Archive of SportingNews.com's old SOM Baseball forum

I know the general rule is to get a 1 or 2 at SS. What about at 2B? I'm choosing between Ray (3e16) and Oquendo(2e9) on a team at Royals Stadium.

I know Oquendo has the good OBP, but Ray has a higher SLG, mostly from doubles which should work well at Royals Stadium. Plus all 5 of Ray's years he has a plus-700 OPS. Will Oquendo's defense make enough difference?

Thanks.

"Most" people would play Oquendo. He is rarely a Free Agent. Ray usually is. Oquendo is excellent at Royals.

I dont know if it shows how good he is or how bad the SS pool is, but Oquendo frequently starts at SS.

At Royals I would be tempted to use Ray over Oquendo due to the better hitting and more doubles. Oquendo will get his walks but you really need the base hits that Ray can provide IMO. Sax is another good choice if you are going with a 3. That being said there are generally several decent hitting 2B free agents that are 2 fielders. See if Damaso Garcia is available. Garcia has always performed for my teams. :)

I've used Oquendo, Sax and Ray quite extensively, mostly in Fenway which is similar to KC in the singles ratings which is where these three guys excel. In other words, power numbers don't matter in this case. I have had very good luck with all three, but would choose Sax and then Ray for KC unless you are working with a three at shortstop. Sax if you want more speed and better hitter against lefties and Ray if you need a guy who hits better against righties.

Mike

The gb(2b)X shows up mostly on a roll of a 7 in one of the pitcher's columns. That being said, the difference between a range of "1" vs the other ranges over a 162 game period is:

"2" - 16 singles
"3" - 32 singles
"4" - 48 singles

Ranges of 3 and 4 give single** as well as single*. (**=runners advance 2 bases) A range of 2 only gives up single* on a roll of 1 or 2 on a twenty sided die.

The other thing you lose on range is the ability to turn the double play. Ranges of 3 and 4 have more frequent gbc outs vs. all gba outs for a 1.

I don't mind trotting a 3 out to 2B and even a 4 if he has low e numbers if the hitter gives me what I need on offense.

Another consideration is your pitching staff.
If you have high strike-out, high fly ball out pitchers, you can get away with lower range infielders.
However, on Oquendo, I think I've seen him released more than any other player in my short time at the game.
The great D and high OBP look attractive, but he never seems to produce.

Everyone talks about the 1's and 2's turning more double plays, but I haven't seen that result. My teams typically have one 3 and a 2 at 2B/SS. I thought I'd change that up with one of my teams and went with Reynolds and Ozzie. Result after 72 games is they have turned 60 DP's, tied for 10th in the league, 1 DP ahead of the two teams on the bottom. I know this is only one team, but in this one case, having two 1's at 2b and SS hasn't added to the DP total.

Mike

Having a 1 or 2 at 2B/SS does make a difference on DPs. You get more DPs off a GB(X).

A factor to consider is the opportunity to turn double plays. For example, if your pitching staff is a little worse than normal, you might be giving up more singles and walks, giving your middle infield a chance to turn more DPs (even though the percentage of possible DPs may be lower). It'd be interesting to see how team WHIP factors in with DPs.

Remember too that the 1's (especially those with low e-ratings) up the middle will eliminate more baserunners than a 2-4. (Ozzie can't turn a double play because he threw the potential lead runner out at first.)

[quote:c5ec2e6b3b]If you have high strike-out, high fly ball out pitchers, you can get away with lower range infielders.[/quote:c5ec2e6b3b]Not really. All pitchers have the same exact gb(X)'s and fb(x)'s. I guess you could argue that the different non-X automatic outs affect something, but it'd be a real stretch.

[quote:90f787c987]Everyone talks about the 1's and 2's turning more double plays, but I haven't seen that result.[/quote:90f787c987]

Ball players have plenty of GBA results on their own cards let alone the naturals that show up on a pitcher's card as well.

I probably could have expressed it better by saying a 1 or a 2 will have a higher chance to turn a double play [b:90f787c987]per 2bX opportunity.[/b:90f787c987]