Monday February 9, 2004
ZZZZZZZZZZZ……….
There is still not much to talk about in the world of baseball. Greg Maddux has yet to sign. The Cubs have made their offer. The Dodgers reportedly are talking to Maddux and his agent Scott Boras. The Cardinals are trying to find money to make him an offer, but need to restructure other contracts to do so. I still think that he will end up with the Cubs on a two year deal with an option for a third year.
Thanks to David, The Baseball Savant, who sent me this link to our favorite American Idol contestant from this season, William Hung. Very interesting stuff!!
Other than that, the only baseball note that caught my attention over the weekend was the Red Sox signed RF Trot Nixon to a three year contract worth about $19.5 million. My first thought was how similar Nixon is to the Twins Jacque Jones, and now they will both be playing the same position, RF.
The main similarity is that neither can hit left-handed pitching. Grady Little (the Red Sox former manager) finally realized this and platooned for Nixon in right field last year. I believe that this greatly enhanced Nixon’s numbers in 2003, since they did not drop because of his struggles against left-handers. If Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire would learn from the results of Nixon and start a platoon in right field with Jacque Jones and (probably) Michael Cuddyer, I would expect big numbers from Jacque in 2004.
There are, of course, several differences between the two players. Nixon takes walks. Jones doesn’t. Nixon is not a good defensive outfielder. Jones is.
Trot Nixon was the Red Sox first round draft pick in 1993 out of high school. He worked his way up the Red Sox organization and had cups of coffee with the Sox, playing 15 total games between 1996 and 1998. 1999 was his first full season in the big leagues.
Jacque Jones is a year younger (28) than is Nixon. He went to three years of college before the Twins drafted him in the second round of the 1996 draft. Jones was called up to the Twins in the middle of the 1999 season and has been up since, playing most every day.
If you look at their stats side-by-side, they are quite similar. When you compare the numbers of Nixon in 2001 and compare them to Jones’ numbers in 2002 (both of their 27 year old seasons). When you look at Nixon’s 2002 numbers and compare them to what should have been Jones full-season numbers in 2003, they are similar.
Here are their stats from the past three seasons:
|
|
AB |
2B |
HR |
RBI |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
K |
AB/2B |
AB/HR |
AB/K |
|
Trot Nixon |
1508 |
91 |
79 |
269 |
0.516 |
0.689 |
0.901 |
318 |
16.571 |
19.1 |
4.7 |
|
Jacque Jones |
1569 |
95 |
57 |
203 |
0.544 |
0.629 |
0.842 |
326 |
16.516 |
27.5 |
4.8 |
Similar at bats and doubles. Nixon has hit more homers and driven in more runs (probably due to that Red Sox offensive juggernaut. Jones hit for a higher batting average but Nixon got on base more frequently and his power numbers were better. I think that these numbers would be even closer had Jones not missed time in 2003 with his groin injury that never healed 100% the rest of the season.
But lets look a little closer at these numbers. Both crushed right handers over the last three seasons:
|
|
AB |
2B |
HR |
RBI |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
K |
AB/2B |
AB/HR |
AB/K |
|
Trot Nixon |
1191 |
80 |
72 |
230 |
0.295 |
0.386 |
0.560 |
228 |
14.888 |
16.5 |
5.2 |
|
Jacque Jones |
1209 |
74 |
52 |
169 |
0.313 |
0.355 |
0.506 |
218 |
16.338 |
23.3 |
5.5 |
Both still strike out too frequently, but both hit quite well against righties. Where both struggle so much is against left-handed pitching. Here are those numbers over the last three seasons:
|
|
AB |
2B |
HR |
RBI |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
K |
AB/2B |
AB/HR |
AB/K |
|
Trot Nixon |
317 |
11 |
7 |
39 |
0.221 |
0.303 |
0.341 |
90 |
28.818 |
45.3 |
3.5 |
|
Jacque Jones |
360 |
21 |
5 |
34 |
0.231 |
0.274 |
0.336 |
108 |
17.143 |
72.0 |
3.3 |
All of their numbers drop pretty drastically. They both strike out even more frequently, and don’t hit for much power. Twins fans grow weary of seeing some of Jacque’s flailing swings against some lefties. Here is how the two players performed against left-handed pitchers in 2003:
|
|
AB |
2B |
HR |
RBI |
BA |
OBP |
SLG |
K |
AB/2B |
AB/HR |
AB/K |
|
Trot Nixon |
96 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
0.219 |
0.296 |
0.375 |
21 |
24.0 |
32.0 |
4.6 |
|
Jacque Jones |
145 |
12 |
2 |
14 |
0.269 |
0.310 |
0.393 |
41 |
12.1 |
72.5 |
3.5 |
Jacque actually hit for a decent batting average against lefties last year. His numbers are better across the board (with the exception of AB/K). However, neither of these numbers are good.
So, why do I show this? Well, again, Jones career path seems to have mirrored that of Trot Nixon’s. Even their salaries have been the same. As 26 year olds, they both made $2.7 million. Last year, Nixon made about $4 million. In 2004, Jacque Jones will make just over $4 million. Last year, Trot Nixon had a huge breakout season after finally being in a platoon so he doesn’t have to hit against lefties as frequently.
So, will Ron Gardenhire sit Jones against lefties more often in 2004? Will Jones be able to put up similar numbers to the .306/.396/.578 with 28 homers and 87 RBI that Trot Nixon did last year? Clearly staying healthy will be the biggest factor in that decision. However, I believe that Jacque Jones is about to take his stardom to a whole new level!
So, if he does, and the market doesn’t change, I think Jacque could get a contract similar to Nixon’s 3 year, $19.5 million contract. Will it be with the Twins? Probably not, but someone will certainly pay him that amount.
So, what do you think? Am I overly positive in my thinking of Jacque Jones? E-mail me.
I have a new goal for this site. Head over to Baseball Primer and vote for their nominees for the 2003 Baseball Primer Primeys. My new goal is to get a nomination for 2004. Just one. I want to be nominated for Best Baseball Site - Weblog. And yes, it would be an honor just to be nominated! They have five nominees that you can vote on as your choice for the award. Here they are, be sure to check them all out.
Doug’s Business of Baseball Weblog
It’s good to have goals, right?
Well, the Wolves were able to pull out a good win against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night, but were knocked off by a jumper with 2.9 seconds left by Shane Battier on Sunday as they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Friday night though, the story was KG vs. Lebron. James had an off night, shooting just 6-18 from the field for 14 points. He also had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. For the Wolves, Garnett was the man, again! 35 points, 12 rebounds and 3 steals. Latrell Sprewell scored 24 points and had 7 assists. Sam Cassell had just 12 points but dished out 11 assists. Wolves 103, Cavaliers 92.
On Sunday afternoon, the Wolves faced a surprisingly good Memphis team. Battier’s jump shot gave the Grizzlies the go-ahead basket. However, the Wolves ran a great inbounds play from under their basket. Fred Hoiberg passed it in to Mark Madsen who had an open look at a layup. Unfortunately for Madsen and the Wolves, Mark missed the 2 footer and the Wolves lost 99-98. With Garnett, Cassell and Sprewell all on the court at the same time, the Wolves set up Madsen for a great shot. I love the call, and given the same chance, Madsen will make that shot 9 out of 10 times. The win gives the Grizzlies a 29-21 record on the season. The organization had never won more than 28 games in their history.
The Wolves fall to 35-15, two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.
Any thoughts on the Wolves?? E-mail me.
Thanks for stopping by today. I’m going to keep it short. I’m working on a surprise for the website which will be posted later in the week. It is something I haven’t done before and hope it turns out well. If you have any questions or comments on anything related to baseball, the Twins, basketball, the Wolves, TV or anything, please e-mail me. And, have yourself a great week!