Team-Building Amusement Exercise - Part 4

Well, sorry for the delay. It was caused by a combination of lack of power, and lack of motivation. I'm here now, though, and ready to wrap this up.

1) Tom Pagnozzi (Catcher), 1991 - 140 games, 510 plate appearances (PAs), 24 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 2 HRs, 57 RBIs, 9 SBs, .264 AVG/.319 OBP/.351 SLG/ .670 OPS.

Other stats: OPS+ 89, -6 Batting Runs Above Average (BRAA), +16 Fielding Runs Above Average (FRAA), WARP3 of 4.8.

Man, nine stolen bases from my catcher? That's pretty sweet. Or it was until I noticed he was caught stealing 13 times. Hmm, might have to rein him in a little. It understandable though, since the '91 Cards had only one player with double digit home runs (Zeile, with 11). If you can't hit the big bombs, you might as well run a lot. Anyway, this was Pagnozzi's first year as starter, after years of backing up Tony Pena and then Zeile. Based on his WARP3, this wasalso his best season, probably owing to it being his best defensive season, since his offense was never much better than "slightly below average". So Pagnozzi and Molina somewhat compliment wach other, Molina being more patient, Pags having more pop and speed, and he can probably mentor young Yadi, the way Mike Matheny supposedly did.

2) Albert Pujols (1st Base), 2006 - 143 games, 634 PAs, 33 2Bs, 1 3B, 49 HRs, 137 RBIs, 7 SBs, .331/.431/.671/1.102.

Other stats: OPS+ 178, 69 BRAA, 6 FRAA, WARP3 9.3.

This was the year Albert first started to really have to carry the show himself. Larry Walker was replaced by Juan Encarnacion. Jim Edmonds was not what he used to be, and missed the last six weeks of the season with back issues (or post-concussion syndrome, I forget which). Scott Rolen's shoulder was going to hell. The second best hitter on the team was Chris Duncan, whose defensive shortcomings and failures against lefties I've mentioned frequently. Still, Albert puts up those numbers. The scary thing is, based on WARP3, this is Albert's worst season as a first baseman, and it's still really damn good. I suppose the question might arise of why not McGwire, and the basic answer is, ignoring all the performance-enhancing stuff, McGwire's just too limited a player for my tastes. He has no speed, which makes him a baserunning liability, and defensively, he's nothing to write home about. If I couldn't have fit Albert onto the team, my next choice was potentially Gregg Jefferies, then Pedro Guererro, then Jack Clark. Seeing as my pitching staff isn't loaded with fireballers, I need good defense, and Albert provides it. And the seven SBs with only 2 caught stealings doesn't hurt either.

3) Delino DeShields (2nd Base), 1997 - 150 games, 643 PAs, 26 2Bs, 14 3Bs, 11 HRs, 58 RBIs, 55 SBs, .295/.357/.448/.805.

Other stats: OPS+ 111, 20 BRAA, -12 FRAA, 3.3

It's actually pretty likely Jose Oquendo, circa 1989, would have made a better chocie, but finding good utility infielders isn't always easy, and Oquendo was a known quantity there. Plus, I let myself be seduced by the 55 stolen bases. I told you I'd be interested in speed. Hopefully the infielders on either side of Delino can make up for his defensive shortcomings, though Baseball-Reference's defensive stats say he actually was worth 2.6 runs above average for the season. Hmm.

4) Scott Rolen (3rd Base), 2003 - 154 games, 657 PAs, 49 2Bs, 1 3B, 28 HRs, 104 RBIs, 13 SBs, .286/.382/.528/.910.

Other stats: OPS+ 138, 41 BRAA, 15 FRAA, WARP3 8.5.

2004 would have been a better choice (his WARP3 was 11.6 that year, and his FRAA was 41), but this is still pretty good. It's his second best season in the StL, 4th best overall, and his presence ought to ensure that Albert won't suffer from the lack of protection I mentioned for the '06 season. Interestingly, B-R's stats say Rolen was actually a run or so below average defensively in '03, so I don't know what to make of their numbers.

5) Ozzie Smith (Shortstop), 1987 - 158 games, 706 PAs, 40 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 75 RBIs, 43 SBs, .303/.392/.383/.775.

Other stats: OPS+ 105, 23 BRAA, 17 FRAA, WARP3 8.0

Going by WARP3, this isn't in Ozzie's top 5 seasons, which is kind of staggering. Then again, being 17 runs above average with the glove is pretty bad by Ozzie's standards (in 1985, he was +50 with his glove, which tends to compensate for only being +13 with the bat). Still, this was his 2nd best offensive year, and a down year for Ozzie with the glove is still a career year for a lot of shortstops.

6) Ron Gant (Left Field), 1996 - 122 games, 500 PAs, 14 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 30 HRs, 82 RBIs, 13 SBs, .246/.359/.504/.863.

Other stats: OPS+ 125, 20 BRAA, 5 FRAA, WARP3 3.8

I've never been much of a Ron Gant fan. Struck out a lot, didn't hit for average, had kind of a bad attitude. Still, the Cardinals haven't been overflowing with outstanding left fielders over the last 25 years. Vince Coleman never walked, Bernard Gilkey didn't really hit his stride until he left, and the positions been a revolving door the last seven seasons or so. With all that in mind, I'm not sure who was left to choose, so Gant it is. THe B-R page does say he was worth about 10 runs with his glove, for what that's worth.

7) Willie McGee (Center Field), 1984 - 145 games, 604 PAs, 19 2Bs, 11 3Bs, 6 HRs, 50 RBIs, 43 SBs, .291/.325/.394/.719.

Other stats: OPS+ 103, 13 BRAA, 6 FRAA, 4.3 WARP3

This is one of those selctions with little justification. I'm sure both Jim Edmonds and Ray Lankford have a staggering number of seasons superior to this one, and there are really only two factors to mitigate that. One, I like Willie McGee more than either of them. Two, I didn't feel I had many good options from the 1984 season. It's at the edge of the seasons I have any knowledge of, beyond just looking at stats. There aren't many even average offensive seasons, or many good pitching perfomances, and here was a player who had a decent season, that I knew and liked, so why not choose him?

8) Brian Jordan (Right Field), 1998 - 150 games, 617 PAs, 34 2Bs, 7 3Bs, 25 HRs, 91 RBIs, 17 SBs, .316/.368/.534/.902

Other stats: OPS+ 134, 35 BRAA, 0 FRAA, WARP3 4.7

It's Jordan's best season. of course, hitting in front of or behind Mark McGwire for an entire season probably had something to do with that. Hopefully hitting near Albert Pujols will suffice. Contrary to Baseball Prospectus, B-R says Jordan was worth of 26 runs with his glove. I have no idea who to believe here, you know.

Theoretical batting order: DeShields, Rolen, Albert, Jordan, Gant, McGee, Pagnozzi, Ozzie. I've heard it's a good idea to have a decent on-base percentage guy near the bottom of the lineup, to improve the odds your best hitters (at the top) come up with people on base. Well, Ozzie's OBP is second only to Albert's, so I'd guess he makes a good candidate.

Looking over this, I think I may need to revise some of my selections a bit. I can probably optimize it better, just by selecting different years for some of the players.