BETTER, YOUNGER, CHEAPER
After looking at career stats for the center fielders available this off-season, it’s clear that the Dodgers should be pursuing Aaron Rowand, rather than Torii Hunter.
Start with age: Rowand is two years younger than Hunter, and hasn’t played half his career on the terrible turf at the Homer Dome. Rowand is often injured from playing all-out Darin Erstad-type baseball, but I anticipate that Hunter is theplayer whose knees will be giving out by the end of his next contract.
Rowand is also a better hitter. His career average is 15 points higher than Hunter’s, and his OBP is 20 points higher. Hunter has never ever hit .300 The two players’ slugging and OPS are nearly identical. Rowand steals fewer bases than Hunter, but that has as much to do with the bandbox ballpark he plays in, where base-stealing is useless.
Rowand will also assuredly come cheaper than Hunter or Andruw Jones. Jones will want to be paid based on his entire career, even though he had a terrible walk year; Hunter will want to be paid based on his walk year, even though he has never put up those kind of numbers consistently.
But do we need a centerfielder? Only if we can move Juan Pierre. I can’t imagine who would take him and his nancy arm and giant contract.
The best move of all would be to sign Mike Lowell, whose numbers are almost identical to Rowand’s. He plays a position where the Dodgers are deficient: third base. It would require moving Nomar once again, this time to second base, and probably using Andy LaRoche as trade bait. But I’m all for it.
Start with age: Rowand is two years younger than Hunter, and hasn’t played half his career on the terrible turf at the Homer Dome. Rowand is often injured from playing all-out Darin Erstad-type baseball, but I anticipate that Hunter is theplayer whose knees will be giving out by the end of his next contract.
Rowand is also a better hitter. His career average is 15 points higher than Hunter’s, and his OBP is 20 points higher. Hunter has never ever hit .300 The two players’ slugging and OPS are nearly identical. Rowand steals fewer bases than Hunter, but that has as much to do with the bandbox ballpark he plays in, where base-stealing is useless.
Rowand will also assuredly come cheaper than Hunter or Andruw Jones. Jones will want to be paid based on his entire career, even though he had a terrible walk year; Hunter will want to be paid based on his walk year, even though he has never put up those kind of numbers consistently.
But do we need a centerfielder? Only if we can move Juan Pierre. I can’t imagine who would take him and his nancy arm and giant contract.
The best move of all would be to sign Mike Lowell, whose numbers are almost identical to Rowand’s. He plays a position where the Dodgers are deficient: third base. It would require moving Nomar once again, this time to second base, and probably using Andy LaRoche as trade bait. But I’m all for it.
posted by John Rosenthal @ 12:14 PM
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