Why does everyone hate Neifi Perez?

[stitchface]

First, good pitching always beats good hitting

 

What if its good pitching against good pitching? wouldn't the better hitting team win more often than not? That statement is a myth. The team that scores more runs always wins. How many runs each team scores is entirely dependent on each team's offense and defense (pitching and defense).

 

The other part wasn't directed at you but at the people who claim that the opinions of those on this board about OBP are from reading Moneyball. OPS+ has a better correlation because it accounts for the increased importance of OBP versus SLP. OPS in and of itself is not a pure stat anyway but I don't really disagree with you.

[A New Era]

I do not hate Neifi. Infact I like his spunk. He is always there at the pitcher when a huddle comes together. He really tries to help the team. Infact Dempster said at the convention when he first started closing and was in a tuff situation neifi pointed to his gold glove and told dempster to get the ball to him, Neifi then turned a double play and got out of the inning. .

 

The problem is Dusty. Who does not seem to understand that we need OBP!!!! in front of Lee. When someone specifically asked him about OBP in front of Lee he avoided the question. He still seems content to put "speed" up there rather than Walker's or Murton's OBP. It's just crazy. I would be FINE with Neifi 2B and Cedeno SS but only if Neifi bats 8th. That just won't happen with our Manager.

[CuseCubFan69]

I do not hate Neifi. Infact I like his spunk. He is always there at the pitcher when a huddle comes together. He really tries to help the team. Infact Dempster said at the convention when he first started closing and was in a tuff situation neifi pointed to his gold glove and told dempster to get the ball to him, Neifi then turned a double play and got out of the inning. .

 

The problem is Dusty. Who does not seem to understand that we need OBP!!!! in front of Lee. When someone specifically asked him about OBP in front of Lee he avoided the question. He still seems content to put "speed" up there rather than Walker's or Murton's OBP. It's just crazy. I would be FINE with Neifi 2B and Cedeno SS but only if Neifi bats 8th. That just won't happen with our Manager.

 

See that might cause a problem with Johnny B though. If you have both Cedeno AND Perez in the lineup one of them is going to bat second. Yeah, Murton might be the best choice but Baker has this SS,2b, CF have to hit at the to of the order or at very least done it in the past so I doubt the Cubs will have a sdecent lineup with those two in there. My money has Perez at the 2 spot so far.

 

Baker: (Assuming Walker is gone)

 

Pierre CF

Perez 2B

Lee 1B

ARam 3B

Jones RF

Barrett C

Murton/Mabry LF

Cedeno SS

[RockTheIvy]

Do we really want Murton hitting 2nd? I like the OBP, but I would think his power would be pretty useful hitting 6th? I suppose it depends on who is playing, Walker, Hairston or Neifi! If it's the last one, yeah, bat him 2nd.

[CuseCubFan69]

Do we really want Murton hitting 2nd? I like the OBP, but I would think his power would be pretty useful hitting 6th? I suppose it depends on who is playing, Walker, Hairston or Neifi! If it's the last one, yeah, bat him 2nd.

 

That's what I'm thinking is if Baker has Perez in there and not Hairston or Walker. I would rather have Walker in the two spot but with Pierre being lefthanded I'm curious if Baker would bat two lefties in a row.

[RockTheIvy]

Do we really want Murton hitting 2nd? I like the OBP, but I would think his power would be pretty useful hitting 6th? I suppose it depends on who is playing, Walker, Hairston or Neifi! If it's the last one, yeah, bat him 2nd.

 

That's what I'm thinking is if Baker has Perez in there and not Hairston or Walker. I would rather have Walker in the two spot but with Pierre being lefthanded I'm curious if Baker would bat two lefties in a row.

 

I pray to christ Cedeno hits .300 this season, with no slumps.

[CuseCubFan69]

Do we really want Murton hitting 2nd? I like the OBP, but I would think his power would be pretty useful hitting 6th? I suppose it depends on who is playing, Walker, Hairston or Neifi! If it's the last one, yeah, bat him 2nd.

 

That's what I'm thinking is if Baker has Perez in there and not Hairston or Walker. I would rather have Walker in the two spot but with Pierre being lefthanded I'm curious if Baker would bat two lefties in a row.

 

I pray to christ Cedeno hits .300 this season, with no slumps.

 

I'd just rather see Baker gone. IMO it just makes things so much better.

[RockTheIvy]

Do we really want Murton hitting 2nd? I like the OBP, but I would think his power would be pretty useful hitting 6th? I suppose it depends on who is playing, Walker, Hairston or Neifi! If it's the last one, yeah, bat him 2nd.

 

That's what I'm thinking is if Baker has Perez in there and not Hairston or Walker. I would rather have Walker in the two spot but with Pierre being lefthanded I'm curious if Baker would bat two lefties in a row.

 

I pray to christ Cedeno hits .300 this season, with no slumps.

 

I'd just rather see Baker gone. IMO it just makes things so much better.

 

I don't know much about Bass fishing, or what it is like to bat behind Hank Aaron, sooooo I think Baker should stick around.

[CubDad4Ever]

Several excellent points have been brought up in this thread. I said earlier Nefi is nothing more than a representaion of several thought process's. The cubs largest two problems have been 1. Lack of exellent starting pitching , all the hoopla after 2003 turned into getting out pitched by the cardinals and astros staffs for two years. 2. Low walk totals. The cubs averages and slugging have been pretty good. 1 carries more weight than two in baseball history. Pitching and Defense will trump good hitting , so if you are not able to get a Frucal or Tejada , Jeter. You must insure you have a durable option at ss that is not weak on D. Bowa had one of the weakest seaons on offense ever in 84 the cubs were not handicapped a bit. I dont think they were a Yankee like Juggernaut on O that year either. I believe Hendry and Baker understand more than you think about trying to improve obp. They have to do it in the context of servicing defense and pitching , because it does win. They also had to change over an old lineup from 84. With few legit minor league positional players to use as trade bait or for themselves. God Bless Coach L

[stitchface]

pitching, defense and offense wins championships. this myth that preventing runs is more important than scoring them needs to be stopped. it simply isn't true. yes having great pitching is a component of being a great team - but its not the only component. you need to outscore your opponent - its that simple! you can either score a ton or not allow runs. either way works.

[CubDad4Ever]

read all my thread arguments, no one is saying offense is not important, you are walking past the fact that you cannot igonore defenses affect on pitching. Undervaluing those metrics as others is as deadly as ignoring obp, You have to find a way to balance it within the context of the defensive spectrum (bill James) ss-c-cf. Thats why its not as simple as some folks try to make it. The cubs looked into two great ss for a reason. That position requires great D not Mike Young D and finding O their is a bonus if you can get it. God Bless Coach L

[NorthsideAvenger]

8 pages for Nefti Perez? Is NP a hall of famer, or an AS, or what....how does he get 8 pages, just about anytime he is talked about?

 

-----

 

Aramis Fan;

 

I see you have Pierre/Grissom/Jones as your "French Connection", so my question is....are you going to put ARAMIS in that connection?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

read all my thread arguments, no one is saying offense is not important, you are walking past the fact that you cannot igonore defenses affect on pitching. Undervaluing those metrics as others is as deadly as ignoring obp, You have to find a way to balance it within the context of the defensive spectrum (bill James) ss-c-cf. Thats why its not as simple as some folks try to make it. The cubs looked into two great ss for a reason. That position requires great D not Mike Young D and finding O their is a bonus if you can get it. God Bless Coach L

 

You say that you can't undervalue offense or defense, then you say offense is a bonus at a position? Neifi is an above average defender. He is a wasteland offensively. On the whole he is replacement level, and considering he is past his prime, which means very very little chance for offensive improvement, there are a multitude of options that can provide that replacement level production(hence its name) with the potential to do better because of age. Furthermore, giving Neifi TWO years and five million on a team managed by a man sure to misuse him is a terrible decision. I've said this around 5 times in this thread, will someone please acknowledge it or respond?

[stitchface]

Walking past? What are you talking about? Preventing runs is defense and pitching. I don't have a problem with a great defensive SS. I do have a problem with an anemic outfield and an anemic SS. You simply cannot score enough runs if you have 3 or 4 zeroes in your lineup. right now the cubs have a lot of mediocrity in the outfield - guys you could live with as your third best offensive outfielder. to add a complete zero at SS really hurts the offense. I believe in balance in a lineup - two good hitters is better than one great hitter and one terrible hitter. A lineup that features a productive top 5 and then absolute zeroes is not going to get it done. You have to balance defense with offense. If you want great defense and little offense up the middle, you darn well better get production from the corners. The Cubs have that on the infield but the outfield is suspect to say the least.

[stitchface]

read all my thread arguments, no one is saying offense is not important, you are walking past the fact that you cannot igonore defenses affect on pitching. Undervaluing those metrics as others is as deadly as ignoring obp, You have to find a way to balance it within the context of the defensive spectrum (bill James) ss-c-cf. Thats why its not as simple as some folks try to make it. The cubs looked into two great ss for a reason. That position requires great D not Mike Young D and finding O their is a bonus if you can get it. God Bless Coach L

 

You say that you can't undervalue offense or defense, then you say offense is a bonus at a position? Neifi is an above average defender. He is a wasteland offensively. On the whole he is replacement level, and considering he is past his prime, which means very very little chance for offensive improvement, there are a multitude of options that can provide that replacement level production(hence its name) with the potential to do better because of age. Furthermore, giving Neifi TWO years and five million on a team managed by a man sure to misuse him is a terrible decision. I've said this around 5 times in this thread, will someone please acknowledge it or respond?

 

I said that too.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

read all my thread arguments, no one is saying offense is not important, you are walking past the fact that you cannot igonore defenses affect on pitching. Undervaluing those metrics as others is as deadly as ignoring obp, You have to find a way to balance it within the context of the defensive spectrum (bill James) ss-c-cf. Thats why its not as simple as some folks try to make it. The cubs looked into two great ss for a reason. That position requires great D not Mike Young D and finding O their is a bonus if you can get it. God Bless Coach L

 

You say that you can't undervalue offense or defense, then you say offense is a bonus at a position? Neifi is an above average defender. He is a wasteland offensively. On the whole he is replacement level, and considering he is past his prime, which means very very little chance for offensive improvement, there are a multitude of options that can provide that replacement level production(hence its name) with the potential to do better because of age. Furthermore, giving Neifi TWO years and five million on a team managed by a man sure to misuse him is a terrible decision. I've said this around 5 times in this thread, will someone please acknowledge it or respond?

 

I said that too.

 

Yeah, several people have, and I don't know why people are countering with points that are barely even tangent to the argument.

[frostwyrm]

8 pages for Nefti Perez? Is NP a hall of famer, or an AS, or what....how does he get 8 pages, just about anytime he is talked about?

 

Neifi is not a Hall of Famer, but Lee could be. Unfortunately Lee has ZERO chance at an RBI title with Neifi batting in front of him, and that will likely keep him out the 2006 MVP race, as it did in 2005. Stuff like that makes me very angry.

[NCCubFan]

8 pages for Nefti Perez? Is NP a hall of famer, or an AS, or what....how does he get 8 pages, just about anytime he is talked about?

Don't forget, Neifi is a Cubs' hero for hitting the HR to beat the Giants on the last day of the 1998 season that created the Wild Card tie with the Cubs. :D

[CubsWin]

What a bunch of utter nonsense, CubsWin. I can think of few posts lacking less foundation or merit.

Thanks for your opinion. Unfortunately, you provided nothing besides that opinion so I have little understanding for why you thought what you thought.

 

So let me start by expanding on why I wrote what I wrote.

 

I was describing a very small percentage of fans who actually hate Neifi Perez and feel he has no right to be on a major league baseball roster. Most, if not all, of the people who have responded in this thread don't fit that description. They say they hate the way he has been used by Dusty Baker. I agree. They say that he is pretty bad offensively. I agree. They say that his optimal role would be to come off the bench as a defensive replacement, I agree.

 

Then there are those who say they don't hate Neifi but believe he shouldn't be in the bigs. I disagree, but see the value in their arguments.

 

My original post was describing those fans who hate him and believe he has no right to be on a major league roster. They state this opinion like it is an absolute truth. They then conclude that Hendry is an idiot for ever signing him. They often conclude that because Neifi has started a lot since signing with the Cubs, most often due to injury, that Hendry intended him to be a starter and then they hate on Hendry some more. It was to those fans that I was responding. They are few and far between.

 

The only way I see fantasy baseball having an effect on how fans like that arrive at their opinions is that they mistakenly believe that the value of a baseball player can accurately be summed up in statistics alone, and that all it takes to be a successful GM is to be able to understand the significance of those statistics. For those few fans that believe that, not only do I disagree but I feel that the onset of fantasy baseball has played a part in forming their opinion.

 

As far as posters being the prosecutor, judge and jury on a subject and expressing their opinions without reservation and as if they are absolutely correct, that happens all the time on message boards like this.

 

So I hope that helps explain where I was coming from.

[stitchface]

I don't know exactly why people hate Neifi Perez so much. I'm probably wrong, but it may have something to do with the onset of fantasy baseball, the Bill James book Moneyball and the frustration of the Cubs failing to win a World Series during our lifetimes.

 

When you mix the notion that you could be just as good of a GM as the next guy because you won your fantasy baseball league with the importance some people who have read Moneyball (and played fantasy baseball) place on OBP and then add in a healthy dose of anger and frustration with the lack of a Cubs championship, scapegoats and whipping boys start coming out of the woodwork.

 

"Neifi Perez?! He sucks. He would never be on my fantasy baseball team. In fact, he wasn't on anyone's roster in the league I was in. Plus, look at his OBP. Its terrible. Even I know that Neifi doesn't deserve to be on a major league roster. Hendry must be an idiot."

 

And that is the end of deliberations in the trial of Neifi Perez. It must feel good to be the prosecutor, judge and jury.

 

Ok, lets review.

1. Bill James didn't write Moneyball or have anything to do with it.

2. Moneyball did not address the importance of OBP other than that Billy Beane recognized its value.

3. Just because you criticize the moves a GM makes, does not mean you think you could be a better GM. This is similar to arguing that because you criticize a player for striking out you think you could do better.

4. Most people don't scapegoat Neifi other than to point out the fact that his playing everyday and batting at the top of the order probably cost the Cubs a lot of runs.

5. Neifi's production could be obtained from a player making near league minimum. This makes Neifi's contract a bad one. This is not remotely related to fantasy baseball. This is very related to Moneyball. Have you read it?

6. The judge and jury part I don't understand. Yes, Neifi's abilities can be evaluated based entirely on statistics. What does he provide that can't be measured by statistics?

[cubsavant]

I don't know exactly why people hate Neifi Perez so much. I'm probably wrong, but it may have something to do with the onset of fantasy baseball, the Bill James book Moneyball and the frustration of the Cubs failing to win a World Series during our lifetimes.

 

When you mix the notion that you could be just as good of a GM as the next guy because you won your fantasy baseball league with the importance some people who have read Moneyball (and played fantasy baseball) place on OBP and then add in a healthy dose of anger and frustration with the lack of a Cubs championship, scapegoats and whipping boys start coming out of the woodwork.

 

"Neifi Perez?! He sucks. He would never be on my fantasy baseball team. In fact, he wasn't on anyone's roster in the league I was in. Plus, look at his OBP. Its terrible. Even I know that Neifi doesn't deserve to be on a major league roster. Hendry must be an idiot."

 

And that is the end of deliberations in the trial of Neifi Perez. It must feel good to be the prosecutor, judge and jury.

 

Ok, lets review.

1. Bill James didn't write Moneyball or have anything to do with it.

2. Moneyball did not address the importance of OBP other than that Billy Beane recognized its value.

3. Just because you criticize the moves a GM makes, does not mean you think you could be a better GM. This is similar to arguing that because you criticize a player for striking out you think you could do better.

4. Most people don't scapegoat Neifi other than to point out the fact that his playing everyday and batting at the top of the order probably cost the Cubs a lot of runs.

5. Neifi's production could be obtained from a player making near league minimum. This makes Neifi's contract a bad one. This is not remotely related to fantasy baseball. This is very related to Moneyball. Have you read it?

6. The judge and jury part I don't understand. Yes, Neifi's abilities can be evaluated based entirely on statistics. What does he provide that can't be measured by statistics?

 

Please don't hurt me this is my first post.

 

I would like to refute some of Poudre's six points of light.

 

1. Although James did not write Moneyball saying he had nothing to do with it is like saying God had nothing to do with the writing of the ten commandments.

 

2. On the Billy Beane valuation of OBP my thoughts are: Beane recognized that players with high OBPs and lower BAs were being undervalued. To maximize his meager payroll he decided to pick-up as many high OBP players as possible. If high BA low OBP guys were what Beane perceived to be undervalued those are the players he would have been aquiring. It was all about getting the most bang for his buck, not about OBP.

 

3. Let's be honest here. We all know that we could do no better than the major league hitter who strikes out. But, at the end of the day we all think that we could do Hendry's or Baker's job.

 

4. Maybe this board needs to adopt some Neifi post traking statistics. My observation tells me that Neifi gets slammed at about a 4:1 ratio on this board.

 

5. Maybe Neifi's production could be obtained cheaper, but the Cubs are a large market team with a $100 million dollar payroll. Having a major league starting infielder who has won a GG on your bench is a tremendous luxury, and completely useless. Except, when your starting shortstop goes down in April for four months. But, how likeley is that to happen?

 

6. Obviously a player's abiities can not all be determined by statistics alone. If statistics were the only tool for determining a player's value Todd Walker would not be staring down his fifth team in six years, and D'Angelo Jimenez would have a starting job as a major league middle infielder.

[Laura]

Welcome to the forums!

 

I've been know to toss out a few Viva Neifis!

 

I think Neifi can be a good role player. My problem is with Dusty. I can and have gone into a bunch of reasons why, but since it's late, I'll just note that I don't think Neifi should be batting 2nd unless he has a remarkable obp spike. Not a knock on neifi, just a knock on how he's been used.

[CubsWin]

I don't know exactly why people hate Neifi Perez so much. I'm probably wrong, but it may have something to do with the onset of fantasy baseball, the Bill James book Moneyball and the frustration of the Cubs failing to win a World Series during our lifetimes.

 

When you mix the notion that you could be just as good of a GM as the next guy because you won your fantasy baseball league with the importance some people who have read Moneyball (and played fantasy baseball) place on OBP and then add in a healthy dose of anger and frustration with the lack of a Cubs championship, scapegoats and whipping boys start coming out of the woodwork.

 

"Neifi Perez?! He sucks. He would never be on my fantasy baseball team. In fact, he wasn't on anyone's roster in the league I was in. Plus, look at his OBP. Its terrible. Even I know that Neifi doesn't deserve to be on a major league roster. Hendry must be an idiot."

 

And that is the end of deliberations in the trial of Neifi Perez. It must feel good to be the prosecutor, judge and jury.

 

Ok, lets review.

1. Bill James didn't write Moneyball or have anything to do with it.

2. Moneyball did not address the importance of OBP other than that Billy Beane recognized its value.

3. Just because you criticize the moves a GM makes, does not mean you think you could be a better GM. This is similar to arguing that because you criticize a player for striking out you think you could do better.

4. Most people don't scapegoat Neifi other than to point out the fact that his playing everyday and batting at the top of the order probably cost the Cubs a lot of runs.

5. Neifi's production could be obtained from a player making near league minimum. This makes Neifi's contract a bad one. This is not remotely related to fantasy baseball. This is very related to Moneyball. Have you read it?

6. The judge and jury part I don't understand. Yes, Neifi's abilities can be evaluated based entirely on statistics. What does he provide that can't be measured by statistics?

Well, on points 1, 2 & 3, like I said at the top, I'm probably wrong. Which in a funny way kinda makes me right. Weird...

 

Also, I was addressing people who actually hate Neifi Perez. This is a very small percentage of people so, whereas, I agree with point number 4, it doesn't really apply to our conversation.

 

In point 5, were you refering to offensive production only?

 

And in point 6, what I meant by people being the prosecutor, judge and jury on a certain issue is just that often on message boards, people don't write their opinions and acknowledge that they are just their relatively uninformed opinions, they write them like they are the truth and if anyone disagrees with them they will vehemently stick to their guns, arguing to the death and never really learning anything.

 

Clearly, I have a lot to learn about being a GM. So I write like it. But judging by how a lot of these threads go, few others believe they have anything left to learn about how to build a baseball team.

[Magnetic Curses]

I don't know exactly why people hate Neifi Perez so much. I'm probably wrong, but it may have something to do with the onset of fantasy baseball, the Bill James book Moneyball and the frustration of the Cubs failing to win a World Series during our lifetimes.

 

When you mix the notion that you could be just as good of a GM as the next guy because you won your fantasy baseball league with the importance some people who have read Moneyball (and played fantasy baseball) place on OBP and then add in a healthy dose of anger and frustration with the lack of a Cubs championship, scapegoats and whipping boys start coming out of the woodwork.

 

"Neifi Perez?! He sucks. He would never be on my fantasy baseball team. In fact, he wasn't on anyone's roster in the league I was in. Plus, look at his OBP. Its terrible. Even I know that Neifi doesn't deserve to be on a major league roster. Hendry must be an idiot."

 

And that is the end of deliberations in the trial of Neifi Perez. It must feel good to be the prosecutor, judge and jury.

 

Ok, lets review.

1. Bill James didn't write Moneyball or have anything to do with it.

2. Moneyball did not address the importance of OBP other than that Billy Beane recognized its value.

3. Just because you criticize the moves a GM makes, does not mean you think you could be a better GM. This is similar to arguing that because you criticize a player for striking out you think you could do better.

4. Most people don't scapegoat Neifi other than to point out the fact that his playing everyday and batting at the top of the order probably cost the Cubs a lot of runs.

5. Neifi's production could be obtained from a player making near league minimum. This makes Neifi's contract a bad one. This is not remotely related to fantasy baseball. This is very related to Moneyball. Have you read it?

6. The judge and jury part I don't understand. Yes, Neifi's abilities can be evaluated based entirely on statistics. What does he provide that can't be measured by statistics?

 

Please don't hurt me this is my first post.

 

I would like to refute some of Poudre's six points of light.

 

1. Although James did not write Moneyball saying he had nothing to do with it is like saying God had nothing to do with the writing of the ten commandments.

 

2. On the Billy Beane valuation of OBP my thoughts are: Beane recognized that players with high OBPs and lower BAs were being undervalued. To maximize his meager payroll he decided to pick-up as many high OBP players as possible. If high BA low OBP guys were what Beane perceived to be undervalued those are the players he would have been aquiring. It was all about getting the most bang for his buck, not about OBP.

 

3. Let's be honest here. We all know that we could do no better than the major league hitter who strikes out. But, at the end of the day we all think that we could do Hendry's or Baker's job.

 

4. Maybe this board needs to adopt some Neifi post traking statistics. My observation tells me that Neifi gets slammed at about a 4:1 ratio on this board.

 

5. Maybe Neifi's production could be obtained cheaper, but the Cubs are a large market team with a $100 million dollar payroll. Having a major league starting infielder who has won a GG on your bench is a tremendous luxury, and completely useless. Except, when your starting shortstop goes down in April for four months. But, how likeley is that to happen?

 

6. Obviously a player's abiities can not all be determined by statistics alone. If statistics were the only tool for determining a player's value Todd Walker would not be staring down his fifth team in six years, and D'Angelo Jimenez would have a starting job as a major league middle infielder.

 

1. although i dislike the analogy, i get your point and agree. but many people inspired the book. voros mccracken, sandy alderson, billy beane, paul depodesta--all had enough input into it. i wouldn't consider james the God of moneyball.

 

2. wrong. beane would put little value into high average, low obp guys, even if they were undervalued. beane saw that not making an out is the most important thing one can do in the grand scheme of thing to score more runs. he also noted that people in baseball were being blind, stupid, or both in not valuing players who make less outs than other players. argue all you want for players who "shake things up on the basepaths" or play somewhat above average defense--teams that make outs at a lesser rate will score more runs than any team built on conventional wisdom.

 

3. not very hard to do that. people who are consistently lousy at their jobs deserve to be fired.

 

4.that's what observation would get you. it's actually much higher than that. but, considering sample sizes and what not, you cannot honestly tell me that you can browse this board for less than a month and come away with any kind of idea as to rates or ratios. one more neifi bashing post per week is the difference between .250 and .300.

 

let me clarify the opinions of most people that i know and respect: neifi is a decent latter inning replacement and occasional spot starter and 8th hitter, he sucks as an everyday player. this team, if hit had more OBP, could afford the luxury of starting a guy who can play defense like neifi, but it can't.

 

5. this is a terrible argument. simply because we have the money to spend doesn't mean we need to spend it on mediocrity at the plate. i never get tired of laughing at this idea.

 

6. meh, the 27 yankees hated each other. tinker, evers, and chance had a bad relationship. nobody liked ty cobb or pete rose.

 

if you want to make a bad team, start by focusing on clubhouse chemistry and overrating it's importance instead of things that actually matter.

[CardsFanInChiTown]

2. wrong. beane would put little value into high average, low obp guys, even if they were undervalued. beane saw that not making an out is the most important thing one can do in the grand scheme of thing to score more runs. he also noted that people in baseball were being blind, stupid, or both in not valuing players who make less outs than other players. argue all you want for players who "shake things up on the basepaths" or play somewhat above average defense--teams that make outs at a lesser rate will score more runs than any team built on conventional wisdom.

 

If a guy is undervalued in the marketplace Beane is going after him - that was the whole point of moneyball.