulders and reputation are so awesome.
Sometimes, when most everybody else goes home, the games are not about those who play ball, but the ballplayers.
Ballplayer, n.: a player in any of several games in which a ball is used, esp. baseball.
I got that from here. Any guesses what the hell Tim is talking about?
There’s a difference, and it’s subtle, and it’s found in the dark corners where games are won. Or not. Ballplayers go there.
Care to tell us what it is? No? Just going to be florid about it? Great, thanks.
He is the utilityman who became an All-Star, the All-Star who became an everyday player, the everyday player who is first a ballplayer, and quite possibly a pivotal one in a division series that will be decided by excessive pitching or wispy offenses, depending on where one stands.
He became an everyday player because the Braves have been absolutely housed by injuries. That’s the reason they limped into the playoffs instead of cruising, yeah? And he became an All-Star because All-Star selections are goofy shit voted on by fans in April. I’m quoting the sponsor on Omar’s BR player card here:
"NL All-Star 2010. As of 7/6/10: 181 PAs; .700 OPS; 90 OPS+; 0.7 WAR; shaky glove; owned in 1.1% of ESPN Fantasy leagues—Not your fault, Omar. MLB finds a new way to sully the best all-star game."
Now, I’m not going down crazy street with this guy and claiming that MLB "sullied" the All-Star Game, which is pretty goofy to begin with; Omar Infante was chosen by old baseball man / crazy person Charlie Manuel, not like dictated from above by Bud. The manager gets to make a few picks, and Manuel, like a maniac, chose a scrappy, no-hit, no-glove utility infielder over, like, Carlos Gonzalez. But still: All-Star Game selections are stupid.
He has narrow shoulders and virtually no reputation beyond the teams he plays against and the one he plays for.
Ah, the magic "shoulders and reuptation" combo — widely believed to be the key ingredient to a World Series win.
He’s the guy in right field. Or left. Or at shortstop, second base or third base.
He’s had 506 PA this year. 3/5 of them have been at 2B because Prado was hurt, and then he switched to 3B when Chipper went down. But, yeah, he did play six games in right, so good job leading off with that!
He’s the guy who took over for Martin Prado, the Braves’ best player at the time.
Prado’s having a nice little season, but the Braves’ best player? Yikes. That’s hard to claim even if you’re just talking about his ridiculous .403 BABIP-fueled April.
Years ago, he was run off positions and out of at-bats in Detroit by Ramon Santiago, Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco and Fernando Vina, so he earned back a few swings by playing six different positions, figuring it out, surviving.
Yeah, that’s what utility players do, man. Because they’re not very good. Did you realise that Omar Infante’s WAR this year is only 2.9? And it’s by far his best year ever? That’s what we in the "knowing what we’re talking about" business refer to as "bad."
Now 28, hardened by his positional vagabonding and inspired by the public ridicule that accompanied his surprise All-Star selection in July, Infante no longer plays from the bench.
If Larry hadn’t exploded his legs, do you really believe this would be the case, Tim Brown? He’s subbing for an injured starter, man. Get a grip.
From the Braves’ opening day eight, only two started game 162, a win that clinched the organization’s first playoff appearance in five years.
That’s exactly what I just said.
For that, in part, they can thank Infante, who walked into the season a utility player and walked out with 506 plate appearances
They can thank Infante for Chipper getting hurt? Thanks a lot, Omar, you fuck!
a .321 batting average (third in the National League, behind Carlos Gonzalez and Joey Votto)
Also a .359 OBP, good for 22nd in the league, behind (again!) the legendary Colby Rasmus. And a .416 SLG, good for 54th, behind the decaying corpse of Carlos Lee and just ahead of the decaying corpse of Garrett Jones. And, if I haven’t mentioned this, a 2.9 WAR, which places him 44th in the NL — six spots behind Chipper Jones, who he replaced, and who had 130 fewer PA.
and a .345 average with runners in scoring position (fourth, behind Adrian Gonzalez, Votto and Gonzalez).
Nobody cares, Tim. Nobody cares. No one.
But you want to talk clutch stats, even though they’re pretty much bullshit? Okay. Omar Infante’s WPA: 0.3. 94th in the league. You know who’s 93rd? That’s right: Colby Rasmus. So your airtight case for Omar Infante’s best-player-ever trophy appears to be based on the claim that he’s like Colby Rasmus, but 5% less good.
Chipper Jones, incidentally, has 8.2 WPA, which ranks 17th in the league. And has 130 fewer PA.
He played five positions, all of them adeptly.
I checked both TZ and UZR for this, and it turns out that if "adeptly" means "acceptably," that’s pretty much true. His performance at all five positions, by either scale, is within two runs of being average.
So, the new Omar Infante for MVP case: he’s 5% less good than Colby Rasmus offensively, and he can play several different positions with average skill!
"I always had it on my mind to be a good player," he said Wednesday evening.
Oh, did you? It was on your mind this whole time, but you just never got around to it, huh? What a weird quote.
In a series that might find itself searching hard for offensive heroes – both teams fought to score runs in the regular season, and both were particularly soft offensively in September – Infante could be its man.
Well, I mean, I guess he could be. Scott Podsednik homered in like his first PA in the 2005 World Series, after hitting zero HR all year long. David Eckstein has a World Series MVP. All kinds of crazy shit can happen in a small sample. However, seriously, which of these men, by OPS, seems most likely to be the "offensive hero" of NLDS 2?
• .849
• .849
• .828
• .862
• .891
• .872
• .775
One of these things is not like the others, huh? Here are the names to go with those numbers:
• Jason Heyward (.849)
• Derrek Lee (.849)
• Brian McCann (.828)
• Buster Posey (.862)
• Aubrey Huff (.891)
• Pat Burrell (.872)
• Omar Infante (.775)
Rank those 1-7. In any conceivable universe, does Omar Infante not rank 7th? And this will blow your mind: that list contains both teams’ catchers.
One hot bat, one critical hit with a couple runners on base (the Braves batted just above the league average with runners in scoring position, while the Giants were the worst in the league), and the series very well could have its Mark Lemke, its Billy Hatcher, its Marty Barrett.
That is awesome. 2010 Most Valuable Backhanded Compliment: that.
Only, Infante has been doing this all year, and for a club whose leading RBI man (Brian McCann) had only 77.
Injuries. Injuries injuries injuries. McCann only had 566 PA all year long. Chipper? 381. Derrek Lee? 151, since he was a trade-deadline pickup. Glaus? 483. Also, RBIs are a stupid stat at the individual level.
Notwithstanding the fact, of course, that Infante has thirty RBIs fewer than McCann in 506 PA. So if you think they matter… how is this not a strike against Infante?
Eight months ago, when they were preparing for spring training, the Braves believed their strengths lay in their starting rotation, their bullpen and their bench.
And you know what? They were right. Their pitching has been pretty good, and their bench was deep enough that they survived losing the entire team to injuries.
Then, as the season wore on and more players were left by the side of the road, the Braves’ bench became their regulars, and games became harder to win, and still the season wouldn’t end.
Yes. Because their pitching was good and their bench was deep. Didn’t we just talk about this?
In the heart of summer, when Prado first missed time (he’d later be lost for the season) and then Jones blew out a knee, Infante batted .429 in July and .344 in August.
Yes, Infante was good those two months. You’ve picked one of the dumbest possible ways to demonstrate that, though. BA over 63 ABs? Yikes, Tim.
Also, his BABIP in July was .520, which is insane. Remember when Manny Ramirez got suspended for doping last year and Juan Pierre (Juan Pierre!) stepped up and filled the gap? Here are Juan D’Vaughn’s BABIPS for those months:
March/April: .421
May: .410
You tell me: was Pierre’s performance during that time a giant crazy fluke, or did it represent his true level of talent? Okay, then. Again, Omar Infante in July: .520. Omar Infante’s line drive rate is 18%, which gives him an expected BABIP of .300, which he overperformed by .220. He was very, very lucky, and did very, very well. And then he came back down to earth because he is nothing resembling a .429 / .455 / .492 / .947 player.
"Guys get labeled as utilitymen for a reason," [Chipper] Jones said. "He was never given an opportunity to start. Unfortunately for me – because I got hurt – he got that opportunity."
Omar Infante played 142 games for Detroit in 2004, and then 121 in 2005. Then he went right back to the bench because he’s not very good. Which is where he’s headed when you get healthy again, Chips.
In fact, a couple weeks ago, when the Braves were in Philadelphia, Jones made a point to find Charlie Manuel, who’d chosen Infante for the All-Star team.
"I thanked him for it," Jones said. "A lot of managers wouldn’t have the courage to make that call."
Hey, one man’s courage is another man’s crazy-ass fucking lunacy. Seriously. That was one of the worst All-Star selections of all time. And Charlie Manuel doesn’t even have the excuse of picking one of his own players!
That said, if Chipper really did that, it’s pretty classy. You’re the goods, Larry.
Jones, of the broad shoulders and sizeable reputation, won’t play Thursday night, of course. Instead, Infante will be at third base. Sometimes, these things happen. Sometimes, this time of year just finds a guy.
And sometimes you’re like the only dude left on the bench who isn’t Brandon Hicks.
"I kept working at it," Infante said, "and now I’m proud of the year I had. And I’m thankful."
You should be proud of the year you had, Omar — it was pretty good. Good enough that crazy people are writing articles about how you’re the saviour of the free world, even. The kind of articles that have, in recent years, been written about Eckstein, Podsednik, Darin Erstad, Reggie Willits, Omar Vizqel, Steve Finley, and especially Mark DeRosa.
And I think that speaks for itself.
October 7th, 2010
Posted by
Darien |
Baseball |
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