Posted: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 3:29 AM | 12 comments |
 

Validating Valdez
options
 

Over his two seasons in Philadelphia, Wilson Valdez started exactly half of their regular season games. And they didn't lose a thing with him in the starting lineup, judging by their record in those games.

Here are the Phillies' records the last two years with Valdez in and out of the starting lineup:

  Valdez
       Starting		 Valdez
      Non-Starting
Totals
2010
 52-36
(.591)		 45-29
(.608)		 97-65
(.599)
2011 48-26
(.649)		 54-34
(.614)		 102-60
(.617
Totals
                 		100-62
(.617)		 99-63
(.611)		       199-125
(.614)
Posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. @ 3:29 AM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:41 AM, 01/26/2012
    i would have been perfectly okay with valdez as our starting shortstop this season and perhaps next until a permanent solution could be found... yes, rollins gives you a little more offense, but he offsets that advantage by being a lousy leadoff hitter. in my mind, there was little dropoff between rollins and valdez... amaro completely mishandled the shortstop this offseason. in fact, what has amaro done right in the past 3 years? not much. the halladay deal. thats about it.
    — zwarte piet
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:23 AM, 01/26/2012
    don't tell this to Paul Hagen.
    — potus
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:53 AM, 01/26/2012
    Wilson really was the best. When people asked me who my favorite Philly is, I never said Howard or Utley or Halladay, I said Valdez. He has spirit and guts, as well as a fantastic arm and an ERA of 0.
    — Jamesallen
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:58 AM, 01/26/2012
    I thought Valdez did a great job in his role. But the Phils jerked him around last pre-season about keeping him. I get the feeling someone (like Charley or RAJ) doesn't think too highly of him - is he a jerk or something off field or in the dugout?
    — ObamaSolyndra
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:12 AM, 01/26/2012
    I really don't understand what Martinez brings to the table. I don't see him as Valdez' equal in any area of the game, other than he's a couple years younger.
    — Bobby G
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:19 AM, 01/26/2012
    Bobby G, the answer is Martinez is cheaper!!!!!
    — craiggo
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:32 AM, 01/26/2012
    Good point, Craiggo. I guess the term penny wise and pound foolish applies. Also, the W-L record can be a very deceptive stat, as one individual's starts could correlate with other hitters hitting better/worse, pitching getting hot/cold, timing of other transactions, etc. I like Valdez, thought he was a serviceable backup, but let's not kid ourselves. He is not a starting-level player.
    — Bobby G
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:21 PM, 01/26/2012
    An neither is Valdez.
    — EL Zorro
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:56 PM, 01/26/2012
    Valdez has a great game on the field and a cannon for an arm. Individually, he is fine on any team. But this is about the Phillies having better backups. wiggington and Nix, who could be a starter or platoon, are an upgrade from Valdez/Gload. Martinez is not as good as Valdez, but probably comes cheaper.
    — PhillyScott
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:16 PM, 01/26/2012
    Athletics designated INF Adrian Cardenas for assignment.
    He was cleared to make room for the newly signed Jonny Gomes on the 40-man roster. Cardenas, a former top prospect during his days with the Phillies, was acquired in July of 2008 in the Joe Blanton deal. The 24-year-old batted .314/.374/.418 with five homers, 51 RBI and a .780 OPS with Triple-A Sacramento in 2011. He added the outfield to his resume last season, so he could draw some interest around the league as a potential utility man.
    — jim715
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:04 PM, 01/26/2012
    First, who cares about the team's record with or without Valdez? It is meaningless unless he is the only variable.

    Second, Wilson Valdez is a bad player who plays slightly above average defense. He pales in comparison to Jimmy Rollins and just about every other starting shortstop in the National (or American) League.

    On a team of 25, Wilson Valdez is going to go unnoticed because he will play in so few games that his net impact is practically zero. He will have a big hit here and there, and he will somehow get labeled as being "clutch," but the guy has played for six teams in six years and has a career on-base percentage of under .300.

    He was capable in his time in Philly, nothing more. Let's not get weepy over a guy who can be replaced with a random Triple-A shortstop.
    — ChuckT
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:11 PM, 01/26/2012
    The only area where Martinez is better than Veldez is that he is a much faster runner and can play outfield, albeit not well. He is also young a might get better.
    — fish1463


12 comments
About Bob Vetrone Jr.

Boop – who goes by Bob Vetrone Jr. when he is undercover or paying bills – has been at the Daily News since 1982, after working for five years at the Philadelphia Bulletin up to its closing. Along with helping to build the sports scoreboards most nights, he has had great input into the papers’ special sports pullouts – March Madness, Broad Street Run, Record Breakers, Greatest Moments – as well as its day-to-day, award-winning event coverage.

A 1980 graduate of North Catholic, he took some evening college courses. Those lasted right up until the first conflict with a Big 5 doubleheader.

His favorite books growing up were the NBA Guide and the Baseball Encyclopedia, which was, for all intents and purposes, the Internet before there was an Internet.

He has been immersed in sports statistics since the early 70s, when his father (long-time sports writer, broadcaster and the Daily News’ Buck The Bartender), would take him into the Bulletin newsroom overnight in the summer and let him update the Phillies statistics in a little, black spiral notebook. But things have changed tremendously in the decades since … He now uses a big, black spiral notebook. Email him at vetronb@phillynews.com.


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