Not sure what Dave’s talking about. The “I’m right, you’re wrong, period” arguement is one I see too often in the stat community, when people do not understand that there’s more than one way of looking at the numbers and coming up with them. Don’t enjoy seeing it here.

Just based on an initial read of this thread, Dave Cameron’s steadfast refusal to accept the common sense reality here had completely undermined his credibility. Looking at the Tango evaluation only cemented that perspective. Further, Cameron’s shrill assaults on Geez’ requests for supporting data intimate that Cameron either knows no such data exists or has never taken the time to determine if such data exists. Both of these results are inexcusable and determining which is true would not only be a an exercise in futility, but would only prove a moot point: Cameron’s posts/articles are only worth reading for entertainment value.

Plus, is Matthews that much better defensively than Abreu to make up the difference in their offensive production?

Anyway, I like the signing. It gives the young guys a chance to develop by having two productive veterans in the lineup. Plus the Angels need offensive production more than they need defense at this point. A left side of Figgins (LF), Wood (3B), and Aybar (SS) would be awesome defensively, but with so many young players its important to have some stabiltity on the offensive side of things as not to have to rely on them for production.

Its not like Wood didn’t get any playing time last year and he was buried under both Izturis and Aybar. With the injuries the Angels always seem to suffer its not a bad idea to have a ton of depth.

If Kendry Morales isn’t able to hold down 1st base, I would hate the thought of the Angels even thinking about letting Juan Rivera field balls on the right hand side of the diamond. He played 1st for just 2 innings last season for the first time in his career. This scenario is one of those things Rex Hudler conjures up during a broadcast.

It’s unfortunate Gary Matthews performance has reduced him to a very expensive defensive replacement in LF that will give Hunter a day off once every 10 games.

Seems to me Tango’s results indicate Chone was:

4-5 OPS points off for long-term major leagues
3-4 OPS points off for major league players with moderate experience
10-13 OPS points for part-timers, bench players and players with 2 or fewer years of experience
And 56 OPS points off for players making their debut.

If I understand the results correctly.

Maybe that presents all kinds of other issues, like Wood being a defensive downgrade from Aybar…but…I thought it was worth raising.