Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
November 04, 2006
Sarge II

Gary Matthews Jr. is another free agent that presents an interested GM with difficult decision. Matthews is a player that's confounded me over the seasons. He's always had a good eye for the strike zone, but never took his game to the next level. He'll play well for a stretch, then lousy for a stretch, and teams never seemed to give him the chance to work out of a slump. He's been waived three times in his career, until he finally caught on with the Rangers. His time in Baltimore seems to sum up his career. After the Met trade him to Baltimore, he puts up a .355 OBA. The Orioles give him just 162 at bats in 2003, and waive after he posts a .250 OBA. He then goes to San Diego and puts up a .346 OBA.

Well, at age 31, he finally put it all together. But if you take his career as a whole, it's just not that impressive. Except for last year, he's never hit for a high average. But if you send him to the plate 300 times, he'll draw a decent amount of walks and likely be above average in OBA. The team that signs him needs to be ready to allow him to play through the inevitable slump.

They also have to be prepared for a lot less production. Gary, due to his history and age is exactly the kind of player I'd expect to be a waste of big money. If anyone pays him over $10 million a year, they're likely to be sorry.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:34 AM | Free Agents | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I just got off the phone w/ a buddy and for a good portion of the discussion we discussed Sarge II... Colorado and San Francisco both need someone like GMJr. to patrol their spacious CFs, but would he be prone to the Colorado home/road split-fever, or be able carry his numbers in the NL West's spacious parks? That said, after Matthews, there's a paucity of CFers who can chase down a fly.

Posted by: Peter Friberg at November 4, 2006 05:11 PM

I sort of think The Corporal could be good for the Phils depending upon what happens with Burrell and Soriano.

Posted by: Tom G at November 6, 2006 07:30 AM
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